WWC follows up on pre-Affordable Care Act (ACA) survey

WWC coordinators, please set aside time in the next few weeks to complete the Women’s Wellness Connection Affordable Care Act (ACA) follow-up survey, the follow up to the WWC ACA readiness survey done in October 2013. A worksheet is available so you can plan and research your agency's answers before entering them into the SurveyMonkey survey. This survey will close Wed., March 16, 2016.

Please coordinate with your agency staff to ensure only one survey is submitted per agency.

The 2016 WWC CPT Code List is available on the website

The updated list includes 2016 allowable CPT codes for WWC clinical services agencies. New codes are indicated in bold and deleted codes are indicated with a strikethrough. 

Rates are based on information found on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid website, under physician fee schedule and clinical laboratory fee schedule. As per CMS, the new CPT codes became effective January 1, 2016. WWC allows both new and recently deleted codes to be reimbursed through June 29, 2016. The Bundled Payment System (BPS) is updated annually and will be released for the new fiscal year.

Changes to the 2016 WWC CPT Code List include:

• 87625- Human Papillomavirus, types 16 and 18 only. WWC funds may now be used for HPV genotyping.

Other clarifications include:

• Breast tomosynthesis (CPT codes G0279, 77061, 77062 and 77063) are specifically NOT allowed.
• Human Papillomavirus, low-risk types (CPT code 87623) is specifically NOT allowed.
• G0461 and G0462 codes for immunohistochemistry were deleted codes in 2015. Please be sure your agency is using the most recent immunohistochemistry antibody slide codes, 88341 and 88342.
• ICD-10 will not have an impact on CPT codes or rates. Changes in CPT codes are set by the American Medical Association and CPT code rates are set by CMS.

Please contact the nurse consultant, Angie Fellers LeMire with any questions.

University of Colorado - Buffs’ Play4Kay game

The University of Colorado Athletic Department's Women’s Basketball team is joining the Play4Kay initiative. The Buffs’ Play4Kay game benefiting breast cancer awareness coming up in a couple of weeks and they have three big events happening during the game:

1.  CU will be honoring breast cancer survivors by giving them and their families/friends free tickets and then honoring them during halftime of the game with an on court ceremony

• Survivors can register for the game/request their tickets by either visiting CUBuffs.com/pink or emailing CUPromos@colorado.edu.

2.  CU will be handing out pink CU Women’s Basketball t-shirts to early arriving fans.

3.  The Buffs are raising money for the Play4Kay organization through their team page. 

View the event flyer for more information. 

2016-2020 Colorado Cancer Plan

Plan Overview: The Colorado Cancer Plan serves as the state’s road map toward reducing its overall cancer burden. The 2016-2020 Colorado Cancer Plan is organized along the cancer continuum of care: prevention, screening, treatment and survivorship. It represents a collaborative effort of diverse stakeholders from across the state allowing the plan to be grounded in the needs of our communities. The compiled data driven objectives and evidence-based interventions focus collaborative efforts across the state to pool resources and accomplish projects that would otherwise not occur. Colorado's first plan was released in 1996, which preceded CDC supported state level cancer plan development and implementation that now spans all 50 states, DC, 7 territories and 7 tribes or tribal organizations.

Plan Audience: Every person who is connected to the cancer community can have a stake in the plan. Traditionally primary care, oncology, non-profits, public health agencies and survivors were plan users, but the new plan hopes to increase the plan's visibility to reach health plans, environmental partners, local government agencies and specialty medical providers.

Plan Implementation: Building on the collaborative process that developed the plan, implementation has begun with a prioritization process that will narrow 45 items from the plan (stemming from 29 objectives), to roughly 4-6 using stakeholder input. At the Kick Off Event on Feb 11, 11 items will be presented, and stakeholder commitment levels will indicate what the Colorado Cancer Coalition will focus on for the next two years. The Coalition will be the hub of cancer plan implementation efforts with backbone support from CDPHE.

The plan will be officially released at the Cancer Plan Kick-Off Event on Feb. 11-12. View the agenda.

