Health & Medicine (HMPRG)

Report Highlights Severe Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare that Romney's Proposed Budget Cuts Would Require

A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains that if policymakers exempt Social Security from the cuts (as Romney has suggested) and cut Medicare, Medicaid, and all other entitlement and discretionary programs by the same percentage, then non-defense programs
other than Social Security would have to be cut 29 percent in 2016
and 59 percent
in 2022.
The report is available at http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3658.

Illinois receives funding to establish Insurance Exchange

Download the post

From the HHS.gov website

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 16, 2012

Contact: HHs Press Office (202) 690-6343

More states work to implement health care law

Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington receive grants to establish Affordable Insurance Exchanges

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington will receive more than $181 million in grants to help implement the new health care law. The grants will help states establish Affordable Insurance Exchanges.  Starting in 2014, Affordable Insurance Exchanges will help consumers and small businesses in every state to choose a private health insurance plan. These comprehensive health plans will ensure consumers have the same kinds of insurance choices as members of Congress. Including today’s awards, 34 states and the District of Columbia have received Establishment grants to fund their progress toward building Exchanges.

HHS also issued two guidance documents today to help states build Affordable Insurance Exchanges.

“States across the country are implementing the new health care law,” said Secretary Sebelius. “In 2014, consumers in every state will have access to a new marketplace where they will be able to easily purchase affordable insurance.”

Today, the Department released:

• New resources for states: The six new Exchange Establishment grant awards to Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington total more than $181 million. This round of awards brings the total of Exchange-related grants provided to states over the last two years to more than $1 billion.  Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota and Tennessee today have been awarded Level One Exchange Establishment grants, which provide one year of funding to states that have begun the process of building their Exchange. Washington is the second state to be awarded a Level Two Establishment grant, which is provided to states that are further along in building their Exchange and offers funding over multiple years.

  In 2010, 49 states and the District of Columbia received Exchange Planning grants totaling more than $54 million; in 2011, seven states received more than $249 million in Early Innovator grants; and to date, 34 states and the District of Columbia have received more than $856 million in Establishment grants.

  States can apply for Exchange grants through the end of 2014, and these funds are available for states to use beyond 2014 as they continue to establish Exchange functionality. This ensures that states have the support and time necessary to build the best Exchange for their residents.

  To see a detailed state-by-state breakdown of grant awards and what each state plans to do with its Exchange funding, visit our new map tool on HealthCare.gov - http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2011/05/exchanges05232011a.html

• New guidance for states: Today’s guidance includes an Exchange Blueprint states may use to demonstrate how their Affordable Insurance Exchange will work to offer a wide range of competitively priced private health insurance options. The Blueprint also sets forth the application process for states seeking to enter into a Partnership Exchange. If a state chooses to operate its own Exchange or a Partnership Exchange, HHS will review and potentially approve or conditionally approve the Exchange no later than Jan. 1, 2013, so it can begin offering coverage on Jan. 1, 2014.  To see the state Exchange Blueprint, visit http://cciio.cms.gov/resources/other/index.html#hie
• Exchanges in every state: Consumers in every state will have access to coverage through an Affordable Insurance Exchange on Jan. 1, 2014. If a state decides not to operate an Exchange for its residents, HHS will operate a Federally-facilitated Exchange (FFE). This guidance describes how HHS will consult with a variety of stakeholders to implement an FFE, where necessary, how states can partner with HHS to implement selected functions in an FFE, and key policies organized by Exchange function. To see the guidance on the FFEs, visit http://cciio.cms.gov/resources/regulations/index.html#hie

The Department will conduct implementation forums in the coming months to work with states and stakeholders on their questions and the work to be done in building Exchanges. The Department will also engage in consultation with Tribes, Tribal Governments, and Tribal Organizations on how Exchanges can serve their populations.

For more information on these implementation forums, visit http://cciio.cms.gov/resources/factsheets/index.html#hie

For more information on Exchanges, including fact sheets, visit http://www.healthcare.gov/exchanges.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last revised: May 16, 2012

 

Something to think about in the wake of the Commonwealth Fund Report...

Link to the story

In a region where there are more hospitals and more medical schools than almost anywhere in the country, we have to wonder why Chicago ranks 215 of 306 in health care quality, cost, rates of uninsured, preventive care and preventive hospitalizations in the report released by the Commonwealth Fund this week. 

Our national leadership in lack of investment in public health coupled with the very limited amount of coordinated care across silos of institutions (hospitals and community based) are surely largely to blame.  Health and Medicine is convening groups to develop meaningful partnerships and commitment to public health that will address many of these indicators.

Quentin Young's Letter to the Editor in March 26, 2012 NY Times Science Section

Download the letter from the NY Times

To the Editor:

Your article ( A Drumbeat on Profit-Takers, March 19, 2012) captures Dr. Relman’s and Dr. Angell’s decades of responsible criticism of the major corporate entities that have disfigured American health care: the private insurances companies and Big Pharma. As we once again approach national elections, the pertinence of the views of these two medical giants should ring out loud and clear: The initiation of a single-payer national health program, an improved Medicare for all, is not only desirable but urgent.

Quentin D. Young, M.D.

Chicago

The writer is national coordinator, Physicians for a National Health Program.

HMPRG Stands with Advocates Across the State inSupport of Solutions to the Medicaid Financing Challenge (Revised list of supporters)

 Download Keep Illinois Medicaid Strong principles 3-28

Keep Illinois Medicaid Strong: Principles for Financial Stability

The Illinois Medicaid program provides life-saving health coverage to nearly 2.7 million low-income children, parents, seniors, and people with disabilities and behavioral health needs, including addiction and mental illness. However, the program faces a $2.7 billion deficit this year, and legislators are exploring a range of solutions. We all need to ask: How much does each of these “solutions” actually cost us in health and long-term care outcomes and state funds? Our organizations endorse the following principles for stabilizing the Illinois Medicaid program.

