In a well known LifeLock commercial bank robbers storm into a bank yelling, "Everybody on the floor." As customers hit the floor a man in a security uniform is chilled out when one of the customer’s whispers, "Do something!" He replies, "Oh, I'm not a security guard. I'm a security monitor. I only notify people if there is a robbery." After a brief glance around the customer passively says, "There's a robbery." The narrator then says, "Why monitor a problem if you don't fix it?" Well, the same applies to healthcare coalitions.

If ASPR has its way with Congress, there will only be 36 eligible awardees for Hospital Preparedness Program funding. Nineteen states will be out under a "risk-based" approach that limits awards to only those states and local jurisdictions ASPR has 'scientifically' determined have the highest risk. And before those states that appear to have avoided the axe get too giddy, know that ASPR expects you to compete with academic medical centers, state and local hospital associations... for the opportunity to administer the HPP cooperative agreement.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued an advanced copy of interpretive guidelines and survey procedures for the new emergency preparedness rule. The 72 page document is a near final draft necessary to guide providers and suppliers in meeting the new emergency preparedness Conditions of Participation and Conditions of Coverage that become enforceable November 15, 2017.

The 2017-2018 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that contains the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program (PHEP) cooperative agreements dedicates six pages to funding restrictions that limit how awardees can spend their funds. That's five more pages of restrictions than were in the 2016-2017 FOA. But, are all funding restrictions required to be passed through by awardees to healthcare coalitions and local health departments in their sub-grants? Well, it depends whom you ask. And that's a problem!

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is warning healthcare providers and suppliers subject to the new Emergency Preparedness Rule that they must meet the requirements of the training and testing program by the implementation date, November 15, 2017. And hiring a consultant cannot alone address the challenges of meeting the requiements.

Congress is pushing back on the President's proposed funding cuts to key programs that drive state and local disaster mitigation and preparedness for Nation's emergency management, public health, and the healthcare systems. Congressional sub-committees have rebuked the White House's desired cuts to ASPR, CDC, and FEMA.