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August 28, 2007 Surprise Bush Administration Guidelines Sharply Curtail States' SCHIP Expansions In a surprise move, the Bush administration has notified state governments of new federal guidelines that children’s advocates fear will render moot the substance of State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) reauthorization bills. The new rules would severely limit the ability of states to set their own eligibility guidelines. These rules may provide a chilling effect on efforts by children’s advocates to streamline and ease accessibility to the KidCare program, currently covering less than half of this state’s 550,000 eligible children. (by Andrew Leone, Florida CHAIN) Read more
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Florida Covering
Kids & Families Holds Back-to-School News Conferences
and Enrollment Fairs Across This summer,
Governor Crist initiated a Back-to-School outreach campaign to
raise awareness of low-cost or free health coverage to children
through Florida KidCare. This effort included news conferences and
enrollment fairs. Elected officials, pediatricians, and parents
spoke about the importance of children's health coverage while
local projects and staff from several Florida departments
enrolled families in KidCare. Each event included presentations
of local government proclamations in support of providing
children with health insurance. Hundreds of backpacks provided
by Office Depot and back-to-school supplies donated by health
plans were distributed to applicant families. (by Patrick Cannon,
Make sure you sign the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU) petition. Then, please send it
to your friends, colleagues, and family. (thanks to Families USA
for this alert) |
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"Florida Trend" Article on Medicaid Reform The Medicaid Reform implementation in Broward and Duval counties, and its expansion to rural Clay, Baker and Nassau, is helping outline different perspectives on the broader questions of future health care in Florida and nationwide. By focusing on delivery of care for Medicaid beneficiaries, participants on all sides believe they have everyone's broader interests at heart. On one hand are state administrators entrusted with taxpayers' resources that are finite and often insufficient to deliver the services they are asked to deliver. On the other hand are consumers and their advocates trying to shift the debate toward delivery of services that consider individuals first, not data to be calculated in percentages. An article by Barbara Miracle in the September issue of "Florida Trend" Magazine, "Medicaid Progress Report," goes to some lengths to show this. (by Andrew Leone, Florida CHAIN) Read more & link to the "Florida Trend" article
Medicaid Reform Roundup
Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) Meeting The Medicaid Reform Technical Advisory Panel met
August 20. Issues of particular interest to consumer advocates
included updates on the Enhanced Benefits program, the Choice
Counseling component, and a report on the expansion into Clay,
Baker and
Effect of Property Tax Cuts Meanwhile, following the concerns raised by the Nassau County Commissioners on the effects of Property Tax cuts on their ability to deliver services to the needy in the midst of Reform, the tax cuts’ effects on Duval have also become apparent through proposed municipal cuts.
Hispanic Health
Initiatives will sponsor a town hall meeting in 
Access to Care Made Difficult for Children
With new questions raised by the federal
government about Study
Questions Medicaid Managed Care Services Delivery to Pregnant
Women Findings from
a new study on managed care’s impact on pregnant enrollees
offer a cautionary tale for |
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Health Care Budget Reductions Priority Areas Pose Significant Impact for Low-Income Floridians AHCA has
identified 24 priority areas for budget reductions to meet the
state's 10% "savings" exercise. Florida legislators, now in
committee meetings, will convene in Special Session on
September 18 to balance the budget by cutting $1.2 billion.
AHCA's proposed cuts include eliminating the Senior Care managed
care pilot and the MEDS-AD Waiver (that
would impact persons 65 and older or disabled with an income up
to 88% of the federal poverty level), hospital and nursing home
reductions, and restricting the medically needy program to
children and pregnant women. AHCA notes that this "will have a
significant impact on the ability of individuals with low
incomes to access critical health care." (by
Medicaid Medically Needy Share of Cost
Program on the State’s “Chopping Block”
Again
The Medically
Needy Share of Cost Program, covering medications and health
care needs for thousands of low-income Floridians whose monthly
income puts them over the Medicaid eligibility threshold, could
suffer severe cuts as the legislature looks to address a $1.2
billion budget shortfall in special session. Consumers and their
advocates have pointed out that most Medically Needy have
prescription and health care costs that already far exceed their
ability to pay for them. These Floridians are often transplant
survivors, patients with HIV or AIDS receiving Social Security
Disability Income, or people who have suffered another
catastrophic illness or injury. (by Bill Rettinger,
MedicaidAdvocates.Com) Read
more
“Don’t Cut Mental Health
Programs,” Say Experts |
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Attention: Individuals and Families Affected by Waiver Service Reductions Letters were mailed to individuals and families from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) in June notifying 4,000 individuals of their service limitations that were established as law and will became effective on August 1. Letters were also mailed to individuals and families advising them of pending service eliminations in June. If you have had services reduced and/or will experience service eliminations, share your situation for research and advocacy. (distributed by Florida Developmental Disabilities Council) Read more |
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REAL STORIES FROM Letters to Florida Medicaid Director Confirm
Reform Consumers' Difficulties Must Be Evaluated Before
Expansion At the start of the 2007 legislative session, Mr. Tom Arnold, Director of Medicaid, reported to the Senate Health Policy Committee that his office at that time “had not received more than 10 complaints about Medicaid Reform." In an effort to keep Mr. Arnold informed of issues being raised by consumers, Florida Legal Services, Florida CHAIN and other organizations comprising the Medicaid Reform Advocates Coalition (MRAC), have produced and forwarded to Mr. Arnold letters documenting these on a regular basis. We intend to continue submitting them as long as necessary, to point out that Medicaid Reform needs to be evaluated from the perspective of how it affects individual consumers before it is considered for expansion statewide. Read the most recent letter to Director Arnold, including nine case stories illustrating a number of serious difficulties experienced by people as a result of Medicaid Reform. |
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Health Care for All–Florida
Informed on Models, and Develops
Strategies Working to
gain momentum on issues related to universal health care while
expanding its activist base, Health Care for All-Florida
recently held an informational meeting in Coral Gables. The
event included a presentation on the Italian system of universal
coverage, ranked second internationally by the World Health
Organization. The group then discussed strategies for
legislative and media actions. These include targeting specific
Florida
CHAIN Awarded Grant from Health Foundation of Florida CHAIN
has announced receipt of a $50,000 grant from Health Foundation
of South Florida to support efforts at including the voice of
Medicaid Reform consumers in evaluation of the
program. The grant will allow
for development of forums allowing consumers to
communicate to legislators in Broward and Miami-Dade
counties their experience with Medicaid Reform for the purpose
of reining-in its expansion beyond the pilot counties. In
addition, the grant will provide consumers with the opportunity
to offer input on alternative solutions to Medicaid Reform.
(by Andrew Leone, Florida CHAIN)
Read
more |
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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: 6600 Cypress Road
#508, Plantation, FL 33317 |
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