Archive 020708

February 7, 2008

State Senator Deutch Files Tobacco Tax Bill

On behalf of the Healthy Florida Alliance (HFA), Florida CHAIN is excited to announce that Florida Senator Ted Deutch (Boca Raton/Delray Beach) has filed legislation to increase the Florida tobacco tax by $1 per pack of cigarettes to fund expansion of health care access for low income children and adults. (by Linda Vaughn, Florida CHAIN) Read more

More Doubt Cast on Medicaid Reform:
Imperiled Consumers File Class Action Lawsuit

On January 10^th, attorneys from Florida Legal Services and Legal Aid Service of Broward County filed a class action lawsuit in federal court on behalf of three Medicaid Reform participants. Reform participants in general seem justified in wondering how Reform itself could be rolled out in only a few months, but a basic flaw denying consumers due process still may not be fixed after two years. (by Greg Mellowe, Florida CHAIN) Read more

Governor’s Budget Proposal Calls for Optimism, Fewer Cuts. . . and Even Expanded Access to Care

A cruel irony associated with our economic downturn is that a slower economy means less State revenue, particularly in sales-tax-dependent Florida. Overall, Gov. Crist's proposed 2008-9 budget for Medicaid and other health care services includes a net reduction of $132 million. However, amidst the inevitable line-by-line reductions are some proposed increases and new initiatives that demonstrate the Governor’s recognition of some of the critical factors tearing or shrinking the health care safety net. (by Greg Mellowe, Florida CHAIN) Read more

Florida Voters Approve Amendment One by Wide Margin

On January 29, a remarkable 41.8% of the Florida electorate turned out to vote. Only one item appeared on all of the 4.3 million ballots cast: Amendment One. The property tax reform initiative passed with relative ease, with approximately 2.7 million Floridians (64%) in favor. (by Greg Mellowe, Florida CHAIN) Read more

Volunteers Sought for Broward Managed Care Ombudsman Committee

The Managed Care Ombudsman Committee (MCOC) is a voluntary organization whose members serve as advocates for consumers with their managed health care plans. The MCOC assists consumers by helping them understand their rights and responsibilities under their health plan contracts; helping them to understand and “navigate” through their health plan’s internal grievance procedure and helping them file a grievance with the Subscriber Assistance Program when they are not satisfied with the outcome of the grievances filed with their health plan. The Broward chapter cannot start assisting consumers until it fills the following slots: Podiatrist, Psychologist, Social Worker and M.D. . If you fall under one of these categories and are interested in serving on the MCOC, call 954-424-3397.

Despite Its Relationship to Overall Health and School Performance, Oral Health Eludes Many Low-Income Children

Tooth decay is considered the number one chronic childhood disease in the country. In the United States, between 4-5 million children suffer dental disease bad enough that they have functional impairments from dental pain such as not sleeping or eating well, or not being able to concentrate. Access to dental care can drastically change these outcomes. Miami-Dade Medicaid Prepaid Dental Plan and Florida Medicaid Reform have become part of the problem rather than its solution. (by Elise Linder, Collins Center for Public Policy) Read more

Florida Covering Kids and Families Gets Yearlong Extension from AHCA to Continue KidCare Outreach

The Florida Covering Kids and Families Initiative, based at the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies at the University of South Florida, announced last week that the Agency for Health Care Administration has extended their contract to continue performing statewide outreach for Florida KidCare, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. This will help maintain this momentum toward enrolling all eligible children in Florida KidCare. (by Patrick Cannon, Ph.D., Florida Covering Kids & Families) Read more

Two New Reports Identify Uninsured Floridians and Impact of Having No Coverage

You likely know that more than 3.8 million Floridians lack health insurance coverage. Two recent reports shed light on uninsured Floridians, as well as the impact of lack of coverage on their families and communities. First, a Kaiser Family Foundation report revealed that 24% of Floridian women between 18 and 64 were uninsured in 2005-06. Second, the Institute for Child Health Policy at the University of Florida found that 1 in every 8 Florida children is uninsured, up slightly from 2004. Yet, 72% of uninsured kids are likely eligible for coverage Florida KidCare. (by Greg Mellowe, Florida CHAIN) Read more


	Medicaid Coverage for Workers with Disabilities Gains Ground in Florida Statewide momentum is growing around the Work Incentive Medicaid Coverage Initiative to change Florida law to allow people with disabilities to go back to work without fear of losing their Medicaid coverage. 39 other states already do this! This month, Rep. Betty Reid from Tampa and Senator Ted Deutch from Boca Raton/Delray Beach agreed to sponsor a Florida bill. (by Olga Golik, Esq., Citrus Health Network) Read more

	Health Navigator Helps Consumer Access Medicaid After experiencing blurred vision, Susan, a 48-year-old single mother suffering from diabetes and hypertension, went to a local family health center for medical assistance. She was diagnosed with Proliferatic Diabetic Retinopathy and was scheduled to have surgery the following week. After her physician realized that her insurance would not cover the surgery, he refused to proceed with the operation until the full amount was paid. Fortunately, Susan's Health Navigator assisted her in accessing the care she needed. (by Meg Buckley Savane, Human Services Coalition) Read more




	CHAIN Reaction is a bi-weekly publication of Florida CHAIN (Community Health Action Information Network), a statewide consumer advocacy organization that works toward access to quality health care, empowering people to actively shape their world by participating in civic life and caring for each other’s well being. Florida CHAIN: 2812 N. 34th Avenue, Hollywood, FL 33021 info@floridachain.org www.floridachain.org

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State Senator Deutch Files Tobacco Tax Bill

In sponsoring this legislation Senator Deutch declared: “This bill will help save lives. It will fund healthcare for those who are least able to afford it and ensure there are doctors for those who need them the most.”

Florida’s tobacco tax has not been increased since 1990, while 43 states have raised their cigarette taxes since 2002. The average state cigarette tax is $1.11 while nine states exceed $2.00 per pack.

Tobacco use imposes enormous cost on Florida - the burden of the Medicaid program alone exceeds $1 billion. Funding for health care will be extremely difficult in the current economic environment. Increasing the tobacco tax could raise up to approximately $1 billion in revenue to create a safety net for these life saving services.

Please help us turn the volume up to expand health care access to Floridians by becoming an HFA partner. To join HFA or for more information on the tobacco tax, visit www.healthyfloridaalliance.org or contact Linda Vaughn at lindav@floridachain.org or 850-294-2285.

(Submitted by Linda Vaughn, Florida CHAIN)

More Doubt Cast on Medicaid Reform:

Imperiled Consumers File Class Action Lawsuit

On January 10^th, attorneys from Florida Legal Services and Legal Aid Service of Broward County filed a class action lawsuit in federal court on behalf of three Medicaid Reform participants.

Under federal Medicaid laws, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) is required to provide notice to consumers about their right to change or leave their health plans. More specifically, first, consumers must be permitted to disenroll at any time for a valid reason (“for cause”). Under Florida law, cause may include poor quality of care, lack of access to necessary specialty services, unreasonable delay or denial of service, inappropriate changes of primary care providers, [and] impaired access due to significant changes in the location of services.” Second, consumers can disenroll for any reason within 90 days of receipt of their notice of initial enrollment in a plan or during the 90-day annual open enrollment period. In the latter case, federal law requires that AHCA provide consumers with written notice of their right to disenroll at least 60 days before the open enrollment period begins.

With regard to the class action, the three consumers asked the court not only to acknowledge the impact of the alleged violations on them directly, but also to deem their individual cases as representative of the 197,000 Floridians already required to participate in Reform and of future participants as well.

The consumers requested that court provide both “declarative” and “injunctive” relief. In short, they asked the court: 1) to formally rule that AHCA’s practices violate federal law, and 2) to require AHCA to correct its forms and process, and suspend mandatory enrollment in Medicaid Reform until the problems are fixed.

The consumers maintain that AHCA’s practices in the area of disenrollment deprive consumers of essential protections and create serious violations of federal Medicaid law. Admittedly, the waiver approved by the federal government allows Florida the flexibility to ignore a number of regulations in order to promote innovation. The requirements pertaining to disenrollment were never waived, however, and the federal Medicaid statute is clear that any laws not explicitly waived remain “in full force and effect”.

Medicaid is first and foremost a State program, and is to be administered by AHCA in accordance with State laws and rules. That said, the Medicaid program was created by Congress, the majority of funding for Medicaid in Florida is federal, and the State must comply with all applicable federal Medicaid laws. This lawsuit was filed in federal court, where the consumers are suing the AHCA Secretary in his capacity as State Medicaid administrator in what is referred to as a “1983 action” (named for a section of the Civil Rights Act). The gist is that, although federal Medicaid law is already in effect and should be sufficient to protect consumers, that protection is compromised by the fact that the State official charged with upholding that law is unwilling to do so.

The consumers allege that not only did AHCA fail to provide the required notice regarding their right to disenroll, the multiple notices they did provide were misleading or contained incomplete information. According to the complaint, choice counselors didn’t help matters. The phone script they used also omits all mention of the right to disenroll for cause.

The three consumers reported harrowing experiences in Medicaid Reform that were prolonged as a result of AHCA’s failure to comply with the law. Two were advised that their providers were participants in their selected plan’s network when that was not the case, while another was assigned to a provider in another city. Furthermore, all were denied or delayed access to essential medications. Yet none were provided information about how to disenroll for cause.

On February 4th, AHCA filed a motion insisting that the court dismiss the case on numerous grounds, including ALL of the following: 1) none of the consumers are technically “locked in” to a health plan now, because AHCA either already “unlocked” them or wasn’t enforcing the lock; 2) AHCA is only required to “provide for”(not “directly provide”) notification, and it met that requirement because its approved contracts with HMOs require notification; 3) none of the consumers was ever actually denied the opportunity to disenroll; 4) complete compliance with the law in question isn’t actually required anyway; and 5) “quibbles with [the] technical administration” of Medicaid Reform are not civil rights violations, and the federal government can instead just cut off Medicaid funds to Florida if such violations warrant it.

The legal merits of AHCA’s request will be decided by the court at a later date. Regardless, one cannot read the 17-page filing without wondering how much more empowered consumers would be to exercise choice if AHCA worked half as tenaciously on informing consumers as on disavowing its responsibility to inform them.

The action in federal court follows stymied efforts to address related problems at the State level. In August 2007, two participants in Medicaid Reform filed a challenge to AHCA’s disenrollment policy with the State Division of Administrative Hearings. In this case, the consumers asked for formal development of rules to clarify, among other things, that consumers can request fair hearings when denied the opportunity to disenroll. That case is currently on hold, while the parties await the rule development AHCA ultimately agreed to undertake in October.

A required February 1 status report provided by AHCA advised that the rulemaking process would be delayed yet again due to timing issues. Finalization of a rule prior to the start of Year 3 of Reform now seems impossible.

In neither case has a judge ruled definitively on the merits of the consumers’ claims. However, Reform participants seem justified in wondering how Reform itself could be rolled out in only a few months, but a basic flaw denying consumers due process still may not be fixed after two years.

Note: This summary was not prepared by an attorney and is intended only for informational purposes.

(Submitted by Greg Mellowe, Florida CHAIN)

Governor’s Budget Proposal Calls for Optimism, Fewer Cuts. . . and Even Expanded Access to Care

A cruel irony associated with our economic downturn is that a slower economy means less State revenue, particularly in sales-tax-dependent Florida (although 20 states currently project shortfalls totaling more than $34 billion dollars). As the number of families struggling has increased, the resources available to respond have decreased.

Florida currently faces a projected funding gap of $2 billion (about 6.5% of General Revenue) for 2008-09, even as it limps through an equally bleak 2007-08. This spring, the Legislature will have the unenviable task of figuring out where to find sufficient savings, especially since Florida is constitutionally prohibited from deficit spending.

The first step in the budget (appropriations) process is for the Governor to provide budget recommendations to the Legislature. These recommendations serve as a non-binding starting point for the House and Senate as they build their own proposed budgets. By the end of the Session in May, the two chambers will agree on a final proposed budget, which then must go back to the Governor for final approval (including line-item vetoes).

Last week, Governor Crist released his 2008-09 budget recommendations, using a number of unconventional methods and revenue sources in an effort to avert many reductions, ultimately calling for a painful but far less dramatic $300 million net reduction. The proposal faces certain criticism from some quarters due to its reliance on new Seminole casino gambling proceeds, diverted funds from Florida’s settlement with tobacco companies, reserve funds and other one-time switches.

The budget is a complex document, so some totals are not easily compared. Overall, however, the proposed budget for Medicaid and other health care services includes a net reduction of $132 million. However, amidst the inevitable line-by-line reductions are some proposed increases and new initiatives that demonstrate the Governor’s recognition of some of the critical factors tearing or shrinking the health care safety net. Examples of these additions to the budget include:

· $63.9 million to launch the “Cover Florida Health Care Access Program”, a 3-year pilot program that would expand the safety net “through hospital and county health department partnerships” in 14 counties. The initiative calls for outreach workers to go door-to-door or staff mobile health units in targeted neighborhoods where emergency room usage by uninsured people is highest. Eligible residents would be enrolled in Medicaid or KidCare; others would be directed to community health centers or health departments. A primary expected outcome is the diversion of hundreds of thousands of uninsured residents with non-emergency conditions from hospital emergency rooms.

· $60.6 million to enroll 46,000 additional children in coverage through the Healthy Kids component of Florida KidCare, increasing the total number enrolled to more than 311,000, the highest level since rolls plummeted in 2004 due to severely tightened eligibility requirements.

· $21.8 million to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates to dentists by an average of 20 percent (as the current participation rate by Florida dentists in Medicaid is only 10%).

· $15.9 million to increase physician fee reimbursements in key specialty areas (i.e., dermatologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons and orthopedic surgeons) where the shortage of participating specialists has reached crisis level, although this would only boost rates to 50% of Medicare levels.

· 11.9 million to increase home health care reimbursement rates by 5%.

On the other side of the ledger, the most significant savings in the Governor’s health care budget proposal would come from reducing payments to HMOs for Medicaid managed care, and spending less for other services like hospital services and pharmaceuticals.

Some legislative leaders have already indicated that the Governor’s budget incorporates several assumptions with which they likely won’t be comfortable, and so proposals calling for deeper cuts can be anticipated in the House and Senate versions. In fact, AHCA’s own budget recommendations to the Governor, which of course did not include any of his less conventional assumptions and proposals, suggested that more than half a billion dollars in Medicaid cuts would be needed.

To review the details of the Governor’s budget proposal, visit http://www.thepeoplesbudget.state.fl.us/

(Submitted by Greg Mellowe, Florida CHAIN)

Florida Voters Approve Amendment One by Wide Margin

On January 29^th, a remarkable 41.8% of the Florida electorate turned out to vote in the presidential primaries. Only one item appeared on all of the 4.3 million ballots cast: Amendment One. The property tax reform initiative passed with relative ease, with approximately 2.7 million Floridians (64%) in favor. Even though voters previously raised the standard for amending the Florida Constitution to 60%, Amendment One still passed with 160,000 votes to spare.

The level of support surprised some, but it was likely attributable to overriding economic concerns. It ultimately proved too difficult for many voters to turn down the direct benefit of tax relief, although the average Florida homeowner stands to save only $240 on his or her property taxes. The initiative may also have benefited from its complexity (for example, it did not actually double the homestead exemption) and from successful efforts by supporters to portray local governments as insatiable spenders. The proposal apparently even appealed to many renters, who stand to gain nothing from the passage of the amendment, except that they may expect to become homeowners with lower tax bills in the future.

Even so, there was significant variation in the level of support expressed for the proposal in different parts of the state. The Orlando Sentinel noted a correlation between the favorability of Amendment One and the extent to which property taxes have skyrocketed locally. Voters in large, southern coastal counties overwhelmingly supported the tax cut: Broward-Ft. Lauderdale (71%), Collier-Naples (81%), Lee-Ft. Myers (82%). However, voters in a number of interior or rural counties were not as enthusiastic: Orange-Orlando (56%), Duval-Jacksonville (47%) and Leon-Tallahassee (36%).

