South Dakotans Decide Healthcare (SDDH), the campaign to expand Medicaid in South Dakota via a YES vote on Amendment D, has reached the final weeks of the campaign. SDDH recently released its second television advertisement of the campaign. Entitled “Debt,” the ad is a story in her own words of a leukemia patient who faced cancer treatment without access to insurance. Sarah says, “My first hospital bill was over $70,000. I remember thinking, I cannot afford to live.” The full ad can be watched here.

CHAD has been proud to be supportive of the SDDH coalition. Expanding Medicaid means over 42,000 working South Dakotans who earn less than $19,000 per year can access health care coverage. These folks are stuck in the middle – they can’t get insurance through their jobs, and they can’t afford insurance on their own because costs are too high. Amendment D will help our neighbors, farmers, ranchers, near-retirees, and small business owners and their employees.

Amendment D will advance the work and mission of health centers across the state. On average, about 20 percent of our patients are uninsured. Expanding coverage will help resource the work we do, enabling us to sustain care in some of the state’s most frontier communities and expand needed services such as behavioral health and dental care. The fact that our state has been allowing our tax dollars to go to other states rather than keeping those resources at home has cost health centers millions of dollars that could have been invested in building a stronger health system for all South Dakotans.

CHAD is partnering with Horizon Health Care, Avera Health, and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network to host a community roundtable at the Aberdeen Community Health Center on Tuesday, October 25, at 5:15 pm. Several more events are planned for the next few weeks, including film screenings and educational forums. Find more information on Amendment D, election information, and campaign events on the CHAD website.

Want to show your support for Medicaid expansion to your friends and neighbors? Contact Zach Marcus or Mitch Richter to request a “Yes on D” yard sign.

Important deadlines to remember for the 2022 election in South Dakota include the following:

• National Vote Early Day – October 22. For more information on voting absentee, click here.
• Voter registration deadline – October 24
• Election Day – November 8

CHAD Welcomes Jennifer Folliard as the
Director of Policy & Communications

Please join CHAD as we welcome Catherine Anthony as the outreach & enrollment navigator! Catherine educates and assists community members in accessing assistance programs and affordable health insurance through the Marketplace. This role enhances the Get Covered South Dakota Collaborative's ability to support increased access to health care coverage, emphasizing serving people with incomes below the federal poverty level, who are geographically isolated, and minority, unhoused, and migrant populations in South Dakota.

Previously, Catherine served as an admissions specialist for Avera McKennan Hospital and as a membership & enrollment specialist for Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. She also worked for Athletico Physical Therapy as their office coordinator. In 2017, Catherine became co-owner of Kosama Group Fitness and played a part in its long-standing reputation in Sioux Falls. Through her current roles and past experiences, Catherine demonstrates her motivation and passion for assisting and improving community members’ health care goals.

Catherine graduated from Dakota State University with a bachelor’s degree in business management. She lives in Sioux Falls, SD, where she enjoys spending time with her family and English bulldogs, working out, and traveling.

Contribute to Local Health Innovations

The quality improvement (QI) process of identifying a baseline, testing an intervention, and evaluating its effectiveness closely mirrors the research process … add in an IRB approval and publication, and QI becomes research! When health research is limited to large metro hospitals, rural landscapes like the Dakotas get left out, and some of the recommended public health interventions may not translate well into the health center context. That’s why it’s important to discover locally driven, research-tested interventions.

Health centers’ QI focus, patient demographics, and rich data sets make them ideal partners in this work. The Dakota Community Collaborative on Translational Activity (DaCCoTA) brings together local clinicians and researchers to develop innovative ways of combating disease in North Dakota and South Dakota. They use the term clinician broadly, encompassing nurses, social workers, physical therapists, and other medical professionals in addition to physicians.

The DaCCoTA is currently accepting applications. People can learn more on its website or by viewing this recorded information session hosted by CHAD. Letters of intent are due November 4 (CHAD members were given an extension), and the application deadline is January 20, 2023. Not sure what a research partnership could look like? Here are a few example project ideas/questions:

• Identify a clinical measure to improve. What population is most impacted? (Example: Convene focus groups to develop locally or culturally tailored messaging for cervical cancer screening reminders. Send direct text reminders and track the impact on screening completion.)
• Choose an innovative practice to test that needs extra time or resources. (Example: Integrate group-based laughter yoga into treatment for depression and study the impact of the intervention on symptoms.)
• Capture the true impact or value or work already happening. (Examples: Partner with a university researcher to study the health outcome impacts of onsite food pantries in medical settings or identify the value generated by integrating social workers or case management into primary care.)
• Is there a need for additional cultural learning among the team? (Example: Partner with a university and tribal community on a cultural immersion experience for staff and study the impacts on staff cultural humility and readiness to provide culturally safe care.)

