March 2011
In this Issue
NEW MEDIA:
- On February 24 and 25, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, hosted a workshop called “Reducing Disparities in Life Expectancy.” This workshop was part of the conference Health Care Reform and Future Workforce Needs: Addressing the Needs of Racial and Ethnic Minority Patients and Other Underserved Populations, which focused specifically on racial and ethnic minorities and low-income populations. The conference explored factors that affect life expectancy and the role of prevention in changing these factors. U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin was the keynote speaker. To view the workshop presentations online and other workshops at the conference, click here.
- Stand Up for Health Care created a video blog series to show how everyday Americans are benefiting from the Affordable Care Act. In videos that focus on the important health care issues facing young adults, small businesses, women, and communities across the country, consumers highlight how the Affordable Care Act helps them.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES:
- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is now accepting applications for The Affordable Care Act (ACA): Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Grant. The objective of the demonstration projects is to determine whether an integrated model of primary care and public health approaches in the community can improve underserved children’s risk factors for obesity. The grantees will develop and implement projects for underserved children aged 2 to 12 years old and their families. Approaches to the projects may include policy, system improvement, and environmental support. Electronic applications must be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by April 8, 2011. For more information about this grant, click here.
PUBLICATIONS:
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality unveiled the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. The report summarizes the current status of disparities in the country, how they are changing over time, and where the greatest improvements are needed in reducing disparities. The quality report measures trends in effectiveness of care, patient safety, and timeliness of care. In addition, it provides the latest findings on the quality of and access to health care. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) prepared an additional report that suggested ways to reformulate and enhance our nation's essential measures of quality and equity. Their hope is that this report, Future Directions for the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports, will facilitate informed decision making and help set the strategic direction of the nation's quality improvement in health care.
- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently developed Enhancing Use of Clinical Preventive Services Among Older Adults: Closing the Gaps. This report aims to raise awareness of how disparities in the use of preventive services affect older adults in underserved and minority communities, and highlights the importance of these services. The report also discusses indicators for monitoring the use of clinical preventive services and provides examples of recent activities and interventions that have focused on increasing the use of clinical preventive services in diverse communities.
- The Center for American Progress released an issue brief titled The Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act: A Year Later, the False Attacks Continue. This issue brief talks about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act, including job creation, lower health care costs for families, help for small businesses to provide health insurance to their employees, and quality health care for all Americans at a lower cost.
- NHeLP recently released NHeLP Breaks Down the Florida Decision and What It Means. This short paper provides a summary of the case and decision and discusses the implications of the Florida decision on the implementation of health reform in the United States. The brief highlights the next steps of the appeals process. In addition to this brief, NHeLP released a fact sheet, 10 Reasons to Say Yes to Implementation, to explain why states should continue with health reform implementation.
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation published a new report titled Employers and Health Reform that examines the issues surrounding the employer requirement in health reform. Starting in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will require mid- and large-sized companies to make payments to the federal government if they do not offer health insurance to their employees and dependents. Supporters maintain that the “play or pay” requirement will help strengthen the existing employer-based system by giving more workers access to improved health coverage. Critics declare the requirement will drive up businesses’ costs and force layoffs.
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation compiled the report Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Care Public Perception Index. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Index is a monthly survey that evaluates consumer confidence and perception of American health care. The index is based on consumers’ difficulty acquiring health care due to costs and consumers’ confidence in the market. The Index also includes data on how often patients delay seeing a doctor when they need to go; skip a recommended medical test, treatment, or follow-up; or decide not to fill a prescription due to cost. The report delivers findings based on race/ethnicity, sex, age, income status, and education level.
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Legislative Update
One-Year Anniversary of Affordable Care Act Marks Beginning of Better Benefits, Better Health Initiative
On March 23, 2011, we celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. The one-year anniversary of enactment of the Affordable Care Act also was the beginning of the Better Benefits, Better Health Initiative, will educate consumers, families, and businesses about how to get the most out of health reform.
