2021 Marketplace Special Enrollment Period Report
Last week, it was announced that 940,000 Americans have signed up for health insurance through HealthCare.gov Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Until Aug. 15, 2021, consumers who want to enroll in coverage, compare plan offerings, or see if they qualify for more affordable premiums can visit HealthCare.gov or CuidadoDeSalud.gov or call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596, which provides assistance in over 150 languages.
COVID-19 Related News
Community members can now use Vaccines.gov to find a vaccine location near them and then call or visit their website to make an appointment.
Community-Based Testing Sites for COVID-19
COVID-19 tests are available at no cost nationwide at health centers and select pharmacies. COVID-19 testing is free to anyone in the U.S., including the uninsured. Find a testing location here.
Join the COVID-19 Community Corps
Community Corps members benefit from a steady stream of timely news, resources, and information—including briefing calls with subject matter experts on strengthening vaccine confidence. Sign up here.
· Updated FAQ Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination
· COVID-19 Easy to Read Materials in Spanish
· Support for Teens and Young Adults: The CDC updated their information and resources for teens and young adults. The CDC also added information on how to work through stress, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse during this challenging time.
· Guidance for Operating Child Care Programs During COVID-19
· COVID-19 Data Tracker Weekly Review: Go here for CDC’s updated numbers on reported cases, variants, testing, vaccinations, hospitalizations, and deaths. The CDC also included travel information--as many countries and states are now loosening restrictions for visitors—and makes recommendations on travel.
Partner Resources and Toolkits*
Highlighted here are a few of the helpful resources that have come our way and we want to share with you.
· Clinton Foundation’s Toolkit for Faith and Community Leaders.
· Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and Interfaith Youth Core’s (IFYC) Religious Diversity and Vaccine Survey and PRRI-IFYC COVID Vaccine Religion Report.
· The Get Vaccinated! Black Faith Community Toolkit, created by the Skinner Leadership Institute in collaboration with the National African American Clergy Network. (Includes a guide for houses of worship who want to host an immunization site.)
· How Can Faith Leaders Help End the COVID-19 Pandemic? Support the COVID-19 Vaccination Effort created by the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) and includes resources for supporting vaccine access in houses of worship.
· COVID-19 Vaccines: Equity-Centered Approaches
Thurs., May 13, 1:00 p.m. ET. Register. This webinar, hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, will explore current and historical efforts to vaccinate communities of color and indigenous communities to evaluate lessons learned and their applicability to COVID-19 currently.
New COVID-19 Funding Announcements
HHS Announces Nearly $1 Billion for Rural COVID-19 Response
This funding is intended to increase the number of vaccines sent to rural health clinics and other providers serving rural communities to expand testing and other COVID-19 prevention services, ensure access to healthcare practices in rural areas, and work to increase vaccine confidence and uptake.
Funds will be awarded to develop and support a community-based workforce who will serve as trusted voices sharing information about vaccines, work to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence, and address any barriers to vaccination for individuals living in vulnerable and medically underserved communities.
· The first of two the funding opportunities was released last week and will award 10 recipients to engage with multiple organizations regionally and locally, including with community-based organizations, health centers, minority-serving institutions, and other health and social service entities. Closing date: May 18, 2021 (11:59 p.m. ET). Applicants should contact CBOVaccineOutreach@hrsa.gov with any questions.
· The second funding opportunity will be released in the near future and will focus on smaller community-based organizations.
Highlighted Grants and Funding Opportunities
Note: A primary reason funding opportunities are highlighted each week is to let you know of potential investments in your community. To participate in these funds, you may need to actively engage with local community partners, health care systems, and/or public health entities and contribute to your community’s collective efforts. Grants are listed in order of due date, note *new listings.
*Forecasted: Funding Allocation for Navigators
In April, CMS announced plans to make $80 million available in grants to Navigators in the federally-facilitated Marketplaces for the 2022 plan year. Details about the Navigator grant funding, including eligibility requirements and required Navigator duties, are available through the 2021 Navigator Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Forecast(CFDA # 93.332).
