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Bureau of Primary Health Care All Grantee Meeting - Koppit
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Bureau of Primary Health Care All Grantee Meeting
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) All-Grantee Meeting was held on June 23-25, 2008 in Washington, DC. This meeting is a very important national meeting of Community Health Centers, held typically every two years. During the meeting, federal officials from the Bureau of Primary Health Care provide updates on key topics for Community Health Centers, such as funding opportunities, regulatory changes and any anticipated federal budget issues.
During this year’s meeting the focus was primarily on two topic areas - Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) malpractice insurance coverage and the proposed change to the rules for designation of Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs), Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs) and Medically Underserved Populations (MUPs).
Federal Tort Claims Act
The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) recently notified Community Health Centers nationwide of an instance in which FTCA coverage was denied to a health center provider who treated a non-health center patient as part of the provider’s usual and customary medical practice activities. Because of this occurrence, NACHC has advised health centers to ensure that all provider employment agreements and contracts clearly address expectations and limitations concerning the provision of care to non-health center patients and contain all terms necessary to meet HRSA requirements for FTCA coverage liability. The LCHD/CHC Primary Care Services administrative staff are meeting with Lake County Risk Management staff, and representatives from the State’s Attorney office to review provider employment agreement expectations, and to coordinate FTCA with the gap insurance policy provide through Lake County Risk Management.
Proposed HPSA, MUA, MUP Designation Process
The Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) issued a Public Information Notice (PIN) for comment on proposed rules to revise and consolidate the criteria and the processes for designating MUAs, MUPs, and HPSAs. These designations are used to determine eligibility for funding and allocating resources through a wide variety of federal programs, including Community Health Centers. The National Association of Health Centers (NACHC) responded to the PIN in writing, expressing strong concern that the proposed rule changes could have an adverse affect on many Community Health Centers. Some MUAs, MUPs, and HPSAs could lose their designations, ultimately making them ineligible for future federal funding. To date, there has been no change to the rules, and NACHC continues to monitor the situation closely.
The LCHD/CHC Primary Care Services will provide updates to these issues as they develop.
Suggested Motion
None, Information Only.