The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing’s (HCPF) Office of Community Living (OCL) provided its quarterly update on the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) initiatives on Nov. 17th. Colorado received $530 million of ARPA funds in 2021, which have been allocated to 63 Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) initiatives lasting … Read more
On a panel led by the newly appointed Colorado Medicaid Director Adela Flores-Brennan during the 2022 Colorado State of Reform Health Policy Conference, officials from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) spoke to the state’s continuing efforts to improve Medicaid. HCPF panelists outlined some of the many plans it’s … Read more
The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Wednesday it will offer Emergency Medical Service scholarships to assist students looking to pursue careers in the EMS field. The Texas Legislature passed a $21.7 million EMS education and recruitment initiative as part of its American Rescue Plan Act package in October 2021. The legislation … Read more
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has opened grant application submissions for its Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Incubator Program. The program grants will aid eligible nonprofit and public health care providers in expanding services to underserved and uninsured Texans. “Supporting people’s access to quality health care is part of DSHS’s mission to … Read more
The Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) within the Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) concluded its Letter of Intent (LOI) submission process for Advance Colorado Broadband grants on Tuesday. The state’s broadband providers had until July 18th to submit their LOI to apply for grants aimed at statewide broadband internet expansion and modernization. CBO will … Read more
Last week, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) announced the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’s (CMS) approval of AHCCCS’s Home and Community-based Services (HCBS) Spending Plan, meaning the agency can now begin implementing the spending plan’s initiatives and programs upon approval from the Arizona State Legislature. Additionally, the agency announced they will … Read more
Governor Greg Abbott today signed Senate Bill 8 (SB 8) into law, allocating the nearly $16 billion federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding awarded to the State of Texas earlier this year. SB 8 allocated critical funding for various state resources and programs, including: $7.2 billion to the Unemployment Compensation Fund to pay back … Read more
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors today awarded $16 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to Valleywise Health to expand mental health care services in the nation’s fastest-growing county. It’s part of the Board’s broader plan to use available federal dollars as efficiently as possible to address public health and economic recovery needs … Read more
The Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) is currently preparing for the impending end of the federal public health emergency (PHE) declaration, which will instigate a lengthy eligibility redetermination process for one in five Virginians who currently benefit from Medicaid. DMAS Director Karen Kimsey provided an update on the organization’s preparation for potential … Read more
Virginia’s State Corporation Commission (SCC) will invest additional American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds — a total of $500,000 — to improve coordination between SCC, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS). The funding is part of a $20 million nationwide grant the Biden Administration … Read more