Congress Moves to Eliminate the 1099 Requirement
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011, which eliminates a provision in the Affordable Care Act that would require businesses to file a 1099 form with the IRS for each corporate supplier and service provider that they pay more than $600 a year. Small business owners are concerned that this would create an additional administrative burden. Unfortunately, the House paid for this bill through a “safe harbor” provision in the Affordable Care Act, which protects middle-class and low-income families from substantial tax penalties that may result due to unexpected changes in income or family status. The House passed the bill with a vote of 314-112. The Senate has already voted on an amendment introduced by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) which would eliminate the 1099 reporting requirement. Her amendment, which directed the Office of Management and Budget to use unspent money as an offset for repealing the 1099 provision, passed overwhelmingly in the Senate with an 81-17 vote in February. The Senate is now expected to take up H.R. 4. It is unclear whether Democrats will try to find an alternative offset for the House-passed version. For additional information on how this proposed offset would weaken health reform, click here to read the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ report titled “House Ways and Means Offset for Repealing Affordable Care Act’s Tax Reporting Requirement Would Weaken Health Reform.”
President Obama Releases 2012 Budget
The President’s 2012 budget was released February 14, 2011. His proposed budget aims to cut wasteful spending while making investments that will foster economic growth and job creation. The budget focuses on improving education, fostering innovation, expanding clean energy, and strengthening infrastructure. For more information about the budget, click here.
Comments Requested
New Rule Ensures Health Insurance Protections for College Students
A new proposed regulation announced by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks to ensure that students enrolled in college or university health plans benefit from important consumer protections created by the Affordable Care Act. In the proposed regulation, college and university plans would be defined as “individual health insurance coverage.” Protections provided for student health plans would include: (1) no lifetime limits on coverage; (2) no arbitrary rescissions of insurance coverage; and (3) no pre-existing condition exclusions for students under age 19. For a fact sheet about this new proposed rule, please click here. HHS is also requesting comments about how other Affordable Care Act protections might apply to student health plans, including the choice of medical provider and application of the new medical loss ratio rules. Please submit your comments to OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov by April 12, 2011.
New Rule on the Community First Choice Option Plan
On February 25, CMS released a proposed rule on the Community First Choice (CFC) Option Program, created by the Affordable Care Act. The Community First Choice program gives states an option to provide home- and community-based attendant services and supports under their Medicaid state plans. The option becomes available on October 1, 2011. States would be provided with additional resources to make community living a priority choice for Medicaid enrollees who are eligible for long-term care, and would make institutional care a secondary option. Comments can be sent to http://www.regulations.gov until April 26, 2011.
HHS Updates
HHS Announces $200 Million Available to States to Help Fight Premium Increases
HHS released a total of $200 million in its second round of grant funds to help states develop programs to make premium increases more transparent and allow states to stop unreasonable increases from taking effect. Of the total funding, $149 million is available to help states create or enhance their premium rate review programs. Approximately $50 million in additional grant funds are available as “performance” incentives for states that have the authority to approve or disapprove rate increases. Also, “workload” grants are available for larger populations and health insurers. For more information about this funding, click here.
HHS Unveils $4.3 Billion in New Funds to Help Establish and Expand Community-Based Alternatives to Institutional Long-Term Care
States will soon see significant federal support of their efforts to move Medicaid beneficiaries out of institutions and into their own homes or other community settings. The Money Follows the Person Program allows elderly people who suffer from mental illness and people with disabilities to move out of institutions and back to their communities. Funding for this program was set to expire in 2011, but it has been extended for an additional five years as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Thirteen states will receive more than $45 million in Money Follows the Person grants to start the program in their states, with a total of $621 million committed through 2016. To see a listing of states receiving this round of grants, click here.
HHS Releases New Report that Shows that the Affordable Care Act Controls Costs for Early Retirees
A new report released by HHS found that the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP), created by the Affordable Care Act, is reducing health care costs for early retirees. As of December 31, 2010, more than 5,000 employers had been accepted into the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program, more than $535 million in health benefit costs had been reimbursed through the program, and those payments had helped benefit more than 4.5 million Americans. The report also provides new information about how plans participating in the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program are working to generate cost savings for people with chronic and high-cost conditions. For a list of approved plan sponsors, click here.
