Tennessee Primary Care Association Unveils New Logo

Cempa Community Care announced the grand opening of its Chattanooga Walk-In Clinic that is offering an array of services to meet the medical needs of the community.

Mercy Community Healthcare attended the Williamson Prevention Coalition's program, “You Are Not Alone”, to provide information and tips for talking to your child about the abuse of alcohol, prescription drugs and other dangerous substances.

House Postpones Vote on CHC Funding with September 30 Deadline Looming

September 30 marks the end of the fiscal year, when both streams of community health center funding will expire. The House of Representatives postponed a vote on the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act which would have provided a multi-year extension for the Community Health Center Fund, the bulk of federal health center funding, and key workforce programs. There is a chance the vote may still occur next week.

Urge your House members to support the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act!

Senator Sanders (I-VT), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Senator Marshall (R-KS) released their own version of a health center funding bill, the Bipartisan Primary Care and Health Workforce Act. This bill would also provide an extension of the Community Health Center Fund and key workforce programs, but at varying levels or timeframes from the House bill.

Health centers receive a portion of federal funding through the annual appropriations process, but Congress has yet to pass the appropriations bills. Congress may pass a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government, including health centers, funded at current levels until they can reach a more robust agreement. Without a CR before September 30, there will be a government shutdown. 

2023 COVID-19 Bridge Funding Awards for Health Centers

The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded over $81 million to more than 1,460 health centers to support the HHS Bridge Access Program and CDC’s Bridge Access Program. This funding strives to continue providing equitable access to COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and treatment to communities, including those who are uninsured or underinsured.

To learn more about the HHS Bridge Program and its requirements, please see NACHC’s HHS Bridge Program Factsheet.

New Outreach & Educational Resources for Medicaid Renewals

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released additional resources for partners to share information about Medicaid and CHIP renewals in their communities, including a Faith-Based Outreach Toolkit and resources for reaching different populations. Visit CMS’s Outreach and Educational Resources webpage to access additional resources.

Outreach and Enrollment Annual Training

The Tennessee Primary Care Association and Family & Children’s Service are partnering to provide a hybrid training that will equip healthcare assisters to work effectively with their patients, clients, and communities.

The training will include information on the following:

• Health Insurance Marketplace 
• Presentations from Insurance Carriers
• Medicaid/TennCare
• Children’s Health Insurance Program/CoverKids

October 17-18, 2023

Register here >>>

SAVE THE DATE! Medicaid Eligibility Virtual Boot Camp

Sessions by the Tennessee Justice Center include:

• Why Medicaid Eligibility Is So Complicated: the 3 Medicaid Methodologies
• Coverage Pitfalls and Workarounds for Adults without a Disability
• Navigating Coverage Challenges for Individuals with Disabilities
• CHOICES: Understanding the Financial Requirements
• CHOICES: Understanding the Medical Requirements
• Coverage Options for Kids & Pregnant Women
• Redetermination is here! Now what?
• A detailed agenda can be found here.

October 24-25, 2023

Early rate available through October 4!

Register here >>>

Improving Health Center Cybersecurity: Risk Assessment, Breach Defense, Mitigation and Response

HITEQ Center is offering a free learning collaborative where participants will engage with subject matter experts and their colleagues in peer-to-peer learning and discussion. Topics will include: health center breach mitigation tactics, operationalizing cybersecurity to better mitigate risks, cybersecurity implications of generative artificial intelligence in health centers, and incident response planning from a cybersecurity perspective.

October 3, 12:00PM Eastern

Register here >>>

Access COVID-19 Patient Resources

TPCA is proud to partner with Morehouse School of Medicine and the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) to share trustworthy, science-based patient resource materials. CEAL Against COVID-19 Disparities works closely with the communities hit hardest by COVID-19 and is offering FAQs, fact sheets, and other resources you can share to provide accurate information and encourage people to get informed and take steps to overcome COVID-19.