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| Save the Date: National Health Center Week Planning Webinar May 22 One of the best ways to ensure a successful National Health Center Week (NHCW) event is to start planning early. To help kick off the planning efforts at your Health Center, NACHC is hosting a webinar on May 22 at 2 pm ET to discuss the nuts and bolts of planning and hosting successful events, recruiting local sponsors, and inviting federal, state, and local officials to join your celebration. Mark your calendar to attend the May 22nd webinar (watch for more information coming soon), and start planning for how your Health Center will take part in “Celebrating America’s Health Centers: Local Engines for Healthier Communities” August 10-16.
Continue Collecting “Access is the Answer” Support Letters for Your Health Center The May 31st deadline for collecting 5 "Access is the Answer" letters of support from local elected officials and 10 "Access is the Answer" letters of support from community partners is right around the corner. Once you’ve collected letters in support of your Health Center, please report your results to NACHC, and then schedule a meeting with your Members of Congress during a Congressional Recess Week—either at your Health Center or at their district office—to present to them hardcopy "Access is the Answer" petition signatures and support letters collected by your Health Center. A new Campaign for America's Health Centers blog post explains the why collecting letters from local officials and community supporters is so important.
MPCA Requests Input from Health Center CEOs, Facility Project Managers Many Michigan Health Centers have had excellent experience working with architectural firms, developers, and builders during the completion of facility projects. Health Center CEOs or facility project managers, please consider sharing the contact information of firms, developers, and/or builders with MPCA for posting on the Capital Development section of MPCA’s website so other Michigan Health Centers can benefit from your experience. Email information to info@mpca.net with “Facility Project Experience” in the Subject line.
Reminder: Please Respond to Fund Development Network Survey by May 16 MPCA distributed a survey through Survey Monkey to the CEO/Executive Director at each Michigan FQHC and FQHC 'Look-Alike' on May 2, 2014, to learn about Michigan Health Centers' technical assistance needs related to fund development. Each Michigan Health Center executive (or appropriate staff member) is asked to complete the 10-minute survey by May 16. If you are interested in joining the Fund Development Network or have any questions, please contact Neal Colburn at ncolburn@mpca.net.
Don’t Miss Out on Educational & Networking Opportunities Offered by MPCABe sure to check out the list of upcoming MPCA events below and on the MPCA website—online registration is open for several upcoming webinars and in-person events. Please note that you must be logged in to MPCA’s online community when registering for events to receive the discounted member rate. If you are subscribed to the MPCA eUpdate, you have a profile in MPCA's online community. If you have forgotten your password, please use the "forgot password" link under the sign-in box to reset your password. If the MPCA eUpdate was forwarded to you and you would like to create your own profile, please create a new account profile. If you need further assistance, please contact info@mpca.net.
More News from MPCA Introduction to the Network Formation Exploratory & Strategic Mapping Process (webinar) May 13, 2014, 12-12:45 pm ET
Membership & Governance Board Committee Conference Call May 15, 2014
Health Center Board Member Training May 16-17, 2014 The H Hotel, Midland, MI
Building Your Online Presence: Effectively Using Your Health Center's Website & Social Media to Educate, Influence, Engage (webinar) May 19, 2014, 2-3 pm ET
Health Policy Committee Conference Call May 19, 2014
2014 Network Formation Kickoff Event May 20, 2014, 12-4 pm ET Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, East Lansing, MI
Triple Play: Addressing Multiple Initiatives, Data & Sustainability May 21, 2014 Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center, East Lansing, MI
Dental Meaningful Use: It's Not Too Late (webinar) May 23, 2014, 12-1:30 pm ET
Regional Outreach & Enrollment Training & Networking Meetings May 30, 2014, Detroit, MI June 3, 2014, Kalamazoo, MI June 6, 2014, Houghton Lake, MI
Administrative & Executive Assistant Training June 3, 2014, 8 am-3 pm ET Great Wolf Lodge, Traverse City, MI
Save the Date: Recruitment & Retention Conference June 12, 2014, 8 am-4 pm ET The Henry Center at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Save the Date: Maximizing the Value of an Electronic Health Record June 13, 2014 Crowne Plaza Hotel, Lansing, MI Registration opening soon
Save the Date: 2014 MPCA Annual Conference "Strength in Numbers"August 3-5, 2014Crystal Mountain Resort & Spa, Thompsonville, MI
More MPCA Events
More Health Center News
Do you have news to share about your Michigan Health Center? Email events and happenings to dlawrence@mpca.net.