Innovations in Nutrition Programs and Services - Statewide Research
Funding aimed at maximizing the independence, well-being, and health of older adults and allow them to live at home for as long as possible. This opportunity seeks to verify the effectiveness of Senior Nutrition Program (SNP) innovative policies created during the COVID-19 pandemic. Closing date: May 24, 2021.
Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program Grants
Grants to improve telemedicine and distance learning services in rural areas through the use of telemedicine, computer networks, and related advanced technologies. Closing date: June 4, 2021.
American Rescue Plan – Health Center Construction and Capital Improvements
Funding opportunity is to support construction, expansion, alteration, renovation, and other capital improvements to modify, enhance, and expand health care infrastructure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Closing date: June 24, 2021.
FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program
The application period for $110 million in Emergency Food and Shelter Program supplemental funding has opened. This funding is available to organizations that provided, or will provide, services to families and individuals crossing the southern border into the United States.
Families who lost loved ones to COVID-19, FEMA will provide financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred after Jan. 20, 2020. Read their Funeral Assistance FAQ for more information.
Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities
Grants for training and deployment of community health workers to build and strengthen community resilience to fight COVID-19 in geographic areas and populations that experience health disparities. Closing date: May 24, 2021.
Grants to prevent fatalities, disease, and injury from mining and secure safe and healthy working conditions for miners through laws, regulations, safety improvements, education, and training. Closing date: May 28, 2021.
Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants
Grants for education and training programs to help identify, avoid, and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around mines. Special emphasis is given to programs and materials that target workers at smaller mines, including training miners and employers about new MSHA standards, high-risk activities, or hazards identified by MSHA. Closing date: May 28, 2021.
Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program Grants
Program to help rural communities use the unique capabilities of telecommunications to connect to each other and to the world, overcoming the effects of remoteness and low population density. For example, this program can link teachers and medical service providers in one area to students and patients in another. Closing date: June 4, 2021.
*Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-Based Program
Grants to develop, implement, and/or expand comprehensive programs in response to illicit opioids, stimulants, or other substances of abuse. The program provides resources to support state, local, tribal, and territorial efforts to reduce violent crime and drug abuse and enhance public safety while supporting victims. Closing date: Jun 21, 2021.
Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC)
Grants for projects in the Appalachian region and Lower Mississippi Delta region that will provide career training and support services to eligible individuals in counties and parishes and/or areas currently underserved by other resources. Closing date: July 21, 2021.
RWJF/DOT Pioneering Ideas Brief Proposals
Grants for innovative projects that are working to build a culture of health, ensuring that everyone has access to the care they need and all families have the opportunity to make healthier choices. Closing date: Ongoing.
Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS Competitive Grant: Housing as an Intervention to Fight AIDS
Funding to create and implement new projects that align with initiatives aimed at ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic using housing as an intervention in ending the epidemic. Closing date: July 6, 2021.
*FY 2021 Second Chance Act: Adult Reentry Education, Employment, Treatment and Recovery Program
This program provides funding under the Second Chance Act to develop a strategic plan for integrating correctional and employment programming/systems and/or establishing, expanding, and improving treatment for people with substance use disorders during incarceration and to help facilitate the successful reintegration of offenders returning to communities after a prison or jail sentence.Closing date: July 6, 2021
Project Talk Initiative Host Site Applications
Partnerships with community-based organization host sites to evaluate the impact of several approaches to promote advance care planning in underserved populations, including those from ethnic and racial minority backgrounds, rural communities, and low-income areas. Closing date: Ongoing.
Rural Business Development Grants
Supports targeted technical assistance, training, and other activities leading to the development or expansion of small and emerging private businesses in rural areas that have fewer than 50 employees and less than $1,000,000 in gross revenues. Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Finally, on Tues., May 11, 11:00 a.m. ET, FEMA will be hosting the webinar, Get Ready for Hurricane Season, so community members in hurricane-prone areas can take preparedness measures in advance of the storms!(Register here)
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