Amendment One’s passage was also seen as a victory for Governor Charlie Crist, who campaigned vigorously for the proposal and had promised property tax reform during his gubernatorial campaign. In releasing his proposed 2008-09 budget, Crist incorporated his optimism that the tax cuts would spark a rebound in the State’s economy. The approval of the initiative may have also set the stage for fiscally conservative legislators to offer up additional property tax relief ideas for potential placement on the ballot.

At the same time, a number of local governments announced that they would already begin the process of cutting budgets. Others will likely be devising alternatives in an effort to replace the ad valorem that will be lost as Amendment One is implemented. Florida CHAIN will report in a future article on the extent to which reduced property tax revenues impacted local contributions to health care access.

For more detailed results, visit: http://election.dos.state.fl.us/elections/resultsarchive/enight.asp and http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/orl-elections-countyvote,0,5805687.htmlstory

(Submitted by Greg Mellowe, Florida CHAIN)


	Despite Its Relationship to Overall Health and School Performance, Oral Health Eludes Many Low-Income Children; *Miami-Dade Medicaid Prepaid Dental Plan and Florida Medicaid Reform Part of Problem, Not Solution* The Surgeon General calls dental cavities or tooth decay a serious epidemic. Tooth decay is considered the number one chronic childhood disease in the country, 5 times more common than asthma. Children that have dental pain are unable to function in school and nearly 52 million school hours are missed annually by children because of oral health problems. In the United States, between 4-5 million children suffer dental disease bad enough that they have functional impairments from dental pain such as not sleeping or eating well, or not being able to concentrate. While great strides have been made to improve the oral health of children, tooth decay continues to affect a significant proportion of children. 40% of children are affected by the time they enter kindergarten. 75% - 80% of the most severe caries occur in only 20%-25% of the children. Children develop tooth decay early in life, often at less than 2 years of age. That is why prevention and early intervention is so important. Access to dental care can drastically change these outcomes. For many low income families, Medicaid has provided this access. 24% of the Miami-Dade population has Medicaid versus 16% for the average of Florida. Miami-Dade’s demographic characteristics reveal a population highly vulnerable to oral health disease and with poor access to dental care services. Miami-Dade has a health care safety net, which includes "those providers that organize and deliver a significant level of health care and other health-related services to uninsured, Medicaid, and other vulnerable patients" (Institute of Medicine, 2000). So for people with or without health insurance, there are safety net clinics run by community health centers, hospitals and others throughout the county that provide comprehensive health services, including oral health. There are also dental schools, dental hygiene schools, dental assisting schools and private dentists that provide oral health care. Safety net providers rely on Medicaid to help cover the costs of health services for their patients. The dental program under Medicaid in Miami-Dade has changed. The Medicaid Prepaid Dental Plan began in July of 2004 in Miami-Dade County and is still running today. While both the Agency for Health Care Administration and Atlantic Dental, Inc. have worked to improve access to services and data collection under the Medicaid Prepaid Dental Plan, overall utilization of services has still not reached 30%, three years later. That means that over 70% of children in Miami-Dade who are enrolled in Medicaid still have not received dental care. The numbers of participating dentists has also declined, which also affects access. In Miami-Dade, a county that spans 2000 square miles, there were 669 dentists in the Medicaid program in 2003, 276 dentists in 2005, and 225 in 2007. Decreasing provider participation in Medicaid is not unique to Florida but other states have found ways to improve it by increasing fees paid to dentists closer to market rates. Currently, dentists in Miami-Dade get $4.75 per Medicaid member per month. That’s $57 per year to provide cleanings, x-rays, fillings, sealants and fluoride. Two evaluations of the Medicaid Prepaid Dental Plan were released in 2006. The Collins Center for Public Policy commissioned an independent evaluation from Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. The 2006 report, Miami-Dade County Prepaid Dental Health Plan Demonstration: Less Value for State Dollars, stated that overall, Florida paid about the same for the Medicaid Prepaid Dental Plan in 2005 (just over $15 million) but utilization of services decreased by 42% (from 37% to 22%) so the value of the State's dollar decreased. The University of Florida’s evaluation found the same reduction in utilization of services. They also found that of those who did access services, Medicaid recipients were satisfied with the care they received. These evaluations showed the program was not effectively using Florida’s limited dollars nor was it increasing access to care. Now we are faced with another potential change in the Medicaid system. There are other, larger Medicaid Reform pilots currently running in Broward, Duval and three other counties in Florida. These all include dental care. The Office of the Inspector General recommends that Medicaid Reform programs not be expanded at this time. The University of Florida recently stated there is not enough data to show whether these programs are cost-effective or improving access to care. The legislature can decide to expand Medicaid Reform during the 2008 session. It is our hope that no expansion will occur without an evaluation that show us whether the programs are effectively providing access to quality services. (Submitted by Elise Linder, Collins Center for Public Policy

Florida Covering Kids and Families Gets Yearlong Extension from AHCA to Continue KidCare Outreach

Florida Covering Kids and Families, under contract with the Agency for Health Care Administration since July 2007, has been conducting an integrated, statewide outreach campaign for Florida KidCare in cooperation with Governor Charlie Crist’s office and the state agencies responsible for administering the KidCare program.

Florida Covering Kids and Families Director Jodi Ray expressed her gratitude for the contract extension: “We are very happy that the Agency for Health Care Administration is granting us this extension to continue our work to promote Florida KidCare. AHCA clearly understands how critical it is to maintain continuity in building outreach networks.”

As part of their contract, Florida Covering Kids and Families has been working to expand Florida KidCare outreach through Back-to-School events, coalition-building and training, and creating statewide business partnerships.

Back-to-School Efforts

During the Back-to-School period, extensive collaboration took place between state agencies and community partners at the direction of Governor Crist to increase awareness of Florida KidCare and enroll eligible families. State agencies participating in this collaboration included the Agency for Health Care Administration, Department of Children and Families, Department of Health, Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, and Department of Revenue. Lead community organizations participating in the Back-to-School effort organized by Florida Covering Kids and Families included the Panhandle Area Health Network, Harvest Time International, Healthy Start Coalition of Pinellas, Inc., and Central Florida Health Care, Inc.

Over 200 events promoted Florida KidCare during the back-to-school period, including four news conferences organized by Florida Covering Kids and Families. These events received extensive broadcast and print coverage. In addition to the news conferences, Florida Covering Kids and Families provided statewide technical assistance to support enrollment events and facilitated the distribution of Florida KidCare materials throughout the state, which they continue to do throughout the initiative.

Eight Areas Targeted to Build Outreach Sustainability: Coalition-Building and Outreach Training

In addition to Back-to-School events, since July 2007, Florida Covering Kids and Families has developed an initiative to ensure that quality, comprehensive healthcare is offered to families in need. This initiative consists of developing, training, and supporting eight community coalitions in performing Florida KidCare outreach. The eight areas targeted include the following regions: (1) Seminole and Orange Counties, (2) Pinellas County, (3) the Panhandle (Holmes, Washington, Calhoun, Liberty and Jackson Counties), (4) the Heartlands (Hardee, Highlands, Hendry, Desoto and Glades Counties), (5) Palm Beach County, (6) Brevard County, (7) Polk County, and (8) Pasco County.

Each Florida KidCare coalition in the targeted areas includes a lead organization. Lead organizations collaborate with the Florida Covering Kids and Families team to invite community partners to participate in outreach coalitions. These partners consist of community leaders, Florida KidCare agency representatives—the Agency for Health Care Administration, Children’s Medical Services, Department of Children and Families, Department of Revenue, and County Health Departments—as well as private business owners and other local individuals who want a healthy future for their communities. Once the groups are assembled, they meet for coalition-building and orientation sessions.

Currently, half of the sites assigned to Florida Covering Kids and Families have developed a coalition and successfully completed coalition-building and orientation sessions: Seminole/Orange Counties, Pinellas County, the Panhandle, and the Heartlands. Each group has developed their strategic plans and is proceeding to accomplish their defined goals. Lead agencies have been identified in Palm Beach County and Brevard County and have begun meeting.

Once coalitions are formed, Florida Covering Kids and Families offers them training to build on the existing knowledge, skills, and experiences of participants, strengthening their ability to inspire action from community partnerships in the promotion of Florida KidCare outreach and enrollment.

Each coalition participant receives a training module developed to share best practices for identifying and enrolling uninsured children into Florida KidCare. This training is based on eight years of experience and research that have proven effective in engaging communities on behalf families in need of health care coverage for their children. It offers communities, businesses, and parents a set of basic tools and information to guide their efforts to connect uninsured children and their families to Florida KidCare. Each training presentation was reviewed and approved by the Florida KidCare partners.

Currently, the Florida KidCare Coalition of Seminole and Orange Counties, the Pinellas County Florida KidCare Committee, and the Panhandle Florida KidCare Coalitions, have hosted training sessions. The remaining coalitions will be assembled and trained by this spring.

Statewide Business and Community Partnerships

Another component of Florida Covering Kids and Families’ integrated outreach initiative includes forming partnerships with numerous nationally-recognized businesses, state agencies, and community organizations. These groups perform outreach in a variety of ways: displaying Florida KidCare applications and brochures for their customers, posting the Florida KidCare link on their organization’s websites, distributing Florida KidCare ads through pharmacy prescriptions, posting KidCare ads on transit benches, and airing Florida KidCare public service announcements.

Companies and organizations partnering with Florida Covering Kids and Families include Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Albertsons, Sweetbay, H&R Block, Brighthouse Networks, the Agency for Workforce Innovation/Early Learning Coalitions, Florida HIPPY, and Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranches.

The outreach efforts of all these dedicated state agency staff, community organizations, and businesses appear to be paying off: Enrollment in Florida KidCare has now reached its highest point since 2005. AHCA’s renewal of the Florida Covering Kids and Families Initiative will help maintain this momentum toward enrolling all eligible children in Florida KidCare.

(Submitted by Patrick Cannon, Ph.D.,

Florida Covering Kids & Families)

Two New Reports Identify Uninsured Floridiansand Impact of Having No Coverage

If you’re reading this, you likely already know that more than 3.8 million of our fellow Floridians lack health insurance coverage. That number seems so staggering that many of us tend to gloss over it, especially when it shows up in reports as an isolated statistic. However, as periodically happens, two recently issued reports shed a little more light on who uninsured Floridians are, as well as the impact of a lack of coverage on their families and communities.

First, a December 2007 Kaiser Family Foundation report on health insurance coverage rates among U.S. women revealed the startling fact that nearly a quarter (24%) of Floridian women between the ages of 18 and 64 were uninsured in 2005-06. That’s 1.4 million non-elderly, adult women, more than the entire population of Orange and Osceola Counties combined. If you were to read the name of every uninsured woman in Florida (one every 3 seconds) straight through without stopping, it would take 7 weeks to finish the list.

Furthermore, one third of all Floridian women are low-income (i.e, with incomes less than 200% of the poverty level), and of these, an even more astounding 46% were uninsured. According to the report, that 46% rate is the 2^nd highest of any state in the nation; only in Texas (51%) is the rate of uninsurance among low-income women higher. At the same time, the rates in neighboring Georgia and Alabama were considerably lower at 39% and 35%, respectively. The nationwide average was 36%.

The other side of the same coin is that the reach of Florida’s health care safety net is thinner than almost anywhere else in the nation. In fact, three times as many low-income women are uninsured than are covered under the Medicaid program. Only one state (Oklahoma) covers a lower percentage of low-income women through Medicaid than Florida.

Second, according to a just-released study conducted by the Institute for Child Health Policy at the University of Florida , 548,000 Florida children are uninsured. That’s about 1 in every 8 children, and this percentage is up slightly over 2004 levels. Perhaps most surprising is the finding that 72 percent of uninsured kids are likely eligible under current rules for coverage through the Florida KidCare program.

The study also cast doubt on the notion that most uninsured children only go without coverage for short periods while waiting for other coverage options to kick in. More than 3 out of 5 uninsured kids have been uninsured for more than a full year. Almost a third have gone without coverage for more than 2 years, and 9 percent have NEVER had coverage.

Neither are uninsured kids concentrated in families that can simply afford to pay for care out-of-pocket. More than three-quarters of uninsured children in Florida are in low-income families. Only 2% of children in families above 300 percent of poverty ($63K+ for a family of 4) are uninsured.

Publicly financed coverage makes a significant dent in the problem - some 61% of kids in families below 150% of the poverty level are covered through public programs, but almost a quarter of such poor kids, most with no other coverage options are still uninsured.

Racial disparities in health coverage continue. While only 36% of Florida’s children are black or Hispanic, they comprise the clear majority (59%) of all uninsured kids in the Sunshine State.

Another popular myth is that lack of coverage doesn’t necessarily translate into appropriate and timely access to care. The study seems to debunk that too. Only 2.5 percent of kids with private coverage lack a “usual source of care” (regular doctor, clinic, etc.) That rate was 17 times higher for children without insurance coverage. And parents of children without coverage were 18 times more likely to seek “usual care” at a hospital emergency room than parents whose kids have private coverage.

The health insurance crisis in Florida is not news. But news about the crisis, such as these 2 reports, continues to reveal the depth and intractability of the problem, and to serve as a reminder of whom the burden falls upon most heavily. In an economic downturn, it may get worse before it gets better.

The two reports can be downloaded at http://www.kff.org/womenshealth/upload/1613_07.pdf and http://www.healthykids.org/board/_doc/tab_n.pdf

Governor Crist is actively seeking a comprehensive, market-based strategy that will provide affordable and accessible health care for Florida’s citizens.

(Submitted by Greg Mellowe, Florida CHAIN)

Medicaid Coverage for Workers with Disabilities Gains Ground in Florida

Statewide momentum is growing around the Work Incentive Medicaid Coverage Initiative to change Florida law to allow people with disabilities to go back to work without fear of losing their Medicaid coverage. 39 other states already do this! This month, Rep. Betty Reid from Tampa and Senator Ted Deutch from Boca Raton/Delray Beach agreed to sponsor it! Please thank them for their leadership! Updates will follow as we track the bill’s progress.

The proposed changes would increase the income and asset limits for persons on SSI or SSDI so recipients can go to work, make a living wage and still keep their health coverage.

This advocacy effort is coordinated by a statewide Partnership for Work and Healthcare consisting of over 30 organizations. Their recommendations are:

1) Unearned income would be capped and tied to existing Medicaid requirements to help control start-up costs.

2) Cash assets of $10,000 (individual) and $20,000 (married couple) would be excluded, as would IRS-recognized retirement accounts. Participants could be charged premiums of up to 7.5 percent of their income if their earned income exceeds the poverty level. The increased cost to the state for this program is low, since many proposed participants are already receiving Medicaid.

The Public Forums sponsored by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities and the National Disability Institute were a huge success. More than 150 individuals attended the four events held in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa and Jacksonville. The audiences were diverse and included individuals with disabilities, advocates, and professional staff from state agencies and local rehabilitation providers.

Learn more about this “Medicaid Buy In” program at www.partnershipforwork.com, where you can sign in for updates. The website provides talking points for meeting with legislators, sample letters to the editor, and other advocacy and educational materials.

If you would like a speaker to come to your site or would like to get more information, contact: Olga Golik, Citrus Health Network at olgag@citrushealth.com or Barbara Butz, Capstone Consulting Group at CapstoneBarbara@aol.com.

(Submitted by Olga Golik, Esq., Citrus Health Network)

REAL STORIES FROM FLORIDA HEALTH CARE CONSUMERS

Health Care for Immigrant Physician. . . But for Her Children?

Marie, a female physician from Haiti, was transported by air to Miami

after being shot while leaving her clinic to run an errand. She received treatment in the U.S.

With the help of a Community Health Worker, Marie obtained a Jackson Care card she can use to see a doctor and pay just $25 per visit.

Getting medical coverage for her two children; however, has been a struggle. This is due to the 5-year ban imposed upon immigrants. In order to qualify for coverage, they must be U.S. residents for 5 years.

She has no choice but to wait.

