Critical Health Areas Project (CHAP) Newsletter
Volume 2, Issue 3
March 29, 2007
Announcements
NCSL’s annual Spring Forum in Washington D.C. is taking place April 19-21. For more information or to register please visit http://www.ncsl.org/forum/. Here are three of the interesting pre-conference sessions on Health that will be offered at Spring Forum:
Thursday, April 19 8:00 am - 12:00 pm
This program will highlight new research on adolescent development and what those findings suggest for juvenile justice policy. It also will explore prevalence of mental health issues among court-involved youths, and consider how juvenile justice and mental health systems can best respond. For more information on this program please contact Vicky R. McPherson (303) 364-7700 ext. 1343 or vicky.mcpherson@ncsl.org.
Thursday, April 19 7:30 am - 12:15 pm
The session will cover the following topics Emergency Medical Services' Expanding Role in the Continuum of Care: Present and Future, Sustaining the EMS Workforce and Financing and Reimbursement of EMS Services. While this event is open to all Spring Forum attendees pre-registration is required. Please email joanne.stroud@ncsl.org to register.
Thursday, April 19 8:00 – 11:00 am
This meeting will plan an introduction to HIT for legislators, consisting of brief written introductions to HIT topics, illustrative stories, and an organized presentation. This meeting will be offered, as space allows, at no additional cost to Spring Forum registrants. Pre-registration is required to attend. To sign up for this meeting please contact Kory Mertz at kory.mertz@ncsl.org. For more information on this program please contact Kala Ladenheim at kala.ladenheim@ncsl.org or (202) 624-3557.
The Health Committee will be meeting at Spring Forum on Thursday and Friday. Topics to be discussed include an update on Federal Issues, Successful Strategies to Improve Oral Health, Wellness, Healthy Eating and Active Living and Health Courts and Other Medical Liability Alternatives. To see the full Health Committee Agenda please go here http://www.ncsl.org/programs/seminars/agenda/index.cfm.
One session of the Health Committee you may find particularly interesting:
Friday, April 20 1:30 – 2:30 pm
This session will provide an overview of federal law governing access for immigrants and discuss issues facing states as they sort through policy challenges associated with health care for immigrants. For more information on this program please contact Donna Folkemer (202) 264-8171 or donna.folkemer@ncsl.org.
The archives page can be found here http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/webcastfeb07.htm. Events recordings and supporting documents are usually added a week after the event. Recently added audioconferences:
Save the date! Emerging Health Leaders (CHAP) meeting October 3-5, Saint Louis, MO. We heard you loud and clear: You want your own stand-alone meeting, and you want more than a day. We've chosen a date and a hotel but other plans won't be made for quite a while. Mark your calendar now, stay tuned for more, and send any requests for program topics or activities to Kory Mertz at health.chaps@ncsl.org.
Chronic Care and Quality
In 2004, the New Jersey Legislature passed the "Eliminating Disparities Initiative." (http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2004/Bills/PL04/137_.PDF) The legislation required the commissioner of health to develop a comprehensive plan to reduce disparities between white and racial and ethnic minority populations. The initiative focuses on a list of priority areas, including chronic disease, infant mortality, sexually transmitted diseases, some cancer screenings, injuries, violence and immunizations.
Pursuant to the legislation, in March, 2007, New Jersey released its first comprehensive plan to reduce health care disparities among minorities. The three-year plan initially will focus on asthma, obesity, breast, cervical, colorectal and prostate cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV, infant mortality and unintentional injuries. Future versions of the plan will focus on the other priority areas listed in the legislation. The plan includes background data on each of the health conditions, a history of other state actions, sets a goal, lays out an action plan and sets outcome measures.
Resources
Strategic Plan to Eliminate Health Disparities in New Jersey:
http://www.state.nj.us/health/omh/documents/healthdisparityplan07.pdf
Key Facts: Race, Ethnicity and Medical Care, 2007 Update, Kaiser Family Foundation
http://www.kff.org/minorityhealth/6069.cfm
States across the country have proposed plans to improve health insurance access, and a number of these bills have seen movement recently. Here are examples of a few initiatives that have moved along in the process.
- Maryland On March 16, 2007, the House of Representatives passed SB 754, which would provide subsidies to low-income workers as well as small businesses. The bill also includes a Medicaid expansion and would be funded through a $1 increase in the cigarette tax. The bill is currently before the Senate.
More information on SB754 is available at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-health0316,0,7017092.story?track=rss
- Washington On March 13, 2007, Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law a bill that will expand children’s access to state-sponsored health insurance, regardless of citizenship status.
Further information about the law is available at http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/shn/2007/sn487a.htm
A host of other health care reform initiatives have been referred to committees in their respective state legislatures. Below are a few examples.
- Florida SB 910 would provide children with health insurance access for care that is medically necessary, through a publicly funded state-wide program.
