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September 12. Did you know? Now you know! Chippewa County Courthouse, room 121, 711 North Bridge St, Chippewa Falls, WI. 5:30-8:30 p.m. Training for parents, foster parents, caregivers and providers on health care and community services and supports for children and youth with special health care needs and/or disabilities. Meet other families and become more informed and empowered to get the services and supports your child needs! To register, call 800-400-3678 or email Rose at rmarsh@co.chippewa.wi.us.
September 13-14. WECCP Intersecting Interests and Training/Technical Assistance Network Event Growing Collaborative Systems to Support Children with Disabilities and their Families. Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center, Stevens Point, WI. For free registration, click here.
September 16. Second Annual Wisconsin FoodShare Outreach Network Conference. Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center, Stevens Point, WI. Topics will include advocacy, mental health, transition and a health benefits update. For more information, visit maxishare.com.
September 21. Care in the Community: Making Connections. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel, Wauwatosa, WI. For more information click here.
October 4. Did you know? Now you know! Marathon County Health Department, 1200 Lakeview Drive, Wausau, WI. 5:30-8:30 p.m. Training for parents, foster parents, caregivers and providers on health care and community services and supports for children and youth with special health care needs and/or disabilities. Meet other families and become more informed and empowered to get the services and supports your child needs! To register, call 866-640-4106 or email Julia at Julia.Stavran@co.marathon.wi.us.
October 7-8, November 4-5, January 13-14, February 24-25, April 20-21. Youth in Partnership with Parents for Empowerment. 5 p.m. Fridays ending by 3 p.m. on Saturdays at the Tundra Lodge Resort & Conference Center, Green Bay, WI. Youth, parents and guardians must attend all five sessions. For more information, contact Martha DeYoung at 800-862-3725 or deyoungm@cesa5.k12.wi.us.
October 14-15, December 2-3, January 20-21, February 17-18, March 30-31. Parents in Partnership: A Leadership Development Opportunity for Parents of Children with Disabilities. 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Paradise Shores Conference Center, 26364 County Hwy. M, Holcombe, WI. Parents and guardians must attend all five sessions. For more information, contact Ruth Adix at 715-864-3014 or raadix2@yahoo.com.
October 20 and November 3. Did you know? Now you know! Waisman Outreach Office, 122 E. Olin Ave., Madison, WI. 5:30-8:30 p.m. Training for parents, foster parents, caregivers and providers on health care and community services and supports for children and youth with special health care needs and/or disabilities. Meet other families and become more informed and empowered to get the services and supports your child needs! To register, call 800-532-3221 or email Susan at sbreitbach@waisman.wisc.edu.
October 21-22, December 2-3, January 13-14, February 10-11, March 23-24. Parents in Partnership: A Leadership Development Opportunity for Parents of Children with Disabilities. 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center, 1001 Amber Ave., Stevens Point, WI. Parents and guardians must attend all five sessions. For more information, contact Martha DeYoung at 800-862-3725 or deyoungm@cesa5.k12.wi.us.
October 21-22, December 2-3, January 20-21, February 24-25, March 23-24. Parents in Partnership: A Leadership Development Opportunity for Parents of Children with Disabilities Going Through the Transition Process. 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Country Springs Hotel & Conference Center, 2810 Golf Road, Waukesha, WI. Parents and guardians must attend all five sessions. For more information, contact Jenny Neugart at 608-266-8778 or jennifer.neugart@yahoo.com.
October 24. Did you know? Now you know! Jefferson County Health/Human Services Department, 1541 Annex Road, Jefferson WI. 5:30-8:30 p.m. Training for parents, foster parents, caregivers and providers on health care and community services and supports for children and youth with special health care needs and/or disabilities. Meet other families and become more informed and empowered to get the services and supports your child needs! To register, call 800-234-5437 or email Brad at bholman@chw.org.