(Submitted by Meg Buckley Savane, Human Services Coalition)

Florida CHAIN Seeks Stories

Florida CHAIN welcomes contributions from health care consumers who are interested in sharing their experiences with readers of CHAIN Reaction. If you have a story to share, please contact Linda Vaughn at 850/294-2285or lindav@floridachain.org

State Events & Notices
     North Florida
     Central Florida
     East Central Florida
     West Central Florida
     Southwest Florida
     Southeast Florida
     Florida Audio & Web Events
     Statewide Notices
National Events & Notices
     Conferences & Events
    Audio & Web Events
     National Notices
     Campaigns & Initiatives

STATE EVENTS & NOTICES

NORTH FLORIDA

Duval Behavioral Health Panel Discussion
AHCA Panel for Providers on Authorization and Claims Processing
March 5 9:00 – 11:30 am Crowne Plaza, 1201 Riverplace Blvd, Jacksonville
AHCA panel discussion for Medicaid Reform providers of the health care provider and health plan communities. Audience members will be invited to address questions and comments for 3 minutes to the panel at the conclusion of the panel discussion, if they have arrived early at the location to request placement on the list of speakers. 904-398-8800

Duval General Health Care Provider Panel Discussion

AHCA Panel for Providers on Authorization and Claims Processing

March 5 1:00 – 3:30 pm Crowne Plaza, 1201 Riverplace Blvd, Jacksonville

AHCA panel discussion for Medicaid Reform providers of the health care provider and health plan communities. Audience members will be invited to address questions and comments for 3 minutes to the panel at the conclusion of the panel discussion, if they have arrived early at the location to request placement on the list of speakers. 904-398-8800

13th Annual Children's Week (2008)

March 29-April 6 Tallahassee

In addition, local events and activities will take place throughout the state Feb-April. Contact jason@childrensweek.org

Florida Children and Youth Cabinet Meeting

April 1 10:00 am - 5:00pm

State Capitol Cabinet Room, Lower Level, The Capitol, Tallahassee

Scheduled to coincide with the 2008 Florida State Legislative Session Children’s Week and the "Kids Only" Town Hall Meeting. If you would like to speak, get a form from: jennifer.stan@eog.myflorida.com

Florida Children and Youth Cabinet Meeting

May 19 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

UNF University Center, Rm 1058, 12000 Alumni Drive, Jacksonville

Notices

CENTRAL FLORIDA

EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA

WEST CENTRAL FLORIDA

One Goal: Building the Future Together “Putting Families and Children First”

Proposal deadline: April 2

July 16-18 Hyatt Regency at Tampa City Center

This conference brings together early education and care providers and leaders from around the state to share innovative programs, practices and techniques for improving services and outcomes for all Florida’s children. Includes general sessions, concurrent presentations, and exhibits of appropriate materials. Presenter Proposal Form is on the website. The previous conference “Providing Childcare For Children With Disabilities And Special Health Care Needs” coordinated by the Florida Inclusion Advisory Council is now fully integrated with the One Goal Summer Conference. Registration fee of $45 waived for primary presenter only. Contact: 850/893-6270 or frankieallen_2000@yahoo.com.

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA

Events

Florida Children and Youth Cabinet Meeting

Feb 15 10:00 am–4:00 pm Miramar City Hall, 2300 Civic Center Place

If you would like to speak, get a form from: jennifer.stan@eog.myflorida.com

Sister to Sister WOMAN’S HEART DAY HEALTH FAIR

Feb 15 8:30 am–2:00 pm Hilton Hotel, downtown Miami

This FREE event features screenings and counseling on heart disease and educational programs. It is an interactive and educational event focusing on cardiac wellness and prevention for adult women (18+). Free comprehensive heart screenings and counseling will be offered to all who attend, along with health seminars in English, Spanish and Creole, fitness and cooking demonstrations, raffles and giveaways. Contact 786-877-5506 or 305-577-6048 ext. 3.

5th Annual Community Health Fair

Feb 17 9:00 am – 2:00 pm Church of the Visitation 19100 North Miami Avenue, Miami Gardens

Sponsored by Haitian American Nurses Association of Florida, Inc. (HANA) and Miami Dade College School of Nursing. Organizations are invited to offer free screenings and health education to the community: blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol testing, body mass index, and wellness information and health education/counseling on Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart disease, Breast Cancer, Women’s Health issues, Osteoporosis, Prostate Cancer , Colorectal Cancer, Testicular Cancer, and other forms of cancers, Nutrition, Exercise, and free massages for participants. There will be a Children’s Corner to educate children on handwashing, hygiene, safety, and nutrition as well. The focus of the free health fair will be on health promotion, prevention, and wellness for the community. HANA will prepare a press release to include all sponsors/participants; therefore, registration forms needed as soon as possible. Visit www.hana84.org or email info@hana84.org.

Election 2008 – Implications for Child Health and Health Care Providers

Feb 20 7:00-9:30 pm Miami Beach Resort & Spa

United States Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart will be co-presenting with Irwin Redlener, M.D., the former vice chairman of President Clinton’s health care advisory committee, at the Wednesday evening symposium during the 2008 Masters of Pediatrics conference.This is an excellent opportunity to ask the experts how this will affect our patients and those of us who care for them. Go to http://www.mastersofpediatrics.com or call 305-243-3992 or 1-800-622-4453 to register.

Southeast Florida Cancer Control Collaborative Meeting

Feb 21 9:30 am-2:00 pm Broward County Health Dept, 780 SW 24th St, Ft Lauderdale

An agenda, RSVP request and directions will be sent in a few weeks. If you have any items for the agenda, or are interested in doing a Partner Showcase Presentation, please reply to DParker@MED.MIAMI.EDU

Community Health Fair

Feb 23 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Church of the Visitation Oasis Church of North Miami, 12905 NE 8 Ave

Sponsored by Haitian American Nurses Association of Florida, Inc. (HANA). Organizations are invited to offer free screenings and health education to the community: blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol testing, body mass index, and wellness information and health education/counseling on Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart disease, Breast Cancer, Women’s Health issues, Osteoporosis, Prostate Cancer , Colorectal Cancer, Testicular Cancer, and other forms of cancers, Nutrition, Exercise, and free massages for participants. Registration forms needed as soon as possible. Visit www.hana84.org or email info@hana84.org.

Broward Behavioral Health Panel Discussion

AHCA Panel for Providers on Authorization and Claims Processing

March 6 9:00 – 11:30 am Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hilton, 1870 Griffin Rd

Broward General Health Care Provider Panel Discussion

AHCA Panel for Providers on Authorization and Claims Processing

March 6 1:00 – 3:30 pm Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hilton, 1870 Griffin Rd

National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) Annual Forum for Improving Children's Health Care

March 19-21 Miami

This event is for people committed to eliminating the gap between what is and what can be in health care for all children. The Forum will feature breakout sessions and in-depth workshops, in four tracks, focused on NICHQ's Improvement Agenda: Assessing, Preventing and Treating Childhood Obesity; Providing Seamless, Evidence-based, Family-Centered Care for Children with Chronic Conditions; Purging Harm from Children’s Health Care; Profound Knowledge: Methods and Tools for Improvement and Innovation. Improvement processes/programs in all of these areas should address disparities and include parents/families.

Day of relaxation and resource gathering for cancer caregivers (family & friends)

April 5 10:00 am-2:00 pm Jungle Island, Miami

Featuring: resource tables, humor for healing presentation, nutrition workshops, Reiki presentation & demo, Yoga or Tai-Chi or chair massage (working on this) child-life specialists, AND post-event admission to the park. Contact: GBrown@aptiumoncology.com and amparo@twcmiami.org

Notices

FLORIDA AUDIO CONFERENCES AND WEBCAST

STATEWIDE NOTICES

Children's Week wants to partner with you!

This year, Children's Week partners are collaborating and taking the lead in organizing local advocacy events in each of Florida's 67 counties during February, March and April designed to promote the health, safety, and well-being of children and families in Florida. Thanks to successful partnerships with Comcast, Nemours, Publix Super Markets Charities, Florida Department of Health’s Step Up, Florida! program, Prevent Child Abuse Florida’s Winds of Change Campaign, the Association of Early Learning Coalitions, over 70 other leading non-profit and corporate organizations, and hundreds of local organizations statewide – Children’s Week will host tons of events and activities throughout the state this year. If you would like to help coordinate an event or activity in your area, or are already coordinating a Children's Week event, write jason@childrensweek.org

NATIONAL EVENTS & NOTICES

CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

ACHI’s 2008 Spring Training for Health Champions

Conference Dates: March 5-7, 2008 Atlanta

Topic Tracks: Minimizing Chronic Disease: Strategies for Social Determinants; Maximizing Coverage: Proven Programs and Innovative Proposals; Harnessing Data: Health Assessments to Health Outcomes; Delivering Community Benefit: Management Tools and Community Strategies (co-sponsored by Catholic Health Association and VHA, Inc.); Breaking Silos: Public Health and Health System Partnerships

Interrogating Diversity: Representation, Power, and Social Justice

Conference: March 21-22 American University, Washington, DC

The Second Annual International Multidisciplinary Conference "Interrogating Diversity" has the theme Representation, Power, and Social Justice. The conference will provide presenters the opportunity to present their research in a forum with an active and engaging audience devoted to discussion. Scholars from all fields of study are welcome to engage in fruitful, analytical discussion. This year's themes examine four areas of concern, including Inequalities in Health and Healing.

Active Living Research Conference Seeks Abstracts

April 9-12 Washington DC

The theme of this year's conference is "Connecting Active Living Research to Policy Solutions." Abstracts on all topics related to active living policies and environments are welcome. In addition to policy-relevant research, Active Living Research welcomes abstracts about children and adolescents at greatest risk for obesity—African-American, Latino, Native American, Asian-American and Pacific Islander children and adolescents living in low-income communities.

National Hispanic Medical Association 12th Annual Conference
April 17-20 Washington, DC
Policy, research, medical and clinical presentations focused on improving the health of Hispanics. Conference Goals are to: provide clinical updates on diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDs, obesity, cardiovascular disease, asthma, Alzheimer’s disease, and renal disease; increase awareness about cultural competence, literacy, language services and medical care delivery to Hispanics; increase knowledge about Federal and State health policies that impact Hispanics; develop skills for health professionals in academic medicine, research, private sector and government; and make recommendations targeted at Hispanics for the national health policy agenda in the U.S. Expected: 100 Exhibitors; 200 Hispanic Medical Students; 700 Physicians; 140 Speakers/panelist/keynote speakers.

What's the Use of Race?
April 25-26

Center for the Study of Diversity in Science, Technology, and Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Promote optimum health for Black women - physically, mentally and spiritually

June 19-21 Washington, DC

The Black Women's Health Imperative’s 25th anniversary event to celebrate 25 years of creating a lasting legacy of health and wellness for Black women. Topics include: Self-Help SisterCircle;, Program Tracks on Obesity, HIV and Mental Health; Walking for Wellness; Health Screenings and Physical Fitness Activities; Entertainment and family activities. Online registration begins January 7.

Race and Class Inequalities in Health

Conference: June 24-27 Hyatt Regency Chicago

Society for Epidemiologic Research annual meeting

Becoming the Healthiest Nation in a Healthier World

Conference: Sept 9-12 Sacramento, CA

This annual National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) conference will be the year's largest gathering of state and local public health officials in the United States, jointly sponsored with Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO).

Sixth National Conference on Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations

Sept 21-24 Minneapolis

Held biennially since 1998, this is one of the most respected and well supported events on cultural competence and health disparities reduction in the United States. It is co-produced by Drexel University School of Public Health's Center for Health Equality, Resources for Cross Cultural Health Care, and the USDHHS Office of Minority Health Care. This year's theme is "Partnerships for the Future: Supporting Practitioners and Advancing the Field through Innovation, Policy and Research."

AUDIO AND WEB EVENTS

President Bush's Last Budget - Why it Matters and What's Next?

Feb 8 1:00-2:00 pm ET

Join the Coalition on Human Needs free Webinar on to listen to an expert analysis on what is in the President's Budget, why advocates for low-income people have to pay attention, and what opportunities exist for advocates to defend and expand human needs services as Congress takes up its version of the FY2009 Budget Resolution. Contact mboteach@thejcpa.org or 202/212-6039.

The Consumer Guide to State Health Reform

Feb 15 1:00 PM ET

click here to RSVP by Feb 7 Community Catalyst and Families USA will host a conference call on their new Web-Based Guide to State Health Reform for Advocates. More and more states are prioritizing health care reform to address the coverage gaps that exist, the affordability crisis that continues to worsen, and the increasing costs of health care. Community Catalyst and Families USA are pleased to announce the release of a unique web-based guide to state health reform for consumer advocates working to strengthen and expand health care coverage in their states. A Consumer Guide to State Health Reform provides a detailed look at the building blocks of comprehensive health care coverage.

ACHI Audio-conferences—Registration is now open
Partnership for Community Health: A Public-Private Model for Bridging the Gap of the Uninsured
Feb 21

Show, Don’t Tell: The Power of Storytelling in Communicating Community Initiatives
March 18

Evidence-Based Community Benefit Programming
March 3 Noon - 1:30 pm ET
This Catholic Health Association Audio-conference will describe how to incorporate principles of evidence-based public health into community benefit programs, using scientific evidence and data to guide decisions in program planning, implementation and evaluation, defining evidence-based decision making and describe why and how to choose programs and policies that work, with examples of specific evidence-based health promotions initiatives which can be used in community benefit programs.

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?

Hosted by the Black Women’s Agenda, the workshop featured a panel discussion of this soon-to-be-released PBS documentary produced by California Newsreel. View the entire panel discussion online.

Partnerships to Achieve Health Equity

This Society for Public Health Education summit featured a series of plenary sessions dealing with the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities by focusing on health behavior dissemination, research, and implementation. Videos and transcripts available online.

NOTICES

CAMPAIGNS & INITIATIVES

Get Ready for Cover the Uninsured Week 2008

April 27-May 3

Forty-seven million Americans, including more than 9 million children, are living without health care coverage. It's time to start planning for the sixth annual Cover the Uninsured Week and help get America covered. There are many ways for you and your community to get involved in Cover the Uninsured Week 2008: Host an enrollment event at a hospital, community center or school; Organize a health coverage forum with community, business and faith leaders; Plan a seminar for small business owners; Distribute information about available low-cost and free health coverage programs to uninsured individuals and families; Planning materials are available to help you get started

2008

February

AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month
Prevent Blindness America
info@preventblindness.org
www.preventblindness.org

American Heart Month
American Heart Association
inquires@heart.org
www.americanheart.org

National Children’s Dental Health Month
American Dental Association
publicinfo@ada.org
www.ada.org/goto/ncdhm

National Wise Health Consumer Month
American Institute for Preventive Medicine
dhirsch@healthylife.com
www.healthylife.com

Give Kids A Smile Day- Feb 1
American Dental Association
gkas@ada.org
www.ada.org/prof/events/featured/gkas

National Wear Red Day 2008- Feb 3
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Health Information Center
nhlbiinfo@nhlbi.nih.gov
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth

March

National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation
jasmine@preventcancer.org
www.preventcancer.org/colorectal

National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month
Multiple Sclerosis Foundation
annette@msfocus.org
www.msfocus.org

National Nutrition Month®
American Dietetic Association
nnm@eatright.org
www.eatright.org

Save Your Vision Month
American Optometric Association
jmmahoney@aoa.org
www.aoa.org

National Patient Safety Awareness Week – March 2-8
National Patient Safety Foundation
info@npsf.org
www.npsf.org

Brain Awareness Week– March 10-16
Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives
bawinfo@dana.org
www.dana.org/brainweek

American Diabetes Alert Day – March 25
American Diabetes Association
askada@diabetes.org
www.diabetes.org/communityprograms-and-localevents/americandiabetesalert.jsp

April

Cancer Control Month
American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org

National Autism Awareness Month
Autism Society of America
mcolston@autism-society.org
www.autism-society.org

National Public Health Week – April 7-13
American Public Health Association
Kaitlin.Sheedy@apha.org
www.nphw.org

National Infant Immunization Week – April 19-26
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
cdcinfo@cdc.gov
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/default.htm

2008 March for Babies – April 26-27
March of Dimes
marchforbabies@marchofdimes.com
www.marchforbabies.org

May

American Stroke Month
American Heart Association
inquires@heart.org
www.americanheart.org

Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
info@aafa.org
www.aafa.org

Healthy Vision Month
National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health
www.healthyvision2010.nei.nih.gov

Hepatitis Awareness Month
Hepatitis Foundation International
hfi@comcast.net
www.hepfi.org

Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month
American Academy of Dermatology
mediarelations@aad.org
www.aad.org

Mental Health Month
Mental Health America
infoctr@mentalhealthamerica.net
www.mentalhealthamerica.net

