In its “News from Washington” weekly update, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) provides a series of updates on health care reform.  The information below is from the weekly newsletter.

NACCHO Releases Third-Party Billing Toolkit for Immunization ServicesAs access to health insurance expands, local health departments are faced with the need to develop billing systems in order to take advantage of revenue streams. NACCHO recently released a toolkit with resources, templates, and tools to assist local health departments (LHDs) in developing capacity to bill third-party payers for immunization services. More than 150 resources have been culled from CMS, state health departments, LHDs, insurance companies, and vendors of electronic medical records and billing clearinghouses. The toolkit includes details on how to get started, such as credentialing steps and contracting processes; how to submit claims; and steps for establishing billing procedures for other clinical services. To learn more about the Toolkit and how to view and download these tools, please see this fact sheet.

NCSD Releases Third-Party Billing Practices Guide for STD Services The National Coalition of Sexually-Transmitted Disease (STD) Directors has developed a guide to support the sustained delivery of STD services in the face of a changing funding and policy landscape, including the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Shifting to Third-Party Billing Practices for Public Health STD Services: Policy Context and Case Studies seeks to meet the needs of a range of providers. It is not meant to serve as a technical manual, but rather an introduction to what providers need to consider as they approach the decisions surrounding third-party billing.

CDC FY2012 Prevention and Public Health Fund Allocations A chart is now available of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) FY2012 Prevention and Public Health Fund awards by state.

CRS Report on Health Insurance Exchanges On October 10, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report entitled “Health Insurance Exchanges Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.” The report outlines the required minimum functions of exchanges, explains how exchanges are expected to be established and administered under ACA, the coverage offered through exchanges, and how exchanges will interact with selected other ACA provisions.

RWJF Two-Pager on Community Benefit On October 18, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released an issue brief entitled “What’s New with Community Benefit?” The brief discusses how local health departments and hospitals can work together on community health needs assessments.

Governors Unveil New Health Policy Web SiteThe National Governors Association (NGA) unveiled a new website, State Health Policy Options. According to NGA, “the site is a virtual resource center developed by NGA that will make it easier to explore potential solutions to health policy problems that state policymakers face. The website also will provide policymakers with innovative approaches from expert analysis and the experience of states in their efforts to improve health care access, affordability and quality.”