November 5. Did you know? Now you know! ADRC of Manitowoc County, 4319 Expo Drive, Manitowoc, WI. 9:00am-12:00pm. Training for parents, foster parents, caregivers and providers on health care and community services and supports for children and youth with special health care needs and/or disabilities. Meet other families and become more informed and empowered to get the services and supports your child needs! To register, call 877-568-5205 or email Kara at KVanVooren@chw.org.
November 8-9. Fourth Annual Self-Determination Conference. Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells. There will be lots of hands-on sessions on navigating adult systems, getting more involved in the community, supported employment and more. The $75 registration fee includes meals and materials. For more info, click here.
Ops Memos
Ops Memo 11-49: FoodShare Mass Change
Released August 29
New Policy: The FoodShare mass change will select all FoodShare cases and process eligibility for October using the new reference table changes and standards. Reference table changes will be made in CARES on September 10, 2011, so that ongoing cases will use the new amounts effective October 1, 2011. The mass change will occur on the weekend of September 10, 2011. Eligibility determinations for FoodShare for October 2011 and later will use the new amounts. These amounts will be added to Chapter 8.1, of the FoodShare Handbook. Note: The correct amount for Excess Shelter is $459 not $444 as originally reported in the Ops Memo.
Ops Memo 11-48: Elimination of EBD FoodShare Cases from Administrative Renewal
Released August 22
New Policy: Beginning with September 2011 renewals, EBD FS cases will be removed from the list of cases selected for the Administrative Renewal process. These cases must complete a regular annual renewal.
Ops Memo 11-42: Automatic Update of Unemployment Insurance Benefits in CARES
Released August 16
New Policy: Effective August 29, unemployment insurance benefits will be calculated automatically in CARES. Previously, two separate formulas were used and entered manually to calculate countable income for FoodShare, Wisconsin Works and Child Care vs. Medicaid and BadgerCare Plus.
State & National News
Analysis and Comment
The Gruber Report:
On August 24, there was a showdown at the Department of Health Services. In an invitation-only press conference, Wisconsin's Department of Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith and Commissioner of Insurance Ted Nickel announced that the Office of Free Market Health Care was releasing the results of a health reform study. The "Gruber Report," named after the MIT economist Dr. Jonathan Gruber, the expert commissioned to draft this impact study with Gorman Actuarial by the previous administration, outlined statements on the number of Wisconsinites who would be connected to health insurance after reform implementation was complete. The report also included a few "unknowns" that had yet to be figured into the calculations, such as the impact of re-insurance, rate review, and various benefits packages offered on overall costs to consumers.
Yet, the discussion the Office of Free Market Health Care wanted to have was very different. Clear from lengthy powerpoint presentation that accompanied the closed-door press conference, were the instances where the Department of Health Services inserted their own "footnotes" and numbers into Dr. Gruber's report, referring to internal "DHS estimates" instead of Dr. Gruber's actual data. Reporters tried to hold Dennis Smith accountable, asking specific questions about instances where the powerpoint presentation contradicted itself, or where the number of individuals enrolled in Medicaid, for example, appeared mis-stated.
What Dennis Smith says:
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It [the health reform law] will "drastically shrink" the numbers of people in the private insurance market;
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It will cause "significant disruption" to employer-sponsored insurance; and
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It will force "working families" to pay a "hidden tax" that will "subsidize" the purchase of health insurance for families earning up to $89,000, a "forced redistribution of wealth."
In fact, the conclusions Dennis Smith drew from the report were so different from what the drafters intended, that Dr. Gruber himself went on the record as saying, "Dennis Smith has long been clear in his opposition to health reform and I think that is reflected in the way he chose to present the results....Let's just say we went back and forth on the wording of the report and that they asked us to emphasize the negative far more than I would have chosen."
