December 22, 2010
Vol. 4 #43
Michigan Primary Care Association
Health Policy Committee
January 19, 2011
Kellogg Center, East Lansing,
MI
Kellogg Center, East Lansing, MI
Upcoming
State & National Events
Click
here for a list of upcoming events to be held by other organizations in
Michigan and across the country.
The MPCA e-Update is a weekly
e-bulletin intended to keep MPCA members updated on issues important to Community
Health Centers. Please feel free to forward this to interested individuals,
or they may request to be added to the distribution list by registering
here. Information from outside organizations does not represent an
endorsement by MPCA, and opinions expressed by outside authors are not
necessarily official positions or policies of MPCA.
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Happy Holidays! MPCA will be closed
December 23-24 and December 30-31.
State Legislative Leadership Positions Announced
In
the time since the election, many key leadership positions for the upcoming
96th State Legislature have been announced. MPCA is continuing to
track committee positions that have jurisdiction over issues that impact
Health Centers, such as the Appropriations Committee, Health Appropriations
Committee, and Health Policy Committee in each House. MPCA will be
calling on Health Center advocates in January and beyond to educate their
elected officials and legislators in leadership positions about Health
Centers. We also encourage you to urge staff, patients, and board
members to become Health Care Defenders on the MPCA web site -- click
here to register. Stay tuned!
Governor-elect Snyder
Names MDCH Director
On
December 17, Governor-elect Snyder named Olga Dazzo as director of the Michigan
Department of Community Health. Ms. Dazzo has
experience with Michigan and Florida Medicaid programs as well as the
insurance industry. She was most recently president of Health Reform
Innovations LLC, a consulting firm in the Miami area that focuses on
improving health and lowering costs. Previously, she was president of
Physicians Health Plan at Sparrow Health System.
According to media reports, Ms. Dazzo said she wants to focus on lowering
administrative costs and promoting preventive care and healthy behaviors.
Michigan Will Lose One
Congressional Seat Based on Census Numbers
Based
on the first results from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 count released
December 21, Michigan is the only state in the country that showed a
population decline. It suffered a 0.6% decrease in population over the
past 10 years. As a result, Michigan will lose one seat in the U.S.
House of Representatives, reducing its total number of seats to 14 effective
in 2013. Apportionment counts were delivered to President Obama just
before release of the data. Apportionment is the process of dividing
the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the 50 states based
on the population figures collected during the decennial census.
President Obama will transmit the apportionment counts to the 112th Congress
during the first week of its regular session in January 2011. The
Census Bureau will release demographic data to the states on a rolling basis
beginning in February and ending by March 31, 2011, so state governments can
start the redistricting process. The reapportioned Congress will be in the
113th, which convenes in January 2013. Read more
MSA Issues Policy Bulletin Regarding Medicaid EHR
Incentive Program
The
Medical Services Administration issued MSA 10-64 on December 21 to
physicians, podiatrists, dentists, nurse practitioners, certified nurse
midwives, physician assistants, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and
Rural Health Centers. The policies in the bulletin take effect January
21, 2011.
Read
more
Grassroots Advocates Voice
Opinion on Medicaid HIT Incentive Payment Fix
After learning that there might
be one final package containing multiple health care "fixes"
moving through Congress, NACHC asked advocates across the country last week
to urge their U.S. Senators to support inclusion of the Medicaid HIT
incentive payment fix in any year-end package. The fix would institute
a technical change requiring states to pay Medicaid HIT payments directly to
Health Centers rather than to each eligible provider. The outcome of
the package is not yet known. Click
here to read NACHC's issue brief on reassigning incentive payments in
case a legislative fix is not enacted shortly.
U.S. Senate, House Pass
Continuing Resolution
The Senate followed by the House voted on Tuesday to approve a
Continuing Resolution to fund government programs through March 4, 2011,at
FY 2010 funding levels for most programs. Therefore, FY 2011 appropriations
will be in the hands of the new 112th Congress when it convenes in
January. Many of the new Congressional members may not be familiar
with the vital services that Health Centers provide in their districts and
to their constituents, so it is critical that Health Center advocates take
every opportunity to educate their members about the Health Centers program
and why it needs at least level funding in FY 2011 to reach 20 million new
patients by 2015. Click
here to access NACHC's new Grassroots toolkit for meeting with new
members.
Call for 2011 Geiger
Gibson Emerging Leader Nominations
The Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health Policy has established an
Emerging Leader award to honor the next generation of community health
leaders. The fifth annual Emerging Leader award will be presented at
the 2011 Geiger Gibson Symposium, which will be held in conjunction with
NACHC's Policy and Issues Forum in Washington, DC, in March 2011. You
are invited to nominate an Emerging Leader from your Health Center or
Primary Care Association. All nominations must be received by Friday,
February 11, 2011. Read
more
HEALTH CENTERS IN THE
NEWS
Heed
the Call (First Impressions)
Community Health Centers are
gaining importance in healthcare delivery, including dental services.
As of 2007, 74 percent of existing federally funded health centers provided
oral health services onsite, according to the Health Resources and Services
Administration, which is the primary federal agency charged with improving
access to healthcare services for people who are uninsured, isolated or
medically vulnerable. All new federally funded health centers are now
required to assure the availability and accessibility of oral health care
services. In 2009, dental care staff made up 6.9 percent of all federally
funded health center staff nationally. Centers employed 2,577 FTE dentists,
1,019 FTE hygienists, and 4,878 FTE dental support staff (dental assistants,
aides, technicians). Read
more
Please
share articles, photos, and stories of your Health Center with Dana (Hughes)
Lawrence at dlawrence@mpca.net.
Click here
for media coverage of Community Health Centers.
Click here
for a list of funding opportunities posted on the MPCA web site.
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