August 2009

In this Issue:

• New Resources 
  • NEW MEDIA
  • PUBLICATIONS
    
    
• Activities in the Field
  
  
• Policy Updates
  
  
• Upcoming Events

New Resources

NEW MEDIA:

• The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) hosted a webinar on health care reform advocacy and outlined the contents of their new advocacy tool kit. These tools highlight how advocates can promote quality, affordable health care that benefits Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.
• Recent segments on CNN discuss issues relevant to health equity, including studies indicating that race and weight may have negative effects on the quality of care that patients receive, the staggering obesity rates among African Americans (especially African American women), and the lack of access to healthy food options in urban areas.

PUBLICATIONS:

• Families USA released two fact sheets that are part of a series of talking points on health care reform. The first piece, Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Key Health Equity Provisions examines several measures in the health reform proposals that will address inequities in the health care system. The other fact sheet, Comparative Effectiveness Research: A Potential Tool for Reducing Health Care Disparities counters misinformation about comparative effectiveness research and outlines steps to take to make it more useful in the fight against health care disparities.
• First Focus published Achieving Optimal Health and Healthcare for All Children: How We Can Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Children’s Health and Healthcare, which discusses the importance of evidence-based approaches to addressing health care disparities in children.
• Mathematica’s report, Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: Partnerships Between Employers and Health Plans, examines employer involvement in measuring and addressing health disparities. The brief notes that a lack of awareness of disparities, legal and privacy concerns, perceived administrative burdens, and costs of data sharing have limited collaboration between employers and health plans in addressing disparities.
• The Kaiser Family Foundation’s report, The Effects of the Economic Recession on Communities of Color, examines the challenges that face communities of color as a result of the economic recession. This study finds that a higher percentage of Hispanics and African Americans are unemployed compared to whites, and unemployment creates barriers to accessing affordable health care.
• The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has released Trends in Child Health 1997-2006: Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Activity Limitation, which examines disparities among African American, Hispanic, and white children in their ability to perform daily functions and provides comparisons between children of racial and ethnic groups in families with similar sociodemographic characteristics.
• The Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved published Race and Ethnicity and Rural Mental Health Treatment, which examines mental health treatment rates across different racial and ethnic groups. The researchers found that racial and service system factors, such as the number of providers or health services available, may have a bigger influence on racial and ethnic disparities in urban areas, where more mental health services are offered, than in rural areas.
• Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured released its fifth issue brief in a series that highlights new opportunities for covering children under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. CHIP TIPS: New Federal Funding Available to Cover Immigrant Children and Pregnant Women examines a new provision that allows states to receive federal funding to provide Medicaid and CHIP coverage to lawfully residing immigrant children and pregnant women regardless of when they entered the country. 
  

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Activities in the Field

Center for African American Health, Colorado

The Center for African American Health (the Center) is a community-based organization located in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 2005 by the Metro Denver Black Church Initiative, the Center’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of Denver’s African American population. The Center provides health education and services to individuals who suffer from higher rates of illness; disability; and diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

In order to address health issues affecting the African American community, the Center partners with a wide variety of health education and health delivery organizations to provide culturally appropriate disease prevention and disease management programs to thousands of African Americans each year. The organization’s disease prevention programs include a wellness program for seniors; an annual health fair; public awareness campaigns; and classes about cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer, and colon cancer. The Center also offers disease self-management classes for individuals living with diabetes and other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis, and asthma.
 
The Center for African American Health speaks on behalf of African Americans in the public policy arena, and advocates for system reforms that improve health care access and quality of care. The Center’s staff members serve as representatives for the African American community on state and local commissions, task forces, and committees working on policies and strategies that affect the health and health care of the black community.

For more information about the Center for African American Disparities, please contact Grant Jones at grant@caahealth.org.

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Policy Updates

Update on Health Reform

The Obama Administration’s push for health care reform gained momentum as four out of five Congressional committees passed legislation that will influence health care reform before the August recess. In the House, the three committees with jurisdiction over health reform legislation have passed bills that will protect consumers; expand coverage; improve the quality of care for Americans; and promote data collection, workforce diversity, and prevention. House leaders expect to take this bill to the floor when they return in September.

In the Senate last month, the Senate HELP Committee passed its health care reform bill. The remaining committee with jurisdiction over health reform, Senate Finance, anticipates releasing its bill in September. The two committees will then combine their versions into one single bill, which will then be reconciled and go to the Senate floor for a vote.

Many members of Congress have returned to their districts to meet with constituents. Across the nation, lawmakers are holding town hall meetings where constituents are encouraged to voice any questions or concerns about health care reform. Lawmakers are using August recess to counter misinformation and clarify how health reform will affect citizens. For information on how you can get involved, Families USA has released an August Recess Tool Kit that will provide you with the necessary tools and tactics needed to have your voice heard.

Upcoming Events

• Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute: 2009 Public Policy Conference
  September 13 – 15, 2009
  Walter Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW, Washington, DC 20001
  Sponsor: Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
  For more information and to register, click here.
• Agency for Healthcare Research Quality (AHRQ) 2009 Conference
  September 13 – 16, 2009
  Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Rd. Bethesda, MD 20852
  Sponsor: Agency for Healthcare Research Quality
  For more information and to register, click here.
• Health Policy Journalism Institute: Covering Health Disparities
  October 8 – 9, 2009
  Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV 89119
  Sponsor: National Health Policy Alliance for Communities of Color
  For more information and to register, click here.
• Faces of a Healthy Future: National Conference to End Health Disparities II
  November 3 – 6, 2009
  Twin City Quarter, 460 N Cherry St., Winston-Salem, NC, 27101
  Sponsor: Center for Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities
  For more information and to register, click here.  
   
  

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