Wisconsin Slated for Additional Affordable Care Act Money
In a press release dated August 31, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced over $40 million in grant funding, partly supported by the Affordable Care Act, to state, tribal, local and territorial health departments and several schools of public health to "enhance the nation’s public health infrastructure and strengthen the public health workforce. Awarded in nearly every state, this funding will improve the delivery of necessary public health services in communities, cities and states across the country."
Recall, Wisconsin was awarded $1.96 million per year for 5 years starting September 2010 for the first round of CDC Infrastructure Grants. In that application, Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS) said it would:
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Reach the goals and objectives in HW2020
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Achieve national accreditation standards for state, local, and tribal health departments
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Strengthen population metrics
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Move to a Quality Improvement culture in state, local, and tribal health departments
As announced in the August 31 press release by HHS, Wisconsin was awarded $993,662 in supplemental "infrastructure" funding. For the almost $1 million in supplemental funding, Wisconsin's DHS proposed to focus the dollars on:
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Mini-grant funds
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Quality improvement training and technical assistance
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Increases in department of public health readiness for accreditation
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Increase focus on health disparities
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Electronic data exchange
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Shared services support
Headlines
Federal COBRA insurance subsidies end for laid-off workers
Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News, 31 August
"One of the key consumer benefits of the federal stimulus package--subsidies to help laid-off workers continue their health care coverage--draws to a close Wednesday, raising concerns about how the unemployed will cover those expenses."
Republican governors announce proposals to overhaul Medicaid
Julian Pecquet, The Hill, 30 August
"The nation's Republican governors on Tuesday released a detailed list of policies that would give them greater control over their Medicaid programs, one of states' biggest expenditures. Click here to read the report.
Advocates back regulators' call for equal standards among plans
Sam Baker, The Hill, 24 August
"Consumer advocates on Wednesday echoed state insurance regulators' call for a 'level playing field' between existing health care plans and new multistate policies created by health care reform."
Ten considerations for states in linking Medicaid and the health benefit exchanges
Center for Health Care Strategies, August 2011
One of the more complex challenges that states face in implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is developing the relationship between Medicaid and the emerging health benefit exchanges."
Uninsured but not yet informed
Drew Altman, The Kaiser Foundation, 29 August
"If there is one thing there is general agreement on when it comes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) it’s that it will help the uninsured."
Knowledge of healthcare law is slipping
Sam Baker, The Hill, 29 August
"The monthly tracking poll found a sharp decline in the number of people who are aware that the new law will offer financial help to people who must buy insurance on their own, rather than getting it from an employer. Last summer, 72 percent of those polled were aware of that benefit. Now it’s down to 58 percent."
Age, wage to play big roles in health care cost
Guy Boulton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 28 August
"People who are young, healthy and have good jobs that don't provide health benefits will pay more for health insurance under federal health care reform."
Editorial: Penetrating the gibberish
The New York Times, 27 August
"Health policies are notorious for their confusing legalese. When confronted with a big medical bill, enrollees are often shocked to find that there are limits or exclusions they never heard of, leaving them owing a lot more than they can afford to pay."
Connecticut begins implementing Obama health care law
Staff, The State Column, 25 August
"The state of Connecticut is launching the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange, which is set to take effect in 2014."
New health report sees drop in number of uninsured in Wisconsin
David Wahlberg,Wisconsin State Journal, 25 August
"Two-thirds of Wisconsin’s half a million uninsured residents will become insured by 2016 under last year’s federal health reform law, a new report says."
Laptop City Hall: Economist Jonathan Gruber says state officials spun the results of his health care reform study
Shawn Doherty, Capital Times, 24 August
"Last year the administration of former Gov. Jim Doyle hired renowned health care economist Jonathan Gruber to do a major study on how federal health care reform will impact Wisconsin. This week, the administration of Gov. Scott Walker had to figure out what to do with it."
Passing on health grants worrisome
Editorial, Post Crescent, 24 August
"To taxpayers, it looks like the state is throwing away free money."
