$100 Million to Navigators Who Will Help Millions of Americans, Especially in Underserved Communities, Sign Up for Health Coverage

August 26, 2024: The Administration’s investment in health care coverage and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues with a new round of $100 million to organizations vital to helping underserved communities, consumers, and small businesses find and enroll in quality, affordable health coverage through HealthCare.gov, the Health Insurance Marketplace®. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is awarding the grants, in advance of this year’s Marketplace Open Enrollment (which begins November 1, 2024) to 44 Navigator grantees in states using HealthCare.gov. The grants are part of a commitment of up to $500 million over five years — the longest grant period and financial commitment to date, and a critical boost for recruiting trusted local organizations to better connect with those who often face barriers to obtaining health care coverage.

A list of 2024 Navigator grant recipients can be found here: 2024 Navigator Grant Recipients. (PDF)

Source: CMS

HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy – Model Attestation Published

On April 22, 2024, OCR issued a Final Rule, entitled HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy. The Final Rule strengthens the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule by prohibiting the disclosure of protected health information related to lawful reproductive health care in certain circumstances.  Recently, HHS published a model attestation that covered entities and business associates may, but are not required to, use. The model attestation is intended to meet the requirements to be a valid attestation under the Reproductive Health Care Rule.  To read the guidance published for the  HIPAA Privacy Rule and Disclosures of Information Relating to Reproductive Health Care, please visit the HHS website here.

Source: HHS OCR

New Data Show Highest Number of Health Center Patients in Nearly 60 Year History of the Program

In August, to mark National Health Center Week, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released new data showing over 31 million total patients served at HRSA-funded health centers in 2023—an increase of 2.7 million since 2020.

Health centers continue to be leaders in quality of care, increasing access and improving clinical quality across the board. Quality improvements since 2020 include:

• Administering more than 4 million HIV tests;
• Treating 585,000 prenatal care patients; and
• Improving clinical quality measures for chronic conditions, including hypertension control (+8%) and depression screening (+7%). 

For more details on these and other Health Center Program outcomes see Four Years of Health Center Outcomes.

Health Center Program history:

HRSA has an overview of the Health Center Program’s history and development. It is based on research and interviews with leadership and staff from HRSA, external partners, and health center leaders. Learn about the history and critical events that shaped the program and the people who made it happen.  Read the book.

Source: HRSA

Reminder: Health Center COVID-19 Survey Ending

Last month, it was announced in a HRSA bulletin that the Health Center COVID-19 Survey will conclude after the month of August. The final survey request will go out Friday, September 6, to collect August data.

Reminders:

• Moving forward, you no longer need to track data for the survey.
• If you use Bridge funding, you are required to complete this final survey. 
• No other reporting (e.g., annual Uniform Data System reporting) will change because of the survey conclusion.

Source: HRSA

National Suicide Prevention Month

September is an opportunity to focus on suicide prevention. Sunday, September 8, is the first-ever 988 Day. This year’s theme, “No Judgment. Just Help,” emphasizes the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s commitment to providing compassionate support. HRSA partnered with SAMHSA on the 988 Day Digital Toolkit. Visit SAMHSA’s site for the toolkit and suggestions on how to use it.

SAMHSA’s 2024 Suicide Prevention Month Toolkit offers assets like social media posts and shareable graphics to raise awareness about the information, services, and resources they offer. Access it on SAMHSA’s website.

Visit BPHC’s Behavioral Health TA portal for behavioral health integration resources, including some on suicide prevention.

Source: HRSA

Over $558 Million Awarded to Improve Maternal Health

August 27, 2024:  The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of HHS, is awarding more than $440 million in funding to expand voluntary, evidence-based maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting services for eligible families across the country. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a new investment of $118.5 million, over five years, to 46 states, six territories, and freely associated states to continue building the public health infrastructure to better identify and prevent pregnancy-related deaths.

The home visiting program funds states, jurisdictions, and tribal entities to develop and implement evidence-based, voluntary programs that best meet the needs of their communities. Families choose to participate in home visiting programs from pregnancy up to kindergarten and partner with health, social services, and child development professionals who provide resources, support, and skills to help families and children be physically, socially, and emotionally healthy.  The CDC’s new $118.5 million five-year investment will continue building the public health infrastructure to better identify and prevent pregnancy-related deaths. This new investment expands support to Maternal Mortality Review Committees (MMRCs) from 46 to 52 states and U.S. territories and freely associated states.

Source: HHS

Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) Badges

Congratulations to health centers that earned Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) badges this year! View the CHQR Dashboard to see if your health center received a 2024 CHQR badge based on data from the 2023 Uniform Data System (UDS) reporting period. Also view CHQR badge recipient information on the Health Center Program UDS Data webpages.

CHQR badges recognize health centers that have made notable achievements in the areas of access, quality, health equity, and health information technology for the most recent UDS reporting period.

Source: HRSA