How Will You Celebrate Safety Net Clinic Week?

Safety Net Clinic Week Project Coordinator Charlotte Kaye, is available to help you get the most out of the third annual Safety Net Clinic Week, August 20-24, 2012! Are you interested in hosting public officials, candidates for office or business leaders for a site-visit? How about hosting an open house? Do you already have an event or activity planned that week that could be highlighted by Safety Net Clinic Week? Seize this opportunity to celebrate your clinic and the important role you fill in the healthcare safety net with help from the Colorado Rural Health Center and ClinicNET. Please contact Charlotte Kaye for assistance and ideas! She can be reached at charlotte.kaye@clinicnet.org or at 720-863-7805.

To get a sense of Safety Net Clinic Week, click here for a look at past years’ activities!

The Safety Net Clinic Week “toolkit” can be found here. It includes fact sheets, flyers, logo and templates for press releases, letters to the editor, invitations for site-visits, and governmental proclamations.

CIVHC and CHI Release New Report on Payment Models

The Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) and the Colorado Health Institute (CHI) released a new report that examines strategies to reform the health care payment system, how the new models are being used in Colorado and their potential impact on improving quality and controlling costs.

The report, titled "New Approaches to Paying for Health Care: Implications for Quality Improvement and Cost Containment in Colorado," documents the role that the traditional fee-for-service payment model plays in rising health care costs and the potential that different payment approaches hold for changing that dynamic.

The report is designed to help policy makers, industry leaders and other stakeholders make informed decisions as they contemplate alternative health care payment approaches.

Court of Appeals Ruled on Physician Supervision Lawsuit

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled last week in favor of Gov. John Hickenlooper in a lawsuit filed by the Colorado Medical Society and the Colorado Society of Anesthesiologists. The two groups were trying to overturn a Denver District Court’s dismissal of their lawsuit over delivery of anesthesia to Medicare patients.

At the heart of the lawsuit was whether or not to allow certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) to administer anesthesia without a physician’s supervision. Read more here.

The New “Doughnut Hole” Describes Coverage Gap Created in States Rejecting the Medicaid Expansion

The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Affordable Care Act gave governors new flexibility to reject the law’s Medicaid expansion.

States that reject the Medicaid expansion may create a coverage gap being called the new “doughnut hole." Those that fall into the hole will be people who don’t qualify for their state’s current Medicaid eligibility categories nor are eligible for subsidized private insurance in the marketplaces called exchanges. In Colorado, the majority of those folks would be adults without dependent children between 10 and 133% of the federal poverty level (FPL) and adults with dependent children between 100 and 133% FPL. Read the Washington Post‘s article here.

Could Value-based Purchasing Program Hurt Safety Net Hospitals? iVantage Report Suggests Rural May Be Different

A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests CMS's Hospital Value-based Purchasing program could mean trouble for safety net hospitals, because safety net hospitals tend to get poorer marks from patients than do other hospitals. These patient satisfaction scores will be used to dole out bonuses and penalties beginning in October.

However, according to the iVantage report, "Rural Relevance Under Healthcare Reform," rural hospital performance on HCAHPS patient experience survey measures is better than urban hospitals. The iVantage report was released in April, and updated last month. You can read the updated report here.

IOM Reports Higher Payments Are Not the Cure for Doctor Shortage

An Institute of Medicine (IOM) report released Tuesday concluded that while there are wide discrepancies in access to and quality of care across geographic areas, the variations were unlikely to be influenced by changes in Medicare reimbursement rates to providers. In light of this, the IOM committee recommended Medicare should not try to address the shortages of doctors and healthcare providers by raising reimbursements to entice practitioners to practice in underserved areas. You can read the report here.

Instead of altering payments, the committee recommended that Medicare pay for services such as telemedicine that improve access to medical care in underserved regions. It also encouraged states to change scope of practice laws so that nurse practitioners can provide more care.
Soon the IOM will release a separate report looking into why Medicare spends more on patients in some areas of the country than others without always giving better care.

CHI Presents on the 5 Biggest Questions for Colorado After the Supreme Court's Ruling on the ACA

Do you want to know more about the implications of the Supreme Court's recent ruling on the Affordable Care Act? The Colorado Health Institute (CHI) analyzed the five biggest questions looming for Colorado in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision that the health reform law is constitutional. Download CHI president and CEO Michele Lueck's June 28th presentation, listen to the recorded webinar, and read the report to learn more.

The Center for Rural Affairs Publishes Latest Healthcare Report

The Center for Rural Affairs recently published their latest healthcare report, The Affordable Care Act: Real Help for Real People, which highlights provisions in the law that are helpful for rural people across the country. You can read the short version here.

New Federal Waiver in Oregon Offers Incentives to Get More Doctors in Rural Areas

A new federal waiver for Oregon includes a provision aimed at luring doctors to small towns. The state won final approval Monday from the Obama administration for plans to move ahead with big changes in healthcare. The new agreement also funds a program to help physicians pay off their student loans if they agree to set up shop in rural or other underserved areas. Read more here.

States Should Check with Hospitals Regarding Medicaid Expansion

Hospitals might experience the largest impacts of any type of provider if states decline the opportunity to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act, so states are being urged to check with hospitals before making the decision to reject the Medicaid expansion. Read more here.

ACO Executives Would Have Continued Regardless of Decision

Accountable Care Organization (ACO) executives say they would have continued building the ACOs, regardless of the Supreme Court's decision. An ACO is a type of payment and delivery reform model that ties provider reimbursements to quality metrics and reductions in the total cost of care for an assigned population of patients. Executives believe the rise of healthcare spending creates a demand for greater efficiency, more collaboration, and new incentives that reward hospitals and doctors that keep people healthy. Click here to read more.

Nominations for Dual Eligibles Advisory Subcommittee

To support greater collaboration between the Demonstration to Integrate Care for Dual Eligible Individuals (the Demonstration) and other healthcare initiatives, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) will assemble a group of dual eligible individuals (eligible for Medicaid and Medicare), family members, advocates, and other stakeholders with additional expertise to interact with existing advisory bodies.

HCPF invites you to nominate an individual to be a member of the Dual Eligibles Advisory Subcommittee. The subcommittee will make recommendations related to the Demonstration and other issues affecting fully dual eligible individuals. The subcommittee’s chair and the Dual Eligibles Project Manager will attend other advisory committee meetings.

For information about the subcommittee’s purpose, composition, and responsibilities, please see the frequently asked questions in the Subcommittee packet (link here). If you would like to nominate an individual to the Dual Eligibles Advisory Subcommittee, please submit an application no later than Friday, July 27 (the packet includes nomination instructions on page three). For additional information about the Demonstration to Integrate Care for Dual Eligible Individuals, please see the Demonstration’s web page on HCPF's website.