CPCA Supports Health Centers’ Response to Public Health Emergencies Including Securing a COVID-19 Vaccine APM
COVID-19 Response
Summer 2022 marked California’s third COVID-19 summer. Our collective response continues to get stronger with each passing month, driven by health centers’ resilience and determination to serve.
The presence of the Omicron variant endured throughout California as schools were closing for summer vacation. CPCA continued to collaborate with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), connecting them to health centers, sharing statewide efforts to vaccinate our entire population, with a particular focus on pediatric vaccinations. CPCA hosted representatives from CDPH’s Immunization branch who presented to health centers on the importance of preserving the momentum for vaccinating our youth while school was out, aiming to minimize the impact of learning losses during the upcoming 2022/23 school year. We need to continue to vaccinate to stop academic disruptions brought on by COVID-19, felt since March 2020. We have also taken advantage of federal authorization to outreach to health centers to safely bring the vaccine to infants and children from 6 months to 4 years of age.
CPCA is committed to assisting health centers in serving California’s most diverse communities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the early summer months, we worked with health centers and the Department of Health Care Services’ (DHCS’) billing system team on operationalizing guidance that was released on April 15, 2022. This guidance directed the ways health centers could bill for the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine during vaccine-only encounters, outside of a traditional office visit. CPCA helped the (DHCS) find gaps in the billing system’s coding, and in this way helped to streamline electronic resubmissions of the CMS-approved Vaccine APM rate. An extension was approved and obtained, allowing health centers to continue to submit claims beyond August 2022, providing the time needed by many to make up for billing that had been on hold for more than a year. CPCA continues to support health centers with COVID-19 Vaccine-Only billing that falls outside of allowable timeliness rules, submissions that will be allowed by DHCS through October 13, 2022.
MONKEYPOX (MPX) Response
The early summer months saw another public health emergency unfolding throughout California with the spread of the human Monkeypox (MPX) virus. Health centers began reaching out to CPCA for guidance, highlighting the need for access to the vaccine and other resources necessary to support their at-risk communities.
By mid-July, more than a handful of California community health centers (CHCs) were responding, in advance of both state and federal authorities, to what has since been deemed another public health emergency. CPCA has been fielding inquiries and pleas for help from health centers since July and continues to communicate with our partners at CDPH, DHCS, and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on what supports are needed to serve those most at risk. At the time of publication, we acknowledge that there is significant work yet to be done to curtail the spread of MPX. CPCA is actively engaged with health center leaders and DHCS, leaning on lessons learned from COVID-19, aiming to mitigate the spread of MPX and its impact on our communities and safety-net organizations. We hope to shoulder some of the burden for health centers so that they may provide vaccinations, testing, and treatment, while we at CPCA work with both state and federal partners to provide the support needed by CHCs and the communities we serve.
Building Climate and Power Resiliency
With the effects of climate change increasing the occurrence of historic wildfires and planned Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) events in California, CPCA continues to explore opportunities to support health centers in building climate and power resiliency. Leveraging strategic relationships formed with disaster relief organizations, CPCA is excited to announce we will be representing California health center interests on the newly formed Collective Energy Co. Advisory Board. The mission of Collective Energy Co. is to educate health centers about their clean, resilient energy options and provide funding opportunities to ensure health centers have continuity of operations. As a member of the Advisory Board, CPCA will inform strategies to ensure all California health centers have access to clean and resilient energy solutions. For more information, contact CPCA’s Associate Director of Health Center Operations, Amanda Carbajal, MPH.