With the passage of federal health reform, a number of new catagories of hospitals are eligible for the 340B drug discount program. Newly eligible hospitals include Critical Access Hospitals, Sole Community Hospitals, and Rural Referral Centers. Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access along with the National Rural Health Association...

The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF) is seeking comment on a document entitled Olmstead: Recommendations and Policy Options for Colorado. This report recommends policy options for the state in regards to disabled citizens and people with long term care needs who wish to live in...

The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services(CMS)has launched their official Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program Website. You can access the website by visiting THE Consortium’s main webpage under Resources or directly by visiting http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/. The website contains the latest information regarding EHR incentive programs including who is eligible...

On June 24th, the Office of National Coordinator (ONC) released a temporary certification rule for EHRs to allow progress towards reaching meaningful use. Most notably, current CCHIT certified EHRs were not granted automatic certification status, rather, they will also be required to go through the ONC testing and certification...

On Friday, President Obama signed into law the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010. Whew! That’s a mouthful. What this means is that Medicare claims will now be processed with a 2.2% increase (retro to June 1st). This slight bump in...

The Rural Health Research & Policy Center just released an 85 page document summarizing the impact of federal health reform on rural healthcare delivey called: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: A Summary of Provisions Important to Rural Health Care Delivery.

I had the distinct pleasure of presenting at the Connected Care press release today, the official launch of telemedicine services in four of our rural communities: Buena Vista Family Practice in Buena Vista, High Plains Community Health Center in Lamar, Rio Grande Hospital in Del Norte, and St. Vincent...

It’s not too late to register for CRHC’s Annual Rural Health Conference, July 1-2 in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado. Learn more about the ARRA funding requirements, meaningful use requirements and other resources available for Health Information Technology as well as other informative sessions on healthcare reform, quality and patient safety,...

The Colorado Health Foundation has established a “Loan Fund” through a partnership with NCB Capital Impact (NCBCI) to provide short-term loans to current grantees who may be experiencing a cash flow problem due to slow receivables. The purpose of the loan is to help grantees, maintain continuity of operations,...

With all the doom and gloom in regards to the state budget and reimbursement delays & cuts, I am happy to share with you the following news. Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health & Human Services, along with the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) announced the availability of $250...