This Week in CHCACTion
July 9, 2018
This Week in CHCACTivities
HUSKY Update!
Today, I get to be the bearer of good news, which is that the CT General Assembly recently raised income limits for parents on HUSKY A, reversing a cut that took effect in January.
Deb Polun, MA
Senior Director for Policy & Outreach
You may remember that, in October, 2017, legislators lowered the income limit for parents and caretaker relatives on HUSKY A – from 155% of federal poverty level to 138% (e.g., from $36,900 for a family of four to $33,948 for that same family). The reduction was expected to cause over 13,000 people in CT to lose HUSKY coverage, in two phases: the first couple thousand in January, 2018 and the rest in January, 2019. (These phases are due to a federal law called Transitional Medical Assistance, which requires one extra year of HUSKY coverage for people who have income from employment; most HUSKY parents do have income from work and were provided the extra year of coverage).
In addition to these parents losing coverage, many studies demonstrate that, when parents lose coverage, their kids often do as well. This is due to confusing eligibility/enrollment processes that often cause people to think their kids are impacted by changes, when they actually are not. So, the concerns were about both parents AND their children potentially losing HUSKY coverage.
Over the past several months, advocates fought for restoration of coverage, ramping up efforts when the state budget began to look better this Spring. And, in fact, the new state budget does restore income limits back up to 155%!
The state Department of Social Services has already begun contacting people impacted by this change, with instructions on how to get re-enrolled in HUSKY (or, in some cases, how to change enrollment categories). Comprehensive information about the income limit restoration is also posted here.
Please help spread the word, so that everyone who might be eligible for HUSKY gets enrolled!
Deb
This Week in Social Media
“We can accomplish so much if we stick together...if we focus on what’s right, we can do so much” - @SouthwestCHC CEO Kathy Yacavone. July 2, 2018.
This Week in Funding Opportunities
| Opportunity | Due Date | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program
Funded by HRSA, the purpose of this program is to support community-based services aimed at improving the health status of children, adolescents, and families in rural and other underserved communities by increasing their access to health services. Community-based programs and evidence-based models of care that build on existing community resources will be implemented and evaluated to demonstrate program impact. |
10/1/2018 | Details |
| Prevention Service Initiative Award for Health Care Organizations
The State of Connecticut Office of Health Strategy is making available awards to health care organizations who are currently participating in the Prevention Service Initiative (PSI). The total pool of funding for this RFP is $1,000,000. The Prevention Service Initiative awards will enable participating Advanced Networks and FQHCs, hereafter referred to as “health care organizations,” to enter into financial contractual arrangements with community based organizations (CBOs) participating in the PSI. |
10/3/2018 | Details |
| OPM Nonprofit Grant Program
The State of CT Office of Policy and Management (OPM) is accepting applications for the Nonprofit Grant Program (NGP). The NGP will award grants-in-aid to selected private, nonprofit health and human service organizations that receive funds from the State (including Medicaid) to provide direct health and human services to State agency clients. Applications involving a collaboration between two or more eligible nonprofit organizations may also be eligible for award for NGP. The purpose of the NGP fund is to improvethe efficiency, effectiveness, safety and/or accessibility of health and human services being delivered by nonprofit organizations. |
10/19/2018 | Details |
| Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) for High Impact HIV Prevention Program Integration
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the competitive availability of fiscal year 2019 funds to implement a capacity building assistance (CBA) program to strengthen the capacity and improve the performance of the nation’s HIV prevention workforce. This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) supports a CBA Provider Network (CPN) to implement the following four program components: 1) national training; 2) regional technical assistance; 3) continuous quality improvement and sustainability for community-based organizations (CBOs); and 4) marketing and administrative support for the CPN. |
11/12/2018 | Details |
| Access & Mobility Partnership Grants
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announces with the Access & Mobility Partnership Grants, which are two opportunities to apply for funding under two competitive grant programs. |
11/13/2018 | Details |
This Week in Health Policy News
Here is a sampling of health policy news from around the state. If you see something in your local newspaper that you would like featured here in future weeks, please contact Deb Polun at dpolun@chcact.org. Check out all the Health Policy News from the past month here!
7.3.18 Kaiser Health News — More Nurse Practitioners Now Pursue Residency Programs to Hone Skills (feat. CHC, Inc)
7.6.18 CT Mirror — Plaintiffs Ask Court to Find DSS in Contempt in Medicaid Case
7.6.18 New Haven Independent — Judge to City: Get Moving on Lead
7.5.18 CT NewsJunkie — Connecticut Joins Effort to Combat Abuse
7.4.18 Register Citizen — Sharon Hospital May Close Birthing Center
7.8.18 Reuters — Insurers Warn of Rising Premiums After Trump Axes Obamacare Payments Again
7.5.18 CT Mirror — Blumenthal Sounds Alarm Over ACA Protections
7.5.18 Governing — After Medicaid Ruling, Most States Hit Pause, But Some Proceed
7.9.18 Press Herald — Pharmacy Middlemen Steer Some Patients to Riskier Drugs
7.9.18 Governing — Why Alcohol is Still the Most Dangerous Drug
7.8.18 NY Times — US Opposition to Breast Feeding Resolution Stuns World Health Officials
7.8.18 NPR — Patients with Chronic Pain Feel Caught in Opioid Prescribing Debate
7.8.18 NPR — Black Babies Twice as Likely as White Babies to Die Before Age 1
7.3.18 Boston Globe — Take Two Apps and Call Me in the Morning
7.3.18 Kaiser Health News — Out of Pocket Costs Put HIV Drug Out of Reach for Many at Risk
7.3.18 Vox — Doctors Botch Blood Pressure Readings More Often Than You Think
7.3.18 NPR — For Women Over 30, There May Be a Better Test than the Pap Smear