- Family Nurse Practitioner, Genesee Community Health Center, Flint, MI
- Dentist, Hamilton Community Health Network, Flint, MI
- Senior Accountant, Family Health Center, Inc. Kalamazoo, MI
- LPN Phone Specialist, Hackley Community Care Center, Muskegon, MI
- Dentist, Hackley Community Care Center, Muskegon, MI
- Physician-Internal Medicine, Hackley Community Care Center, Muskegon, MI
- Family Practitioner, Hackley Community Care Center, Muskegon, MI
- WIC Competent Professional Authority-Nutritionist, CHASS, Detroit, MI
- Physician Assistant, CHASS, Detroit, MI
- Nurse Practitioner, CHASS, Detroit, MI
- Medical Records Supervisor, CHASS, Detroit, MI
- Migrant Program Assistant/Director, Health Delivery, Inc., Saginaw, MI
- Nurse Practitioner-Seasonal, Health Delivery, Inc., Saginaw, MI
- Pharmacist (Part-time), Health Delivery, Inc., Saginaw
- Pharmacist (Full-time), Health Delivery, Inc., Saginaw
- Licensed Practical Nurse, Mercy Health-Saint Mary's Community Health Centers, Grand Rapids, MI
- Medical Assistant, Mercy Health-Saint Mary's Community Health Centers, Grand Rapids, MI
- Registered Nurse, Mercy Health-Saint Mary's Community Health Centers, Grand Rapids, MI
More Career Opportunities
MPCA posts job openings at Michigan Health Center Program grantees, Michigan FQHC Look-Alikes, and MPCA active member organizations. To submit a job opening for posting in the online MPCA Career Center and in the MPCA eUpdate, email the job title, a brief overview, a bulleted list of qualifications, and instructions on how to apply to info@mpca.net with Job Posting in the subject field.
Over 250,000 Michiganders Enrolled in Marketplace Plans: Michigan Health Centers Play Critical role in Connecting Michiganders with Coverage On May 1, 2014, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that after the close of the first Health Insurance Marketplace enrollment period (October 1, 2013, through March 31, 2014, in addition to special enrollment period activity through April 19, 2014), over 8 million Americans have enrolled in Marketplace plans nationwide. In Michigan, the total number of enrollees is 272,539. Outreach and enrollment staff at Michigan Health Centers played a significant role in connecting individuals and families to coverage during this historic six-month period, assisting 78,999 state residents with health insurance coverage. Read more
Healthy Michigan Plan Enrollment Update As of May 5, 2014, nearly 207,000 Michiganders have enrolled in the Healthy Michigan Plan. Enrollment statistics are updated every Monday at 3 pm and posted on the MDCH website. MPCA has analyzed enrollment by county thus far (number of residents enrolled, estimated number of uninsured residents eligible for Healthy Michigan Plan coverage, estimated percentage of those eligible who have enrolled).
MDCH Accepting Comments on Healthy Michigan Plan Waiver ProtocolsMDCH plans to submit two protocols to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services related to the approved Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver known as the Healthy Michigan Plan. These protocols address the unique cost-sharing mechanism of the Healthy Michigan Plan and the manner in which beneficiaries may earn incentives for maintaining or addressing healthy behaviors. MDCH is accepting public comment regarding these operational protocols. Copies of the protocols are available on the MDCH website. If you would like to have your comments included in MPCA's response, please email Phillip Bergquist by May 22, 2014.
Michigan Senate Passes Legislation for Fixing HICA ShortfallAfter clearing the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Michigan Senate approved a package of bills on Thursday that would reinstate the use tax on Medicaid HMOs at 6% and generate approximately $540 million of General Fund (GF) revenue. Since the Michigan constitution requires that 2% of the 6% be dedicated to the School Aid Fund, the revenue available for GF from the tax is closer to $358 million. Because the tax will increase costs for Medicaid managed care providers by $260 million, and these costs are business costs that have to be built into the “actuarially sound rates” for the HMOs, the available GF revenue is further reduced to about $236 million for FY 2015. Senate Bill 913 also proposes reducing the Health Insurance Claims Assessment (HICA) from the current 1% to .75%, thus reducing the revenue from HICA by about $77 million. It appears SB 893 and 913 will generate roughly $159 million of net GF revenue to fix the $110 million hole that is currently in the proposed DCH budget, and they will provide an ongoing fix to the HICA shortfall problem. The bills now head to the House for consideration, where more opposition is expected.
