Rural Health Briefing
Volume VIII June 6, 2007
Arizona Critical Access Hospital Program
Rural Health Office
UA Zuckerman College of Public Health
in conjunction with the Arizona Rural Health Association
National News
- 11th Annual 340B Coalition Conference
- CMS Rural Health Open Door Forum
- TA Call for RHCs: Losing Your Shortage Area Designation
- Information for HRSA Grantees from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
- HRSA Newsroom
Across Arizona
- Arizona Rural Hospital Performance Improvement Summit
- Rural Health Products Now Available
Grants and Opportunities
- Section 330 Grant Workshop
Calendar
June 4, Great Critical Access Hospital Boards – Governing at the Edge, Phoenix and via videostream
June 6-8, 5th Annual Western Region Flex Conference, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
June 14-15, AZRHA Skill Building Workshop, Chateau Sonesta, New Orleans
June 19-22, Race and Class Inequalities in Health, Boston
Mark Your Calendar
July 12-13, Arizona Rural Policy Forum, Flagstaff, AZ
July 19, EMS Training on Pediatric Trauma, Cochise College, Sierra Vista
July 24, EMS Training on Pediatric Trauma, Flagstaff Medical Center, Flagstaff, AZ
July 24-26, Measuring Diabetes and Obesity in Indian Health Systems, Tucson, AZ
July 30-August 1, Arizona Rural Health Conference, Fountain Hills, Arizona
National News
1. 11th Annual 340B Coalition Conference
Registration is now open for the 11th Annual 340B Coalition Conference on Improving Access to Pharmaceutical Care and Ensuring Compliance with Federal and State Laws, which will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC from July 23rd-July 25th. The event is co-hosted by the government’s 340B Prime Vendor Program which is responsible for negotiating additional discounts and value-added services for its participants.
The 340B Coalition Conference is designed for health care providers, pharmacy service companies, the pharmaceutical industry, and other entities concerned with providing quality pharmaceutical care to low income and vulnerable populations while ensuring compliance with drug pricing laws. This conference provides an ideal opportunity for providers that are new to the 340B program to learn from the experts about how to maximize pharmaceutical savings while ensuring compliance with the 340B law. It is also a great educational forum for veterans of the 340B program who are eager to learn about new strategies for reducing costs, improving patient care, and ensuring compliance.
Click here for details
2. CMS Rural Health Open Door Forum
In 2002 CMS began its Open Door forums by offering rural providers a chance to raise and address issues in an efficient manner that made a real impact and difference. The calls gave rural providers a chance to ask questions and get quick answers on a range of day-to-day issues. Prior to these calls, it often took providers considerable time to find the right person to get the question answered. The calls also served as a way for both CMS and rural providers to better understand each other. In the years since these forums began, participation has dropped considerably. Part of this is an indication that many low-level issues have been addressed. Still, given the ever-increasing complexity of Medicare regulations it is critical that rural providers take advantage of these forums to raise issues. The calls help rural providers to understand current regulatory and programmatic decisions CMS is making and acts as an important feedback loop between rural providers and the CMS staff who work on rural issues. The next Rural Health Open Door call will be June 20th at 2:00 pm ET.
Click here for the link to be added to the “Open Door Forum Mailing List Sign-Up.”
3. TA Call for RHCs: Losing Your Shortage Area Designation
Anyone with questions about the shortage area designation for rural health clinics is encouraged to participate in the next RHC Technical Assistance national conference call. The topic will be "Losing Your Shortage Area Designation." It is scheduled for Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (1:00PM Central; 12:00PM Mountain; 11:00AM Pacific), for a duration of one hour.
The speaker will be Ms. Andy Jordan, MSPH, Chief, Shortage Designation Branch, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
There will be a 15-minute question and discussion period with the speakers following their presentations. Copies of the speakers' presentations will be emailed prior to the July 10th conference call. Questions may be submitted in advance of the July 10, 2007 call to info@narhc.org: <mailto:info@narhc.org> Please be sure to indicate "RHC TA Question" in the subject line of your email.
To access the conference call dial the toll free number and give the operator the passcode when asked. The moderator for the call is listed as Bill Finerfrock.
Toll-Free Phone #: 1-888-259-2603
Passcode: 107208
4. Information for HRSA Grantees from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
HRSA has made available some resources from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the new Medicare prevention initiative, "A Healthier US Starts Here!" Its goal is to increase Medicare beneficiaries' use of prevention services covered by Medicare and to increase early detection and treatment of illness. These resources are available in both English and Spanish to reach as many beneficiaries as possible. The following prevention campaign materials are available online:
1) "My Health. My Medicare Preventive Services" one-page flyer/poster, which offers a complete overview of Medicare preventive services.
