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Clinic pursues Rural Health Transformation and Mental Health Trust funding to shore up ER and behavioral-health services
Summary
Director Wahl described applications to the Rural Health Transformation program (local ER funding and a six-clinic consortium seeking a licensing or CMS-waiver solution) and a partnership application to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority that could provide an initial $200,000 planning award.
Director Wahl briefed the finance committee on multiple external funding efforts intended to address the clinic’s emergency and behavioral-health needs. She said the clinic submitted two Rural Health Transformation letters of interest: one for emergent health services specific to Skagway and another as part of a multi-clinic consortium seeking structural solutions to permit facility-level emergency billing rather than relying only on FQHC codes.
Wahl described the consortium request as seeking not just money but a policy change or CMS waiver: "The solution would look more like a new license type or a waiver through CMS that allows us to bill facility in the UNM codes rather than just a FQHC codes." She warned the application process was terse (a dropdown box with a 2,000-word limit for letters of interest) and that the department will select which submissions to develop into full applications.
On the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority partnership grant, Wahl said the application is in and Rasmussen Foundation follow-up has occurred; the trust is expected to make decisions by May and the planning-phase award would likely be about $200,000 to start the project.
Wahl also reported HRSA technical assistance has begun to explore amending a co-applicant agreement to a single-entity arrangement; HRSA requested letters of intent from the board and assembly and Wahl is assessing impacts to the grant baseline.
Next steps: The department will notify applicants of which letters of interest they will pursue; Wahl will supply board and assembly letters of intent if the HRSA amendment path proceeds.