HHS/OWH Funds $2 million in FGC Community-Based Grants

The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) is pleased to announce a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for Female Genital Cutting (FGC) Community-Centered Health Care and Prevention Projects. This national initiative (Funding Opportunity Number – WH-AST-16-002) will award a total of $2 million in grants for as many as 6 organizations for a 3-year period. Grantees will be expected to:

1) address gaps in the provision of FGC-related health care services for women living in the U.S who have experienced FGC; or 

2) to help prevent U.S. girls at risk for undergoing this practice from being cut, either in this country or abroad; or 

3) to focus on both populations. We encourage applications from U.S. communities affected by FGC and from organizations who have established trust-based relationships with communities affected by FGC.

The closing date for applications is April 15, 2016, and selections will be made/or work to begin in FY 2016. For more information, visit the website.

National Wear Red Day is today!

The CDPHE WISEWOMAN team wore red for Nation Wear Red Day! Did your agency wear red? Share your stories below!

Sustainable financing for community health workers: exploring medicaid opportunities

Dialog4Health presents a webinar on Feb. 11 titled: Sustainable financing for community health workers: exploring medicaid opportunities. Community Health Workers (CHWs) have gained increased recognition and awareness since the passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Many states that were funded through Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Center (CMMI) Health Care Innovation Awards (HCIA) and State Innovation Model (SIM) awards are turning to CHWs to help transform the delivery of health care in their respective states.

Utilization of CHW’s has historically been supported through grant funding. However, as more states come to understand the value of CHW’s as a means of improving health outcomes through care coordination, preventive care, and community-based engagement activities, they are looking for sustainable financing strategies, including Medicaid.

This Web Forum will feature speakers from state agencies in Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania who will provide valuable insight into how they have approached sustainable financing levers for CHWs, such as the recent preventive service rule change (440.130), managed care contracting, and health homes.

Presenters

• Rebecca Kishbaugh, Director, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Pennsylvania Department of Health
• Monica Kwasnik, Manager, Quality Improvement and Program Development Section, Michigan Department of Community Health
• Kate McEvoy, JD, Director, Division of Health Services, State of Connecticut Department of Social Services
• Sue Moran, MPH, Senior Deputy Director, Population Health and Community Services Administration, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
• CDR, Thomas Pryor, Nurse Officer, U.S. Public Health Service, Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Center
• Will Wilson, MPP Supervisor, Office of Rural Health and Primary Care, Minnesota Department of Health

Moderator

• Lolita Ross, MPPA, PMP, Chief Program Officer, National Network of Public Health Institutes

RSVP online!

Making the case for cancer control

The National Cancer Institute is hosting a webinar on Thursday, Feb. 11 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. Making an economic case for investment in cancer prevention and control is becoming more important year after year as needs mount and resources strain. The February Research to Reality (R2R) cyber-seminar will examine how cancer control practitioners can best leverage the expertise of partners to better understand the economics of cancer and therefore acquire and maintain needed resources. Register online!

World Cancer Day is Feb. 4!

World Cancer Day exists to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection and treatment. Take action to help prevent and fight cancer this month and throughout the year!

Use the hashtags #WorldCancerDay and #WeCanICan to spread awareness! See the left sidebar for more information and for sample messaging you can use to join the conversation and spread awareness.

Follow the CCC on Facebook and Twitter as we'll be posting #WeCanICan messages throughout the entire day!

Download free materials.

NCI-designated cancer centers urge HPV vaccination for the prevention of cancer

Cancer centers across the U.S. are releasing statements showing their support of HPV vaccine as cancer prevention.

Please see the attached consensus statement, and feel free to share it with your partners, use social media, or other outreach to promote this message.

What can you do?

• Use free CDC tools to promote HPV vaccination with all adolescent vaccines, at every visit.
• Learn more about cervical cancer prevention and use CDC materials to help promote the vaccine and screening message. 
• Help educate providers and community leaders in your area.

Read the statement from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers.