Erie Family Health Center

Beats this week: 

1) While this might not be surprising to some, here’s a piece that is most definitely good news: Illinois Health Connect saved Illinois millions in FY2008! This program, which links Medicaid patients with a medical home, where treatment and patient referrals are coordinated centrally, saved Illinois approximately $140 million, according to the Robert Graham Center.

2) And now here is more good news! Illinois has just begun providing new high-risk insurance pools for individuals with pre-existing conditions who are without medical covered. The program, Illinois Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, was implemented as part of health care reform and works on a first come, first serve basis.  

3) Have you been eating your leafy green veggies lately? Well, if not then you should! According to a study released recently by the University of Leicester, people who add more green leafy vegetables to their diet may significantly reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Bring on the spinach!  

4) In a sign that the recession is continuing to hit home for Illinois families, birth rates in Illinois have dropped by approximately 5% according the data made available by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the National Center for Health Statistics. The results compare birth data from similar months in 2007 and 2009.

5) And finally to round out Health Beats this week, let’s talk about eggs. Are you unsure what eggs were recalled? Want to keep up to date on all the recent news related to the egg recall to ensure you throw out recalled eggs? Then be sure to check out these links for the latest news and updates.   

Beats this week: 

1) Great news for health centers around the country: late last week the House Labor-HHS Subcommittee on Appropriations proposed that the Health Centers program be funded at 2010 levels. So what exactly does all this fancy language mean? Well, when coupled with the funds from the Affordable Care Act, health centers will now be able to serve more patients than ever before – to the tune of 20 million more patients over the next five years!   

2) Have you ever heard of mystery patients? This phrase does not even have a Wikipedia page! So just think mystery shoppers – only they are medical patients! A recent study conducted by six Chicago-area research institutions utilized mystery patients who served as actors for a doctor visit in order to measure how often physicians were able to identify social factors that could impact a patient’s health or their treatment (such as homelessness). The results: these factors were often overlooked or missed.

3) Want to give yourself nightmares? Then check out this list of agencies that still need to be paid by the state of Illinois for services rendered in the last fiscal year.

4) This week Michelle Obama and Jill Biden teamed up to announce an important new health initiative. Starting in the Fall, health insurance plans will be required to cover preventive care, such as some cancer screenings, diabetes and blood pressure screenings and routine vaccines, without charging a deductible or co-payment.

5) You heard it first here at Health Beats: Erie is proud to celebrate National Health Center Week by inviting all to attend the Erie Helping Hands Health Fair on August 12 from 3:00-7:00pm. Come by to learn important health education and receive free blood pressure and glucose screenings!

Beats this week:

1) Happy Fiscal Year 2011 blogosphere! Unfortunately, for some in Illinois, this new fiscal year brings a great deal of unhappiness. On July 1, Governor Quinn held a press conference in which he laid out nearly $1.4 billion in cuts to the state budget.

2) This week President Obama made a key recess appointment, placing Dr. Donald Berwick in charge of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The appointment of this position is even more important than before because of health care reform’s impact on the Medicaid and Medicare programs.

3) Around 40 million doses the swine flu vaccine (around $260 million worth) are set to be destroyed in the United States because they have expired. And that’s not the end of it: another 30 million doses are still available but set to expire in the near future.

4) Starting out the summer with some pep in their step, the White House launched a new health care reform website for consumers on July 1. This new website is part of an overall strategy to use the internet and social media as a means to inform people about health care reform. Earlier this week, the White House used their YouTube page to solicit questions from constituents about health care reform, which were then answered by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius earlier today.

5) Twitter and the blogosphere have been abuzz lately with health care folks linking to and discussing the pros and cons of electronic medical records. Erie was even featured in one of the many news stories that came out within the last week. Check us out in the Chicago Sun-Times over the weekend!

Beats this week:

1) Over the summer, many children who normally received free or reduced lunch from their school now find themselves with less to eat. Check out this great story about some local food pantries that are attempting to meet the need to feed Chicagoland children during the summer. And the bonus is that they are super healthy lunches!

2) Today, Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius announced a new $250 million investment that will aim to develop new medical providers. This program, which was created using Affordable Care Act funds, will help ease the shortage of primary care providers by training and developing nearly 16,000 new medical providers over the next five years.

3) More sad news for the state of Illinois: for the second time in a little more than a week, the credit rating for Illinois has been downgraded due to the state’s inability to balance the budget. Currently, the only state with a worse rating than Illinois is California.

4)  In April, Health Beats reported on an announcement of a plan from the FDA that would reduce the amount of salt consumed by Americans. Well, nearly two months later over one dozen major US food companies have announced they will voluntarily reduce the level of salt in the foods they produce. That’s right, in the next few years you can expect to see the sodium levels decrease in Heinz ketchup!

5) Key delegations in the American Medical Association called for revisions to the AMA’s endorsement of health care reform this week. Specifically, these delegations would like the AMA to revise its stance on Medicare payment cuts, raise the doctor payment for Medicaid and enact sweeping liability reform.

We’ve heard the chants of “Yes, we can!”  We watched health care reform pass through the House of Representatives and the Senate.  Above all, we’ve had a magic number tattooed in our minds since the first whisper of health care reform came out of Washington.  32 million.  32 million people that, once the health care reform package comes to fruition in 2014, would be able to enter into a physician’s office without financial fear.