National High Blood Pressure Education Month
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Health Information Center
nhlbiinfo@nhlbi.nih.gov
hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/nhbpep_kit/
www.ctf.org

National Women's Health Week - May 11-17
Office on Women's Health
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
www.womenshealth.gov/whw

National Women's Check-up Day – May 12
Office on Women's Health
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
www.womenshealth.gov

June

National Headache Awareness Week – June 1-7
National Headache Foundation
info@headaches.org
www.headaches.org

National Men's Health Week - June 9-15
Men’s Health Network
info@menshealthweek.org
www.menshealthweek.org

July

UV Safety Month
American Academy of Ophtalmology
eyemd@aao.org
www.aao.org/eyemd

August

Children's Eye Health and Safety Month
Prevent Blindness America
info@preventblindness.org
www.preventblindness.org

National Immunization Awareness Month
Centers for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niam/default.htm

September

Healthy Aging® Month
Educational Television Network, Inc.
info@healthyaging.net
www.healthyaging.net/agingevents.htm

National Cholesterol Education Month
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Health Information Center
nhlbiinfo@nhlbi.nih.gov
hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/cholmonth

National Pediculosis Prevention Month/ Head Lice Prevention Month
National Pediculosis Association, Inc.
npa@headlice.org
www.headlice.org

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
National Ovarian Cancer Coalition
nocc@ovarian.org
www.ovarian.org

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
National Prostate Cancer Coalition
info@fightprostatecancer.org
www.fightprostatecancer.org

National Suicide Prevention Week – September 7-13
American Association of Suicidology
info@suicidology.org
www.suicidology.org

October

"Talk About Prescriptions" Month
National Council on Patient Information and Education
4915 Saint Elmo Avenue, Suite 505
Bethesda, MD 20814-6082
(301) 656-8565
(301) 656-4464 Fax
ncpie@ncpie.info
www.talkaboutrx.org

Healthy Lung Month
American Lung Association
info@lungusa.org
www.lungusa.org

Let's Talk Month
Advocates for Youth
tom@advocatesforyouth.org
www.advocatesforyouth.org

National Dental Hygiene Month
American Dental Hygienists' Association
media@adha.net
www.adha.org

National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Domestic Violence Awareness Project
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
ck@pcadv.org
dvam.vawnet.org

National Mammography Day – October 17

American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org

National Health Education Week – October 20 - 24
National Center for Health Education
ray@nche.org
www.nche.org

November

American Diabetes Month
American Diabetes Association
askada@diabetes.org
www.diabetes.org

Lung Cancer Awareness Month
Lung Cancer Alliance
info@lungcanceralliance.org
www.lungcanceralliance.org

National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month
Alzheimer's Association
info@alz.org
www.alz.org

National Hospice Palliative Care Month
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
jradulovic@nhpco.org
www.nhpco.org

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
information@pancan.org
www.pancan.org

Great American Smokeout – November 20
American Cancer Society
www.cancer.org

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Awareness Week – Nov 25-Dec 1
International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
iffgd@iffgd.org
www.aboutgerd.org

December

World AIDS Day – December 1
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
unaids@unaids.org
www.unaids.org/en/default.asp

New listings, in order of submission deadlines

Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research
Letters of Intent deadline: March 26
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research program supports highly qualified individuals willing to pursue broad studies of America's most challenging policy issues in health and health care. Grants are awarded to investigators from a variety of disciplines for innovative research projects that have national policy relevance.

Community Participation Research Targeting the Medically Underserved (R01)
Expiration Date: May 15, 2010
The ultimate goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) with a special review issued by the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), National Institutes of Health (NIH) is to solicit Research Project Grant (R01) applications that propose research on health promotion, disease prevention, and health disparities that is jointly conducted by communities and researchers and targets medically underserved areas (MUAs) and medically underserved populations (MUPs) as defined by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Community Participation Research Targeting the Medically Underserved (R21)
Expiration Date: May 15, 2010
The ultimate goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) issued by the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), National Institutes of Health (NIH) is to solicit Exploratory/Developmental (R21) grant applications that propose research on health promotion, disease prevention, and health disparities that is jointly conducted by communities and researchers and targets medically underserved areas (MUAs) and medically underserved populations (MUPs) as defined by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Continuing listings, in order of submission deadlines

Innovating Worthy Projects Foundation
Requests are accepted from Jan 1 through Aug 31
The Innovating Worthy Projects Foundation provides support to nonprofit organizations throughout the United States that are dedicated to providing direct care or services for children with special needs, acute illnesses, or chronic disabilities. Preference is given to small organizations that might not otherwise be helped. Grants support new ideas and approaches to providing services as well as equipment purchases.

Advancing technology to improve healthcare sevices: Verizon Foundation

Applications accepted: Jan 1 through Nov 30
The mission of the Verizon Foundation is to improve education, literacy, family safety, and healthcare by addressing Verizon's commitment to deliver technology that touches life. The Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that benefit communities in the locations the company serves within the United States. One of the Foundation’s priority categories is Education and Literacy, with emphasis on innovative, technology-based approaches to literacy and K-12 education. In addition, through the Safety and Health category, the Foundation supports initiatives that contribute to the safety and well-being of families, with emphasis on domestic violence prevention and technology for healthcare and healthcare accessibility.

The Humana Foundation
Proposals accepted: Nov 1-June 15

The Humana Foundation supports nonprofit organizations in communities where the company has facilities in states including Florida. The Foundation is committed to serving the needs of children, families, and seniors in their quest to build healthier lives and communities. Special consideration is given to proposals that focus on the following areas: health and fitness efforts that lead to better lifestyles; literacy activities that lead to improved health experiences; and the development of technology, tools, and resources that lead to healthy communities.

Vision Health: Developing an Integrative Approach for Promotion and Protection

Application deadline: Feb 11

The purpose of the program is to fund research that will develop an effective comprehensive public health approach to address eye health promotion and vision loss prevention.

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) Annual Award
Nominations deadline: Feb 12
The CCPH Annual Award recognizes exemplary partnerships between communities and higher educational institutions that build on each other's strengths to improve higher education, civic engagement, and the overall health of communities.

U.S Conference of Mayors HIV/AIDS Prevention Grants for High Risk Women of Color

Deadline: Feb 25

Provides support for the implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention programs for high-risk women of color. Award Amount: $70,000/6 grants. Eligibility: Health Departments, CBOs, Indian tribes. Contact: Ms. Lillie Brown, 202-293-7330, lbrown@usmayors org

Allegany Community Outreach Grants
Deadline: March 1
ACOR is a grant program of Allegany Franciscan Ministries, Inc. It provides short-term support to local community projects. The grant award range is $1,000-$5,000; limited numbers of grants. Priority to organizations for projects that strive to: improve the health, wellness and quality of life through a holistic approach to education or direct service; bring about systemic change and promote self-sufficiency; benefit a disenfranchised segment of society; Sponsoring organization strives to incorporate the viewpoint and participation of individuals who are direct recipients of its services (e.g. service recipients are represented on the governing board).

Tobacco Policy Change: A Collaborative for Healthier Communities and States

Application deadline for implementation grants: March 14

Tobacco Policy Change: A Collaborative for Healthier Communities and States, a national initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, provides resources for local, regional, and state-based organizations and tribal groups to advocate for effective policies that decrease tobacco use and exposure. This initiative is issuing a special solicitation that will build on previous success in attracting new partners whose constituencies are most directly affected by tobacco use and exposure. Grantees are expected to apply their advocacy skills and experience to advance tobacco and other public health policies in their communities. Organizations from Florida are able to apply.

Research on Social Work Practice and Concepts in Health (R03)

Closing date for applications: May 7, 2009, Multiple deadlines

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) issued by the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research solicits Small Research Grant (R03) applications from organizations/institutions that propose to develop empirical research on social work practice, concepts, and theory as these relate to the NIH public health goal of improving health outcomes for persons with medical and behavioral disorders and conditions.

Planning Grant for Oral Health Promotion across the Life Span (R21)
Closing date for applications: May 7, 2010, Multiple deadlines
This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is intended to encourage and support meritorious oral health promotion research directed at improving oral health and preventing diseases and/or their sequelae across the lifespan.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Deadlines: June 15

AFSP will now accept and review applications for all categories of one- or two-year research grants and fellowships two times a year. The grant amounts for Standard Research Grants are now: max. $60,000 to $75,000; Young Investigator Grants max. $70,000 to $85,000); Pilot Grants max. $20,000 to $30,000). Distinguished Investigator Grants and Postdoctoral Research Fellowships remain at $100,000. AFSP research grants support studies that aim to increase understanding of the causes of suicide and factors related to suicide risk, or to test treatments and other interventions designed to prevent suicide. Investigators from all academic disciplines are eligible to apply, and both basic science and applied research projects will be considered.

Tobacco Prevention and Control
The National Association of County and City Health Officials is working to identify public health-related funding resources. October 2007’s guide features foundations that have listed Tobacco as a focus area. Click above to be directed to Florida's page.

Structural Interventions, Alcohol Use, and Risk of HIV/AIDS (R21)
Multiple deadlines
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) issued by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health, solicits Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant (R21) applications from institutions/ organizations that propose to investigate the effectiveness of structural interventions that reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission by changing the environment of alcohol use.

Johnson Foundation: Wingspread Conferences
Letters of inquiry accepted at any time.
The mission of the Johnson Foundation is to cultivate ideas that sustain community – people living in harmony with one another and their environment. The Foundation pursues this mission through Wingspread Conferences, small meetings of thoughtful inquiry convened in an atmosphere of candor and purpose. The Foundation co-sponsors conferences with nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, or government agencies that work in the following areas: education, media, family, democracy and community, and sustainable development and the environment. The conferences are held at Wingspread, the Foundation's headquarters and educational conference center located near Racine, WI.

Fulbright Scholar Award

Multiple deadlines
Applications continue to be accepted for some Fulbright Scholar awards for lecturing, research or combined lecturing/research awards in public health during the 2008-2009 academic year. Faculty and professionals in public health may apply for awards specifically in their field, as well as one of the many "All Discipline" awards open to any field.

Medical Care Enhancement Funded by United Health Foundation
The purpose of the United Health Foundation is to improve health outcomes for all Americans. Through the Foundation's responsive grantmaking, support is provided to nonprofit organizations that serve people and communities in the United States. The Foundation’s priorities include enhancing the quality of health and medical care services by providing reliable, scientifically-based information to support decisions made by health professionals, communities, and individuals. An additional priority is to expand access to medical care and health-related services for individuals and families who live in challenging circumstances. Letters of inquiry are accepted throughout the year.

United Healthcare Children's Foundation Helps Underinsured Children
The Foundation offers support for children nationwide with assistance grants for medical services not fully covered by health insurance. Parents and caretakers can apply for up to $5,000.00 for health care services that will help improve their children's health and quality of life. Eligible children must be 16 or younger. Families must meet economic guidelines, live in the U.S. and be covered by a commercial health insurance plan. Examples of the types of medical services covered by include speech therapy; physical therapy and psychotherapy; medical equipment such as wheelchairs, braces, hearing aids and eye-glasses, and orthodontic and dental treatments. The Foundation has helped more than 375 families and provided nearly $1 million in financial assistance

Donors Forum of South Florida on-line database
The new online searchable Donors Forum of South Florida database has up-to-date information about funders in South Florida. This resource— which is also available in hard copy — presents continuously updated information about the giving interests and procedures of funders with a track record of investing in the South Florida area and working collaboratively with others. To order, email leot@donorsforumsf.org or call 305/371-7944.

Directory Of Health Policy Fellowships

This Kaiser directory contains new listings for undergraduates, graduate students and professionals searching for summer, school-year, or post-doctoral positions.

Florida CHAIN Website Resources

Organizations and Services

Florida

Children's Health

Medicare

Prescription Medications

Health Disparities

Other

Manuals, Guides and Toolkits

Technology and Audio Visual Materials

Audioconferences and Webcasts

Media Programming

Web Sites, Web Features

Periodicals and Books

Reports and Studies

New Listings

New Listings: Medicaid

New Listings: Children's Health

New Listings: Medicare

New Listings: Federal Budget

New: Health Insurance, Health Care Costs

New: Health Disparities

New: Other Health Issues

Federal Budget/Health Care

Health Insurance, Health Care Costs

Health Disparities

Other Health Issues

FLORIDA CHAIN WEBSITE RESOURCE UPDATE

ORGANIZATIONS AND SERVICES

Newly posted resources are at the top of each Topics List.

Florida

Florida Relay Service 711

The Florida Relay Service is the communications link for people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf/Blind, or Speech Impaired. Through the Florida Relay Service, people who use specialized telephone equipment can communicate with people who use standard telephone equipment. To call Florida Relay, dial 7-1-1, or use the appropriate toll free numbers: 800-955-8771 (TTY); 800-955-8770 (Voice); 800-955-1339 (ASCII); 877-955-8260 (VCO-Direct); 877-955-5334 (STS); 877-955-8773 (Spanish); 877-955-8707 (French Creole) In emergencies, Relay users should call 9-1-1 directly or the emergency services center in their community. Note: 711 can't be accessed from many buildings with a switchboard system because the PBX system won't recognize it, and consumers need to dial 1-800-955-8771 from them. Florida Relay customer service is available 24 hours a day 365 days a year: 1-800-676-3777 (English); 1-800-676-4290 (Spanish)

Southeast Florida Cancer Control Collaborative (SFCCC)

SFCCC works to reduce the cancer burden and cancer disparities in Southeast Florida, including Broward, Indian River, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties. The SFCCC includes representatives from more than 60 public and private organizations, agencies and health care providers, as well as cancer survivor and advocacy groups. SFCCC aims to increase awareness about cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment among populations at high risk. The Collaborative meets quarterly at various locations in the region.

Children's Health

IPUT, Informed Parents United Together: Advocating for Universal Education and More!

This nonprofit agency works at an individual local network level to educate parents
and increase their advocacy for Inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in General Education environments. Check out the IEP Tool Box.

Medicare

Medicare Rights Center (MRC) has an Rx Hotline for Nonprofit Professionals as one component of its comprehensive independent source of health care information and assistance for older adults and people with disabilities. It helps with understanding or explaining the Medicare prescription drug benefit to clients. Call RxHelp, a national hotline dedicated for nonprofit professionals serving the Medicare population, operated from 10 am to 6 pm EDT. Dial 877/RXHELP-0 (877/794-3570).Other services include: a telephone hotline; a database of case advice; education and training; public policy work; electronic newsletters; and communications with local and national media outlets. To help you understand your Medicare health plan choices, the Medicare Rights Center offers Medicare Interactive (MI), a web-based Medicare counseling tool.

Access to Benefits Coalition

The nonprofit ABC is dedicated to ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries with limited incomes know about and make the best use of all available resources for accessing prescription drugs and reducing their costs. ABC is working through local community coalitions to inform beneficiaries and their families, as well as the professionals who serve them, about Medicare Part-D. Extra Help is provided online or in person; find out if you or someone qualifies by going to BenefitsCheckUpRx?. Publications include: Applying for the Low-Income Subsidy: A Tool Kit for Advocates; and Pathways to Success: Meeting the Challenge of Enrolling Medicare Beneficiaries with Limited Incomes

A Healthier US Starts Here: CMS Prevention and Wellness Initiative

This spring and summer, as part of the "A Healthier US Starts Here" initiative the US Department of Health and Human Services and CMS will join with local officials and partners, to raise awareness of the importance of preventing chronic disease and illness, promote Medicare preventive benefits and provide information about how beneficiaries can take action to maintain and improve their health.

Prescription Medications

The AZ&Me? Prescription Savings

This new AstraZeneca program provides medicines free of charge to community free clinics, community health centers and hospitals that serve the uninsured. AstraZeneca plans to provide medicines to hundreds of thousands of patients at approximately 150 facilities by the end of 2008. The new program builds on current AstraZeneca patient assistance programs by extending prescription drug assistance directly to the sites where uninsured patients interact with healthcare providers, supporting patients at one central place where they can get the medicine and care they need. In light of the updates to their patient assistance programs in the last year, AstraZeneca has decided to no longer participate in the Together Rx Access program after January 31, 2008. They offer AstraZeneca programs that provide medicines free of charge to those making up to $30,000 for an individual, or $60,000 for a family of four. More info: 1-866-325-8198

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance
is a service sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry that offers a single point of access to more than 475 patient prescription assistance programs, including more than 180 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies. Through referrals by organizations, more than 260,000 people in Florida have received assistance with their prescriptions medicines. They have launched a national campaign to raise awareness about the importance of SCHIP and its reauthorization, including a website and TV and print ads. They also have updated their FAQs and Fact Sheet to include SCHIP.

