January Meeting of Negotiated Rulemaking Committee

I will be in Washington, DC Tuesday-Thursday Jan. 18-20 participating in the HRSA Negotiated Rulemaking Committee meeting that is reconsidering how the Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) and Medically Underserved Area (MUA) designation indices are constructed. The Negotiated Rulemaking committee was created by the Affordable Care Act. These methods (HPSA and MUA) are used to designate areas as being eligible for resources such as National Health Service Corps Physicians, Community Health Centers, and a Medicare Physician payment bonus. Subcommittees have been working hard since our last meeting in November and we are making progress. I will blog a bit from this event to give insight into our deliberations, which are open to the public if you are nearby the Radisson Hotel-Reagan National Airport on Jefferson Davis Highway in Arlington, Va. this week. Hours are 9:30am - 6:30pm on Tues; 9:00am-6:00pm on Wed; and 8am-Noon on Thus. There is time reserved for public comments.