Rural Health Information Hub Latest News

GAO Report on Federal Response to the Pandemic

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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) researches Federal government operations and reports fact-based, non-partisan information.  Over the last year, the GAO made 44 specific recommendations for an effective federal response to COVID-19 and provides and update on progress in this report.  Information specific to rural areas, such as distributions from the Provider Relief Fund and special funding for telehealth, is detailed throughout.

FCC Announces COVID-19 Telehealth Program Second Round of Funding

Posted on by hjr5089

The FCC has announced a second round of funding under the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. An additional $250 million was made available under the recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. This amount is larger than the original appropriation amount associated with the authorization of the Program in the 2019 CARES Act.

See a discussion of the new funding round here.

Note that in the Appropriations Act Congress required the FCC to target COVID-19 impact areas in a more systematic manner. The FCC has responded in two ways. It has established a set of funding priorities. See Pages 18 et seq of this document and see this document: FCC Telehealth Evaluation Metrics

Note the emphasis on health safety net facilities including CAHs. Additional emphasis on COVID-19 Hotspots and Sustained Hotspots. These are defined on this slide: CDC Hotspot Definition

The FCC will also be holding all applications for a single review rather than assessing applications as they are received. This should provide an equitable review for applicants with fewer resources unable to rapidly prepare a submission. The application window will be announced by the end of April 2021 with a likely deadline date in June 2021.

Children Need to Catch Up on Recommended Vaccines for School

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The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases recently issued a letter, Help Kids’ Safe Return to School – Get Caught Up on Recommended Vaccines. It asks for help getting children caught up on routine vaccines missed over the last year due to COVID-19. It categorizes specific catch-up efforts that can be undertaken by healthcare systems and healthcare providers, healthcare provider organizations, schools, and state and local government agencies. Other resources of interest on the topic include:

The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) has also revised its one-page reference table Administering Vaccines: Dose, Route, Site, and Needle Size by adding the COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).

New Report on FQHCs and Vaccine Equity

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A new report by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) responds to the question of whether health centers are facilitating equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations based on data from the HRSA Weekly Health Center COVID-19 Survey. The report finds that:

  • Just over half (54%) of people who received their first dose of the vaccine from FQHCs were people of color, including 26% who were Hispanic and 12% who were Black.
  • Health centers appear to be vaccinating people of color at similar or higher rates than their shares of the total population, but data suggest there remain opportunities for health centers to reach more of their patients of color.

It’s important to note that the report analyzes data from Jan. 8 through Feb. 6, largely before the start of the HRSA FQHC Vaccine Program that has made vaccine supply more available and predictable for participating health centers. The program has opened opportunities for better planning, outreach and partnership to better reach underserved populations. Read more.

How Does Reimbursement for the COVID-19 Vaccine Work?

Posted on by hjr5089

COVID-19 vaccine is provided at 100% no cost to the vaccine recipient. COVID-19 vaccination providers cannot charge vaccine recipients for the vaccine (which is provided free by the U.S. government to enrolled providers) or charge recipients any administration fees, copays, or co-insurance. COVID-19 vaccination providers cannot deny vaccination to anyone who does not have health coverage, is underinsured, or is out of network. If a vaccine recipient has health coverage, providers may seek appropriate reimbursement from the recipient’s plan or program (e.g., private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid) for a vaccine administration fee. However, providers cannot balance bill the recipient. Providers may also seek reimbursement for uninsured vaccine recipients from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s COVID-19 Uninsured Program. COVID-19 vaccination providers cannot charge an office visit or other fee to the recipient if the only service provided is a COVID-19 vaccination. Additional healthcare services can be provided at the same time and billed as appropriate. However, providers cannot require additional services in order for a person to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Medicare To Make Lump Sum Payments for COVID-19 Vaccine Administration

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Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) may request lump sum payments for administering COVID-19 vaccines in advance of cost report settlement. CMS will pay you for COVID-19 vaccines and administration at 100% reasonable cost like influenza and pneumonia vaccines. FQHCs will have the option to receive a lump sum adjustment based on the flu and pneumococcal vaccine costs from the most recent cost report or provide 60-90 days of actual COVID-19 vaccine and administration cost data. Contact your Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for more information. Novitas is the MAC for Pennsylvania and their contact email address to request lump sum payments is NovitasReimbursement@novitas-solutions.com. Some Pennsylvania health centers still have National Government Service (NGS) as their MAC for some site locations. For more information from NGS on the lump sum process, visit their website.