October 2011
In this Issue
NEW MEDIA:
FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:
- The Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellowship in Minority Health
Policy aims to prepare physicians for leadership roles in advancing
health policies and practices that improve access to high-quality care
at the national, state, and/or local levels for minority, disadvantaged,
and other vulnerable populations. The fellow will pursue a master of
public health from the Harvard University School of Public Health, while
receiving a $50,000 stipend, full tuition, health insurance, books,
travel, and related program expenses, including financial assistance for
a practicum project. Up to five one-year, degree-granting fellowships
will be awarded for the 2012-2013 year. Applications are due January 4,
2012. For more information and to apply, click here.
- The Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital is
now accepting applications for the 2012-2013 Disparities Leadership
Program (DLP). This year-long executive education program is designed
for leaders from hospitals, health plans, and other health care
organizations who wish to implement practical strategies to identify and
address racial and ethnic disparities in health care, particularly
through quality improvement. Although applications are not due until
February 2012, interested parties are encouraged to submit an intent to
apply form by Friday, November 18, 2011. To download application
materials or for more information, please visit the Disparities
Solutions Center website here
or contact Aswita Tan-McGrory at atanmcgrory@partners.org.
PUBLICATIONS:
- Families USA published Medicaid's Impact in the States: Helping People with Serious Health Care Needs, which examines how vital Medicaid is for people with cancer, diabetes, chronic lung disease, or heart disease or stroke. For people with serious illnesses, Medicaid can be the difference between life and death, and cuts to the program could be devastating for them. Families USA also released Medicaid: A Lifeline for Black Americans and Latinos, elaborating on the importance of Medicaid for blacks and Latinos.
- Families USA released To Build a Strong Affordable Care Act, Protect Medicaid, which explains that Medicaid is the foundation for health reform and briefly discusses the proposals that could damage the program. Those working to implement health reform need to understand how threats to Medicaid could undermine their work.
- Families USA published A Message to Congress and the Super Committee: "Don't Just Cut Programs—Raise Revenues", which explains that increasing revenue needs to be a substantial part of the deficit reduction equation. Spending cuts alone would hurt low- and middle-income Americans and the economy.
- Families USA issued Sharing across the States: Strategies for Story Banking, which gives best practices advice from state advocates across the country on how to build a story banking infrastructure in their organization, find consumers to share their stories, organize and publicize stories, and more.
- The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies issued Segregated Spaces, Risky Places: The Effects of Racial Segregation on Health Inequities, a research piece that examines the relationship between de facto segregation in metropolitan areas and the health status of those communities. The report concludes that communities with greater segregation tend to have more severe health inequities.
- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People published the NAACP Childhood Obesity Advocacy Manual. The manual presents built environments, school-based policies, and food environments as policy areas to focus on to address the massive problem of childhood obesity, which disproportionately affects African Americans.
- The National Minority Quality Forum published an issue brief called Specialty Tiers: Unequal Treatment, which examines the insurer practice of assigning drugs to a specialty reimbursement tier—a tier above generic, branded, and preferred drugs that requires consumers to pay a copayment (whereas the other tiers do not). The piece discusses how assigning drugs to this tier has an effect on patient care; specifically, it compromises access to quality health care for minority and low-income populations.
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Legislative Update
Super Committee Holds Second Hearing
Members of the super committee held a second public hearing on Thursday, September 22, that addressed revenue options and tax code reform. Thomas Barthold, chief of staff for the Joint Committee on Taxations, testified. The hearing illustrated the broad divide over taxes, which has been a common theme throughout deficit negotiations between Democrats and Republicans over the past few months. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) urged against using any new revenues to rein in deficits. Meanwhile, Democratic co-chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) emphatically insisted that the committee must consider both revenues and spending cuts in any final deficit reduction package. The super committee has not yet scheduled its next public hearing, but it must give a notice seven days in advance of any hearing. October 14 is the deadline for congressional committee recommendations to the super committee, and it is expected that both the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees will submit recommendations.
Congress Introduces Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2011
Last month, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Asian American Pacific Caucus introduced H.R. 2954, the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2011. The bill aims to build on the gains provided under the Affordable Care Act and address disparities in a more comprehensive and integrated way. It is currently sitting under review in the House subcommittee on Health. Advocates can use this page for talking points, letters to Congress, and other advocacy tools.
Congress Passes Continuing Resolution
On October 4, Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through November 18. It was a clean bill and had none of the harmful policy riders that were included in previous versions.
Comments Requested
HHS Seeks Comments on Draft Strategy That Promotes Healthy Communities and Protects People's Health
On October 3, the Department of Health and Human Services put out a request for public comments on its 2012 Environmental Justice Strategy draft. The strategy aims to promote the health of all Americans by advancing environmental justice for low-income and minority populations. The comment period will be open for 60 days and closes on December 3, 2011, at 11:59 PM EDT. Comments should be emailed to ejstrategy@hhs.gov.
