Available Rural Health Coding & Billing Specialist Training

January 30, 2017

Due to overwhelming demand, the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services/ Office of Primary Care & Rural Health is offering another “Rural Health Coding & Billing Specialist (RH-CBS)Training” on March 20 & 21, 2017, at the Capital Mall – Community Room, in Jefferson City, MO, from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm.

With the April 2016 requirement by CMS to require RHCs to provide HCPCS code-level detail (CPT and HCPCS-2) – it has never been more important to make sure you are documenting and coding for 100% of what is done.  Billing is not supposed to change – but if you aren’t documenting and coding correctly, revenue may be left on the table!

The training session is free to attend but enrollment is limited and will fill up quickly.

Please see the following links: Training Details/Information, Agenda and to Register online, or for PDF version.

Grant Writing Institute – Register Now

January 23, 2017

NOSORH Grant Writing Institute

Rural Health Grant Writing Specialist Training

Registration is now open for the next NOSORH Rural Health Grant Writing Institute.  This is a 9-part web-based series focused on all aspects of grant writing with a special focus on rural health. Topics include documentation of need, grant budget preparation, development of evaluations, work plans and identifying sources of grant funds. This course is appropriate for State Offices of Rural Health staff and rural health partners such as RHCs, CAHs, and other rural health organizations.

You can find full details in this brochure.
Class size is limited, so we encourage you to click here to register now!

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Kassie Clarke
(888) 391-7258 ext. 105
kassiec@nosorh.org

2017 DTA Foundation Grant Process is Now Open

January 19, 2017

The Dental Trade Alliance Foundation is now accepting preliminary proposal summaries for their 2017 grant programs!

The DTA Foundation will award nine $25,000 grants in 2017, one of which will be a joint DTA Foundation/Dental Lifeline Network grant.

If your organization has an innovative pilot project designed to improve oral health care for the growing number of Americans in need, or has an innovative pilot project specifically related to providing access to comprehensive dentistry for individuals with disabilities, who are elderly, or medically compromised, please review the 2017 Preliminary Proposal Guidelines and Criteria.

Each applicant must demonstrate that their innovative pilot project will not only improve access to oral care in their immediate area, but also have the potential to grow and be implemented in other areas of the country.

New for 2017: In order to be invited to complete a full application for a DTA Foundation grant, your organization will be required to submit an electronic 2017 Preliminary Proposal Summary Form. The DTA Foundation will not accept grant applications from any organizations that have not been invited to move on in the review process. Preliminary proposal summaries are a requirement for all organizations. No exceptions will be made.

Preliminary proposal summaries must be received no later than February 15, 2016.

Visit our website for more information and FAQs.

The DTA Foundation has awarded just over $1.7 million dollars in grant funding to 83 innovative projects designed to increase access to oral health care since the inception of the grant program in 2002. Past recipients have used DTA Foundation seed money for innovative programs designed to improve the access to and productivity of the oral health care system, leveraging more than $5 million in additional funding for these promising projects.

In 2013, the DTA Foundation and the Dental Lifeline Network joined forces to create a grant program to specifically support projects that provide access to comprehensive dentistry for society’s most vulnerable individuals who are elderly, medically compromised, or with special needs and have no other way to get help.

Rural Insider-January 2017 Rural Development Newsletter

January 19, 2017

Message from State Director Janie Dunning

In the 2016 fiscal year, $892,630,466 of Missouri taxpayer dollars was returned to Missouri as investments. These investments were made in rural communities with the specific purpose of improving lives. We enabled communities to respond to needs, to continue to offer primary services and to provide the best possible environment for community and economic development.

Because Missouri Rural Development staff members are actively engaged, we are not only aware of challenges and opportunities, but we have direct experience and knowledge. Our staff have a presence in the communities through living in, participating with and knowing the people.

Of course, none of our success comes from our efforts alone. We are fully aware of the vital role our partners and stakeholders play in the delivery of our programs. As a result of our strong partnerships, we are able to cooperate and coordinate to offer funding and technical assistance for the benefit of regions throughout the state.

As you are aware, this month will bring transitions. There will be a new federal  administration and new leadership will begin for USDA. While the transition will undoubtedly mean changes, Rural Development staff will continue to deliver programs and services. Priorities may change, but the staff will use all their capacity and capabilities to serve Missouri rural communities. I know this will be true because I have witnessed their dedication and desire.

Continue reading “Rural Insider-January 2017 Rural Development Newsletter”

FORHP Announcements – January 13, 2017

January 18, 2017

Announcements from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy

What’s New

CDC: Rural Americans at Higher Risk of Death.  On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a study on the five leading causes of death in rural America, the first in a series of reports on the disparities that create “a striking gap in health between rural and urban Americans, ” according to CDC Director Tom Frieden.

Factors contributing to the decline in rural life expectancy include demographic, environmental, economic, and social factors, many of which CDC will examine as part of a series of rural-focused Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports.  The MMWR delivers objective, scientific public health data and recommendations each week to state health departments and more than 250,000 electronic subscribers.  The rural-focused MMWRs represent a significant focus on rural issues by the CDC and will be a feature in the FORHP Announcements this year.  The increasing mortality in rural areas was also a topic of a recent report from the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services.

New Rural Health Model in Pennsylvania.  Also on Thursday, the CMS Innovation Center announced a new model opened to test the predictability of global budgets for rural hospitals in Pennsylvania and determine if they enable services tailored to the needs of local communities. Under this Model, monthly payments made by Medicare fee-for-service and all other participating payers would be based on a fixed amount for inpatient and outpatient services. In addition, rural hospitals would be allowed to redesign delivery to invest in quality measures and preventive care in a way that meets their patients’ needs. The funding will be used to oversee the Model, collect and analyze data, and provide technical assistance toward several targets, including increasing access to care, reducing rural health disparities and decreasing deaths from substance use.

Continue reading “FORHP Announcements – January 13, 2017”