Health Care changes will insure more in state
Todd Richmond, Associated Press, 24 August
"The federal health overhaul signed into law last year will drastically cut the number of uninsured Wisconsin residents by 2016, but will drive up premiums for some customers and could cause some companies to drop coverage for their employees, a report released Wednesday found."
Dept. of Health Services: Office of Free Market Health Care releases report on impacts of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Stephanie Smile, DHS and Jim Guidry, OCI, Press Release, 24 August
"The Office of Free Market Health Care (OFMHC) today published a report on the impact of federal health care reform on Wisconsin residents, employers and private insurance markets."
Health Care Reform Means Fewer Uninsured in Wisconsin
Channel3000.com, 24 August
"A new report has found that federal health care reform should drastically decrease the number of uninsured people in Wisconsin but mean higher premiums."
Changing the Rules on Rulemaking
Ronald Sklansky, Wisconsin Lawyer, August 2011
"For nearly 60 years, the Wisconsin Legislature has engaged in efforts to regulate, and sometimes limit, the ability of state agencies to promulgate administrative rules. This article summarizes the major changes made to this process by 2011 Wisconsin Act 21, the latest legislative activity in this area. The Act took effect on June 8, 2011."
Rep. Richards, Sen. Erpenbach
Press Release, WisPolitics.com, 24 August
"We are disappointed that the Walker administration chose to highlight only a few statistics from Professor Gruber’s study in order to advance their political agenda and support the status quo. There are key benefits of health care reform cited in the study that the administration glossed over today in a briefing for lawmakers..."
Green Bay disabled bus riders again criticize new provider
Scott Cooper, Green Bay Press Gazette, 23 August
"Three months after the city hired a new company to transport people with disabilities, some of those individuals said Monday they continue to see service lapses from Green Bay's new transit provider."
Grass roots: Critics say proof of citizenship bill would slow aid to needy
Pat Schneider, The Cap Times, 23 August
"Republican legislators in Wisconsin want to make sure that no public assistance goes to anyone who is not in the country legally, but critics of a new bill extending proof of citizenship requirements for programs like food stamps and W-2 say the proposed law would just make it harder for people who are eligible for help to get it."
SOS: Woman's bill for physical is double trouble
George Hesselberg, Wisconsin State Journal, 21 August
"She called billing to report a coding error, wrote Scholbrock in an e-mail to SOS, but was told that the visit was submitted as a physical, and her insurance company did pay 100 percent. Since she and the nurse practitioner discussed health in areas not covered in a physical because they are not preventive, there were two charges, not one. So she was charged for two appointments."
Knowledge is key to a healthy pregnancy
Karen Herzog, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 20 August
"During a home visit with a social worker, in her second trimester of pregnancy, Kalia Yang stares at a chart that shows how many packs of cigarettes an unborn baby is exposed to if the mother smokes."
Nuns, a 'dying breed,' fade from leadership roles at Catholic hospitals
Kevin Sack, The New York Times, 20 August
"The gradual transition from religious to lay leadership, which has been changing the face of Catholic health care for decades, is now nearly complete."
Walker tours region damaged by storms; BadgerCare still open for business; Favre imposter spotted in Green Bay
RiverTowns.net, 19 August
"Brynne McBride of ABC for Health says Badger Care is still open to children, families, and pregnant women. She says people hear that the state’s health care program for the working poor has stopped signing up certain groups of people – and they wrongly assume that everyone’s been cut off."
Laptop City Hall: What's wrong with this picture?
Shawn Doherty, Capital Times, 19 August
"Sen. Ron Johnson is reading a book to ten cute kids at a community health clinic on South Park Street."
Medicaid Supplemental Payments: Where Do They Fit in Payment Reform?
Deborah Bachrach and Melinda Dutton, 19 August
"Medicaid is rapidly becoming every state's largest health insurer, and with that status comes an increasing focus on Medicaid's payment policies."
