Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

The Department of Health and Human Services has given a big boost to healthcare organizations' efforts to respond to pandemic influenza, other naturally occurring emergencies, and terrorism.

In a June 3 press release, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt says the department has $1.1 billion for health departments, hospitals and healthcare delivery systems.

"States and local communities need to be supported because they are the front lines of response in a health emergency," Leavitt says in the release. "These funds will continue to enhance community readiness by increasing the capabilities of health departments, hospitals and healthcare delivery systems to respond to any public-health emergency."

Health departments in states, territories and the metro areas of New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles County and Washington, DC, will have access to $704.8 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Emergency Preparedness cooperative agreement.

And $398 million will be available from the Hospital Preparedness Program of the HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.

The release says that the Public Health Emergency Preparedness money will be used to meet goals that include:

• integrating public health and public and private medical capabilities with other first-responder systems;

• addressing the public health and medical needs of at-risk individuals (such as children, or people with chronic medical disorders) in a public-health emergency; and

• ensuring coordination among state, local, and tribal planning, preparedness and response activities.

Money Going For Development And Improvement

Funding from the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response can go toward improving the readiness of hospitals and other healthcare organizations. The release says that recipients will use the money to finalize development of or improve:

• interoperable communication systems;

• systems to track available hospital beds;

• advance registration of volunteer health professionals;

• processes for hospital evacuations or sheltering-in-place;

• processes for fatality management; and

• strengthening healthcare partnerships at the community level.