Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Health Centers at the Launch of the Coverage Expansion - Part 2; Experts wanted; + more

Health Centers at the Launch of the Coverage Expansion

As mentioned previously, I attended the above mentioned Alliance for Health Reform briefing which was excellent.  The above link will take you to their slides, etc.  In an email, they provided the following highlights. These Community Health Centers are in a position to play an important role in ACA.
  •  Eighty-four percent of health center patients earn under 200 percent of the federal poverty level, Melinda Abrams said.

  • Implementation of health information technology by health centers has more than doubled since 2009, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report. However, many health center leaders report provider shortages, especially with the anticipated influx of new patients and focus on integrating behavioral health.
  • Health centers may face a funding cliff after the $11 billion mandatory trust fund created by the Affordable Care Act expires in 2015, Michelle Proser stated. This calls into question whether or not there is adequate continued support for health centers and whether or not they have the stability to continue to meet the needs of new patients.
  • Funding for health centers is not only about grants, but payment models, Brooks Miller noted. Total grant income is only 9 percent of the budget at Jordan Valley Health Center, while Medicaid accounts for 60 percent.
  • The evidence suggests that health centers save money by providing good quality primary care to people who otherwise would have difficulty getting it, Leighton Ku said. There are 1.1 million people who would be eligible if the state had expanded Medicaid to the 133% of poverty level. If a state does not expand Medicaid, these 1.1 million people will remain uninsured.
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Experts needed
I am looking for contact in the following subject areas:
Pay for Performance
Medicare reimbursement for Kidney Disease
Please contact me at thausner@gmail.com if you know folks with expertise or know persons who may have such contacts.  

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1 comment:

  1. Just added a washpost blog on the exchanges. Useful article.

    ReplyDelete