September 2011
In this Issue
NEW MEDIA:
- The American Public Health Association launched its Public Health Newswire. The site is a web portal for news, events, and other information on public health as well as a forum for dialogue among readers.
- The Center for American Progress released an interactive map, Breakdown of Community Health Center Patients by Race and Ethnicity, for their report, The Universal Appeal of Community Health Centers. The map uses state-by-state data to show which populations are most reliant on community health centers, visibly underscoring the importance of community health centers for people of color.
- Kaiser Health News produced a chart called GOP President Hopefuls: Where They Stand on Health Care, which gathers statements and policy positions on health care from the leading Republican presidential candidates. The information is sorted by issue, allowing the reader to easily compare and contrast the candidates’ stances on different facets of health policy.
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched Comparing Health Care Quality: A National Directory to help patients compare local hospitals and physicians. The guide is a collection of reports on quality of care, costs, patient outcomes, and patient survey results. Its aim is to better inform new patients before they make important health care decisions. The Foundation also issued a news release on the launching of the site, which offered more information on the process.
FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is accepting applications for its Health & Society Scholars Program. Up to 12 scholars will be selected to participate in a two-year program at one of six prominent affiliated universities. The subject of study remains flexible to accommodate the scholars’ previous training, but the program’s main goal is to cultivate a diverse group of leaders who understand determinants of health and will work to reduce health disparities and encourage better health outcomes. Scholars will receive an annual stipend of $80,000 and health insurance coverage. Applicants must have completed their doctoral training by August or September 2012 in one of several eligible fields. All applications are due September 30, 2011. For more information and to apply, click here.
- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is also accepting applications for its Scholars in Health Policy Research Program. The program offers up to nine individuals the opportunity for a two-year fellowship at one of three nationally prominent universities with the expectation that they will make important research contributions to future U.S. health policy. Candidates must have completed their doctoral training in economics, political science, or sociology by July 2012. Scholars will also receive an annual stipend of $89,000. The deadline for applications is October 12, 2011. For more information and to apply, click here.
PUBLICATIONS:
- Families USA and the National Council of La Raza co-released The Meaning of Medicaid: A State-by-State Breakdown. The report provides an in-depth look at the number of Latinos covered by Medicaid nationally and in each state, showing that Medicaid provides essential coverage to millions of low-income, working Latino families who might otherwise have difficulty getting affordable health care.
- Families USA published The Super Committee: Where They Stand on Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act, a report that provides a profile of each member's position on these key issues. Another report, Medicaid, the Budget, and Deficit Reduction: The Threat Continues, explains the upcoming threats to Medicaid and urges advocates to speak up about the dangers of cutting the program. Medicaid Really Does Matter—And Here's a Study Proving It presents talking points on a new study that unequivocally shows the positive value of Medicaid, which will be a valuable tool for advocates in the coming months.
- The Center for American Progress produced two reports that highlight the benefits of community health centers, in addition to the aforementioned interactive map. The Universal Appeal of Community Health Centers examines the increased need for such centers, emphasizes the widespread benefits they bring, and discourages policy makers from cutting their funding. Cuts to Community Health Centers Harm Communities of Color the Most explains that community health centers disproportionately benefit underserved populations and highlights the centers’ ability to reduce health disparities. As a consequence, funding cuts would dramatically harm these populations.
- The Commonwealth Fund released a study called How Health Care Organizations Are Using Data on Patients' Race and Ethnicity to Improve Quality of Care. The report concludes that standardized methods of data collection for patient race and ethnicity would reduce health disparities through more accurate reporting.
- The Commonwealth Fund released Health Care Opinion Leaders’ Views on Vulnerable Populations in the U.S. Health System, a study revealing that most health care leaders believe community health centers will continue to play a crucial role even after the completion of health reform.
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Legislative Update
Debt Ceiling Compromise and Super Committee
At the beginning of August, President Obama and Congressional leaders passed a bipartisan debt ceiling compromise. This package gives the President the authority to raise the debt ceiling by $2.1 trillion and eliminates the need for another increase until 2013. This was an important political move for those who wanted to avoid another vote until after 2012 election.
The measure cuts $1 trillion in domestic and defense spending over 10 years. While this legislation does not include any upfront cuts to Medicaid, there are still serious lingering threats. The proposal creates a bipartisan committee of 12 members of Congress, tasked with identifying an additional $1.5 trillion in cuts through entitlements (including Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security) and tax reforms. This “super committee” will need a majority vote to pass a recommendation along to Congress before Thanksgiving of this year. Congress will be required to vote on the committee’s recommendations before Christmas. If the committee comes to a gridlock, an enforcement mechanism will trigger automatic across-the-board cuts, split evenly between domestic and defense spending. However, the enforcement protects low-income programs, such as Medicaid, as well as Social Security and Medicare from cuts. For more information, click here.The super committee held its first logistical meeting on September 8, and its first public hearing on September 13.
The 12 members are Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), John Kerry (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Pat Toomey (R-PA), as well as Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Fred Upton (R-MI), Dave Camp (R-MI), and Jeb Hensarling (R-TX). If one of the members is from your district or state, you can reach them by setting up visits in his or her local district offices, making phone calls, and/or writing a letter. To find out information on your Congressional leaders, click here.
Comments Requested
Draft Plan to Reduce Disparities in Health IT
After the release of the Federal Health IT Plan, the Office of Minority Health and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology posted a Federal Health IT Disparities Strategic Plan draft that supports the overall federal plan and addresses disparities in access to health IT. On August 24, they issued a request for comments on the HealthIT.gov blog in response to these two questions: What do you think of the draft strategies/tactics listed below? What specific activities would you like to see the federal government take on to reduce health IT disparities? Comments can be submitted on an electronic form available right below the blog posting until September 24.
