September 2009

In this Issue:

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

New Resources

NEW MEDIA:

• The White House has released a series of short clips that seek to correct misinformation on health care reform. In one of the clips, Kimberly Teehee, Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs at the White House Domestic Policy Council, debunks the myth that the Indian Health Service is health insurance. On the contrary, the Indian Health Service is not a form of health insurance but instead offers culturally appropriate services to Native American populations. Health reform will allow Native Americans to keep the care they have now
  
• National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) has recently released the first videocast, Moving Science to Practice and Policy: Addressing Inequities through a Focus on Place, as part of the NIH’s monthly Health Disparities Seminar Series. In the videocast, Dr. Brian Smedley speaks about the negative effects of racial and socioeconomic segregation on health. He also highlights some of the challenges and opportunities in applying research to policies and practices that address health inequities and improve health opportunities. The National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities funds the seminar series. Their goal is to disseminate information on advances and gaps in health disparities, and current issues in health disparities research.

PUBLICATIONS:

• In The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 2009 report, Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data: Standardization for Health Care Quality Improvement, the Subcommittee on Standardized Col­lection of Race/Ethnicity Data for Healthcare Quality Improvement identifies current models for collecting and coding race, ethnicity, and language data; reviews challenges involved in obtaining these data; and makes recommendations for a nationally standardized approach for use in health care quality improvement.
  
• The Disparity Reducing Advances Project released Equity Policies: A Review of the Recommendations, a compilation of 27 reports, memos, and briefs that identify action steps for creating health equity. Each piece highlights recommendations, strategies, and/or priorities for health equity.
  
• The Institute of Medicine’s recent report, Focusing on Children's Health: Community Approaches to Addressing Health Disparities, describes the evidence linking early childhood life conditions and adult health; discusses the contribution of the early structural and social aspects in children’s lives to observed racial and ethnic disparities in health; and highlights successful models that engage both community factors and health care to affect the child’s development over life.

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Activities in the Field

The Jaisohn Center

The Jaisohn Center is a nonprofit organization in Philadelphia that focuses on improving access to primary care for Korean Americans. It was founded in 1975 by eight Korean physicians who had previously operated a volunteer clinic that served low-income, uninsured Korean immigrants. The Jaisohn Center was one of the first Korean community centers in the United States—and the only one in the country to house a primary care outpatient clinic.

The Jaisohn Center’s mission is to promote and fulfill Dr. Philip Jaisohn's ideals of humanity through medical, social, educational, and cultural services that enhance the quality of life in our communities, particularly those of Korean Americans. From its humble roots as a community center, the Jaisohn Center has grown into a multi-service organization that houses a medical clinic, social services, and senior programs, all under one roof. The medical clinic is known for providing culturally competent and language-appropriate medical services. Community programs at the Jaisohn Center include benefits counseling; interpretation and translation; insurance counseling; promotion of Korean culture and heritage; and health promotion workshops and screenings (free and confidential HIV testing, mammograms, diabetes classes, influenza immunizations for seniors, etc.). The Center also offers ESL, citizenship, fitness, and basic computer literacy classes.

In memory of Philip Jaisohn, a memorial foundation was also established in 1975. The Philip Jaisohn Memorial Foundation sponsors the Philip Jaisohn Charter School that provides education to immigrant and language-minority students in grades 9-12. For more information on the Jaisohn Center, please contact Whan Chung at whanchung@verizon.net.

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Policy Updates

Update on Health Reform

Health Care Reform Update

Congress is back in session after a noisy August recess and members are getting back to work to ensure that health reform passes by the end of this year.

Now that Congress is back in session, the Obama Administration is reaching out to members in an effort to gain support for reform. On Wednesday, September 9, 2009, President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress where he outlined his plan for health care reform. In his address, he stressed the importance of getting health reform legislation passed this year. He emphasized how the health care system affects both the insured and the uninsured. He spoke about the need to control costs and create a stable and secure system, while also providing affordable health insurance to all Americans. The following day, Vice President Biden met with the Congressional Black Caucus, a group that has joined the liberal call for a "robust public option." Meanwhile, the President held a conversation with a group of 17 centrist Democratic Senators to discuss their priorities in and concerns about health reform legislation.

The Senate Finance Committee recently released their version of health reform legislation, America’s Health Future Act of 2009. The legislation proposes an individual mandate as well as the establishment of tax credits to help low- and middle-income families purchase health insurance. Although the proposal does not include the public option that many Democrats favor, it offers an exchange for individuals and small groups to purchase insurance coverage. The bill would also establish uniform categories for collecting data on race, ethnicity, gender, and primary language. Additionally, the legislation would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to collect data on individuals with disabilities. The Chairman’s Mark is scheduled for markup on September 22.

Upcoming Events

• Assuring Equity through Health and Health Care Reform
  October 1 – 2, 2009
  New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 5th Ave, at 103rd St., New York, NY 10029
  Sponsor: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
  For more information and to register, click here.
  
• NASPH 22nd Annual State Health Policy Conference
  October 5 – 7, 2009
  Hyatt Regency Long Beach, 2799 200 South Pine Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802
  Sponsor: National Academy for State Health Policy
  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.
  
• New England Regional Minority Health Conference: From Disparities to Equity
  October 14 – 16, 2009
  Westin Hotel, One West Exchange Street, Providence, RI 02903
  Sponsor: New England Regional Minority Health Committee and RI Department of Health
  For more information and to register, click here.
  
• Health Policy Conference – Healthcare Reform: Opportunities in Indian Country
  October 22 – 23, 2009
  Albuquerque Hilton, 1901 University Boulevard NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102
  Sponsors: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Native American Health Policy, Center for Native American Health, University of New Mexico
  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.
  
• American Public Health Association: 137th Annual Meeting and Exposition
  November 7 – 11, 2009
  Pennsylvania Convention Center, 1101 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19107
  Sponsor: American Public Health Association
  For more information and to register, click here.
  
• 3rd Annual Disparities Partnership Forum: Overcoming Disparities, Building Successful Diabetes and Obesity Programs
  November 18 – 19, 2009
  Hyatt Regency – Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202
  Sponsor: American Diabetes Association
  For more information and to register, click here.

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