Mr. Estes, Consultant and President of Horizon Services, Inc., dba Healthcare Horizon was privileged to teach a 2005 National Teleconference for RHCs sponsored by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy and the National Association of Rural Health Clinics.

This FREE teleconference was a one-hour training on the components and requirements of the Annual Evaluation. Special thanks goes out to all those who have e-mailed and called with comments and questions regarding this teleconference. Be sure to watch your e-mail for additional FREE teleconferences on topics of interest to RHCs in the future.

Healthcare Horizon has provided consultation services to Rural Health Clinics in forty-five states. Conducting an Annual Evaluation remains a requirement of the Federal Regulations. All RHC's must have an Annual Evaluation every year or risk being cited by the State inspector's office when they show up for the re-certification of the RHC.

While the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) Final Regulations will eventually "get rid" of this requirement, there are components of the Annual Evaluation that will remain a requirement due to their stipulation in other sections of the regulations.

The Final Regulations of the BBA have been temporarily "suspended" by CMS. Until these regulations are re-printed in their final, final form (expected to be sometime in the fall of 2006, effective in later 2006), ALL RHC's STILL NEED TO CONDUCT THE ANNUAL EVALUATION.

Failure to have the annual evaluation is a violation of a CONDITION OF RE-CERTIFICATION and could result in the RHC losing it's certification as a RHC.

Healthcare Horizon's Annual Evaluation includes the following areas: