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Tomorrow: The HHS Insurance Crisis: What You Need to Know & What You Can Do
Hosted by:
- Erica Ford, VP Insurance, Health & Human Services Division, Brown & Brown and
- Julie Bernhard, Director of Lead Management & Referrals, Nonprofits Insurance Alliance
NOTE: This webinar is geared towards ALL Benchmarks' member agencies, all populations, and for/non profit agencies. We hope you will join us!
In February, even before the COVID-19 pandemic reached crisis levels, Health and Human Service (HHS) organizations were starting to experience a dramatic shift in the insurance marketplace. Not only were these HHS organizations experiencing steep increases with their renewals, they were also facing loss of certain kinds of coverages and/or reduction of coverages. Many of these organizations were also being non-renewed, despite having no past claims.
Right now - organizations who provide the health and human services in our communities - Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, Adult and Child Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities organizations - are struggling to find and maintain affordable commercial insurance coverage.
This presentation will go through all of the conditions that are making it difficult for these types of organizations to get affordable insurance, or even to purchase certain coverages.
But knowledge is power - so we will also be explaining:
- how to position your organization for the best possible renewal outcome
- risk management best practices you should abide by
- what alternatives are available in the commercial marketplace.
Please join us for this very informative and timely webinar that will assist your organization in navigating the existing insurance crisis.
Date: Tomorrow: Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Time: 10:00 am thru 12:00 pm
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Reminder Regarding Training Requirements/Waivers During NC State of Emergency
NC Medicaid COVID-19 Training Flexibilities
Benchmarks has been working with DHHS for months regarding training flexibilities for staff during COVID. What we have received back to help reinforce what is able to be waived and what is not, is the following. Please let Karen & Tara know if we need to put in a request to DHHS to consider applying any of the mentioned modifications to annual trainings, as well. This will require rule changes and/or legislation. As such, we would love your feedback, including specific details, as soon as possible.
From DHHS:
"Special Bulletin COVID-19 #46 is still active and applicable. Providers should refer to the bulletin below for information regarding training requirements that are waived right now. IIH staff training requirements within 30 and 90 days of employment, if unable to be obtained during the state of emergency, are waived. If annual training is causing issues, we may need to consider modifying to add the waiving of annual trainings as well. As mentioned during the call, DHSR will need to take the lead on any rule changes. I hope this is helpful.
Notification of Tailored Plan RFA Release
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) issued a Request for Applications (RFA) for Behavioral Health I/DD Tailored Plans as part of North Carolina's transition to Medicaid Managed Care.
As directed by the North Carolina General Assembly, for the first contract term, only LME/MCOs are eligible to respond to the RFA to serve as Behavioral Health I/DD Tailored Plans. The first Behavioral Health I/DD Tailored Plan contract term will last four years. NCDHHS will award no more than seven and no fewer than five regional Behavioral Health and I/DD Tailed Plan contracts and will not award any statewide tailored plan contracts.
Behavioral Health and I/DD Tailored Plans will provide physical health, behavioral health, long-term care, pharmacy services and unmet health related resource needs to qualifying North Carolinians under one plan. These plans will provide the same services as Standard Plans but will also provide additional specialized services that serve individuals with significant Behavioral Health conditions, I/DDs and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).
Standard Plans and the ECBI Tribal Option will launch first on July 1, 2021, followed by Behavioral Health I/DD Tailored Plans on July 1, 2022. NCDHHS expects to award Behavioral Health I/DD Tailored Plan contracts by early Summer 2021.
COVID-19 Updates
PRESS RELEASES since the last update include:
NEW resources since the last update include:
UPDATED guidance since the last update include:
UPDATED reports since the last update include:
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Will North Carolina Be Ready for Medicaid Transformation?
North Carolina's 2.36 million Medicaid recipients are in for a big change next July. That's when the state's Medicaid system will be transformed into a managed care program run by private health care companies.
Right now, only behavioral and mental health care is handled by managed care companies like Cardinal Innovations Healthcare. Cardinal serves 20 counties in the state, but that's likely to change. Five counties, including Mecklenburg, say Cardinal has done such a poor job they want to switch to another provider. But under the state law requiring transformation, all medical care - including doctor visits, hospital stays and prescription drugs - will be coordinated by private companies. And controversy over Cardinal Innovations could raise questions about whether North Carolina will be ready to embark on Medicaid transformation next July. On Monday night, Stanly County joined four other counties that want to fire the managed care company for poor performance. The move came only hours after Cardinal submitted a plan to correct problems in Mecklenburg and Forsyth counties. Department of Health and Human Services' Deputy Secretary Dave Richard told WFAE he's optimistic about Cardinal's new plan to reduce wait times for treatment. And he says Cardinal has been told DHHS will impose financial penalties if it falls short. Cardinal says it has yet to learn the specifics of potential penalties.
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Does Your Critical Shortage Facility Qualify for Nurse Corps?
The next Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program (Nurse Corps LRP) application cycle is expected to open in January 2021. Eligible Critical Shortage Facilities (CSFs) must be located in, designated as, or serving a mental health or primary medical care Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).
