HHSC has announced the enrollment for the Rural Access to Primary and Preventive Services (RAPPS) program. It is a directed payment program (DPP) for rural health clinics (RHCs) that incentivizes provision of primary and preventive services for Medicaid-enrolled individuals in rural areas of the State. The program also focuses on management of chronic conditions. In order to participate in RAPPS, you must apply by April 13th and be either a hospital-based RHC or a free-standing RHC.
The RHC must also be located in an SDA with at least one sponsoring governmental entity and must provide a minimum volume of 30 Medicaid managed care unique encounters in the prior fiscal year to be eligible.
The payment methodology is broken into two components:
- A uniform dollar increase in the form of prospective, monthly payments to all participating RHCs to enhance structure that promote better access to primary and preventive services (75 percent of total program value). The structure measures would include reporting on electronic health record (E.H.R) use, telemedicine/telehealth capabilities, and care coordination. We are aware that questions regarding telehealth will arise and more information is needed. We are further evaluating and will follow up at a later date with more detail and/or guidance.
- A uniform percent rate increase for certain services. Providers must report quality metrics focused on preventive care and screening and management of chronic conditions as a condition of participation in the program (25 percent of total program value).
The application is informational only and should only take about 15 minutes to complete.
