Sometimes the stories of heroism on the frontlines come at us so fast there’s not enough time to share them. This one from Cherry Health in Michigan caught our eye because it demonstrates how the COVID-19 pandemic has radically affected normal routines in health care. Meet Maria Vizcarra, a patient registration specialist at the health …
New Medicaid COVID-Related FAQs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated its Medicaid COVID-19-related FAQs, which were published back in March. Because the latest version of the FAQs is quite lengthy (over 100 pages), we have highlighted some of the new FAQs as well as some older FAQs that may be of interest to Primary Care Associations …
What the Numbers Tell Us About COVID Disparities
COVID-19 has cut a destructive path across along racial lines. African Americans and Latinos are bearing the brunt of this virus with higher rates of infections. Few understand this better than the people who work at Community Health Centers. Health centers care for nearly 30 million people, and many of them are essential workers in …
Medicaid Expansion: Victory in Oklahoma and The Future Ahead
Oklahoma voters have approved expanding Medicaid, narrowly passing a ballot initiative 50.48% to 49.52%, a margin of just 6,488 votes. Although four other states have expanded Medicaid via a ballot initiative, Oklahoma is the first to enshrine the expansion as a state constitutional amendment, making it exceedingly difficult for it to be rolled back; to …
A Health Center Fights Two Pandemics
Even before COVID-19 arrived on America’s doorstep we were battling another health crisis — opioid use disorder. Nearly 90 percent of Community Health Centers offered behavioral health services onsite, including opioid treatment services before the massive pivot to address the pandemic began. And the grim news is that COVID may have worsened the problem of …
COVID-19 Is Not Going Away
The consensus building among health experts is that we’re going to be in pandemic mode for the foreseeable future. On Capitol Hill, top disease expert and White House advisor Anthony Fauci today told lawmakers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that daily new cases could surpass 100,000 new infections per day if …
Workforce Wellness and Building Community
By Grace Wang, MD, MPH My calendar tells me that its day 100 of a journey on a road that doesn’t appear on any map. Sometimes I think I see a familiar landmark but upon closer scrutiny, I find that the familiar has changed to something that is unrecognizable. The first 100 days is often used …
We Get By With A Little Help From Our Friends
Community Health Centers are a proven model of resilience in public health crises. They have battled H1N1, HIV-AIDS and even man-made disasters like the opioid addiction crisis. COVID-19 has been a challenge like no other. Early on in the global pandemic health centers were fighting the spread of the deadly virus with a dwindling arsenal …
State Directed Payment Arrangements to Support Behavioral Health Services during COVID-19
Written in collaboration with Subject-Matter Experts Roger Schwartz, Esq. and Mary Cieslicki, MHS Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are the largest primary care network in the country, providing medical, dental, behavioral, and enabling services to over 29 million patients, including 1 in 5 Medicaid beneficiaries. Medicaid is the largest payer for mental health services in …
Looking Back to Move Forward: Understanding the Underlying Authorities to Help FQHCs Survive the COVID-19 Crisis
Guest Post by Susannah Vance Gopalan, Esq., Partner at Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP in Washington, DC with editorial contributions from Bethany Hamilton, Esq. of NACHC State Affairs Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) have experienced rapid declines in patient encounters and revenues since the onset of the pandemic, being forced to lay off employees or …