Vision y Compromiso
Vision y Compromiso is the first statewide network in California dedicated to supporting and developing the work of promotoras and community health workers throughout the state. Promotoras and community health workers address problems that lead to underuse of important health services and help combat the causes of poor health in Latino communities. Maria Lemus, executive director of Vision y Compromiso, describes promotoras as people who care about their community and are willing to give back. With a large population of Latinos in California, promotoras are important in making sure that the working poor, underinsured, and uninsured get the health services they need. However, promotoras and community health workers do not only specialize in health-related services; they help Latinos in many other areas of their lives.
Vision y Compromiso’s primary role is providing promotoras with information. The organization’s Office of Patient Advocates holds community forums to educate the community about the benefits and rights of medical insurance recipients. And, the organization works with promotoras one on one. Lemus stresses the importance of getting information to promotoras because they reach the people. Unfortunately, many promotoras lack access to computers and vehicles. To reach the network of promotoras, the organization must go to them. Staff members host gatherings for promotoras in each region once a month. Trainers schedule these workshops and trainings at times that work for promotoras’ schedules. Lemus mentioned that many events for promotoras happen at night to accommodate the many promotoras who work and have children.
The organization’s work continues to evolve, particularly with the passage of health reform. The group hosts conferences and trainings for the promotoras, and last year the focus of their annual conference was the Affordable Care Act. This conference brought 900 promotoras together to talk about the importance of health reform and its role in the Latino community.
In addition to serving as a resource for promotoras, Vision y Compromiso helps promotoras to advocate on behalf of the Latino community. To understand the policy behind the daily issues Latinos in California face, the organization holds many training sessions on mental health, diabetes, disabilities, financial literacy, reproductive justice, and many other topics. They also host the Policy Advocacy Leadership Program, which gives experienced promotoras the skills necessary to delve deeper into advocacy and legislative work, focusing especially on how that work can be used to make a difference in obesity and eating behaviors in Latino communities.
Each year, Vision y Compromiso hosts a legislative day, which provides the opportunity for promotoras from various communities from the state to lobby on the health needs of their communities. Last spring, nearly 100 promotoras came together at California’s state capital to advocate for the Universal Health Care Act, which would provide health coverage for every person living in California.
Vision y Compromiso is a great example of how to bring health issues to the forefront in a community using trusted messengers to give beneficial and essential information to the general public.
For more information, email Maria Lemus at mholl67174@aol.com.
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- From Disparities Research to Disparities Interventions: Lessons Learned and Opportunities for the Future of Behavioral Health
April 6-8, 2011
Ritz Carlton Pentagon City, 1250 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202
Sponsor: University of South Florida
For more information and to register, click here.
- 8th Annual National Leadership Summit on Health Disparities and 2011 CBC Health Braintrust
April 11-12, 2011
Ritz Carlton Hotel, 1150 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
Sponsor: Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. and National Minority Quality Forum
For more information and to register, click here.
- Webinar Vulnerability 2030: Rethinking the Future for Vulnerable Populations
April 12, 2011
Sponsor: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
For more information and to register, click here.
- 6th Annual UAB Health Disparities Research Symposium: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities from Discovery to Delivery
April 25-26, 2011
Double Tree Hotel, 808 20th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35202
Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center
For more information and to register, click here.
- 2011 and Beyond: Latino Health Equity Conference
May 12, 2011
Portland State University, Smith Hall, 724 SW Harrison Street, Portland, OR 97201
Sponsor: Familias en Accion
For more information and to register, click here.
- Voices 2011: Purposeful Leadership for Tangible Outcomes
May 16-17, 2011
Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 2202
Sponsor: Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
For more information and to register, click here.
- American Public Health Association Mid-Year Meeting—Implementing Health Reform: A Public Health Approach
June 23-25, 2011
Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers, 301 East North Water Street, Chicago, IL 60611
Sponsor: American Public Health Association
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
Minority Health Initiatives Department here at Families USA at minorityhealth@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: minorityhealth@familiesusa.org.
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