The Prescription Project

This project is led by Community Catalyst in partnership with the Institute on Medicine as a Profession. Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Project seeks to eliminate conflicts of interest created by industry marketing by promoting policy change among academic medical centers, professional medical societies and public and private payers. In addition the Project will advance state and national level policy solutions. The Project will sponsor a wide range of activities to achieve its goals, including research and policy analysis; national and community-based forums; outreach to the media; and meetings with key decision-makers, including deans of medical schools, health care administrators, business leaders, policy makers and consumers. These include the Prescription Project Weekly Reader, a readable, relevant way to keep members and friends of the Project informed about what is happening at the intersection of medical conflict-of-interest issues and prescription drugs.

Together Rx Access

is a prescription savings program sponsored by 10 pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer. It provides savings on a wide range of prescription products at the pharmacy counter to eligible patients without prescription coverage. For more information, call 1-800-444-4106

Health Disparities

National Health Law Program (NHeLP) Resources

Language access continues to be a significant barrier to health care for individuals with limited English proficiency. Over 23 million individuals—almost 9 percent of the population—speak English less than “very well” and likely need assistance communicating in the health care arena. In an attempt to provide tools for health care providers and others, NHeLP has released a series of reports outlining promising practices for providing language services in health care settings. In mid-April, the National Health Law Program and the American College of Physicians released Language Services for Patients with Limited English Proficiency: Results of a National Survey of Internal Medicine Physicians. Other resources include Providing Language Services in State and Local Health-Related Benefits Offices: Examples from the Field, which outlines how state and local benefit offices can provide language services and Language Services Resource Guide for Healthcare Providers which offers information on how to provide language services including translator agencies, training programs, and health care symbols.

Refugee Health Information Network

RHIN is a national collaborative partnership, managed by refugee health professionals, whose objective is to provide quality multilingual, health information resources for those providing care to resettled refugees and asylees. RHIN places its greatest emphasis on identifying, collecting, and making quality available materials that have been produced in refugee languages. Sources of these materials include federal, state and local public health agencies; national organizations; health care agencies; community-based organizations; academic institutions and international organizations. RHIN also strives to identify news and events, as well as other information resources useful to health providers serving refugees.

Training Alliance for Communities of Color
This website is from National Health Policy Training Alliance for Communities of Color, a partnership between Families USA, the Joint Center Health Policy Institute (HPI), the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, and the National Medical Association (NMA). Their mission is to empower community leaders, elected officials, and journalists from communities of color with pertinent information about health policy developments in order to: expand their capacity to address and catalyze action on crucial health and health care issues; bolster the skills of leaders from communities of color to play a more influential role in shaping and creating health policies that are of relevance to their respective communities; and engage diverse leaders in national health policy development.

The National Hispanic Resource Help-Line 1/800-473-3003 provides support for Latinos throughout the nation who need information about educational, health and human service providers. To become part of their database, click here.

Other

Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD)

Any serious policy proposal that aims to improve health care in America and control rising health care expenditures must address chronic disease. That’s why a broad group of patients, providers, community organizations, business and labor groups, and health policy experts has joined together to form the – a national, bi-partisan coalition committed to raising awareness of the policies and practices that save lives and reduce health costs through more effective prevention and management of chronic disease.

MANUALS, GUIDES, TOOLKITS

Newly posted resources are at the top of each Topics List.

Children's Health

Alliance for Health Reform has developed an online toolkit on child health coverage. The toolkit provides links to resources that will improve the user’s understanding of how children get coverage in the U.S. and the importance of public programs and employer-sponsored health insurance to children.

Cover the Uninsured Storybook - The Success of SCHIP: How the State Children's Health Insurance Program Helps America's Working Families

This is a 15-page, downloadable booklet that shares the touching stories of 23 families that have benefited from coverage provided through SCHIP. Download it today to share with opinion leaders in your community. Order Free Materials: FREE English and Spanish promotional materials featuring the 1(877) KIDS-NOW hotline, which parents can call to find out if their uninsured kids are eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid, are available to augment your outreach efforts. Order fans, bookmarks, posters and more to distribute in your community while supplies last.

Helping Pediatric Practices Implement Parental Depression Screening
A new online manual helps pediatric clinicians successfully screen parents for depression, discuss with them the impact depression can have on their children, and refer parents for counseling. Rates of major depression peak during women's childbearing years. Research has shown that maternal and paternal depression can affect parenting behaviors and, ultimately, harm children's health and development. Because pediatricians have frequent contact with parents, they have opportunities to screen for depression and intervene when necessary. Accumulating data about the adverse effect of parental depression on child health, development, and behavior have provided an impetus among pediatric practices for changing clinical care.

Medicaid

The Basics of Medicare and Medicaid
The primers help explain Medicaid and Medicare, including an overview, how they work, who they serve and how they are funded. The Medicare primer is new, and the Medicaid primer has been updated with the most current information (Kaiser Family Foundation, "The Basics of Medicare and Medicaid," (3/19/07, Kaiser Family Foundation)

The Medicaid Matters web site is a resource for people working across the country to protect Medicaid, the health insurance that 50 million rely on. It stores a ready-to-use toolkit of messages, materials and dissemination ideas. Users are able to download, at no cost, tested messages emphasizing the importance of Medicaid and the threat now facing the program. Messages are enhanced by high quality, full color photography. One set of materials is designed to be ready to print. Once downloaded, they can be forwarded to any print house or copy shop without any further formatting. The second set of materials is designed so that components of the product can be adapted to suit the needs of that organization or constituency that wishes to use them.

Medicare

Toolkit: Medicare Private Fee-for-Service Plans

The toolkit contains links to resources on general information about Medicare private fee-for-service plans, advantages and incentives of using the plans and the difficulties that beneficiaries have faced with the plans, including enrollment fraud. The toolkit also includes a list of experts and Web sites for further information on the plans. (7/12/07, Alliance for Health Reform)

Medicare Advantage Tutorial on the basics of Medicare Advantage and types of MA plans, as well as trends in MA enrollment, characteristics of beneficiaries and the impact of MA plans on traditional Medicare. And an updated Medicare Health and Prescription Drug Plan Tracker with MA plan enrollment data for June, containing local, regional and national data on MA plans and stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans. (7/17/07, Kaiser Family Foundation)

Medicare Rights Center Part D appeals manual
This free, comprehensive, easy-to-understand guide is for advocates who help people with Medicare get the drugs they need.This 25-page manual offers a complete overview of the entire appeals process, real-life case examples from MRC's Client Services department, a glossary of important Part D appeals terms, a sample appeals protocol for advocates, and links to important resources and documents. All in consumer-friendly language

New/Updated Resources Medicare Drug Plan Resources
In advance of the 2007 Medicare drug plans open enrollment period beginning Nov. 15, Kaiser Family Foundation has issued a series of new and updated resources based on ongoing research including consumer surveys:

Updated fact sheet providing state-specific data about Medicare drug plan options for 2007, including stand-alone drug plans and Medicare Advantage plans, and information on premiums, gap coverage, and availability to beneficiaries who qualify for full low-income assistance.

Updated Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit fact sheet, with a revised estimate that 4 million people will be affected by the coverage gap in 2006, as well as current enrollment and low-income subsidy participation and updated Medicare per capita drug spending.

Updated Talking About Medicare online consumer guide, reflecting 2007 benefit changes, to help people with Medicare and their families understand options and make decisions based on their personal situations; includes information about financial assistance for those with limited incomes, supplemental insurance options, and Medicare Advantage.

Uninsured

The Consumer Guide to State Health Reform

Community Catalyst and Families USA new Web-Based Guide to State Health Reform for Advocates. More and more states are prioritizing health care reform to address the coverage gaps that exist, the affordability crisis that continues to worsen, and the increasing costs of health care. Community Catalyst and Families USA are pleased to announce the release of a unique web-based guide to state health reform for consumer advocates working to strengthen and expand health care coverage in their states. A Consumer Guide to State Health Reform provides a detailed look at the building blocks of comprehensive health care coverage.

Fact Sheets and Primer on the Uninsured
The Kaiser Family Foundation has collected links to some resources on the topics of health coverage and the nation’s uninsured population to assist you in your work related to these issues:

The Uninsured and Their Access to Care

Covering the Uninsured: Growing Need, Strained Resources

Massachusetts’ New Law to Cover the Uninsured

Women's Health Insurance Coverage

The Uninsured: A Primer

Health Disparities

HRET Disparities Toolkit
The updated HRET Disparities Toolkit gives hospitals, health systems, clinics, and health plans the information and resources needed for collecting race, ethnicity, and primary language data from patients. In order to make this invaluable Toolkit more accessible to all health care providers, the Toolkit is now available free of charge.

Race Matters

This toolkit was created to help advocates and leaders address race and power structures within their work to help create equitable opportunities for all. (Voices for America's Children and The Annie E. Casey Foundation)

A Patient-Centered Guide to Implementing Language Access Services in Healthcare Organizations

The guide was created to assist health care organizations in better serving their clients with limited English proficiency and decrease disparities in access to health care. (DHHS Ofc. of Minority Health)

Amigos en Salud Online Disparities Toolkit
Pfizer has created a free toolkit to help community health centers reduce racial health disparities. The program, called Amigos en Salud/Friends in Health, involves training community health workers to be a bridge between minority communities and the healthcare system.

Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities: A Quality Improvement Initiative in Medicaid Managed Care ToolkitCenter for Health Care Strategies
The toolkit examines the experiences of a workgroup - comprising 10 Medicaid health plans and a state primary care case management association - that adopted strategies to identify and address racial and ethnic health disparities in birth outcomes and immunizations, asthma care and diabetes care. (January 2007)

Families USA is offering Making Public Programs Work for Communities of Color: An Action Kit for Community Leaders, from its Minority Health Initiatives Department. The kit provides community leaders with information, tools, and resources to engage in health advocacy and improve the health and well being of their communities. Emphasizing the importance of public programs in reducing racial and ethnic health disparities, the kit contains: a summary and statistics of racial and ethnic health disparities and the role public programs can play in reducing them; an overview of Medicaid (and SCHIP) and Medicare, including their relationships to communities of color; fact sheets on improving health coverage for racial and ethnic minority groups; state and local case studies on health advocacy; advocacy tools including a powerpoint presentation, and lists of organizations and publications. Contact: 202/628-3030 or rpanares@familiesusa.org.

Other

GoingSmokeFree.org: A Toolkit for Implementing Smoke-Free Laws
The site is a clearinghouse for activities, events, and tools states and communities need to plan, implement and support new or expanded smoke-free laws. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in partnership with the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, has created this free online resource to help states and communities implement smoke-free laws.

New Web Tool Provides Samples of Report Cards on Health Care Quality

With rising interest in information about the quality of care delivered by health care providers, HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has developed a new Web tool demonstrating a variety of approaches for health quality report cards. The new Health Care Report Card Compendium is a searchable directory of over 200 samples of report cards produced by a variety of organizations. The samples show formats and approaches for providing comparative information on the quality of health plans, hospitals, medical groups, individual physicians, nursing homes, and other providers of care.

ACHI's Community Health Assessment Toolkit

Built with funding from the American Hospital Association and expert guidance from a 35-member ACHI working group, this will be online in November 2007. The Toolkit, a member service of the Association for Community Health Improvement, available to members of the American Hospital Association and the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development, is a hands-on guide for both novice and experienced practitioners seeking to design, conduct and use assessments to improve the health of their communities.

Five Guidelines for Developing Customer-Friendly Websites
This new Covering Kids & Families publication is intended to help state agencies and other organizations do a

better job of helping people find information on the Web about Medicaid, SCHIP and other government services by producing a customer-friendly sites

TECHNOLOGY AND AUDIO/VIDEO RESOURCES

Audio Conferences and Webcasts

Dated events listed chronologically; standing webcasts listed last

President Bush's Last Budget - Why it Matters and What's Next?

Feb 8 1:00-2:00 pm ET

The Consumer Guide to State Health Reform

Feb 15 1:00 PM ET

ACHI Audio-conferences—Registration is now open
Partnership for Community Health: A Public-Private Model for Bridging the Gap of the Uninsured
Feb 21

Show, Don’t Tell: The Power of Storytelling in Communicating Community Initiatives
March 18

Evidence-Based Community Benefit Programming
March 3 Noon - 1:30 pm ET
This Catholic Health Association Audio-conference will describe how to incorporate principles of evidence-based public health into community benefit programs, using scientific evidence and data to guide decisions in program planning, implementation and evaluation, defining evidence-based decision making and describe why and how to choose programs and policies that work, with examples of specific evidence-based health promotions initiatives which can be used in community benefit programs.

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?

Hosted by the Black Women’s Agenda, the workshop featured a panel discussion of this soon-to-be-released PBS documentary produced by California Newsreel. View the entire panel discussion online.

Partnerships to Achieve Health Equity

Salud Para Todos: Expanding Access to Health Care

This a webcast of a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute sponsored panel discussion on Oct 2, 2007, that examined the impact of health care expansion efforts on Latino populations.

Health and Civil Rights Symposium: Strategies for Solutions

This is a webcast of a National Center for Health Behavioral Change sponsored at Morgan State University in Baltimore on Oct 5, 2007. The forum brought together leaders from the NAACP, health coalitions, health policy organizations, and the civil rights field to discuss the intersection between health and civil rights.

Universal Health Care Coverage in the United States

Robin Cook (moderator), Best-selling author, physician, and Member of the Wilson Center's Board of Trustees; James Morone, Professor of Political Science and Urban Studies, Brown University; Michael Cannon, Director of Health Policy Studies, Cato Institute, and Paul Seltman, Counsel, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP discuss the basic principles of the single payer, free market, and employer mandated approaches to expanding health coverage, respectively. Archived October 3 webcast.

Media Programming

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?

This seven-part series for PBS broadcast and DVD release will, for the first time on television, sound the alarm about our glaring socio-economic and racial disparities in health--and seek out root causes. While we pour more and more money into drugs, dietary supplements and new medical technologies, it turns out there is much more to our health than bad habits, health care or unlucky genes. The social conditions in which we are born, live and work profoundly affect our well-being and longevity. The series is part of an ambitious Public Impact Campaign conducted in partnership with leading public health, policy, and community-based organizations, pointing out that investing in our schools, improving housing, integrating neighborhoods, better jobs and wages, and giving people more control over their work, are as much health strategies as smoking diet and exercise.

Web Sites, Web Features & Databases

Newly posted resources are at the top of each Topics List.

Florida

Florida's Community and Migrant Health Centers Brochure UPDATED 9/07

A low literacy brochure describing services offered at Florida's CHCs with a map of all CHC locations and phone numbers. English Brochure Spanish Brochure Haitian Creole Brochure

Annie E. Casey Foundation: 18th KIDS COUNT Data Book

This is the recently released new edition of this national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the United States. By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, the Foundation seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children. Information is also available in an online database that enables users to generate custom graphs, maps, ranked lists, and state-by-state profiles. Both the book and the online database can be accessed on the website listed above.

First Steps: A Guide for Parents of Young Children with Developmental Disabilities

Florida Developmental Disabilities Council’s most popular publication ever has been revised and updated with critical info for any parent or family member of a young child with a developmental disability. The publication is a reliable source of info for parents at the beginning of a new journey. They will learn a new vocabulary, discover advocacy skills they never knew they had, and meet new people who will become important in their life as friends, teachers, doctors, therapists and caregivers. This is a valuable tool to help guide parents in the initial steps of their journey as well as a resource they can visit again and again as they, their child and their families grow through the coming years together. The publication is available in both English and Spanish, as well as in a full color version and a black and white version – both are in Acrobat Reader format (PDF) and available in two sections – Chapters 1 to 5 and Chapters 6 to 10 – for your convenience downloading the publications.

