The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced on August 9 that up to $250 million in grants under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act will be awarded competitively to public and private non-profit organizations seeking to create new access sites for the delivery of comprehensive primary and preventive care (including mental health and substance abuse treatment services) for medically underserved geographic areas and medically underserved population groups. The $250 million in additional funding was authorized under the federal health care reform law. Applications for the funding are due November 17. To be competitive, applicants must demonstrate a high level of need in the community to be served, a sound proposal to meet that need, and organizational capability and readiness to rapidly implement the proposal, among other important criteria outlined in the HRSA solicitation. Comprehensive project narratives and two-year project budgets must be developed in accordance with HRSA specifications. Electronic health records (EHR) readiness assessments are also required. New access sites may include a wide range of treatment facilities, including school-based health centers and mobile medical vans. State and local health agencies must act quickly in order to develop competitive applications before November 17. HRSA estimates that it will award 350 grants by August 1, 2011 supporting projects through July 31, 2013.
About Tom Entrikin
A former policy specialist with the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration (now Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)), Tom Entrikin has vast experience providing technical assistance to states on Medicaid eligibility, coverage, and reimbursement; provider certification and enrollment; program integrity; recovery of third party liabilities; Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) performance specifications and operations; interagency agreements; contracts with managed care organizations; and Medicaid waiver programs. Since joining PCG in 1992, Tom has assisted in the design, development, and implementation of revenue projects for school-based health services; hospital-based and municipal projects for pregnant women, infants, and children; state services offered through youth services, child welfare, mental health, substance abuse, and public health agencies; and reimbursement systems for hospitals, long term care facilities, and community-based waiver programs. He has made presentations at national conferences on Medicaid waiver programs and participated in the development of a manual on self-determination under waiver programs for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Read More