The idea of just handing out health insurance to those in need of it seems wonderful.  Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple.  In a way, it’s like giving everyone in Chicago a free CTA pass for one day.   You may have the means to ride the El, but if the train is full, you’re not going anywhere.   The same idea goes for health care.  In April, Dr. Francis blogged on Beats Per Minute about the shortage of primary care doctors available to care for this surge of now-insured patients and how community health centers could be the new training ground for upcoming generations of primary care doctors.  Also back in April, Health Beats blogged about the upcoming physician shortage, as well as the possibility of reducing some of the restrictions on nurse practitioners to help lessen the blow of incoming health care demand surge.

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Beats this week:

1) An estimated15,000 people converged on the Capitol today in Springfield to show support for Governor Quinn’s proposed tax increase. If the crowd estimates are correct, this would be the largest Capitol protest since the Equal Rights Amendment protests over 25 years ago.  The rally, which is being called ‘Save Our State,’ seeks to create a responsible budget by increasing tax revenue rather than cutting services.

2) The Food and Drug Administration announced a plan to reduce the amount of salt that is consumed by Americans. The FDA will begin by requesting a voluntary reduction in sodium levels from the food industry and then possibly creating a mandate later down the line.

3) This week President Obama handed down an order to his Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, to begin drafting rules that would require hospitals receiving Medicaid and Medicare payments to allow all patients to designate what individuals can visit them and consult with them on medical decisions. This move is being hailed as a victory for same sex couples who often experience challenges when it comes to consulting with their partner on medical decisions.

4) Earlier this week, Michelle Obama made a stop at a community farm in California on her way back from her first solo trip abroad. The tour at the New Roots Community Farm was meant to highlight her new childhood obesity prevention campaign, Let’s Move! 

5) Three large insurance companies – UnitedHealthcare, Wellpoint and Humana – all took steps this week to begin implementing health care reform legislation months ahead of time. These three insurance companies are going to allow adults under age 26 to be covered under their parent’s insurance until September 23, when they are guaranteed coverage under health care reform legislation. This decision comes at an ideal time for students graduating this Spring who are without job placements.

With all the buzz about health care reform, the curious are asking: What does the new law mean for community health centers like Erie?  Some even wonder if the need for community health centers will vanish. In honor of National Public Health Week, Beats Per Minute is breaking down the ins and outs of health care reform and what it will mean for community health centers around the country.

Millions more to seek primary care by 2014

With the ink of President Obama’s signature barely dry on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a transformation is about to happen over the next decade.  For the first time in our country’s history, there will be a major effort to make health insurance available to almost all Americans – nearly 32 million will be added to the health insurance rolls. 

Most community health centers like Erie care for high volumes of patients without insurance (34% at Erie) or covered by Medicaid (62% at Erie). Medicaid is the federal-state partnership to provide health care coverage for those living at the federal poverty level or below.  Starting in 2014, some 16 million more people  will become eligible for Medicaid as the income limits to qualify are raised from 100% of the federal poverty level (about $22,000 per year for a family of 4) to 133% of the federal poverty level (about $30,000 per year for a family of 4). 

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Beats this week:

1) Months ago, Beats Per Minute wrote about how health care reform would strain the already existing primary care shortage in the United States. This week, the Associated Press also discussed the issue.

2) Modern Healthcare featured the Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals, which included Erie’s long-standing partner, Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Other Chicago hospitals recognized include Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and Rush University Medical Center.

3) While Republicans vowed that they would repeal health care reform, it seems that most have backed off from that sentiment over concerns that it might negatively impact the GOP in the November elections.

4) What’s better than eating chocolate for fun? Eating chocolate because it might reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke! German researchers concluded this week that individuals who consumed around six grams of chocolate a day had a 39 percent lower risk of either a heart attack or stroke. The researchers stated, though, that it was too early to start making recommendations for individuals to consume daily amounts of chocolate.

5) H1N1 is still going strong in some parts of the country. This week, the CDC and Surgeon General reported that the Southeast, mainly Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina, are experiencing an uptick in cases of H1N1.

Beats this week:

1) This week has been a busy week for health care reform. On Sunday, the House passed health care reform and sent the bill to President Obama’s desk. On Tuesday, the President signed the bill, which will provide up to 32 million individuals with health insurance.

2) The health care reform bill is over 2,400 pages and contains a few lesser known provisions. Some highlights include: chain restaurants and vending machines will have to post nutritional information and companies with at least 50 employees will have to set aside “reasonable” break times for nursing mothers and create private spaces for breastfeeding. To read more about the bill, check out Beats Per Minutes post this week.

3) It was reported this week that Chicago Public School officials are moving to revamp the school lunch program. Starting in June, schools will eliminate or reduce the availability of unhealthy food options, such as nachos, doughnuts and Pop-Tarts.

4) The Illinois Supreme Court handed down a decision this week that was met with great disappointment for many nonprofit hospitals in the state: hospitals that are designated nonprofit must provide certain levels of charitable giving to their patients in order to maintain their nonprofit status.

5) Who are we kidding?! The only thing being talked about this week is health care reform! Let’s skip the back and forth politics, though, and check out the video of President Obama signing this historic legislation.

Last night we sat around our television screens, anxiously waiting for an historic moment to occur and we were not disappointed. With members of the House chanting “Yes we can!” millions around our country felt relief: comprehensive health care reform had finally passed. This was a truly historical moment for the entire country and particularly for the millions of uninsured individuals who will now be afforded access to health insurance.  

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will make its way to the President’s desk on Tuesday for his signature of this momentous legislation. The Reconciliation Act of 2010 will also move to the Senate this week for approval. After both of these steps are completed, health care reform can begin to be enacted.

But what happens then? The full text of the bill is around 2,400 pages so it is doubtful that many Americans have read the bill from cover to cover (Who has that kind of time?). Look no further! Now that change has come to America, here is a summary of what changes will actually occur for everyday Americans.

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