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July 11, 2012
Supreme Court Decision Communication Toolkit Available Online
NFPRHA’s communication toolkit on the Supreme Court’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) decision is now available to members on NFPRHA’s website. The toolkit provides a variety of resources to help you navigate the decision and its impact on publicly funded family planning providers. It includes talking points you can use with local reporters, radio stations, or community members; a sample letter to the editor that you can send to your local newspaper on protecting the ACA; and links to additional resources on what the Supreme Court’s decision means for family planning moving forward. You can also take action by sending a letter to members of Congress asking them to protect the Affordable Care Act.
Toolkit materials are available to NFPRHA members in the Member Resources section of the website. You must be logged in to access them. To create an account, click the link on the top right-hand corner of the homepage.
NFPRHA’s Annual Membership Survey Re-opened Until July 27
NFPRHA’s Annual Membership Survey has been re-opened until July 27 to make sure every member has a chance to complete it. If you have not yet completed the survey, please do so now by clicking here.
NFPRHA needs your feedback to make sure the benefits and services it provides to members are meeting your needs. The 2012 NFPRHA Membership Survey will remain open until July 27, at 5:30 p.m. ET. It will take about twenty minutes to complete. NFPRHA recognizes that this is a very busy time and to demonstrate appreciation for your feedback, every survey respondent will be eligible for a prize drawing!
If you have any questions, please contact Lily Davidson at ldavidson@nfprha.org or 202-293-3114.
HHS Announces More Grants for Establishing State Health Insurance Exchanges
On June 29, 2012, the day after the Supreme Court upheld the ACA, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced an additional funding opportunity to help states build state-based exchanges or prepare for a federally-facilitated exchange. The funding announcement provides states with ten additional opportunities to apply for Level One and/or Level Two funding, which they will need to plan and implement exchanges. The funding can be used for start-up expenses, consumer outreach, testing, and making necessary improvements during the first exchange year.
The first application is due August 15, 2012. HHS will make available nine additional funding opportunities every three months following the August due date. Grantees should receive notices of grant awards approximately forty-five days after the application due dates.
Click here to access the funding announcement. For more information on health insurance exchanges, contact Dana Thomas, dthomas@nfprha.org or 202-293-3114.
Upcoming Webinars and Technical Resources
- If you missed the State Refor(u)m webinar about how states can prepare for a growing Medicaid population, it is available to watch anytime on statereforum.org. The webinar featured state Medicaid directors discussing how they are addressing the issues of outreach and enrollment and working with state insurance exchanges and state benchmark plans.
- On July 20 at 2 p.m. ET, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will host a webinar entitled, “Using Data for Evidence Based Quality Improvement.” The webinar will cover how health information technology can improve quality measurements and outcomes. You can register for it today. You can also access HRSA’s Health IT Toolbox Webinar Videos, which include “Tips for Overcoming the Gray Areas of Meaningful Use Stage 1 for Safety Net Providers” and an “Overview of Meaningful Use Stage 2 for Safety Net Providers.”
- The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) recently released a “Guide to Privacy and Security of Health Information.” The ONC developed this guide to ensure that providers maintain privacy and security when implementing and using electronic health records (EHR) systems as it is the responsibility of individual practices and clinics, not EHR vendors, to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of health information.
Family Planning and Telehealth: Call for Feedback
Telehealth is the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration. Technologies include videoconferencing, the internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications.
With the recent attention being paid to telehealth, both in Congress and in the states, NFPRHA would like your feedback on your use of any form of telehealth. If you are using telehealth or have any interest in doing so, please contact Nici Paterson at npaterson@nfprha.org or 202-239-3114.
Register Now for NFPRHA's September Regional Meeting
NFPRHA’s September Regional Meeting will provide essential content to help your family planning health center adapt to the new health care reality. Join us in Omaha, NE on September 10 & 11 for the perfect mix of hands-on skills training and networking from NFPRHA’s ACA implementation project, Life After 40, and Medicaid Peer-to-Peer series. Topics covered include:
- Readiness assessment & environmental scan workshop;
- Update on how Massachusetts family planning providers have adapted following state-level health care reform;
- Introduction to using shared or purchased services to help add operational capacity; and
- Impact of the recent Supreme Court decision on the ACA’s 2014 expansion of Medicaid eligibility.
The meeting is FREE for NFPRHA members and travel assistance is available. For more information and to register visit www.nationalfamilyplanning.org/omaha.
Don’t delay! Register by August 10 to be eligible for travel assistance. Please direct any questions to Lily Davidson at ldavidson@nfprha.org or (202) 293-3114.
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