Solutions such as cutting prescription drug coverage, eligibility, or optional services are unacceptable and will drive up long-term state costs. The services people on Medicaid receive now reduce future state health spending by providing prevention services and early intervention.

Transformative Medicaid reforms are being implemented but need time to work. To improve the health and lives of Medicaid recipients while reducing costs, Illinois is contracting with commercial managed care companies and networks of providers to implement robust care coordination models. However, these programs cannot be in place overnight.

The General Assembly and Governor have underfunded Medicaid for 20 years; a multi-year solution is needed to balance the program budget. Medicaid reforms enacted in 2011 already establish a decade-long glide path to pay old bills, and this plan should be followed.

The Medicaid budget cannot be balanced with Medicaid cuts alone. New revenue and savings from legislative changes in other budget areas must be applied to Medicaid. Medicaid cannot be firewalled from the rest of the state budget; it is an economic engine that supports families, creates jobs, and helps children learn.

Supporters (3/28/12)

AARP Illinois

Access Living

AgeOptions

AIDS Foundation of Chicago

American Cancer Society, Illinois Division

Campaign for Better Health Care

Citizen Action Illinois

Chicago ADAPT

CJE SeniorLife

Health and Disability Advocates

Health and Medicine Policy Research Group

IL Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association

IL Alliance for Retired Americans

IL Association of Public Health Administrators

IL Association of Rehabilitation Facilities

IL Chiropractic Society

IL Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

IL Maternal and Child Health Coalition

IL Society for Advanced Practice Nursing

IL Partners for Human Service

IL Public Health Association

IL Primary Health Care Association

Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

New Age Services

Ounce of Prevention Fund

Planned Parenthood of Illinois

Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law

SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana

SEIU Illinois Council

 

 

In Crain's Article, DHFS Director Hamos says "...saving Medicare is the major social justice issue of our time."

Download the Greg Hinz post from February 27, 2012

From this week's Crain's Chicago Business

Ask Julie Hamos about Medicaid and, within about 10 seconds, she starts sounding like a GOP presidential candidate.

“The system is going bankrupt. It's going to collapse. I really believe that,” she says. The traditional fee-for-service medical delivery system “is killing us,” and key stake-holders are gaming a program filled with “abuse.” She concludes, “It's soooo screwed up.”

Good right-wing red meat, no? The only thing is Ms. Hamos is a liberal Democrat from the North Side. And in one of those odd twists that life sometimes throws, the former union lobbyist and state legislator is the lady in the bucket on the crucial task of somehow saving a Medicaid system that is nearly drowning Illinois in red ink.

As director of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Ms. Hamos, 63, has been tasked by Gov. Pat Quinn to hammer out a deal to slash spending by $2.7 billion this year, the minimum she says is needed to pay overdue bills and get spending back to a sustainable level. Though Ms. Hamos got the job about two years ago and pushed through some changes last year, it's only now that Mr. Quinn has decided that reining in Medicaid outlays is a priority.

Mr. Quinn's shift may have something to do with a recent report by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago that says Illinois is on track to tote up a staggering $21 billion in Medicaid IOUs by fiscal 2017. Whatever. Ms. Hamos' job is to avoid that fate, against long to extremely long odds. Read the full post...

An Analysis, Re: the Impact of the President's FY 2013 Budget on Medicare

Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc. released an analysis of the Presidents FY 2013 Budget, and its impact on Medicare.  Overall the Budget shows a commitment to strengthening and supporting Medicare, but there are some concerns about cost-shifting to Medicare beneficiaries.

 

SCAN Foundation Releases Comprehensive Report on the Diverse Characteristics and Needs of the Aging Population

SCAN Foundation releases an updated report on the “Demographic & Economic Characteristics of Aging Americans”.  With the aging population growing as the baby boomers age, it is important to understand the diversity of the aging population as new policies and programs are designed to best fit the older American population’s needs.

For more detail at the state level, download the profile on older Americans developed by the Administration on Aging.  

 

AARP Policy Institute Publishes Report on Health Insurance for 50-64 year olds

Report notes that, though access drops as costs rise and employer-sponsored plans are declining, the new health care law promises help

AARP's Public Policy Institute examines sources of coverage for the 50 to 64 age group, issues confronting those not covered through an employer, characteristics of the uninsured, shifts in coverage with retirement, market trends, health care spending, and the impact of the Affordable Care Act.

Download the fact sheet

Download the full report

NOTE that you can now access AARP's blog on the Health & Medicine blog in the column  to the right.

AARP Unveils a Health Law Guide (In English and Spanish) to Help Clarify New Health Care Laws

 The Health Law Guide developed by AARP , an online tool to help individuals and families make sense of the health care law, launched publicly on Febrary 23, 2012. Access the Spanish version

 AARP's goal in developing this tool is to give people an easy way to learn about the provisions that fit their personal circumstances, so that they can make informed decisions about their health care choices. Visitors to the tool answer six simple questions and receive a personalized report that:

• provides information about what is available now and over the next few years when the health care law goes fully into effect;
• explains benefits and protections such as expanded coverage for preventive care and screenings and protections against insurance cancellations and lifetime limits on health insurance coverage; and
• describes state specific programs and resources for people who are uninsured or who are having difficulty finding coverage.

AARP's Health Law Guide is designed specifically with the 50-plus audience in mind, and it is the only online tool on the Affordable Care Act that is also available in Spanish. AARP hopes our constituents will benefit from this resource, and invites us all to spread the word about this helpful tool.

Also, join AARP on March 1 at 7:00 p.m. eastern time for a free webinar that provides an overview of the Affordable Care Act and an introduction to the Health Law Guide.