To determine the eligibility of your CSFs, all potential applicants and administrators are encouraged to check and verify sites by using the Health Workforce Connector and the HPSA Find databases.
- The Health Workforce Connector is a searchable database for all Nurse Corps LRP approved service sites, including those with current job openings.
- The HPSA Find allows participants to find shortage areas by address. Include the street address, city, state, and zip code. P.O. Box addresses cannot be used.
Am I Eligible?
Potential applicants and facility administrators may submit their facility information to CSF_Request@hrsa.gov beginning November 16 through December 3, 2020. Notifications of facility eligibility will be confirmed by the Nurse Corps staff no later than December 31, 2020 and will be sent to the email address initiating the request. After searching the above websites, if you are unable to locate your CSF, please contact the Nurse Corps LRP and provide the following information:
- Your Name
- Name of the facility with complete mailing address. (P.O. Box addresses will not be considered)
- Profit or not for profit status of the CSF
- Site type. (Review the list of eligible facilities on pages 9-11.)
Note: A satellite facility address cannot be used as the main facility.
For additional information on CSFs and site types, read the 2020 Nurse Corps LRP Application and Program Guidance. In addition, if you have any questions about this process you may also contact our Customer Care Center at 1-800-221-9393, Monday through Friday (except federal holidays), 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET
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Upcoming Events
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Tomorrow! Wednesday, November 18, 2020
The Health & Human Services Insurance Crisis: What You Need to Know & What You Can Do (Benchmarks' Members Only)
Presented By: Erica Ford-Brown & Brown Insurance and Julie Bernhard-Nonprofits Insurance Alliance
Note: This webinar applies to ALL of our members, for-profit & non-profit agencies, and all populations
Time: 10:00 am thru 12:00 am
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Wednesday: November 18, 2020
Level Up: Enhancing Behavioral Telehealth Services in the COVID Era Webinar
Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm
Speaker: Dr. Nora Dennis, MD, MSPH, is Chief Medical Officer of Monarch, one of the largest behavioral health services providers in NC. At Monarch, Dr. Dennis ensures all medical administrative processes for the company's mental health locations and telemedicine procedures meet the everevolving healthcare standards, as well as providing a continuum of excellent care to the thousands of people Monarch supports. Dr. Dennis is also an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. She attended Duke University School of Medicine, UNC Gillings School of Public Health, and completed her residency in psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center. She holds additional board certification in Addiction Medicine. Dr. Dennis is an enthusiastic physician educator and public health leader, and current participant in the NC Medical Society Leadership College.
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Thursday, November 19, 2020
NC Medicaid Fireside Chat Series:
Clinical Focus on Women's Health
Time: 5:30 pm thru 6:30 pm
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New: Thursday, November 19, 2020
Celebrating Adoption Awareness Month
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Friday, November 20, 2020
Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar w/Leza Wainwright, CEO Trillium
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
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New: Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Caring for the Caregiver
Keeping Your Tank Full While Caring for Others
Time: 12:00 pm thru 1:00 pm
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New: Wednesday, December 2, 2020
The Collaborative Care Model: A Proven Approach for Integrating Physical and Behavioral Health Care
Collaborative care programs are a proven approach to integration in which primary care providers, care managers, and psychiatric/behavioral health consultants work together to provide team-based care and monitor patients' progress. The model provides the platform for a range of targeted behavioral health services such as brief psychosocial treatments; pharmacotherapies for substance use (medication-assisted treatment) and mental disorders; Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT); and patient education.
Time: 3:00 pm thu 4:00 pm
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New: Thursday, December 3, 2020
Black Foster Youth Handbook
Time: 7:00 pm
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New: Friday, December 11, 2020
Medical Care Advisory Committee (MCAC) Quarterly Meeting
Time: 10:30 am thru 12:30 pm
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Friday, December 11, 2020
Ethics, COVID-19 & Telehealth: Part 1
Time: 2:00 pm thru 3:30 pm
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Thursday, December 13, 2020
Medicaid Managed Care Fireside Chat Webinar Series-Beneficiary Attribution
Time: 5:30 pm thru 6:30 pm
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Thursday, December 17, 2020
Clinical Quality Webinar Series-Behavioral Health
Time: 5:30 pm thru 6:30 pm
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Thursday, January 7, 2021
Medicaid Managed Care Fireside Chat Webinar Series-Policy Approvals, Process Changes & Appeals
Time: 5:30 pm thru 6:30 pm
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New: Friday: January 8, 2021
Dave Richard Joins Benchmarks' Friday Membership Webinar
Time: 8:30 am thru 9:30 am
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Thursday, January 21, 2021
Clinical Quality Webinar Series-TBD
Time: 5:30 pm thru 6:30 pm
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Please click on each of the following links to view details sent out from each LME/MCO.
Benchmarks' wants to be sure to make the following list handy for our members to visit and suggests a peek at least once per week to find information that may be pertinent to your agency and contracts.
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