- For English: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalMedicareTrainingProgram/Downloads/MyHealthMyMedicare.pdf
- For Spanish: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalMedicareTrainingProgram/Downloads/MiSaludMiMedicare.pdf
2) "Medicare Basics: Frequently Asked Questions" designed especially for community-based clinic staff to help answer questions most often asked by Medicare beneficiaries.
- For English: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalMedicareTrainingProgram/Downloads/PartnerTipSheet_MedicareBasicsFAQ11_8_06.pdf
- For Spanish: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalMedicareTrainingProgram/Downloads/11082_S.pdf
To reach Spanish speakers, CMS is offering a 20-minute video, "Bienvenido A Medicare Telenovela," in Spanish. To obtain a free copy of this DVD, please contact the HRSA Information Center at 1-888-ASK-HRSA or ask@hrsa.gov.
5. HRSA Newsroom
The June edition of “Inside HRSA” highlights the success of HRSA grantees in improving quality of care and the creation of the new Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service. Other articles describe a HRSA publication on prenatal depression that has reached more than a quarter of a million people, a test by senior officials of the agency's emergency capabilities, and the popularity of a Health Information Technology Web site. And readers can catch up on what's happening at HRSA in two regular features - "On the Move" and "News and Events Summary."
Previous editions of “Inside HRSA” and other agency news can be found at the HRSA News Room.
Click here for the link to the HRSA Newsroom.
Across Arizona
1. Arizona Rural Hospital Performance Improvement Summit
The Arizona Rural Hospital Flexibility Program is sponsoring a two-day Rural Hospital Performance Improvement Summit on July 16 and 17, 2007, in Phoenix. In partnership with the Health Services Advisory Group and the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, the first day will focus on manager skill building and strategic capital planning given by representatives from Larson Allen. The second day will focus on the internationally acclaimed use of the Balanced Scorecard framework for maximizing performance and maintaining results. Two national consultants, Paul R. Niven and Gregory Wolf, will talk about their perspective of the philosophy and value of this specific management tool. The day will end by hearing from a panel of Arizona CAH personnel currently using the Balanced Scorecard.
For more information, please contact Joyce Hospodar at 520-626-2432 or at Hospodar@u.arizona.edu
2. Rural Health Products Now Available
The following rural health products are now available in print format from the Medicare Learning Network:
• The Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital Fact Sheet, which provides information about methods to qualify for the Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) adjustment and Medicare DSH payment adjustment formulas;
• The Critical Access Hospital Fact Sheet, which provides general information about Critical Access Hospitals; and
• The Medicare Guide to Rural Health Services Information for Providers, Suppliers, and Physicians which contains rural health information pertaining to rural health facility types, coverage and payment policies, and rural provisions under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 and the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (also now available in CD-Rom format).
Click here to scroll down to “Related Links Inside CMS,” and select “MLN Product Ordering Page” to place your order.
Grants and Opportunities
Note: Technical assistance is available for the development of grant proposals and other funding applications from the professional staff of the Rural Health Office and the State Office of Rural Health Program. Please contact Jennifer Peters.
1. Nearly $153 Million Available for Distance Learning and Telemedicine in Rural Communities
Application Deadline: June 11th, 2007
According to the recent press release:
“Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas C. Dorr announced that USDA is making available $62.9 million in distance learning and telemedicine loans, $75 million in loan and grant combinations, and $15 million in grants. Applications for the $15 million in distance learning and telemedicine grants must be received by June 11, 2007 and will compete nationally for funding. Applications for loans and loan and grant combinations will be accepted year round.”
Click here to read the entire press release.
Contact Your Representatives
a. Arizona Congressional Delegation: Links to Arizona members of the U.S. House of Representatives are available at: U.S. Representatives. Links to Arizona members of the U.S. Senate are available at: U.S. Senate
b. Arizona State Legislators: Available through the Arizona Legislative Information System (ALIS): Call 1-800-352-8404 or follow links at Arizona Legislature.
Important Links
Editor's Note: This online newsletter is a project of the Arizona Critical Access Hospital Program, housed in the Rural Health Office at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, and supported, in part, through a grant from HRSA (Office of Rural Health Policy). The program was created by Congress to improve the financial viability and stability of health care in rural areas, including creation of a new designation for rural hospitals as Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Designated CAHs are eligible for cost-based reimbursement for services provided to Medicare patients. In some states, including Arizona, additional reimbursement is also available for CAH services provided to Medicaid patients.
Your questions (or answers) are always welcome. Please send them as well as address changes to Alison Hughes, Director. Arizona Critical Access Hospital Program.
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