Happy Tuesday! Enjoy your NCMS Morning Rounds.

April 13, 2021

TODAY: Learn More About Reimbursement for Treating COVID-19 Uninsured

Today, Tuesday, April 13 at 2 p.m. the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) is offering a webinar for you to learn more about the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program. Participating providers are reimbursed at Medicare rates for testing, treating and administering COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured individuals.

If you have conducted COVID-19 testing to uninsured individuals, provided treatment for uninsured individuals with a COVID-19 diagnosis on or after February 4, 2020, or administered COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured individuals you can begin the process to file claims for reimbursement.

Familiarize yourself with this process here, and learn more and file claims here. You can also view Frequently Asked Questions about the program.

And join HRSA officials today at 2 p.m. to learn more. Register here for the webinar.

CDC Declares Racism Serious Public Health Threat

Last week the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Rochelle P. Walensky MD, MPH, declared racism a serious public health threat. Read her public statement here.

In her remarks she also highlighted the CDC’s new website, ‘Racism and Health,’ which will serve as the hub for the agency’s efforts to combat this public health threat and serve as a catalyst for greater education and dialogue around this critical issue. The webpage contains information on structural racism, social determinants of health and their impact on health outcomes in communities of color. Access the website here.

NC Academy of Family Physicians Podcast Focuses on Diabetes Prevention

The latest episode of NCFM Today, the NC Academy of Family Physicians podcast hosted by NCAFP Executive Vice President Greg Griggs, MPA, CAE, features NCMS Board member and DiabetesFreeNC physician champion Karen Smith, MD, and NCMS Vice President for Rural Health Systems Innovation Franklin Walker, MBA.

Dr. Smith, a family physician in Raeford, NC, describes how she screens patients and refers them to one of our state’s Diabetes Prevention Programs. Walker talks about how physicians can get involved in the Diabetes Free NC initiative, part of a wide-ranging coalition of organizations including the NCMS Foundation and the AMA. Learn more here.

Listen to the 18-minute podcast here.

In the News

Scientists Work Toward An Elusive Dream: A Simple Pill To Treat Covid-19, STAT News, 4-9-21

Learning Opportunity

Enhancing Knowledge and Skills in Adult Mental Health, April 29, 2021 9:15 AM – April 30, 2021 4:45 PM
Part of this conference will focus on the impact of COVID-19 on the behavioral health system and on individuals of color. It will reflect on the grief and loss we have all experienced and continue to experience since the pandemic began. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Sy Saeed, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at East Carolina University, will outline the impact of COVID on our mind and body, the magnitude of our current behavioral health workforce shortage, and the benefit of telepsychiatry in addressing these issues. We will also offer sessions that focus on whole person care, psychopharmacology, cultural diversity focusing on Latinx and African American clients, mental health literacy and the stigma of mental illness, PTSD, and use of cannabis in treating mental illness. Nursing credit offered – target audience is psychiatric, substance use, and advanced practice nurses and nurse practitioners.

Learn more and register here.

If you have policies you’d like your NCMS Board of Directors to consider, please complete the Board input form here. Thanks for reading!