Exchange Regulations
In mid-July, HHS released proposed regulations for State Affordable Insurance Exchanges that highlight state flexibility and insurance company accountability. HHS has opened a 75-day public comment period, asking for the field’s opinion on the appropriate structure, options, and support needed by states as they work toward implementation. To submit comments, go to www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions under the "More Search Options" tab by 5 PM on Wednesday, September 28. Families USA hosted a call to answer questions about what these regulations are, what is in them, and/or how to comment. To listen to the call and check out our other resources, click here.
HHS Updates
Free Preventive Care/IOM Recommendations Approved by HHS
In early August, HHS unveiled historic new insurance guidelines for women’s preventive health coverage based on IOM recommendations. The Affordable Care Act had already mandated insurance coverage for preventive services without cost-sharing for new health plans, even extending such improvements to Medicare. However, these new guidelines go above and beyond this previous extension to include specific preventive services that address women’s unique health needs and help keep them healthy, such as breast feeding support, domestic violence screening, and contraception. For more information, click here.
Cuyahoga County PLACEMATTERS Team: Reframing Decision Making
Low-income, inner-city communities in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, suffer from a variety of negative environmental factors such as poor air quality, sub-par housing, few clean green spaces, and a lack of affordable and healthy food options. A demonstration of the effect of these negative factors is the disparity in life expectancy between the suburban areas and the inner-city communities. The community with the lowest life expectancy lies within an inner-city area. Its residents live 24 years less than those in a suburban area just 10 miles away.
The Cuyahoga County PLACEMATTERS Team dedicates its work to eliminating health disparities like these by addressing the social determinants of health in their community. The team is a coalition of county health officials, philanthropists, medical professionals, academics, land planners, community members, and others. They coordinate with 15 other teams that work throughout the nation as part of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Health Policy Institute, PLACEMATTERS Initiative.
At its core, the Cuyahoga County team aims to inform, educate, and influence decisionmakers about social and environmental determinants of health. They ask leaders to use a health equity lens during countywide decisions and help them do so by providing them with tools that easily integrate these considerations into the policy development process. Given that low-income people and communities of color suffer disproportionately from poor social and environmental conditions, this work ultimately aims to eliminate disparities.
Land use has been a major advocacy focus for the PLACEMATTERS team due to its impact on the availability of healthy food, clean air, housing, and on other environmental determinants of health. They have held two health and land use summits, convening 170 municipal officials, philanthropists, developers, local planners, and public health professionals in order to reframe land use decisions within a health equity perspective. They have also developed the Health Impact Assessment Tool, thanks to generous support from the St. Luke’s Foundation. When presented with land use proposals and other decisions, the tool projects the positive and negative health impacts each will have, thereby framing decision making around health equity.
Another project aimed at enhancing the county’s health is the Healthy Cleveland initiative, which seeks to promote healthy behavior among Clevelanders through smoking cessation, diet and nutrition, and exercise programs. For this project, PLACEMATTERS has partnered with several Cleveland stakeholders, including Councilman Joe Cimperman, who has helped spearhead the campaign.
As a result of their efforts, several key planning initiatives in the Cuyahoga community have begun incorporating their suggestions, including the Mayor’s Sustainability Summit, Re-Imagining Cleveland, and Transforming Cuyahoga County Government. The PLACEMATTERS team achieved success through the formation of the Cuyahoga Health Access Partnership, which champions equitable access to primary and specialty care for residents unprotected by the current public health safety nets in place. The team also influenced the integration of health and quality considerations into the first ever Cuyahoga County Economic Development Plan enacted by the City Council this July.
The Cuyahoga County PLACEMATTERS Team continues to advance an agenda of health equity by advocating for place-based strategies and considerations in policy development. By engaging local decisionmakers and advancing a health equity lens, they ensure that the historic disparities of Cuyahoga County will be just that—history.
For more information, contact Najeebah Shine at nshine@ccbh.net or Sandra Byrd Chappelle at schappelle@saintlukesfoundation.org.
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Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference
September 21-24, 2011
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW, Washington, DC, 20001
For more information and to register, click here.
- National Indian Health Board 28th Annual Consumer Conference
September 26-29, 2011
Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center, 600 W. Seventh Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501
Sponsor: National Indian Health Board
For more information and to register, click here.
- National Council of La Raza Workforce Development Forum
October 11-12, 2011
Doubletree Chicago Magnificent Mile, 300 East Ohio Street, Chicago, IL 60611
Sponsor: The Walmart Foundation
For more information and to register, click here.
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities: Looking Back Seminar Series
October 13, 2011
O’Keefe Auditorium, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114
For more information and to register, click here.
- American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo
October 29-November 2, 2011
Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Square, Washington, DC 20001
Sponsor: External Medical Affairs, Pfizer, Inc.
For more information and to register, click here.
Requests for Local Publications
Here
at Families USA, we believe that public education is essential to
gaining support for health reform. We are asking that you help us in our
efforts to educate the public about the benefits of the Affordable Care
Act by informing us of local, state, and even national newspapers that
serve your community. We are especially interested in outlets that reach
various racial and ethnic groups and senior citizens. If you have any
questions or would like to submit publications, please contact the Health Equity Department at Families USA at healthequity@familiesusa.org.
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We’d like to hear from you!
If you would like to see your organization or event
highlighted in a future edition of our newsletter, please send us a
brief description of your organization and its activities, as well as
your contact information. We also welcome guest authors for
the Activities in the Field section of the newsletter. This section
provides members of the minority health field with the opportunity to
share their experiences and insights with other advocates. Please send
all correspondence to: healthequity@familiesusa.org.
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