Section: TPCA & Beyond, February 2017
TPCA Training, HHS White Paper Address Opioid Abuse, Treatment
As more attention is focused on the opioid abuse epidemic, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women's Health (OWH) has issued the final version of the OWH white paper on Women and Opioids. It explores what is currently known about the opioid epidemic and describes promising practices for addressing opioid use disorder prevention and treatment for women, as well as identifies areas that are less well understood and may warrant further study.

On Wednesday, March 8, TPCA will present the eight-hour buprenorphine waiver training course required for physicians interested in seeking their waiver to prescribe buprenorphine in the treatment of opioid use disorders. This event is sponsored by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. For more information on the training, who should attend, and how to apply, click here.
NHSC Accepting Applications through April 6
Primary care medical, dental and mental/behavioral health clinicians can get up to $50,000 to repay their health profession student loans in exchange for a two-year commitment to work at an approved National Health Service Corps site in a high-need, underserved area. The payment is free from federal income tax and is made at the beginning of service, so you can quickly pay down your loans.

Click here to learn more.
FTCA Protection for Health Center Volunteers is On the Way
(from Feldesman, Tucker, Leifer & Fidell)
On December 13, 2016, President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act. While the law affects many aspects of the health care industry, including reforms to federal policy on mental health care, drug approvals, and increased funding for medical research, the most important change for many federally qualified health centers is the expansion of Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) coverage to include coverage for volunteers. Specifically, Section 9025 of the Act amends the Public Health Services Act to expand FTCA coverage to health professional volunteers at federally qualified health centers.

CLICK THE HEADLINE to read more.
PAL 2017-02: Approved Uniform Data System Changes for Calendar Year 2017
(from the Health Resources and Services Administration)
PAL 2017-02 outlines approved changes to the 2017 UDS that will be reported by Health Center Program grantees and look-alikes by February 15, 2018. Changes include a revision of the clinical quality measures in Tables 6B and 7 to align with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' electronic-specified Clinical Quality Measures (e-CQMs) and a new Appendix E to collect additional information pertaining to telehealth, along with outreach and enrollment assistance.
BPHC 2016 Year In Review
(from the Health Resources and Services Administration)
Health centers across the nation provide care to more than 24 million people in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Pacific Basin. One in 13 people and 1 in 10 children are receiving care from health centers in the United States. In addition to making a significant positive impact in their communities by providing patient care, health centers employ nearly 190,000 people.  

View HRSA’s Year in Review infographic.
Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2017
The U.S. government has released its 2017 Federal Poverty Guidelines, which are used to determine financial eligibility for certain federal programs. Health centers utilize this information to recalculate sliding fee discount programs and other programs where eligibility is based on percentage of the guideline. (Health centers: remember that updating your sliding fee discount program will require the approval of your board.)

Click here to review the 2017 guidelines.