Resource Guide for Fluoride Varnish & Silver Diamine Fluoride

The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center recently published the Fluoride Varnish and Silver Diamine Fluoride Resource Guide that was funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The guide is to help professionals and consumers learn more about these products to promote oral health and prevent oral disease by providing professional education and training, materials on data and surveillance and public education.

Nurses Get It Done!

Nurses are critical members of the immunization team and have a powerful role to play in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. The National HPV Vaccination Roundtable created the HPV Prevention: Nurses Get it Done! toolkit as an educational resource for nurses at all practice levels to empower confident initiation and completion of the HPV vaccination series. With this toolkit, nurses have easy access to educational materials including:

  • HPV 101 for immunizers
  • Answers to commonly asked questions about HPV vaccination
  • Tips and tools to help manage shot discomfort
  • Knowledge checks and practice prompts to help learners feel confident in what they learned

Nurse Practitioners Stepping Up to Fill Primary Care Need

Modern Healthcare reports that the number of nurse practitioners in the U.S. grew at an unprecedented rate, from around 91,000 in 2010 to 190,000 in 2017. Nurse practitioners are filling a primary care void, particularly in rural areas, offering a more convenient option for families in remote locations as fewer medical school graduates pursue family physician roles over other higher-paying specialties.

PA Moves to Expand Coverage of Treatments for Advanced Cancers

Patients in Pennsylvania facing the most serious stage of cancer will no longer be forced to try cheaper drugs before their insurance covers other, more expensive treatments. The state House on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that would abolish the heavily criticized “fail first” approach for stage IV cancer, which requires patients to show no improvement with cheaper, insurance-approved drugs before moving on to more innovative approaches.  Read more.

HRSA Publishes Health Center Telehealth Guidance

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has published a Program Assistance Letter (PAL) recognizing the potential for telehealth to expand and improve access to health center patients. The PAL clarifies how health centers can utilize telehealth within their scope of project, how such services should be documented and when services may be considered an “Other Line of Business.” There are a number of issues that health centers need to consider when providing services via telehealth including provider licensure, informed consent, fraud and abuse laws, billing and payments and liability concerns. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services payment policy currently limits FQHC/RHC telehealth to telepsychiatry.

Immigration “Know Your Rights” Training Available through Pennsylvania Non-Profit

Cultural competency and “Know Your Rights” training are some of the services available through Compass Immigration Legal Services (CILS), a 501c3 agency founded recently in southcentral Pennsylvania. CILS primarily provides family-based and humanitarian immigration services to those most in need. However, CILS also offers services to organizations such as healthcare facilities that serve immigrants of all cultures. Fees for all clients are based on an income-dependent sliding fee scale. For more information, see the company fact sheet or call John Leedock at 1-866-ASK-CILS.

Tax Credit Reconciliation for Marketplace Consumers

Taxpayers must file a tax return if anyone on the tax return received Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTC) on a 2019 Marketplace plan. These individuals must also reconcile the amount of advance payments received against the eligible final credit amount. The taxpayer needs an IRS Form 1095-A and Form 8962 to reconcile. Form 1095-A is issued by the Health Insurance Marketplace and was to be mailed by Jan. 31. Form 8962 is used to determine the final premium tax credit and any overpayment or underpayment of APTCs. If these forms are not reconciled, the taxpayer may be subject to repayment of the full tax credit or discontinuation of current APTCs used to purchase their 2020 coverage on the Marketplace.

Free Tax Help Is Available

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax help to people who generally make $56,000 or less, persons with disabilities, and limited English-speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. IRS-certified volunteers provide free basic income tax return preparation with electronic filing for qualified individuals.  Click here to find a location.

Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period Ends March 31

The Annual Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment period is Jan. 1 through March 31.  Consumers who are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan on Jan. 1 can switch to another Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage) or disenroll from their Medicare Advantage plan and return to original Medicare.  Anyone wanting to return to original Medicare will be able to join a stand-alone prescription drug plan for Part D coverage.  Only one change may be made during this period.  Any change made during this period will become effective the first day of the next month.  If consumers have specific questions, they can contact their local APPRISE location or call 1-800-783-7067 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday.