Rural care communities sit at increasing risk from hospital closures and that’s no small concern.
When Congress finally approved the Section 330 Grants under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 benefiting CHCs and FQHCs in early February, there was a collective sigh of relief within many centers. With that Congressional approval, centers now have two years of extended funding, including $600 million dollars to support operations and address unmet need in their communities; plus workforce support through The National Health Service Corps and the Teaching Health Centers Program. But it had been a long nearly 5 month period since the grants had expired, and it would take some time to reverse the damage done in many communities that lost services and other resources. According to The Kaiser Family Foundation, Many considered layoffs, reducing center hours and 20% of centers had instituted hiring freezes, with a total of 45% considering freezes. 25% canceled or delayed renovation/expansion plans that were much needed in the process of providing care.
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) must be on top of many changes coming out of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or CMS - and many of these relate to specific kinds of care and categories of treatment and evaluation. So often, CMS is updating codes, protocols, or reimbursement details for a given range of medical services, and the individual change becomes a snowflake in a blizzard of transmittals and notices, so that it's difficult for administrators to track everything that they need to optimize revenue.
In the U.S. today, one in four Americans has multiple coexisting chronic conditions. That number rises to three in four Americans at age 65 and older1, or approximately 36 million Medicare eligible patients4, potentially creating a state of multimorbidity6- the co-occurrence of multiple chronic or acute diseases and medical conditions - within one person. The impact of these conditions can go beyond the patient as family members step in to help with even the most basic activities such as bathing, getting dressed or preparing a simple meal. Many times, it can be a challenge to know what’s best for the patient without a plan and direction on how to manage complex medication schedules, doctor visits and the overall burden of the co-occurring conditions.
Healthcare revenue optimization firm ranks among the city’s top performing companies