Working poor rely upon food stamps
Editorial, Wausau Daily Herald, 18 August
"Medicaid is rapidly becoming every state's largest health insurer, and with that status comes an increasing focus on Medicaid's payment policies."
Implementing Health Reform: Informing Consumers
Timothy Jost, Health Affairs Blog, 18 August
"One of the most important innovations of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is that it dramatically increases and improves the information that consumers have available about health insurance and health care."
US Rep. Kind and Dr. Don Berwick visit Eau Claire Hospitals, Discuss High Quality Low Cost Care Systems
Press Release, WisPolitics.com, 18 August
"Medicaid is rapidly becoming every state's largest health insurer, and with that status comes an increasing focus on Medicaid's payment policies."
Lathrop City Hall: What's wrong with this picture? Ron Johnson reads to local kids
Shawn Doherty, The Cap Times, 18 August
"As he heads out, I ask him how he feels about the possibility that some of the children he was reading to could lose important health care coverage if Republicans suceed in dismantling the national health care law and paring back Medicaid programs."
Rules would Require Health Insurers to Offer Summary of Benefits and Coverage
Robert Pear, The New York Times, 18 August
"The Obama administration proposed new rules on Wednesday that would require health insurance companies and employers to provide information to policyholders and employees describing health benefits, coverage and costs in plain English."
Benefits for severely disabled children scrutinized
Jenny Gold, NPR, 18 August
"The SSI program for children is rapidly expanding, with the biggest increase among kids with mental, behavioral and learning disorders, including ADHD, speech delays, autism and bipolar disorder. But as it pulls in children like Hulston, the program is sparking criticism in Congress."
Column: Reverse-Robin Hooding recalls, attacks on local law enforcement, legislators who actually want a healthier Wisconsin
Emily Mills, Isthmus, 18 August
"Ignoring entire segments of your constituency is liable to get you recalled from office, as it turns out. At the very least it shifts the mood of the electorate enough to threaten that possibility, and that's as it should be."
Proposal would aid deciphering of benefits
Robert Pear, The New York Times, 17 August
"Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said the new 'summary of benefits and coverage' would make it easier for consumers to shop for insurance and compare plans."
Medicaid pays less than Medicare for many prescription drugs, U.S. report finds
Robert Pear, The New York Times, 15 August
"The report, from the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, could be used by lawmakers trying to cut drug prices as Congress looks for ways to rein in the cost of Medicare under the new deficit-reduction law."
County reports chronic complaints with privatized service
Robert Cloud, Waupaca Now, 10 August
"Callers are questioned about whether they have a car, whether they are able to drive and whether they have relatives or friends willing to drive them to their medical appointment without reimbursement. They can be denied rides if they answer yes to any of the questions, according to a copy of logistics call script obained by the County Post."
Neonatal mortality levels for 193 countries in 2009 with trends since 1990: A systematic analysis of progress, projections and priorities
PLoS Medicine, August 2011
"Callers are questioned about whether they have a car, whether they are able to drive and whether they have relatives or friends willing to drive them to their medical appointment without reimbursement. They can be denied rides if they answer yes to any of the questions, according to a copy of logistics call script obained by the County Post."
Medicaid supplemental payments: Where do they fit in payment reform?
The Center for Health Care Strategies, August 2011
"Supplemental payments are a critical source of revenue to hospitals, especially safety-net hospitals. Yet because they are often disconnected from the specific services provided to specific patients, and thereby delinked from the efficiency or quality of the care provided, supplemental payments may in fact run counter to broader value-based purchasing efforts."
WiderNet Project Announces Launch of Global Disability Rights Library
Tomeka Petersen, The University of Iowa News Service, July 2011
"Advocates for the rights of people with disabilities around the globe now have a new way to find the knowledge and information resources they need: the Global Disability Rights Library (GDRL), an innovative technology that delivers digital information anywhere in the world, even to places the Internet does not reach."
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