- Indiana HB 1680 would raise cigarette taxes and uses revenues to reduce smoking, immunize children, and cover uninsured working poor Hoosiers earning less than 200% FPL. On January 23, 2007, the House of Representatives referred the bill to the Committee on Public Health.
- Oregon SB 329 would establish the Oregon Health Fund and requires certain persons to participate in the program. This proposal requires uninsured individual with income greater than 250 percent of federal poverty guidelines to pay a premium and denies the state income tax exemption credit for individual who do not pay that premium. Subsidies for low-income individuals would be based upon a sliding scale of income. On January 17, 2007, the Senate referred the bill to the Health Care Reform Committee and then the Ways and Means Committee.
Addiction Prevention and Treatment
On February 28, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal signed into law a bill that would prohibit persons in moving vehicles from having open containers of alcohol. The bill, Senate File 33, was the brainchild of Senator Tony Ross, who has been working on this legislation for 10 years. Ross had noted that states with similar laws have seen a 5.1 percent decrease in fatal, alcohol-related traffic accidents. He proposed a similar bill last year that passed the Senate but did not get through the House. Alcoholic beverages can still be transported if they are in their original sealed packaging and are in the trunk of the car or rear section of a truck out of the reach of the driver. The act moves Wyoming closer to Federal standards on open containers. The key difference is that the Wyoming bill specifically states that a vehicle must be in motion for the prohibition to be in effect, while Federal law does not specify motion.
The new National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) debuts online on March 1, 2007, greatly expanding the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s efforts to help local organizations make informed decisions about evidence-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders.
NREPP (http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/) is a searchable database with up-to-date, reliable information on the scientific basis and practicality of interventions. Users, such as community organizations and state and local officials, can perform custom searches to identify specific interventions based upon desired outcomes, target populations and service settings.
To see the whole story click here http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/snapshotmar1007.htm#SAMHSA2
State Estimates of Substance Use from the 2004-2005 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) provides state-level rates for 23 measures of substance use and mental health problems, including underage drinking, binge drinking, use of illegal drugs, serious mental illness and tobacco use. The SAMHSA report combined two years of data (2004-2005) from the annual NSDUH surveys to enhance the precision of estimates for less populous states. States were also divided into groups of ten (quintiles) and estimates were provided according to four age groups: all persons 12 years or older and three subgroups—12 to 17, 18 to 25, and 26 or older.
To see the whole story click here http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/snapshotmar1007.htm#SAMHSA
Providers and Workforce
As part of the No Worker Left Behind initiative—Michigan’s effort to provider workers with new skills and invigorate the state’s economy —Governor Jennifer M. Granholm has rolled out Michigan Nursing Corps. The initiative, which is expected to ease the state’s nursing shortage, will train 500 new nursing instructors and graduate more than 3,000 additional nurses over the next three years. Michigan will accomplish this by, among other things:
- Accelerating training for master’s and doctoral- prepared nursing faculty through accredited programs in the state;
- Recruiting displaced workers (such as ex-auto workers) with bachelor’s degrees in science for admission to fast-paced, one-year nursing programs; and
- Requiring participants in these programs to commit to working and teaching in Michigan.
More information
State Health Notes article – Michigan to create more RNs
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/shn/2007/hl487.htm#workforce
Nursing Programs Offered For Displaced Autoworkers In Michigan
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=63275
Building a 21st Century Workforce – from the Office of the Governor
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/gov/NWLB_186088_7.pdf
Pennsylvania launches nurse training initiative
http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/pa-launches-nurse-training-initiative/2006-10-24
The Feminization of the Health Care Workforce: Implications for Texas (Oct 2006)
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/CHS/hprc/femrep.pdf
Recruitment and Retention of Health Care Providers in Underserved Communities in Texas (Sept 2006)
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/CHS/hprc/hb916rep.pdf
Through the Critical Health Areas Project (CHAP), NCSL has been funded to respond in greater depth to state legislatures’ requests for technical assistance concerning chronic care and quality, healthcare access, addiction prevention and treatment, and providers and workforce. Topics are, of course, tailored to your state's needs. Examples of types of assistance available include support for a briefing or workshop for a legislative committee or study commission that provides information from other states and experts in the field or working with legislative staff to identify related actions in other states and useful resources. If you are interested in learning more about the services NCSL could provide, please contact any of the individuals listed here or call Loren Belew at 202.624.3585.
Chronic Care & Quality: Carla Curran, carla.curran@ncsl.org, 303-364-1373
Healthcare Access: Kala Ladenheim, kala.ladenheim@ncsl.org, 202-624-3557
Addiction Prevention & Treatment: Allison Colker, allison.colker@ncsl.org, 202-624-3581
Providers & Workforce: Tara Lubin, tara.lubin@ncsl.org, 202-624-3558
For more information on CHAP and these critical issue areas, visit our website! http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/forum/chap/index.htm
The Critical Health Areas Project (CHAP) newsletter is published monthly by the Forum for State Health Policy Leadership at NCSL and funded through the generous support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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