Summary of health-related bills passed by the 2007 Florida Legislature

Florida Health News, free online non-profit news service
The Florida Health Policy Center has announced the launch of an independent, free, non-profit news service: Florida Health News Inc. FHN will post health-related stories reported around the state, highlight the Florida impact of national stories, and track state health legislation. The news service also will feature original coverage of major health policy developments and a free Monday-through-Friday news service. You can visit the site and subscribe to the e-mail news service by clicking on the link: www.FloridaHealthNews.org. To send your comments, story tips and news of conferences and other events, or get more information, contact pat.curtis@floridahealthnews.org or 850/556-1668.

Florida Health Insurance Coverage of Children 0-18 (2004-2005)
Kaiser Family Foundation has released information about this on-line resource.

Statehealthfacts.org Updates Data on Medicaid & SCHIP Coverage for Children
Statehealthfacts.org has updated information on eligibility levels for children in Medicaid and SCHIP and parents and pregnant women in Medicaid using survey data from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU). The latest information on Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment practices for pregnant women and children and renewal practices is also now available. Overall SCHIP spending for FY 2006 and Federal SCHIP spending data from FY 1998 through FY 2006 are also now available. Recent additions to the site include new information on children's demographics and health insurance status from analysis of the Census Bureau's March 2005 and 2006 Current Population Surveys. These additions include the distribution of children by race/ethnicity, the distribution of children by citizenship status, and health insurance coverage among low-income children living near poverty.

Florida Association of Community Health Centers (FACHC)

The following resources have recently been added to the FACHC web site:

Short Assessment of Health Literacy for Spanish-speaking Adults (SAHLSA-50) A new health literacy test than can be used to screen for low health literacy among Spanish speakers.

Health Coverage and Access to Care for Hispanics in "New Growth Communities" and "Major Hispanic Centers" A 2006 Report from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured

Spanish Language Mental Health Manual for Health Promoters Developed by the California- Mexico Bi-National Health Initiative.

Florida Health Care Website for Consumers
A new Web site for Florida health-care consumers officially launches today, courtesy of the Florida Hospital Association. The site offers links to information on doctors, hospitals and health-care plans as well as checklists to help consumers ask the right questions. It is intended largely as a portal to other, established sites. There are links to sites for Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, among others.

State of Florida Health Care Consumer Websites
The recently expanded FloridaCompareCare.gov aims to improve care and reduce costs by giving citizens the tools to compare outcomes and prices between health care providers and medical services. Through this website one can see data on certain conditions and procedures related to quality of care, pricing and performance at the state’s hospitals and ambulatory (outpatient) surgery centers. In 2005, Florida became the first state to publicly report infection and mortality rates in each hospital. In July 2006, Florida became the first state to publicly report separate pediatric quality of care data. In addition, adult data can now be broken out specific to ages 65 and over. Additional new breakdowns include types of facilities.
FloridaHealthStat.com provides health care information to assist consumers, health care professionals, and researchers in making well-informed health care decisions and in researching the status of health care in Florida. MyFloridaRx.com provides consumers with the retail prices of the most commonly used prescribed drugs by pharmacy across Florida. For questions or comments regarding any of Florida’s consumer websites, contact 850/922-7036.

Medicaid Applications Online 24/7 and in Neighborhoods
Local partners can direct families to their area sites or online to apply for Medicaid and other benefits. The Web Application is generally preferable as the data makes it into the Florida system more quickly and there is a reduced chance of data entry errors.

Florida KidCare Applications can be completed online

Website Offers Free 24 Hour Health Information to Floridians to address concerns and inquiries

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) Secretary encourages health care consumers to visit www.FLHealthSource.com whenever they need information about a licensed health care professional. DOH’s Division of Medical Quality Assurance (MQA) maintains FLHealthSource.com. The site provides health care consumers with a host of information, including license status, office address, and disciplinary information for all health care professionals licensed in Florida. The site also provides additional information for the five profiled professions –medical doctors, osteopathic physicians, chiropractic physicians, podiatric physicians and advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs).

Statehealthfacts.org provides free, up-to-date, and easy-to-use health data on all 50 states, covering more than 500 health topics.

Florida Progressive Information Network (FLPIN)

offers a nonpartisan communication system designed to link progressive organizers with progressive activists. Individuals may sign up free of charge to receive alerts on a variety of progressive issues from other organizations participating in the Network. In order to make FLPIN work, it must be used on a regular basis. The more information put in, the more valuable it is as a tool. Link FLPIN to organization websites. A training manual is at www.flpin.net/alert.pdf. For more information or assistance, contact jen@floridahumanist.org

Children's Health

Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health
The Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI) presents the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health. This resource is a no-cost, easy-to-use website that puts national, state, and regional survey findings right at your fingertips. You'll find: interactive data search tools; personalized technical help by email or telephone and information and examples to help you use data more effectively.

Online Parent SCHIP Information
To assist in the growing problem of America's uninsured children, medical insurance hub HealthInsuranceFinders has added information to assist parents in finding and understanding all of their health insurance options: a State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) section with an overview of State Children Health Insurance Programs for each state.

State By State National Survey of Children’s Health Data Resource Center Dataset
The DRC Child Health Indicators version of the 2003 NSCH Dataset is now available. Added to the data sets are the 65 Child Health Indicators for the DRC online data query and the National Chartbook. Also included are Healthy People 2010 relevant indicators and key socio-demographic variables.

Medicaid

Fact Sheets on Medicare, Long-Term Care Spending; Medicaid; Long-Term Spending Data
Fact sheets, Georgetown University Long-Term Care Financing Project: The Georgetown University Long-Term Care Financing Project has released two new fact sheets on Medicare and long-term care and Medicaid policy that aims to protect the incomes and resources of spouses of nursing home residents who are trying to enroll in Medicaid. The project also has updated its 2005 national long-term care spending estimates. (February 2007, Georgetown University Long-Term Care Financing Project)

Medicaid Fact Sheets Tool

Compare your state's Medicaid program and the population it serves to other states and the nation by visiting Kaiser's new interactive online State Medicaid Fact Sheets tool.

Interactive Tools on Medicaid

The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured presents the State Medicaid Fact Sheets and the Medicaid Benefits Online Database, two interactive tools featuring the latest key data, information and services provided for each state’s Medicaid program. Both tools allow for easy access to the data which can then be printed, saved and emailed.

Medicare

CMS Updates Web Site to Help Medicare Beneficiaries Better Compare Drug Plans Price, Coverage, Quality

CMS has launched a revised version of the Medicare Drug Plan Finder Web site that allows beneficiaries to sort plans offered in their communities by annual costs based on prescriptions, monthly premiums, coverage levels in the so-called "doughnut hole" and other factors and view the information in one chart. (October 2007, CMS)

Online Interactive Medicare Advantage Comparison Tools
Before making the switch to Medicare Advantage, beneficiaries can compare plans to determine their needs. Then they can review each plan using the “Guidelines for Considering Medicare Advantage” from the Center for Medicare Advocacy. More information about Medicare Advantage managed care plans is online at Medicare.gov. More recent FAQs on private fee-for-service plans is available through CMS.

Uninsured

Interactive Online Side-by-Side Comparisons of Presidential Candidate Health Care Proposals
The online tool allows users to customize side-by-side comparisons by selecting as many as four candidates for comparison that can then be formatted into a printer-friendly format. [Kaiser Family Foundation]

Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured Updates Medicaid Benefits: Online Database with 2006 Data

Using this tool, Medicaid benefits can be compared across the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the US Territories or by specific service. The online tool contains Medicaid benefits survey data from 2003, 2004 and 2006 with information about benefits covered, limits, co-payments and reimbursement. It includes an interactive map, an expandable list of benefits, and the ability to compare data across the three survey periods.

Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured Updates Medicaid Benefits: Online Database with 2006 Data

Families USA’s State Coverage Expansions Resource Center

Many states are taking steps — expanding public programs, launching new state programs, and reforming private insurance — to make it possible for more people to get coverage. This new Resource Center will help you find out what the states are doing. Click here. The State Coverage Expansions map guides you to information on key state expansions, with fact sheets, links to legislation, and links to state advocacy groups. Comparing State Expansions is a series of tables that show you the key elements of these new proposals/laws state-by-state. How are states financing their expansions? Who is covered? What benefits do they get? Will small businesses be helped? All this and more is covered in the tables. If your state is doing similar efforts that are not yet on our map, click here to call or send Families USA an e-mail.

Health08.Org, A Hub for Information about Health Care and The Presidential Campaign

With health care emerging as one of the hot topics in the 2008 presidential election, this new ad-free Kaiser Family Foundation Web site will provide analysis of health policy issues, the results of regular public opinion surveys, and news and video coverage from the campaign trail. It will feature original content produced by Kaiser as well as health-related resources from various campaigns, other organizations, and news outlets. The site will offer summaries of candidates' health reform proposals, basic facts and information about the health system, the results of Kaiser tracking surveys examining the public's views on health issues and their perceptions of the candidates' views on health care, syntheses of health news coverage, podcasts and video from the campaign trail, and interviews with candidates and other key players in the health reform debate.

Uninsured Tutorial, Module, and Reference Library

This KaiserEDU.org page contains comprehensive resources including links to key research, policy analysis, and the latest data and statistics on the uninsured.

Health Care Coverage in America: Understanding the Issues and Proposed Solutions includes a corresponding PowerPoint presentation. (Cover the Uninsured)

Healthcare Coverage Options Database: Assistance for Obtaining Health Coverage

This Web site provides information on health insurance options for low-income U.S. residents. The site includes comprehensive information on large-scale programs like Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and the federal Health Care Tax Credit Program, as well as hundreds of smaller state, federal, and private programs.

Health Disparities

Unified Health Communication 101: Addressing Health Literacy, Cultural Competency, and Limited English Proficiency

is a free online learning experience designed to help health professionals improve their patient-communication skills, increase their awareness and knowledge of factors that affect their communication with patients, and implement patient-centered communication practices. The course, developed by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), comprises five modules and is estimated to take a total of 5 hours to complete. The course may be completed at the user's own pace and may be taken for credit (CEU/CE, CHES, CME, and CNE) or not for credit.

Guide to Health Programs (Guia de Programas de Salud)

This easy-to-use bilingual guide in Spanish and English is available for free to anyone looking for basic information on health insurance, nutrition, and other public programs. (California HealthCare Foundation, October 2007)

“Race, Ethnicity and Health Care” tutorial

Online from Kaiser Family Foundation.

Systematic Review of Current Disparities Research Interventions Identifies Successful Strategies for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care

Complete body of reviewed research available through new interactive tool. (10/11/07, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)

The Context of Health: What Are We Really Doing To Change It?
Healthy People 2010 recognizes that communities, States, and national organizations will need to take a multidisciplinary approach to achieving health equity—an approach that involves improving health, education, housing, labor, justice, transportation, agriculture, and the environment. [95-slide ppt]

Think Cultural Health is a new web page that provides a wealth of resources and information on the issues of cultural competence in health care and health care disparities. (DHHS Office of Minority Health)

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's new disparities Web page includes publications and information listed according to racial/ ethnic group, as well as by topic area.

National Cancer Institute Spanish Web Site

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has launched a new Web site, cancer.gov en español tailored to the needs of the U.S. Hispanic/Latino community. The Web site is completely in Spanish and is one of the latest tools developed by the NCI in its efforts to address cancer health disparities. It is intended to meet the needs of Hispanic/Latino cancer patients, their families and health care providers, who are either Hispanic/Latino or serve such patients.

Facing Race 2007

The Applied Research Center (ARC) and COLORLINES Magazine have made various resources from their conference available on the ARC Web site, the ARC blog, and on the Facing Race wiki

US Racial Disparities Update

Kaiser Family Foundation issued a new data update that shows the percentage of whites, African Americans, and Hispanics in all 50 states and the District of Columbia that are uninsured, enrolled in Medicaid, and living in poverty. The data also provide a quick glance at disparities in rates of infant mortality, diabetes-related mortality, and AIDS cases between these racial and ethnic groups.

Faith Based Efforts and Resources

Families USA has posted a new page on the Minority Health Initiatives section of the Web

site with links to various to encourage faith leaders to become involved in health care advocacy.

Factline: Tracking Health in Underserved Communities
This website is sponsored by the National Library of Medicine and Meharry Medical College that highlights health disparities in underserved communities. Factline presents information about health disparities faced by women, members of minority groups, the elderly and others. The focus of the website is two-fold: presenting significant findings from scholarly research in public health on the subject of health disparities and providing bibliographic references to the literature in which these findings are established. The framework for the research is Healthy People 2010.

New Database for Medical Language Access
The Medical Leadership Council on Cultural Proficiency has unveiled a first-of-its-kind database designed to assist physicians and others in providing improved language access and culturally competent health care. With more than 350 initial entries, the searchable, internet-based, free-to-the-public database includes contact information for interpreters, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, public health departments and others that provide health information and services in languages other than English. Users, including physicians, nurses, social service workers, patients and the general public, can search for listings by county, by language, or by type of service.

2007 Federal Poverty Guidelines Now Available
The Southern Institute on Children and Families has made available the 2007 Federal Poverty Guidelines. Compiled from the 2007 HHS Poverty Guidelines, these guidelines provide income levels for families at 50%, 100%, 125%, 133%, 150%, 185% and 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. Information is provided for the continental United States and separately for Alaska and Hawaii.

Women's Health Insurance Coverage Fact Sheet
As the cost of health insurance continues to rise, women in particular may face difficult challenges affording coverage because they are disproportionately low-income and can have poorer access to employer-based insurance. This fact sheet describes the major sources of health insurance coverage for women ages 18-64, including employer-sponsored insurance and Medicaid. It provides information on the more than 17 million women who are uninsured and summarizes the major policy challenges facing women in the health insurance sector. (Feb 2007, Kaiser Family Foundation)

Comprehensive source of Hispanic data
Recent release from the Census Bureau with data and linkage to sources covering many areas.

Rural Communities Statistics and Information
The Rural Assistance Center has added to its Web site a new resource providing continuously updated demographics and statistics, documents and resources and contacts for all 50 states. RAC said the federally funded "State Resources" addition is designed to help health care providers and human services representatives in rural communities with activities such as locating and competing for funding opportunities and networking.

Immigrant Health Policy Reference Library
This new compendium summarizes data and research on immigrants’ health coverage and access to care. The library also includes a list of organizations that conduct analysis on the impact of major health policies on immigrants and presents research on specific populations, including Latino, African and Asian immigrants.

Other

Tracking the Presidential Candidates on Health Care
The Kaiser Family Foundation's health08.org website offers resources for following health care developments during campaign season. The website serves as a hub of information about health and the election, including original content produced by Kaiser and easy access to health-related resources from the campaigns, other organizations and news outlets.

Consumer Health Information for You and Your Family
Keeping up with the latest consumer health information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just got easier. FDA has a new Web page to provides comprehensive and timely consumer information. A free monthly e-newsletter, FDA Consumer Health Information will alert consumers to content contained on the page.

Metropolitan Quality of Life Data
Diversitydata.org allows visitors to explore how metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. perform on a diverse range of social measures via a dataset of socioeconomic indicators in the form of tables, thematic maps, and customizable reports. The data cover various racial/ethnic, income and nativity groups. Multiple data sources have been used to show data for numerous domains such as housing opportunities, economic opportunities, residential integration, and health.

New Online Medical Dictionary Reference Tool

MediLexicon International Limited, corporate owners of Medical News Today, was pleased to announce on Nov. 11 the launch of a new medical dictionary tool. This dictionary search is a joint collaboration between MediLexicon and Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, who have provided the data.

American Community Census Data Online
The new poverty, income, and health insurance data from the U.S. Census Bureau released on August 29, 2006 is available online. This year, it has more state and local data than in previous annual surveys.

State Level Data on Health Coverage & the Uninsured

Kaiser Family Foundation's interactive web tool includes the health insurance status of the state’s population (those with various types of health coverage or who are uninsured), and demographic information (such as income, race/ethnicity, age, gender) for those who are uninsured, have employer-based insurance, or Medicaid. Information about Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries can be found in those respective categories. Find data from other categories on the website that relate to Health Coverage & Uninsured.

