The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for the Accountable Care Collaborative. The Accountable Care Collaborative is part of the state's Medicaid reform effort, and is envisioned to consist of a statewide data organization and a number of regional care coordination organizations. These regional organizations will be charged to offer care-coordination services and to support the local participating providers and clients in the regions. HCPF is relying on input from managed care organizations, clients, advocates and other stakeholders, and will move forward with a health care delivery system changing from a traditional fee-for-service model to a regional, outcomes-focused, whole person-centered, coordinated system of care for clients in fee-for-service Medicaid.
To view the RFI and provide input, please click HERE.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
July 23, 2009 - Health Care Reform Stalls until September
Today the push to overhaul the nation's health care system faced another setback. The day after a President Obama had a news conference urging for a vote before the August recess, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that there would be no health care vote on the floor of the Senate until September, however a bill is still due out of the Senate Finance Committee before the break, though talks are still going on amongst committee members and no draft has yet been released.
On the House side, Chairman Waxman, who yesterday said the Energy and Commerce Committee would continue marking-up their bill with or without Blue Dog support, has still yet to schedule a mark-up for the remainder of the week. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, today, indicated that the House may well have a deal within the next few days but there has been no floor vote scheduled thus far and so it seems the House may be waiting until after August to take this up as well.
On the House side, Chairman Waxman, who yesterday said the Energy and Commerce Committee would continue marking-up their bill with or without Blue Dog support, has still yet to schedule a mark-up for the remainder of the week. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, today, indicated that the House may well have a deal within the next few days but there has been no floor vote scheduled thus far and so it seems the House may be waiting until after August to take this up as well.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
President Obama Nominates Rural Health Clinic CEO for Surgeon General Post
President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual today:
Regina M. Benjamin, Nominee for Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services.
Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA, is Founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. She is the Immediate Past-Chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, and previously served as Associate Dean for Rural Health at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. In 2002, she became President of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, making her the first African American woman to be president of a State Medical Society in the United States. Dr. Benjamin holds a BS in Chemistry from Xavier University, New Orleans. She was in the 2nd class at Morehouse School of Medicine and received her MD degree from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, as well as an MBA from Tulane University. She completed her residency in family medicine at the Medical Center of Central Georgia. Dr. Benjamin received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights in 1998, and was elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees in 1995, making her the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected. Dr. Benjamin was previously named by Time Magazine as one of the "Nation's 50 Future Leaders Age 40 and Under." She was also featured in a New York Times article, "Angel in a White Coat", as "Person of the Week" on ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, and as "Woman of the Year" by CBS This Morning. She received the 2000 National Caring Award which was inspired by Mother Teresa, as well as the papal honor Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice from Pope Benedict XVI. She is also a recent recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award.
Regina M. Benjamin, Nominee for Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services.
Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA, is Founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. She is the Immediate Past-Chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, and previously served as Associate Dean for Rural Health at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. In 2002, she became President of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, making her the first African American woman to be president of a State Medical Society in the United States. Dr. Benjamin holds a BS in Chemistry from Xavier University, New Orleans. She was in the 2nd class at Morehouse School of Medicine and received her MD degree from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, as well as an MBA from Tulane University. She completed her residency in family medicine at the Medical Center of Central Georgia. Dr. Benjamin received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights in 1998, and was elected to the American Medical Association Board of Trustees in 1995, making her the first physician under age 40 and the first African-American woman to be elected. Dr. Benjamin was previously named by Time Magazine as one of the "Nation's 50 Future Leaders Age 40 and Under." She was also featured in a New York Times article, "Angel in a White Coat", as "Person of the Week" on ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, and as "Woman of the Year" by CBS This Morning. She received the 2000 National Caring Award which was inspired by Mother Teresa, as well as the papal honor Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice from Pope Benedict XVI. She is also a recent recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Rural Health Clinic Legislation Introduced in the Senate
On June 25, Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced S. 1355, the Rural Health Clinic Patient Access and Improvement Act of 2009. The bill addresses long-standing underpayments to rural health clinics, introduces a quality improvement program to RHCs, and provides incentives to recruit and retain medical professionals to rural areas.
The bill also raises the all-inclusive Medicare payment cap for RHCs to $92, a greater than 20 percent increase over the previous cap, which was set in the 1970s. Currently, rural health clinics are hamstrung by low reimbursement rates that pay them less than what it costs to deliver care. This legislation allows for better collaboration between community health centers and rural health clinics. It will also create a five-state demonstration project to determine whether medical professionals would be incentivized to practice in rural areas if RHCs subsidized a portion of their medical liability costs.
CRHC has contacted Colorado's Senators to urge their support and co-sponsorship of this legislation. Please click HERE for more information and to read the bill in its entirety.
The bill also raises the all-inclusive Medicare payment cap for RHCs to $92, a greater than 20 percent increase over the previous cap, which was set in the 1970s. Currently, rural health clinics are hamstrung by low reimbursement rates that pay them less than what it costs to deliver care. This legislation allows for better collaboration between community health centers and rural health clinics. It will also create a five-state demonstration project to determine whether medical professionals would be incentivized to practice in rural areas if RHCs subsidized a portion of their medical liability costs.
CRHC has contacted Colorado's Senators to urge their support and co-sponsorship of this legislation. Please click HERE for more information and to read the bill in its entirety.
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