December 5, 2006

CARIE Policy Update and Meeting Announcement

Quote of the Month
“….unless we do something now, we’ll one day reach the point where we have lots of people who are very poor and very frail and who have very little support. We can do better.” - Monsignor Charles Fahey from the “Epilogue” of Out of the Shadows: Envisioning a Brighter Future for Long-Term Care in America.

Out of the Shadows is a report written by Drs. Vincent Mor and Edward Alan Miller of Brown University for the National Commission for Quality Long-Term Care. The report focuses on six areas of concern including: financing long term care, empowering consumers and their families, creating culture change, recruiting and retaining a qualified workforce, improving regulatory practices, and utilizing health information technology. Click here to access a copy of the report.

Elder Justice Act
The proposed Elder Justice Act (S. 2010/H.R. 4993) is the first and only comprehensive federal effort to address the issues of elder abuse, exploitation and neglect by providing the ideal infrastructure to conduct necessary research, deliver training, respond to the needs of victims as well as prosecute offenders. The Elder Justice Act applies lessons learned from the fields of child abuse and domestic violence to help combat crimes against older adults. This bill is far reaching in its approach to study, detect, treat, prosecute, and prevent elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. For example, the Act creates Offices of Elder Justice at the Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice to serve as a focal point for policy and technical assistance.

According to the Elder Justice Coalition, there is still a possibility that the bills could be voted on before the session ends. CARIE has sent letters to all Congressional representatives from Southeastern Pennsylvania asking that they vote in support of the Elder Justice Act before the session concludes at the end of the year. Advocates are being encouraged to call, fax, or email their two Senators and appropriate Congressional representative now to request that they pass the Elder Justice Act. Since this vote needs to occur during the lame duck session of Congress, please contact your current Senators and Representative and ask for their support. (Newly elected members of Congress such as Senator-elect Casey will not begin their terms until January when they are sworn-in.) You can find a list of members of Congress who are already supporting the Act at the Elder Justice Coalition’s website. A summary of the Act can also be found on their website; but, please note that the bill numbers have not been updated since last session. The correct bill numbers are S. 2010 and H.R. 4993. Go to Congress Merge’s online congressional directory to identify your members of Congress and their contact information.

Geriatrics Education Funding
The Geriatric Professions Funding Coalition is mounting an advocacy campaign to restore $31.5 million to the Bureau of Health Professions Title VII funding for geriatrics in the FY 2006 federal budget. This funding supports 50 Geriatric Education Centers nationwide; the Geriatric Training Program for Physicians, Dentists, and Behavioral/Mental Health Professionals; and, the Geriatric Academic Career Awards Program. Click here for background materials.  The American Geriatrics Society has set-up a website to allow advocates to quickly send an email message of support to all of their members of Congress. Please visit their website to help with this advocacy effort.

New Regulations for Medicare Hospital Discharge Notices
CMS just published final regulations effective July 1, 2007 regarding Medicare hospital discharge notices. Hospitals must begin to provide the “Important Message from Medicare (IM)”notice within two days of inpatient admission, review the IM notice, and get a signature from the Medicare beneficiary or their representative to indicate that they have received and understand the notice. Hospitals will be required to provide a copy of the signed notice prior to discharge, but not more than 2 days before the discharge. For beneficiaries who request an appeal, the hospital must provide a more detailed notice. The final rule has been posted in the November 27, 2006 Federal Register.  

Just the Links.....
The following are links to potential resources or documents of interest:

• A new resource “Health Policy Picks” is a partnership between KaiserEDU.org and the New York Academy of Medicine Library’s Grey Literature Collection that provides monthly highlights of recent publications related to health care issues.
• Covering Health Issues 2006 is a sourcebook for journalists written by the Alliance for Health Reform. Click here to download the entire sourcebook or individual chapters such as “Medicare” and “Long-Term Care. 
• The George Washington University’s National Health Policy Forum released an issue brief, “The Nuts and Bolts of PDPs.”  It provides a summary about issues related to Medicare prescription drug plans (PDPs) such as premiums, formularies, and appeals and grievances.  Click here to download a copy.
• The Arizona Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics has compiled a list of recommended websites to help consumers find accurate drug information to take their medication safely.
• Click here to access a new medical dictionary online reference tool. 
• The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging has issued a brief report, “Safeguarding America’s Seniors: What We Can Do To Prepare For National Emergencies.” 
• The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) has updated its publication “Choosing a Medicare Managed Care Plan.” Click here to access a statewide summary or county specific information.
• The Pennsylvania eHealth Initiative (PAeHI) functions to promote the development and use of electronic medical records in Pennsylvania along with health information exchanges (HIEs). The PAeHI has begun producing an e-newsletter. Click here to review the inaugural edition and sign-up to receive future newsletter. 
• Pennsylvanians for Effective Government has issued a “Guidebook to New Elected Officials 2006" 

December Meeting
Please click here for a copy of CARIE's Dorothy S. Washburn Legislative Committee’s December 7th meeting agenda. Hope you can join us. As always, don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Kathy