The Johns Hopkins INFO Project's OneSource Database

This provides one-stop access to over 360,000 resources and six separate databases with a single mouse click or search term. OneSource users can quickly search for reports, articles, documents, posters and pamphlets, photos, web sites, Q&As and news articles through a single interface. An enhanced search and browse capability makes finding global family planning, reproductive health and population information faster and more simple than ever. Enter your terms in the search box. Select the resource type you want to look for, or search all six databases at once, and click Search.

Videos and Films

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?

PERIODICALS AND BOOKS

Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We're Not Hurting

The author, who has experienced depression writes that in the African-American community, there's a tendency to hide or ignore symptoms of depression, which include sadness, energy loss, feelings of worthlessness, thoughts of death or suicide, change in weight, and oversleeping or difficulty sleeping. That tendency means missed opportunities to hit the disorder with effective treatments, including talk therapy, antidepressant medication, or both.

Hablamos Juntos

Special supplement to the November issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine (JGIM) examines consequences of language barriers such as poor quality of care and patient safety issues experienced by limited-English or non-English speaking patients. (November 2007)

REPORTS AND STUDIES

New Listings

New Listings: Medicaid

Providing Language Services in State and Local Health-Related Benefits Offices: Examples From the Field

Changing demographics, along with federal and state policies, have increased the need for effective models of providing language services to people with limited English proficiency. Many benefits offices, which help people apply for Medicaid and other public programs, lack knowledge and resources, creating barriers to access and care. To assess this environment, the National Health Law Program visited benefits offices and conducted telephone interviews and surveys. Certain strategies emerged as promising practices, defined as creative, effective methods replicable by others. These include written language access plans; recruiting bilingual staff for dual roles (e.g., front desk and interpreter positions); interpreter competency testing; training for interpreter staff; telephone language lines; community resources such as universities, local advocates, legal aid organizations, and refugee resettlement organizations; and tapping into underused funding sources. (1/18/08, Commonwealth Fund)

New Listings: Children's Health

Push by States To Expand SCHIP Coverage
New reports describe aggressive efforts by states in the past year and a half to expand coverage to low-income children and their families, but the actions may be curtailed due a failure to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program and a deteriorating economic climate. (1/28/08, Kaiser Family Foundation)

Dental Decay: The Hidden Health Crisis
According to Maryland Senator Ben Cardin's staff, dental decay is now the most common chronic childhood disease in the US, affecting twenty percent of children aged 2 to 4, fifty percent of those aged 6 to 8, and nearly sixty percent of fifteen year olds. It is five times more common than asthma among school age children...Improper hygiene can increase a child's adult risk of having low birth-weight babies, developing heart disease, or suffering a stroke. (1/18/08,The Nation)

New Listings: Medicare

Early retirees try to fill gap in health coverage

An article explored the difficulties of early retirees in getting access to health care coverage. U.S. residents are eligible for Social Security benefits at age 62. According to the American Academy of Actuaries, the median age for retirement in 2006 was 64 for men and 61.9 for women. However, unless they qualify for Medicare because of a disability, U.S. residents are not eligible for Medicare until they turn 65. While in previous decades early retirees relied on employer-sponsored health coverage, in 2007 only one-third of large employers provided retiree health benefits. Worse still, only 5 percent of employers with fewer than 200 employees provided health coverage to their retirees. According to AARP, about 16 percent of people ages 50 to 64 are uninsured. (1/14/08, USA Today)

Do We Know If Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans Are Special

This report describes the history of special needs plans, how they fit into the larger Medicare Advantage marketplace, and what information could help assess whether these plans are performing differently from other Medicare Advantage plans. (1/23/08, Kaiser Family Foundation)

The Value of Extra Benefits Offered by Medicare Advantage Plans in 2006 Kaiser Family Foundation

compares the value of extra benefits provided by private fee-for-service and other types of Medicare Advantage plans, as MA enrollment continues to increase. The analysis confirms that MA plans on average provided extra benefits above what traditional Medicare covered in 2006. The analysis also finds that the value of extra benefits were lower for private fee-for-service plans than for other MA plans in the same year (1/30/08, Kaiser Family Foundation)

New Listings: Federal Budget

The Dubious Priorities of the President’s Budget

"The President's budget would provide more tax cuts heavily skewed to the most well-off while cutting vital services for low- and moderate-income Americans, generating large deficits, and increasing the strain on states already confronting budget problems as a result of the economic downturn. The budget reflects misguided priorities that would leave the American people more vulnerable in a number of ways...." (2/4/08, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

20 States (including Florida) Face Total Budget Shortfall of at Least $34 Billion in 2009; Eight Others Expect Budget Problems

More than half of states anticipate budget problems, according to this updated analysis of state fiscal conditions. (1/15/08, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

New Listings: Health Insurance, Health Care Costs

Public's Views on Health Care Reform in the 2008 Presidential Election

A survey of adults age 19 and older, conducted from June to Oct 2007, finds that large majorities of the public, regardless of political affiliation or income level, say that the candidates' views on health care reform will be very important or somewhat important in their voting decision. Moreover, they believe employers—long the cornerstone of the health insurance system—should retain responsibility for providing health insurance, or at least contribute financially to covering the country's working families. A majority of adults would also favor a requirement that everyone have health insurance, with the government helping those who are unable to afford it; support for such a requirement, however, is not strong and varies by political affiliation, geographic region, and income. There is overwhelming agreement that financing for health insurance coverage for all Americans should be a responsibility shared by employers, government, and individuals. (January 2008, Commonwealth Fund)

Envisioning the Future: The 2008 Presidential Candidates' Health Reform Proposals
This report analyzes the health care proposals of eight Democratic and Republican 2008 presidential candidates. Their approaches to health insurance reform fall into three categories: 1) proposals that emphasize tax incentives for obtaining insurance through the individual market; 2) proposals that build on existing private and public group insurance with shared responsibility for financing coverage; and 3) proposals that aim to cover everyone through publicly sponsored insurance systems like Medicare. The report examines differences among the proposals, and evaluates them against key principles like affordability, provision of essential services, financial protection, streamlined administration, and fair financing. (1/15/08, Commonwealth Fund)

A Progress Report On State Health Access Reform

identify thirty-nine states that have enacted laws in at least one access category since 2006. At least thirteen states have begun processes to enact comprehensive reforms to cover at least half of their uninsured residents. Key activities involve coverage expansions for uninsured children and for uninsured adults; regulatory changes in small-group and individual insurance markets; and individual and employer mandates. The future extent and durability of this wave are uncertain. (1/29/08, Health Affairs)

Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey
When asked to consider the health reform proposals of the 2008 presidential candidates, most leaders in the fields of health care and health policy favor plans that build on the nation's current mixed system of public and private group insurance. Key elements of the mixed private-public proposals--which have been put forward by senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and former Senator John Edwards--received widespread support from the survey respondents, who represent a diverse range of professional and ideological perspectives. More than four of five, for example, said they favor a requirement that all individuals obtain health insurance, with premium assistance available for low- and moderate-income Americans. Most respondents also support requiring employers to either offer coverage to employees or pay a percentage of their payroll to help finance expanded coverage. (1/28/08, Commonwealth Fund)

The Amazing Noncollapsing U.S. Health Care System — Is Reform Finally at Hand?

Amid the myriad social transformations, corporate reorganizations, and policy innovations that have shaken the U.S. health care system, one great, puzzling constant endures. For roughly 40 years, health care professionals, policymakers, politicians, and the public have concurred that the system is careening toward collapse because it is indefensible and unsustainable, a study in crisis and chaos. This forecast appeared soon after Medicare and Medicaid were enacted and has never retreated. Such disquieting continuity amid change raises an intriguing question: If the consensus is so incontestable, why has the system not already collapsed? Though deeply dysfunctional by most standards, the U.S. health care system remains disturbingly stable. That no one really likes it does not translate into the inevitability of real change. (1/24/08, NEJM)

Do Individual Mandates Matter?
In this brief we conclude that, absent a single payer system, it is not possible to achieve universal coverage without an individual mandate. The evidence is strong that voluntary measures alone would leave large numbers of people uninsured. (1/29/08, Urban Institute)

Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2007
The national cost of diabetes in the U.S. in 2007 exceeds $174 billion. This estimate includes $116 billion in excess medical expenditures attributed to diabetes, as well as $58 billion in reduced national productivity. People with diagnosed diabetes, on average, have medical expenditures that are approximately 2.3 times higher than the expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes.(1/23/08, American Diabetes Association)

Big Money: Cost of 10 Most Expensive Health Conditions Near $500 Billion

The nation's 10 most expensive medical conditions cost about $500 billion to treat in 2005, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The costliest set of illnesses—heart conditions—cost the nation $76 billion. The money paid for visits to doctor's offices, clinics and emergency departments, hospital stays, home health care and prescription medicines. (11/23/08, AHRQ)

New Listings: Health Disparities

Unequal Health Outcomes in the United States

A broad coalition of over 25 national health advocacy and civil rights organizations released a report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, describing racial inequality in health care, health outcomes, and environmental health in the U.S. Through extensive research, this comprehensive report demonstrates that inequity in the health care infrastructure and in social and environmental conditions is the cause behind health disparities. (January 2008, report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination)

Reaching for a Healthier Life: Facts on Socioeconomic Status and Health in the U.S.

reveals the relationship between poor socioeconomic status and poor health in the U.S. The authors also discuss race as an additional factor linked to health status and offer policy suggestions to reduce premature death and eliminate health disparities. (Dec 2007, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

Trends in Opioid Prescribing by Race/Ethnicity for Patients Seeking Care in US Emergency Departments

Using survey data collected over a decade, researchers discovered that emergency room doctors were more likely to prescribe pain medication to white patients compared to black, Hispanic, or Asian patients. (1/2/08, JAMA)

Racial Differences in Hospice Revocation to Pursue Aggressive Care

Hospice provides supportive care to terminally ill patients at the end of life. However, some enrollees leave hospice before death in search of therapies that may prolong survival. Because of a greater preference for life-sustaining therapies at the end of life, African American patients were more likely than white patients to revoke hospice to pursue life-prolonging therapies. Models of health care that couple curative and palliative therapies may be more attractive to African American patients and more effective at maximizing continuity throughout life-limiting illness. (1/28/08, Archives of Internal Medicine)

Geneticizing Disease: Implications for Racial Health Disparities

details racial and ethnic health disparities and how the emergence of race-based medicine can be dangerous. According to the report, the "geneticizing" of disease is most appropriate in instances where it is known that a specific gene or gene variant can cause a disease; however, the report says that genetic medicine is not as appropriate when genes are linked to health conditions that are then labeled as race-specific. (1/15/08, Center for American Progress)

Report: Black, Hispanic children making gains

Black and Hispanic children have made significant gains in health, safety and income over the past two decades, narrowing gaps between them and white children, according to a pioneering report. They still fare worse overall than whites, but they're catching up in several areas. This recent study found that health care disparities between white and minority children have narrowed. Researchers looked at data records of children from 1985 to 2004 that were based on 28 measures, including health, income and education. According to the report, the number of white, black and Hispanic children with health insurance has increased since 1985. The growth in health insurance coverage is attributed to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a federal government program that began in 1997.But health insurance coverage is not the only disparity affecting minority children. The study found that black children in 2004 faced a 49 percent disadvantage to white children in overall health, down from 56 percent in 1985. Hispanic children faced a 1 percent disadvantage to whites in 2004, compared with 14 percent in 1985. (January 2008)

Health Characteristics of the Asian Adult Population: United States, 2004-2006
In general, non-Hispanic Asian adults were least likely to be current smokers, be obese, have hypertension, delay or not receive medical care because of cost, be tested for HIV, or be in fair or poor health compared with non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic AIAN, or Hispanic adults. (1/22/08, CDC)

Neighborhood Deprivation and Preterm Birth Among Non-Hispanic Women in the US
A significant association was found between neighborhood deprivation and risk of preterm birth. (January 2008, American Journal of Epidemiology)

The Impact of Medical Interpretation Method on Time and Errors

reports that the use of remote simultaneous medical interpreting (RSMI)—the interpreting style used by the United Nations—results in fewer medical errors and is faster than three more commonly used interpreting methods. (Nov 2007, Journal of General Internal Medicine)

Patient Satisfaction with Different Interpreting Methods: A Randomized Controlled Trial

evaluated patients' satisfaction with several common medical interpreting approaches, including RSMI, proximate consecutive interpretation, over-the-telephone consecutive medical interpretation, and ad hoc interpretation involving English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Cantonese speakers. Language-discordant patients were randomly assigned to RSMI or one of the other interpreting methods. Seventy-one percent of patients who received RSMI reported that doctors treated them with respect, compared with 64 percent of patients who received the other methods. (Nov 2007, Journal of General Internal Medicine)

Providing High-Quality Care for Limited English Proficient Patients: The Importance of Language Concordance and Interpreter Use

finds that LEP Chinese and Vietnamese patients in cities throughout the United States reported receiving less health education and worse interpersonal care when compared with patients with language-concordant providers. (Nov 2007, Journal of General Internal Medicine)

New Listings: Other Health Issues

Waits to See an Emergency Department Physician: U.S. Trends and Predictors, 1997-2004

The average wait time for heart attack patients at American emergency rooms rose 150 percent, from 8 to 20 minutes, between 1997 and 2004, according to a recent study Researchers attributed the increase to an overall rise in emergency room visits, emergency room closures and barriers to routine or outpatient care (1/15/08, Health Affairs)

Health Literacy Practices in Primary Care Settings: Examples from the Field

Low health literacy is widespread among U.S. patients, yet limited research has been done to assess the effects of health literacy practices designed to combat the problem, particularly among safety-net providers in primary care settings. This report presents findings from a 2005 study in which the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved first did an online survey of health care facilities across the country and then followed it up with visits to five selected sites for staff and patient interviews. The study identified five health literacy practices that staff considered especially valuable for their group's patients and potentially applicable to other clinics: a team effort, beginning at the front desk; use of standardized communication tools; use of plain language, face-to-face communication, pictorials, and educational materials; clinicians partner with patients to achieve goals; and organizational commitment to create an environment where health literacy is not assumed. (1/11/08, Commonwealth Fund)

6th Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study

identifies hospitals in the top five percent nationally in terms of mortality and complication rates for 27 procedures and diagnoses. Patients treated at top-rated hospitals nationwide are nearly one-third less likely to die, on average, than those admitted to all other hospitals, according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization. Patients who undergo surgery at these high-performing hospitals also have an average five percent lower risk of complications during their stay, researchers found. (Jan 2008, HealthGrades)

Florida Reports

14 States (including Florida) Fact Total Budget Shortfall of at Least $29 Billion in 2009; Twelve Others Expect Budget Problems

At least twenty-one states, including several of the nation’s largest, face budget shortfalls. In the 14 of the 21 states that have already made specific estimates, the deficits are expected to total at least $29 billion for fiscal 2009 — which begins July 2008 in most states. Another 5 states expect budget problems in fiscal year 2010, although some of those gaps may occur earlier than expected. Many of the other states have not yet released information about their fiscal status. (1/15/08, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)

Florida Funding For Safety-Net Hospitals Could Be Affected By Proposed Property Tax Cuts

Proposed cuts to Florida property taxes could reduce funding for safety-net hospitals in fiscal year 2009. The "low-income pool" of local and state tax dollars, which receives federal matching funds to reimburse hospitals that provide care to low-income and uninsured residents not covered by Medicaid, is mostly funded by ad valorem property tax revenue. Gov. Charlie Crist (R) and state lawmakers have proposed cutting those taxes this year. (1/3/08, Tampa Tribune)

Too Great a Burden: Florida Families at Risk A Report on the Impact of Healthcare Costs on Florida Families

Over the past eight years, relentless growth in health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs has made spending on health care an increasing burden. For many Floridians, this means that health care is consuming an ever-growing share of their budgets, forcing them to make difficult sacrifices in other areas so they can make ends meet. And for many hard-working families, the burden of these health care costs has become too great to bear. (Dec 2007, Families USA)

Miami-Dade Health Profiles 2007

The Health Council of South Florida released the South Miami-Dade 2007 Health Profile in fall 2007. The South-Miami Dade Health Profile is the second in a series of area Health Profiles prepared for Miami-Dade County's Office of Countywide Healthcare Planning as part of the Building Better Communities General Obligations Bond Program which seeks to improve access to primary care throughout Miami-Dade County. A Health Profile of the Miami Beach Service Area was released in July, and one focusing on the North Miami-Dade Service Area will be released in December. Comparative data is included for Miami-Dade as a whole. The profiles provide a general overview of the population, health needs and resources available in the Service Areas.