Michigan Care Improvement Registry’s High-Risk Flag and InfluenzaIn 2005, the high-risk flag was added to the Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR) to identify children with medical conditions that make them a high priority for influenza vaccination, and to remind providers that influenza vaccine should be administered. Initially, the high-risk flag was used to identify Medicaid children with high-risk medical conditions. However, providers can also flag children who are not covered by Medicaid. For more information, see page 3 of the May issue of the Michigan Immunization Timely Tips newsletter.
Dates, Locations of Michigan's 2014 Annual Immunization Conferences AnnouncedThe dates and locations of the MDCH Fall Conferences are October 7 (Marquette); October 9 (Gaylord); October 21 (Flint); October 23 (Dearborn); October 24 (Troy); November 18 (Grand Rapids); November 19 (Kalamazoo); and November 21 (East Lansing). For more information, see page 3 of the May issue of the Michigan Immunization Timely Tips newsletter.
Ascension Health, CHE Trinity Form Integrated Network in Michigan Ascension Health and CHE Trinity—two of the largest U.S. health systems—have formed a joint company for managed care contracting in Michigan. The new integrated network, Together Health Network LLC, will unite 27 hospitals, more than 12 physician organizations, and 5,000 physicians in Michigan. Read more CDC Confirms First Case of MERS-CoV in U.S. On May 2, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first travel-related U.S. case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Indiana. Previously, all cases were linked to six countries in or near the Arabian Peninsula. While no cases have been confirmed in Michigan, health care providers are encouraged to increase their index of suspicion to consider MERS-CoV infection in travelers from the Arabian Peninsula and neighboring countries. MDCH has put together “quick facts”, and you can learn more on the CDC’s website.
New ICD-10 Start Date October 1, 2015 When the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 was enacted last month, it postponed the ICD-10 transition deadline, originally October 1, 2014. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has since released a statement that, “…the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services expects to release an interim final rule in the near future that will include a new compliance date that would require the use of ICD-10 beginning October 1, 2015. The rule will also require HIPAA covered entities to continue to use ICD-9-CM through September 30, 2015.” Learn more about the conversion to ICD-10 and MPCA’s ICD-10 Learning Community for Michigan Health Centers, and to access ICD-10 resources housed on MPCA’s website. CMS Issues Rule to Reform Medicare Regulatory Requirements to Save Money, Improve Patient Care, Increase Efficiency The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a rule on May 7, 2014, to implement reforms to Medicare regulations identified as unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome on hospitals and other health care providers including Federally Qualified Health Centers. “A key provision reduces the burden on very small critical access hospitals, as well as rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers, by eliminating the requirement that a physician be held to a prescriptive schedule for being onsite. This provision seeks to address the geographic barriers and remoteness of many rural facilities, and recognizes telemedicine improvements and expansions that allow physicians to provide many types of care at lower costs, while maintaining high-quality care.” Read more Uninsured Rate Drops to Lowest Since 2008According to a Gallup poll released on May 5, 2014, the number of adults in the United States without health insurance dropped from 15% in March to 13.4% in April. This is the lowest uninsured rate recorded by Gallup since January 2008. Read more
More State & National News
National Provider Call: Review of the New Medicare PPS for FQHCs Wednesday, May 21, 12:30-2 pm ET Host: MLN Connects™ Advanced Healthy Michigan Plan Training Seminar May 21, 2014, 1-4 pm ET Cobo Hall, Detroit, MI Host: City of Detroit, Michigan Consumers for Healthcare, and supporting partners FTCA Deeming Application Webcast May 22, 2014, 2-3:15 pm ET Host: Bureau of Primary Health Care
More Upcoming State & National Events hosted by organizations outside of MPCA that may be of interest and benefit for individuals affiliated with Michigan Health Centers.
Upcoming Health Observances
More Resources in MPCA's Education & Resource Center
NHSC Scholarship Program Funder: National Health Service Corps Due: May 15, 2014 (7:30 pm ET)
2014 NURSE Corps Scholarship Program Funder: NURSE Corps Due: May 22, 2014 (7:30 pm ET) (Application conference call May 17, 1-3 pm ET)
HIV/AIDS Initiative for Minority Men (AIMM) Funder: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, HHS Due: June 9, 2014
More Funding Opportunities
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