If interested in applying but unsure where to start, contact Shannon Bacon at CHAD, who can help facilitate connections with the DaCCoTA team.

Registration is open for CHAD members to gather for an in-person, interactive workshop planned for November 2 and 3 in Fargo, ND. The two-day meeting will focus on marketing the great things health centers and their communities offer to attract high-quality job candidates. Attendees will learn how to polish each facet of the recruitment process, including creating attractive job postings, maximizing the use of social media and websites for recruitment, and other best practices to ensure great candidates don’t pass you by when exploring where they want to work. Visit here for registration and agenda.

Join CHAD for the 2022 Uniform Data System (UDS) training sessions on November 15 and 17 from 1:00 – 4:15 pm CT/ 12:00 – 3:15 pm MT. These free web-based trainings are designed to provide assistance navigating and preparing the 2022 UDS report. This training is for people of all levels of prior UDS experience and covers all aspects of the UDS report.

Effective reporting of a complete and accurate UDS submission depends on understanding the relationship between data elements and tables. This interactive training is an excellent way for new staff to understand their UDS reporting effort role. This training has been designed for attendees of all levels. All financial, clinical, and administrative staff are invited to learn updates, hone reporting skills, and share questions and experiences with their peers. Register here.

The first session will allow participants to gain an understanding of the UDS reporting process, review key materials, and a walk-through of the patient demographic and staffing tables 3A, 3B, 4, and 5.

The presenter will cover the clinical and financial information required in tables 6A, 6B, 7, 8A, 9D, and 9E in addition to the forms (health information technology, other data elements, and workforce training) during the second session. The presenter will also share valuable tips for success in completing the UDS report.

This month, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra issued the following statement on the Biden-Harris Administration’s final rule to strengthen the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Fixing the “family glitch” will help about 1 million Americans either gain coverage or see their coverage become more affordable. This final rule is the most significant administrative action to implement the Affordable Care Act since the law was enacted.

“Protecting and strengthening implementation of the Affordable Care Act is key to increasing access to quality, affordable health care. [This] action resolves a flaw in prior ACA regulations to bring more affordable coverage to about one million Americans. Our goal is simple: leave no one behind, and give everyone the peace of mind that comes with health insurance.

“Under President Biden’s leadership, our nation’s uninsured rate is at an all-time low and Affordable Care Act enrollment is at an all-time high. This is not by accident. We are meeting people where they are to tell them about their health care options through unprecedented outreach efforts. And through landmark legislation like the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, we have offered the lowest ACA premium rates in history. Our work to expand coverage and lower health care costs for American families never stops.”

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is hosting an employer Open Door Forum on Monday, October 24, from 11:00 am CT/ 10:00 am MT to discuss the recent action to resolve the “Family Glitch” that creates new opportunities for affordable health insurance coverage for family members of employees. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) final rule was published in the Federal Register on October 13 and becomes effective as of December 12.

This session is an opportunity for employers of all sizes to understand how this final rule will affect them and their employees regarding health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Subject matter experts from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRS, and CMS’s Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight will provide an overview of the final rule, discuss how it will change the HealthCare.gov consumer application for plan year 2023, and explain how these improvements can be messaged to those impacted.

Dial in number: 888-455-1397
Passcode: 5109694
No registration required.

Open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace begins November 1 and runs through January 15, 2023. Consumers need to sign up before December 15 for coverage to start on January 1, 2023. CHAD has provided a marketing toolkit to support health centers and partners in promoting open enrollment to their patients and communities. Contact Kayla Hanson at CHAD for access to the materials.

While all communities benefit from outreach, education, and enrollment assistance, some experience additional barriers to accessing coverage and care. Trained navigators with ties to their local communities have the knowledge to educate and give impartial guidance to those seeking affordable health coverage.

Health centers are considering how they can work to ensure that every uninsured patient has the opportunity to learn about health insurance and meet with a navigator or certified application counselor to see what resources may be available to them. Learn more at GetCoveredSouthDakota.org.

The Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law by President Biden on August 16. This landmark legislation contains important new provisions expanding access to all recommended vaccinations for Medicaid and Medicare recipients. The new law eliminates out-of-pocket costs for all vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for over 45 million adults enrolled in Medicaid and nearly 50 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries.