(Florida) AHCA's Annual Report on Medicaid Reform

(delivered 10/1/07)

Annie E. Casey Foundation: 18th KIDS COUNT Data Book

2007 Miami-Dade County Community Health Report Card: Health improvement through benchmarking, priority setting and leadership engagement

Intended as a “call to action” for area health care advocates and policy makers, the report assesses how well systems and institutions are meeting residents’ needs. It analyzes and synthesizes 93 health indicators, examines pervasive continuing racial and ethnic disparities, and sets targets for ten priority need areas including access to health care and coverage.

Florida Children’s Action Agenda 2007/2008 Available Online
Florida state Senators Nan Rich and Durell Peaden and Representatives Loranne Ausley and J.C. Planas have released the final recommendations of the 2006 Florida Children’s Summit. The Summit participants learned a lot, and the next Summit in Fall 2008 will reflect that. In 2008 they will spend substantially more time in workshops hashing out recommendations and will secure experienced workshop facilitators who are knowledgeable about the topics they are facilitating. Also, they will institute a process to ensure that when leaving the 2008 Summit - or very shortly thereafter - all will know the Summit recommendations.

Report looks at uninsured in Florida
This report from the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy at FIU documents and breaks down Florida's uninsured figures, finding 18.5% of the total Florida population uninsured. The report looks at employment and industry data related to lack of coverage, and proposes a partial solution.

Medicaid

State of Breast Cancer Report Names Florida as One of the "Most Restrictive" for State Assisted Breast Cancer Treatment
Florida is part of a minority of states that still determines a woman ineligible for Medicaid-funded treatment unless she was screened through the state program, restricting access to care for those diagnosed elsewhere. The Florida Suncoast Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure is on a mission to lobby the state legislature to change laws affecting women seeking Medicaid-funded treatment for breast cancer. The affiliate also encourages survivors, their families and the Tampa Bay community to contact their local and state representatives, urging them to revisit the laws governing breast cancer treatment. The Report provides information on advancements in diagnosis, treatment and research that have made breast cancer a survivable disease for more than 2 million people in the United States. The report also explores cultural, social, educational and financial barriers – or disparities – that prevent many people from getting screening and receiving life-saving breast cancer care. (11/26/07, Susan Komen Fdn)

Children's Health

SCHIP: Program Structure, Enrollment and Expenditure Experiences, and Outreach Approaches for States That Cover Adults

States that cover adults under SCHIP are more likely to experience funding shortfalls than those that do not, according to a report. GAO examined 10 of the 14 states that cover adults under SCHIP. According to the report, adults accounted for 54% of combined SCHIP expenditures in the nine states for which GAO had fiscal year 2006 data. Individually, adults accounted for 1% of SCHIP expenditures in one state, 32% to 42% in three states and more than 50% in five states, the report found. The report also found that six of the 10 states had SCHIP funding shortfalls at some point during the 2005-2007 period, compared to 10 of the 41 states that did not cover adults under SCHIP. Jocelyn Guyer, deputy executive director of the Center for Women and Families at Georgetown University, said states expanded coverage to adults under SCHIP because "they were encouraged to by both the Clinton and Bush administrations," and the states that did so were in some cases those "that had already expanded coverage for children to modest-income families" (Nov 2007, GAO)

Medicare

First Rigorous Analysis Defines Impact Of Medicare Part D

The most thorough study to date of the impact of the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D) found that this benefit led to a 13.1 percent decrease in out-of-pocket expenses for patients and a 5.9 percent increase in prescription use. (2/5/08, released early online, Annals of Internal Medicine)

Health of Previously Uninsured Adults After Acquiring Medicare Coverage

According to a recent study, uninsured adults experience dramatic health improvements after enrolling in Medicare at age 65. By age 70, the disparity in health status between those with insurance prior to Medicare and previously uninsured adults declines by 50 percent among individuals suffering from chronic illness. (11/26/07, Journal of the American Medical Association)

CMS Regulation Would Eliminate Premiums For Some Low-Income Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Beneficiaries

CMS has announced a proposed regulation that would allow Medicare drug benefit plans to offer reduced premiums to some beneficiaries who qualify for the program's low-income subsidy. The eligible plans would be located in regions where there are fewer than five "zero-premium" plans available. The regulation would allow eligible low-income beneficiaries in those areas to stay on their current drug plan without having to pay a premium and would ensure that there are enough plans offered for subsidy-eligible beneficiaries. (1/8/08, CQ HealthBeat)

National Health Spending In 2006: A Year Of Change For Prescription Drugs

Medicare spending rose faster in 2006 than it had done during the previous 25 years, due mainly to prescription drug benefit for disabled people and the elderly. Prescription drug spending growth accelerated in 2006 to 8.5 percent, partly as a result of Medicare Part D’s impact. In 2006, health care spending represented 16% of the American economy, a rise of 6.7% to $2.1 trillion. Healthcare spending continues to outpace economic growth. (Health Affairs, 27, no. 1 2008)

Health of Previously Uninsured Adults After Acquiring Medicare Coverage
This study finds dramatic improvement in health trends when previously uninsured older individuals--particularly those with cardiovascular disease or diabetes--gain health care coverage through Medicare, presenting the strongest evidence to date that health improves significantly when people gain health insurance. While individuals who had continuous health insurance coverage did not report a significant change in their health trends as they transitioned to Medicare, those who had no or little coverage reported substantial improvements, with uninsured individuals who had heart disease or diabetes reporting the most dramatic improvements. (12/26/07, Commonwealth Fund, JAMA)

Federal Budget/Health Care

Health Insurance, Health Care Costs

Medicaid Managed Care and the Distribution of Societal Costs for Persons With Severe Mental Illness

Managed care health plans for Medicaid patients with schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses may result in lower costs to the Medicaid system, but lead to greater personal expenditures and higher caregiver burden for patients and their families, new research indicates. This cost pattern was revealed in an analysis of total societal costs for 628 patients in the Tampa Bay area. (1/15/08, The American Journal of Psychiatry)

OPINION: Studies Show Being Uninsured Adversely Affects Health

The case for providing health coverage for all Americans got even more compelling in the past week when two new studies presented the most comprehensive evidence yet that the lack of health insurance is seriously harmful to a patient's health. (1/3/08, New York Times Editorial)

Uninsured and Dying Because of It: Updating the Institute of Medicine Analysis on the Impact of Uninsurance on Mortality

In 2002, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimated that 18,000 Americans died in 2000 because they were uninsured. Since then, the number of uninsured has grown. Based on the IOM’s methodology and subsequent Census Bureau estimates of insurance coverage, 137,000 people died from 2000 through 2006 because they lacked health insurance, including 22,000 people in 2006” (Jan 2008, Urban Institute)

Financial Burden of Health Care, 2001-2004

Analysis of data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) shows that rising out-of-pocket expenses and stagnant incomes increased health spending's financial burden for families in 2001-2004, especially for the privately insured. (January/February 2008, Health Affairs)

Barriers to Health Care Access for Low-Income Families

Public health insurance programs have expanded coverage for the poor, and family physicians provide essential services to these vulnerable populations. Despite these efforts, many Americans do not have access to basic medical care. (12/21/08, Medscape Today)

Guaranteeing Access to Coverage for All Americans

Under the three-part plan, states would establish Guarantee Access Plans to provide coverage to the uninsured with the highest expected medical costs. Individuals who do not qualify under these plans would be able to get coverage on a guarantee issue basis with premiums capped at 1.5 times the standard rate. (12/20/07, AHA NewsNow)

More Than 17 Million Americans Continuously Uninsured

More than 17 million Americans under age 65 -- almost a third of whom are middle income -- could be considered continuously uninsured. This means that they have not had health insurance to help cover their medical bills for at least 4 years, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (1/3/08, Medscape Today)

Women's Health Insurance Coverage Fact Sheet

This fact sheet provides new state-by-state statistics on health coverage and describes the major sources of health insurance for non-elderly adult women ages 18-64. It also summarizes the major policy challenges facing women in obtaining health coverage, and provides data on the more than 17 million women who are uninsured. (Dec 2007, Kaiser Family Fdn)

Healthcare Costs Topped $2 Trillion in 2006
The nation's healthcare bill climbed above $2 trillion in 2006, averaging a record $7,026 per person, according to a government report released today. The report is likely to intensify the presidential campaign debate over curbing costs and covering the nation's 47 million uninsured. Costs increased 6.7%, the report by Medicare's actuaries said -- only slightly more than the 6.5% rate in 2005. But it was still well above the overall rate of inflation. (1/8/08, LA Times)

Community Health Centers Feeling Pinch of Serving a Growing Uninsured Population

Despite record-setting federal funding for community health centers--which provide care largely for underserved people--the nation's 1,100 centers are feeling the strain of providing quality care for the growing uninsured patient population. (1/3/08, Commonwealth Fund)

Double-Digit Health Care Costs
Costs for the most popular health care plans in the United States are expected to increase by double digits for the rest of 2007 and continue into 2008. (12/4/07, Employee Benefit News)

Employers Say They Would Consider Dropping Health Care Coverage
"If one larger employer actually did drop its health benefits, others might follow for competitive reasons," according to a report, which also found that the cost of providing health insurance to employees doubled between 2000 and 2007. (12/6/07, Employee Benefit Research Institute)

The Impact of Unauthorized Immigrants on the Budgets of State and Local Governments U.S.
According to available estimates, there are about 12 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States. Federal, state, and local governments spend public funds that benefit those immigrants, and those immigrants pay individual income, sales, and property taxes. Most available studies conclude that the unauthorized population pays less in state and local taxes than it costs state and local governments to provide services to that population. However, those estimates have significant limitations; they are not a suitable basis for developing an aggregate national effect across all states. (Dec 2007, Congressional Budget Office)

Overburdened and Overwhelmed: The Struggles of Communities with High Medical Cost Burdens

The number of people with potentially high medical cost burdens varies widely across the nation, reflecting differences in the number of people who lack health insurance coverage and people who have coverage but nevertheless have high costs relative to their income. To address this problem, many states are undertaking expansions of insurance coverage, but federal support will be critical, particularly in states with large numbers of low-income residents. (11/28/07, Commonwealth Fund)

Why Health Insurance Is Important

Uninsured people receive less medical care and less timely care, they have worse health outcomes, and their lack of insurance is a burden for their families. The benefits of expanding coverage outweigh the costs for added services. Safety-net care from hospitals and clinics improves access to care but does not fully substitute for health insurance. (11/9/07, Urban Institute)

Health Disparities

Waits To See an Emergency Department Physician: U.S. Trends And Predictors, 1997-2004
Increases in wait times of 4.1 percent per year occurred for all patients but were especially pronounced for patients with AMI[ acute myocardial infarction], for whom waits increased 11.2 percent per year. Blacks, Hispanics, women, and patients seen in urban EDs waited longer than other patients did. (1/15/08, Health Affairs)

Geneticizing Disease: Implications for Racial Health Disparities
The "geneticizing" of disease is used most appropriately in those instances where we know that genes or gene variants alone can cause disease...Yet that is a real stretch in other instances when genes are linked to health conditions that become labeled as race specific, since this has the potential to distort the discussion on racial health disparities. (1/15/08, Center for American Progress)

Social Disparities in the Burden of Occupational Exposures
1282 workers (72%) completed the survey: 36% women, 23% Latino, 39% black, 24% white, and 48% born outside the U.S. The prevalence of high exposures ranged from 21% (chemicals) to 39% (neck strain). 46% reported 3 or more high exposures. Exposure reporting varied among sociodemographic groups. Some of the disparities were explained by the jobs held by different groups, but after statistically controlling for job, many disparities remained. (Dec 2007, American Journal of Industrial Medicine)

Health Literacy Practices in Primary Care Settings: Examples from the Field

Low health literacy is pervasive in the United States, particularly among older adults and people with limited education or English proficiency. Patients with low health literacy are at greater risk of misunderstanding treatment recommendations, taking prescription medications improperly, and experiencing lower health status and poorer health outcomes. But according to a new C report, there are a number of practical steps that health care providers can take to combat the problem. By joining forces with their patients, providers can overcome health literacy barriers and help ensure the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered care. (1/11/08, Commonwealth Fund)

Whites More Likely To Get ER Narcotics

Emergency room doctors are prescribing strong narcotics more often to patients who complain of pain, but minorities are less likely to get them than whites, a new study finds. Even for the severe pain of kidney stones, minorities were prescribed narcotics such as oxycodone and morphine less frequently than whites. (1/2/08, AP)

Racial Disparities Persist in U.S. Cancer Treatment

U.S. blacks continue to get inferior cancer treatment compared to whites, researchers said on Monday in a study showing that disparities first documented in the early 1990s persist despite efforts to erase them...Black patients were consistently less likely than whites to receive the recommended types of treatment, the study found, and the problem was just as bad in 2002 as in 1992. (1/7/08, Reuters)

Measuring the Health of Nations: Updating an Earlier Analysis

This update compares international rates of ‘amenable mortality’—that is, deaths from certain causes before age 75 that are potentially preventable with timely and effective health care. In addition to the U.S., the study included 14 Western European countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. According to the authors, if the U.S. had been able reduce amenable mortality to the average rate achieved by the three top-performing countries, there would have been 101,000 fewer deaths annually by the end of the study period” (1/8/08, Commonwealth Fund)

Shaping Public Policy and Population Health in the United States: Why Is the Public Health Community Missing in Action?

Renewed international interest in the structural determinants of health manifests itself in a focus on the social determinants of health and the public policy antecedents that shape their quality. This increased international interest in public policy in support of the structural determinants of health has had little traction in the United States. This should be surprising since the United States presents one of the worst population health profiles and public policy environments in support of health among wealthy developed nations. (International Journal of Health Services, Vol 38, No 1, 2008)

Health, United States, 2007

is a compilation of more than 150 health tables. Nearly one in five U.S. adults - more than 40 million people - report they do not have adequate access to the health care they need, according to the annual report on the nation's health released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report also contains a special section focusing on access to care, which shows that nearly 20 percent of adults reported that they needed and did not receive one or more of these services in the past year - medical care,

America's Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People and Their Communities
This report ranked states' overall health based on 20 well-being factors, including poverty levels for children, violent crime, obesity, and racial and ethnic health disparities. The report indicated that health disparities remain between minorities and whites. In addition, the report shows that Hispanics have the lowest percentage of access to routine dental care and colon cancer screenings. (November, 2007, United Health Fdn., American Public Health Assn., Partnership for Prevention)

Other Health Issues

Economic Issues, Such As Health Care Costs, Top Concerns For Democratic, Republican Voters

Exit polls from New Hampshire indicate that economic issues have "overtaken all other issues as the top concern" in the presidential election for both Democratic and Republican voters. According to the Post, voters "have different anxieties about the economy." Some voters have concerns about jobs or housing, and health care and energy costs "trouble large swaths of the population." (1/10/08, Washington Post)

Ranking America's Mental Health: An Analysis of Depression across the States
Mental Health America found statistically significant associations between the following factors and better depression status and lower suicide rates: mental health resources; barriers to treatment; mental health treatment utilization, and socioeconomic characteristics. (12/14/07, Mental Health America)

Income Inequality Hits Record Levels
Real after-tax incomes jumped by an average of nearly $180,000 for the top 1 percent of households in 2005, while rising just $400 for middle-income households and $200 for lower-income households according to new data. Taken together with prior research, the new data indicate that income is now more concentrated at the top than at any time since 1929. The share of the nation’s total after-tax income going to the top 1 percent of households more than doubled and hit the highest level on record (with data back to 1979). The share of national after-tax income going to the middle fifth of households (the middle 20 percent) was the smallest on record. Similarly, the share of national after-income tax going to households in the bottom fifth was the smallest on record. The $180,000 average income gain for these households in 2005 is more than three times the average middle-income household’s total income. (12/14/07, Congressional Budget Office)

America's Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People and their Communities

The nation's overall health declined 0.3% last year, according to the latest annual report on 20 health indicators by the United Health Foundation, American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention. The nation's overall health improved 18.4% through the 1990s before stalling due to rising obesity, uninsurance and other factors, the report says. (11/7/07, AHA News Now)