Health Equity Connection for February 2013

In this Issue

• New Resources
• Policy Updates
• Fellowship Opportunities
  
• Health Action 2013
  
• Upcoming Events
  

New Resources

• Holding Health Homes Accountable for High-Quality Care: Payment and Quality Measures (Families USA)
  
  
• Five Key Elements of a Consumer-Friendly Exchange (Families USA)
  
  
• Advancing Health Reform by Inclusion: Engaging Communities of Color in Creating Policy Change (Community Catalyst)
  
  
• Equity in the Digital Age: How Health Information Technology Can Reduce Disparities (APIAHF, CPEHN, Consumers Union, NCLR)
  
  
• Informing Enroll America’s Campaign: Findings from a National Study (Enroll America)
  
  
• Immigration Reform and Access to Health Coverage: Key Issues to Consider (Kaiser Family Foundation)
  
  
• Translation Glossaries: The Need for Standardization of ACA-related Terms (NHeLP)
   

Policy Updates

Eight GOP Governors Come Out in Support of Medicaid Expansion
Four more GOP governors have announced that their states’ would participate in the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Within this month, Gov. John Kasich of Ohio , Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan, Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey have joined four other GOP governors in supporting the expansion of the Medicaid program in their states. This marks a major shift for many of these state leaders, who have been vocal opponents of the Affordable Care Act. To see where states stand on the Medicaid expansion, click here.

Automatic Federal Budget Cuts Hit March 1
Unless President Obama and Congress can come to an agreement, $85 billion in automatic federal budget cuts, known as the sequester, will go into effect on March 1. These cuts will not affect Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP); however, they will have a severe impact on many other health care services. In a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius states that the cuts would result in 424,000 fewer HIV tests conducted by grantees of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Such cuts will disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including communities of color. The budget fight is expected to heat up once again when the White House and Republicans reveal their budget proposals later this year. Republican budget proposals are likely to target programs such as Medicaid. To read more about how the budget fight will affect health care for communities of color, read our recent blog.

Groups Urge CMS to Translate Application for Health Insurance into Multiple Languages
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the first draft of the new single, streamlined application for health insurance in preparation for the launch of the new health insurance marketplaces this fall. The application will be the single point of entry, and will assess eligibility for coverage through Medicaid, CHIP, and other programs, and eligibility for premium tax credits to purchase coverage in the marketplace. Several groups have expressed concern that the application is not accessible for limited English proficient (LEP) populations and have sent a letter to CMS urging them to translate the application into multiple languages.

Fellowship Opportunities

AHRQ 2013 Summer Intramural Fellowship Program (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) 
Application due: 3/5/13

Health Leadership Fellows Program (Connecticut Health Foundation)  
Application due: 4/1/13

Health Communications Internship Program (National Cancer Institute)
Application due: TBA

Health Action 2013

Families USA wants to thank all of those who attended Health Action 2013! Our annual conference was spectacular, and featured great speakers such as Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Anton Gunn, Director of External Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services. To watch the plenary videos and check out our toolkit, visit our conference website. Also, check out this blog http://blog.communitycatalyst.org/index.php/2013/02/19/ten-tips-for-engaging-communities-of-color-in-policy-change-lessons-from-a-health-equity-roundtable/ written by Angela Jenkins from Community Catalyst and Joe Martinez from Health Action New Mexico, who reflect on the conference workshop “Engaging Communities of Color in Implementing the ACA.” 

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