A database of available funding for Tribal governments, organizations, and individuals from across the federal government.

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Beginning January 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will allow billing for two new provider types: Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT) and Mental Health Counselors (MHC).  To qualify, MFTs and MHCs must be licensed or certified by the state where they provide services, have performed at least two years of clinical supervised experience, and meet other requirements of the federal government. The coverage of MFT and MHC practitioners can help address behavioral health work shortages in rural areas; recent research found that nearly one-fifth (18.4 percent) of rural counties are without a counselor compared to other behavior health provider types.  Learn more from CMS about how to become a Medicare provider.

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This week, national experts in disease prevention issued draft recommendations for clinical treatment of children with a high body mass index (BMI).  The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force identifies children and teens who are Hispanic/Latino, Native American/Alaska Native, Non-Hispanic Black, and from lower income families as those with the highest rates of obesity, determined by a BMI at or above the 95^thpercentile for age and gender.  October 2023 research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that rural children and adolescents had higher odds of being overweight or obese than their urban counterparts.  The recommendation includes behavioral counseling interventions (pdf) from health professionals.

Comment by January 16.

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In January 2023, we first informed you of state-level changes to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) brought by the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). These programs play a critical role in rural areas, where people are more likely to be uninsured and face challenges accessing health care. In brief, states received extra federal funding to allow beneficiaries to keep their coverage – known as continuous enrollment – for as long as the PHE declaration remained in place.  As of August 2023, more than 13 million people had their enrollment in Medicaid/CHIP coverage renewed, but more than 7 million were disenrolled.  In this interim final rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) detail new reporting requirements for states as they “unwind” continuous enrollment – that is, return to reviewing the eligibility status of individuals and families.  The new requirements specify that reports for certain metrics, such as the number of individuals disenrolled and information about transitions to coverage through state Health Insurance Marketplaces, be completed and submitted in a timely manner.  New enforcement actions include suspended disenrollments, civil money penalties, and a reduction in federal funding known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage.

Comment by February 2.

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The Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) is using the results of the recent Community Health Center Staff Wellness Survey to build a suite of resources and services to help increase staff wellness at CHCs. You will be hearing more in this newsletter as resources become available. But you can stay up to date with new developments and resources by subscribing to a mailing list to receive the latest news. By subscribing, you’ll benefit from immediate access to new resources and tools, timely notifications about upcoming events and webinars, and tailored information to address workforce well-being challenges.