Your Weekly Source for Health Center Policy Updates

Call to Action - Health Center Appropriations Letters

The Health Center Funding Dear Colleague bi-partisan letter by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Gene Green (D-TX) and the bi-partisan Senate letter led by Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) are now circulating. By signing on to the letters, Members of Congress publicly show their support for Health Centers. The signatures we receive will influence how successful we are in securing funding for FY2017.  Click here to contact your Member & view copies of both the Bilirakis-Green House Health Center Appropriations Letter and the Wicker-Stabenow Senate Health Center Appropriations Letter. The deadline to sign on to the House letter is March 19 and the deadline to co-sign the Senate letter is March 15. To check the most up to date list of co-signers and access supporting resources, please check the Federal Affairs page of the NACHC website here: http://www.nachc.com/federal-policy.cfm.

Advocacy Platform Launch- Slides & Recording Available 

On Wednesday, February 17th, the Advocacy Team held a national webinar to launch the new advocacy platform. If you missed the webinar, you can access the slides & recording here. 

First of the Two-Part Webinar Series “Engaging Consumers into Advocacy: Lessons from Health Care for the Homeless Programs" Tomorrow, 3 PM ET

Tomorrow,  February 24,  join NACHC and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC) at 3 PM ET to hear about the strategies HCH programs use to engage consumers and encourage their participation in advocacy during the first part of a two part webinar series. The second webinar will occur on Wednesday April 6 at 3PM ET. Throughout the country Health Care for the Homeless programs are practicing innovative models to engage the homeless communities they serve into advocacy. From providing opportunities for consumers to learn from one another and initiate advocacy efforts, to involving them in legislative advocacy through testifying at local hearings and meeting directly with legislators, many HCHs have developed useful models and lessons learned for community and consumer engagement. Register here. 

Zika Virus TeleForum with the CDC, Tomorrow, February 24th, 12 Noon EST 

As many of you are aware, public health authorities and some individual health centers are fielding numerous queries from the public and media about the Zika virus and the threat it poses in the U.S.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no local mosquito-borne Zika virus disease cases have been reported in the U.S., but there have been travel-associated cases.  It is expected that the number of Zika cases among travelers visiting or returning to the U.S. will likely increase.  To help health centers prepare and get the most up-to-date information possible, NACHC will host a TeleForum on Wednesday, Feb. 24th from 12N-1P EST. Representatives from CDC and health centers will share plans and resources.  Dial in: 1-877-229-8493; Use code 15035 to connect.

Have You Re-certified Yet? 

The annual required re-certification period for FQHCs and lookalikes is now open through March 9, 2016. We heard from the Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) that only 35 percent of FQHCs and 35 percent of lookalikes have completed the process. Please take a minute to complete the process as soon as possible, in order to ensure there are no delays in your 340B eligibility. The health center’s Authorizing Official should have received specific information directly from the Office of Pharmacy Affairs with details on how to complete the re-certification. For more information, see the OPA page on re-certification and a recent webinar.

Did you miss the NACHC webinar series on 340B?

No fear! They are all now available on the MyNACHC Learning Center. 

Potential Credits Available for Certain Amgen Drugs

CCIIO Releases the Final Essential Community Providers List

Thank you to everyone who took the time to review and complete the Essential Community Providers Petition earlier this year.  CCIIO has recently released the final list.  Please take a minute to confirm that your information is listed correctly.  If not, you can take two actions now: 

• Visit https://data.healthcare.gov/cciio/ecp_petition and complete the petition (no later than August 22, 2016).  This will a) place you on the ECP list for plan year 2018 and b) qualify you to be “written in” by an issuer for plan year 2017 and thus counted towards meeting their ECP requirement for plan year 2017. 

• Contact issuers with whom you are interested in and begin negotiating with them to be included as an ECP in their provider networks for their Marketplace Plans.

Meet Tyler Clark and Layza Lopez-Love, February 2016 Outstanding Advocates

NACHC’s Advocacy team is excited to announce our Outstanding Advocates for February 2016, Tyler Clark and Layza Lopez-Love from Community Clinic in Springdale, AR. Tyler and Layza have worked hard to engage staff and patients in creative ways, and Community Clinic is part of NACHC’s Hispanic Advocacy Program. Read more about Tyler and Layza’s efforts on the CFAHC blog.

2016 Health Center Calendars Now On Sale

If your new year’s resolution was to get organized, don’t forget to add a 2016 Health Center Calendar to your list. Featuring the winners of the 2015 National Health Center Week picture contest, the calendars are now on sale through the Health Center Week online store. Get yours today!

2016 NACHC Summer & Fall Internship Program: We're looking for interns!

NACHC is currently accepting applications for the 2016 Summer & Fall Internship Programs at its policy office located in downtown Washington, DC. There are 6 openings for each term! If you know a college student who is interested in gaining experience in the world of health policy and/or community health centers, please send them our way! Apply for the summer internship here or the fall internship here. The application deadline for the summer program is April 30, 2016. Questions? Please contact Intern Coordinator, Luke Ertle, at lertle@nachc.org.

A Few Weeks Away: Register for the 2016 Policy & Issues Forum

Registration for the 2016 Policy & Issues Forum is OPEN! Join us March 16-20, 2016 in Washington, D.C. to get the most up to date information and tools to stay ahead, competitive and ready for another year of health center advocacy. When posting on social media about the P&I, please use the hashtag #nachcpi16. To register, click here.

Media Spotlight

NACHC will host a TeleForum on the Zika Virus Wednesday, Feb. 24th from 12-1 PM EST. Representatives from CDC and health centers will share plans and resources. Learn more on the NACHC Blog. 

HHS awards $500,000 in funding to Health Centers in Flint, MI. Read more here. 

Great story about a new and innovative Yakima Neighborhood Health Services program! 

Tweet of the Week

Project ECHO @ProjectECHO Congrats to @CFAHC on launch of new advocacy platform & thanks for thought-provoking webinar, insightful takeaways! saveourchcs.org

What We’re Reading

Our weekly feature where we share the stories, studies and reports that are making the rounds in Washington health policy circles. Have a suggestion? Email us at federalaffairs@nachc.org. 

• Governors Devise Bipartisan Effort to Reduce Opioid Abuse by Robert Pear from The New York Times
• U.S. Proposes Hike in Medicare Advantage Payments; Insurer Shares Rise by Caroline Humer from Reuters
• House Rejects Obama’s Request for $1.8 Billion to Fight Zika by Sarah Ferris from The Hill
• Medicaid Managed Care Overhaul Rule Goes to OMB for Review by Emily Mongan from McKnights
• When Fear Becomes An Unintended Public Health Problem by Doug Levy from NPR