March 2010

In this Issue:

• Policy Updates
  
• New Resources  
  • New Media
  • Announcements 
  • Publications
    
    
   
• Activities in the Field
  
   
• Upcoming Events
  
   

  POLICY UPDATES: Health Reform Update The health reform debate has reached an amazing milestone, and the historic legislation is now the law of the land. On March 21, 2010, the House of Representatives passed the Senate bill, along with a package that reconciles the differences between their proposal and the Senate proposal. The President has signed that bill into law, and on March 25, 2010, the Senate passed the reconciliation package, thereby completing the final step toward making national health reform a reality. The newly approved health reform legislation will make some immediate changes. Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny health coverage to children (under 19) with pre-existing conditions. Similarly, adults with pre-existing conditions will be able to purchase insurance through a high-risk pool. The legislation will also allow young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they are 26, and new plans will be required to cover checkups and other preventive care without copayments. For more information on other immediate reforms, click here.

New Resources

NEW MEDIA:

• DiversityRx and AHRQ released a new webinar, Translation Best Practices: Best Practices for Working with Health Care Translation Providers, which discusses best practices for producing multilingual materials that accurately convey the information in the source document. Health care experts discussed essential quality assurance steps for the translation process in a health care setting.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

• Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sebelius recently announced the availability of Recovery Act funds for the Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative. National organizations will have a key role in building a healthier nation, as part of HHS’s new Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative.

PUBLICATIONS:

• Families USA’s latest issue brief, Improving Language Access: CHIPRA Provides Increased Funding for Language Services, discusses the increased funding for language assistance services (interpretation and translation) and how states cover these services for Medicaid and CHIP enrollees who are limited English proficient, or LEP.
• Families USA published Building Blocks of Health Reform: The Social Security Example, which highlights the development of the Social Security program. Social Security has been an important safety net for minority seniors and is an example of how a modest social program can grow over time and become one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the United States.
• National Council of La Raza published a series of state-specific fact sheets that provide information on Latinos and health coverage statistics. The fact sheets include state-level data on access and the uninsured rate among Latinos.
• National Medical Association recently released Race/Ethnicity – Based Concerns over Understanding Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Plan, which examines how race, ethnicity, and culture influence the understanding of cancer diagnoses and treatment plans among patients. Minority patients were more likely to report concerns about understanding their diagnosis and treatment plan, and were more likely to indicate that additional information would have been helpful.
• Health Affairs released a report, Elderly Hispanics More Likely to Reside in Poor-Quality Nursing Homes. The study found that the proportion of Hispanics (aged 65 and older) who are living in nursing homes rose from 5 percent in 2000 to 6.4 percent in 2005. Although segregation in nursing homes seems to have declined slightly, elderly Hispanics are more likely than their non-Hispanic white peers to reside in nursing homes that are characterized by severe deficiencies in performance, understaffing, and poor care. 

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Activities in the Field

Arkansas Minority Health Commission

The Arkansas Minority Health Commission (AMHC) was created by the Arkansas state legislature to address disparities in health status among minority communities. Their mission is to ensure that all people of color in Arkansas have access to health care that is equal to the care provided to other citizens of the state. AMHC also seeks ways to provide education and prevent diseases and other conditions that are prevalent among minority populations.

The Arkansas Minority Health Commission has been a catalyst in working to close the gap between the health status of communities of color and the rest of the population in Arkansas. The Commission focuses on addressing existing disparities in communities of color; educating these communities on healthier lifestyles; promoting awareness of services and accessibility within their current health care system; and making recommendations to relevant agencies, the Governor, and to the state legislature.

AMHC has been a leader in identifying gaps in the health service delivery system that particularly affect minorities. They make recommendations to relevant agencies and to the legislature for improving the delivery of and access to health services for minorities. The work of the Commission has been beneficial for developing the appropriate policy recommendations and for ensuring that adequate services are available and that the needs of communities of color are met.

In an effort to reach out directly to the community it serves, the AMHC conducts public meetings and forums to provide citizens with health care information. These forums also allow individuals to voice their health care concerns to the Commission. The Commission then works to identify the appropriate resources and entities to help connect the community and individuals to the proper resources that will best meet their needs.

In addition to conducting public forums and meetings, the AMHC also hosts health education programs such as, “Southern Ain't Fried Sundays" (SAFS). SAFS is uniquely designed to educate churches and other organizations about healthier alternatives when preparing southern-style foods. This program has also been effective in educating participants about the signs and symptoms of stroke, diabetes, and heart attack.

On April 15, 2010, AMHC, along with their partners, will be hosting the Arkansas Minority Health Summit 2010. The Summit will open with a distinguished panel featuring three former U.S. Surgeon Generals including Drs. Richard Carmona, David Satcher, and Joycelyn Elders. They will share their perspectives on minority health policy, practice, and other issues in the context of the national health agenda. This Summit represents the first time in Arkansas history that such a panel of experts has gathered in one place to discuss issues that impact the minority community in particular. 

For more information about the Arkansas Minority Health Commission (AMHC), please contact Cozetta Jones at cozetta.jones@arkansas.gov.

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Upcoming Events

• US Conference on African Immigrant Health – USCAIH 2010
  April 7 – 11, 2010
  Hilton Atlanta/Marietta Hotel and Conference Center, 500 Powder Springs Street Southwest,
  Marietta, GA 30064
  Sponsor: Alliance for Health in the African Diaspora, Inc.
  For more information and to register click here.
  
• Arkansas Minority Health Summit 2010: Healthy People 2020 – Health Equity for All Arkansans
  April 15, 2010
  Philander Smith College, 812 West 13th Street, Little Rock, AR 72202
  Sponsor: Arkansas Minority Health Commission
  For more information and to register click here.
  
• Health Disparities Research Symposium: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities from Discovery to Delivery
  April 21, 2010
  DoubleTree Hotel, 808 20th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35205
  Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham
  For more information and to register click here.
  
• Native American Prevention Services Conference
  April 21 – 22, 2010
  Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center, 2501 Conference Dr., Norman, OK 73069
  Sponsor: The American Indian Institute at the University of Oklahoma
  For more information and to register click here.
  
• Community-Campus Partnerships for Health – 11th Annual Conference
  May 12 – 15, 2010
  Marriott Portland Downtown Waterfront Hotel, 1401 SW Naito Parkway, Portland, OR 97201
  Sponsor: Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH)
  For more information and to register click here.
  
• Seventh Biennial Conference Methodologies, Skills and Innovations: Cancer, Culture, and Literacy
  May 20 – 22, 2010
  Sheraton Sand Key Resort, 1160 Gulf Blvd, Clearwater Beach, FL 33767
  Sponsor: Moffitt Cancer Center and USF Health
  For more information and to register click here.
  
• Fourth Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists Minority Health Conference and Annual Meeting
  May 21 – 23, 2010 
  Renaissance Houston Hotel, 6 East Greenway Plaza, Houston, TX 77046
  Sponsor: Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists
  For more information and to register click here.

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