HHS Updates
HHS Convenes State Grantees to Discuss Exchange Efforts and Extends Comment Deadline
On September 19th and 20th, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services held a meeting with the State Exchange Planning and Establishment Grantees, including 46 states and the District of Columbia. The group discussed state-federal partnership exchanges and the federally facilitated exchange. On September 29, HHS also announced that they are extending the comment period for the first set of exchange regulations issued in July. Comments may be submitted on these and other proposed regulations through regulations.gov by the new deadline, October 31.
HHS Awards $103 Million in Community Transformation Grants
On September 27, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded 61 groups and state and local government agencies Community Transformation Grants totaling $103 million. These grants will help 36 states and the District of Columbia fight chronic disease in their respective areas over the next five years through initiatives that promote tobacco-free lifestyles, healthy diets, exercise and physical activity, and strengthened preventive services.
The Nebraska Urban Indian Health Coalition
In the urban areas of Nebraska, the Native American populations have long suffered from a lack of affordable and culturally attuned health services. Government efforts to address social and economic issues have largely overlooked the need to provide health resources to Native communities, which suffer from high rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, substance abuse, and other health problems.
To address the ills plaguing the Native communities and ultimately elevate the health status of Nebraskan Natives, an intertribal group of Native Americans founded the Nebraska Urban Indian Health Coalition (NUIHC) in 1986. With offices in Omaha, Lincoln, and Sioux City, the coalition provides primary care, health education, nutrition counseling, lab facilities, and many other services to nearly 12,000 insured and uninsured patients. The group has had success targeting Native Americans by recognizing the importance of tribal identity, family honor, tradition, and community in their programs and using culturally appropriate outreach. Its programs unite Native Americans and build a sense of community. Each year it holds Hoops for Life, a basketball tournament for local youth. Attracting roughly 100 attendees, the event provides kids with a wholesome and healthy activity, while also offering youth-targeted health services. Included among these are health screenings and youth consultations with counselors on hand. This year’s Hoops for Life will gather community members for a day of fun and health awareness on November 5. Each March, the coalition organizes a Wii Bowling Tournament for National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. About 150 people usually come out to bond with each other and some take advantage of the free testing provided by the organization.
The group has also implemented new programs, such as Soaring over Meth and Suicide (SOMS), which addresses the disproportionately high rates of suicide among Indian youth. The program provides a core of community support around this problem, while also educating families about risk factors and prevention. Because Native American culture is very family oriented, targeting youth allows the campaign to reach the rest of the community. Another new program, No More Empty Pots, teams up with tribal elders to bring local organic food into desert communities at low cost, ensuring that residents have access to healthy food that they otherwise would not.
Native American culture recognizes the importance of caring for family and the elderly, and the coalition incorporates those values into its work. As part of an effort to enhance elder’s health and quality of life the Tired Moccasins program gives elders in the community an opportunity to take part in recreational and social activities, get health education, and receive a nutritional meal program.
While the coalition is primarily a service organization, it has also done advocacy work around the Affordable Care Act and other health care issues. Executive Director Donna Polk-Primm has provided expert testimony for the legislature, served on task groups, lobbied Nebraska lawmakers, and served on various committees to advocate for the consideration of Native American health in policy decisions.
Through these various initiatives, programs, and the work being done in the medical clinic, the Nebraska Urban Indian Health Coalition strives to overcome the historical burden placed on Native people. By integrating Native American values and culture into its work, the coalition works to realize a grand vision of justice for Nebraska.
For more information, contact Donna Polk-Primm at dpolkprimm@nuihc.org.
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Latino Health Institute Summit
October 22, 2011
Edward J. Bloustein School for Planning and Public Policy, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Sponsor: Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey
For more information and to register, click here.
- 6th Annual Many Faces of Community Health Conference: Building Blocks for Better Health
October 27 - 28, 2011
Hilton Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Mall of America Hotel, 3800 American Boulevard East, Bloomington, MN 55425
Sponsor: Many Faces of Community Health
For more information and to register, click here.
- 13th Annual APHA Annual Meeting and Expo: Healthy Communities Promote Healthy Minds and Bodies
October 29 - November 2, 2011
Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Square, Washington, DC 20001
Sponsor: American Public Health Association
For more information and to register, click here.
- Seizing the Opportunity: Achieving Equity in Health Reform
November 7, 9, 15, 17, 2011
Los Angeles, Oakland, Fresno, and San Diego, California
Sponsor: California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
For more information and to register, click here.
- Building Community Engagement in Underserved Neighborhoods/The Path to Health Empowerment
November 17 - 18, 2011
Kellogg Conference Hotel, Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002
Sponsor: Summit Health Institute for Research and Education, Inc. (SHIRE)
For more information and to register, click here.
- 2011 Disparities Forum: What Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Would Want Us to Know About Health Care Disparities
November 30, 2011
O’Keefe Auditorium, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114
Sponsor: The Disparities Solutions Center
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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