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and its inclusion of the Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act and the Helping Adults Protect Immunity Act (HAPI) Act, takes a crucial step toward eliminating those inequities by reducing financial barriers to immunization, improving patient awareness of coverage, eliminating out-of-pocket vaccine costs for Medicare patients, and ensuring that lifesaving immunization can reach more Americans. Long-standing inequities in vaccine coverage, particularly for adults, have hindered the nation’s disease prevention efforts and put older adults and persons with chronic conditions needlessly at risk of the serious health consequences of vaccine-preventable illness. The Adult Vaccine Access Coalition (AVAC) created Celebrating Passage of the Protecting Seniors through Immunization & HAPI Acts Tool Kit to spread the word.

Wednesday, November 9                           
1:00 pm CT/12:00 pm MT                         
Register here.                                                

Table 6A
Tuesday, November 15
1:00 pm CT/12:00 pm MT
Register here.

Table 6b/7 – Pediatric, Cancer, HTN, Diabetes
Tuesday, November 29
1:00 pm CT/12:00 pm MT
Register here.

Governor Burgum proclaimed October as Influenza Prevention Month, and the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services is reminding everyone to get vaccinated against influenza (flu) this fall. Please use www.vaccines.gov/find-vaccines to advertise any influenza clinics so community members can easily access influenza vaccines near them. People are also more likely to be vaccinated when it is convenient for them, so consider after-hours, weekends, or community influenza vaccination clinics.

Online & In-The-Know: RSV and Vaccination
Join Immunize South Dakota for an overview of RSV and associated disease, pathophysiology, the burden of disease, and disease management. The presenter will also review the five RSV vaccines in late-stage development.

Tuesday, October 25
12:30 pm CT/ 11:30 am MT
Register here.

Person-Centered Communication in Health Care
Join CHAD for a virtual training series focusing on broadly relevant person-centered communication concepts and skills, offering participants an interactive, skill-based learning experience. The sessions will include best communication practices and draw connections between evidence-based and consumer-voice guidance. The series consists of four 90-minute web-based trainings, and each session will feature a lived experience testimonial you can access after the training. After each session, CHAD will provide a copy of the lived-experience testimonial and a discussion guide that participants can utilize to share person-centered communication concepts with additional colleagues. Two sessions remain.

Wednesdays: October 26 and November 9
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm CT / 11:00 am – 12:30 pm MT
Register here.

Telling the Health Center Story
Join CHAD for this educational and inspirational introduction to community health centers. Participants will gain a foundational knowledge of health centers, including defining features, key services, and populations served. This interactive presentation will provide a context of the greater health center movement and legacy and locations, features, and impact of health centers here in the Dakotas. Attendees will be asked to consider how they will help share the story of their particular health center moving forward.

This presentation is designed for all health center staff and will be of particular interest to those not yet familiar with the broader community health center movement and key features of health centers. Supervisors should encourage their staff to attend. It will also be great for board members and patients who might be health center advocates.

Thursday, October 27
12:00 pm CT/ 11:00 am MT
Register here.

North Dakota Oral Health Coalition Meeting
The next North Dakota Oral Health Coalition meeting will be on Thursday, November 10. Visit the ND Oral Health Coalition website for more information.

Thursday, November 10
4:00 pm CT/ 3:00 pm MT
Join via Zoom at the meeting time. No registration is required.
Meeting ID: 812 4941 6579
Passcode: 949780

The symposium will provide opportunities for students and health care professionals to learn about the clinical practice world and what is happening in the field by engaging with fellow participants. Topics will cover conducting a family meeting, maternal-fetal palliative care, symptom management, laughter is the best medicine, and medical cannabis in South Dakota. This conference is intended for all health care professionals and includes in-person and virtual attendance options.

Thursday, November 17
8:00 am - 4:00 pm CT/ 7:00 am – 3:00 pm MT
Mount Marty University - Marian Auditorium, 1105 W 8th St, Yankton, SD
Register here.

CHAD Network Team Meetings
Tuesday, October 25 at 1:00 pm CT/ 12:00 pm MT – Outreach and Enrollment Network Team
Tuesday, October 25 at 2:00 pm CT/ 1:00 pm MT – CFO and Finance Manager Roundtable
Tuesday, November 1 at 12:00 pm CT/ 11:00 am MT – Behavioral Health Work Group
Thursday, November 3 at 12:00 pm CT/ 11:00 am MT – Clinical Quality Network Team
Tuesday, November 8 at 2:00 pm CT/ 1:00 pm MT – Communications and Marketing Network Team
Thursday, November 10 at 9:30 am CT/ 8:30 pm MT – Emergency Preparedness Network Team
Monday, November 14 at 1:00 pm CT/ 12:00 pm MT – Operational Excellence/ Compliance Workgroup