Good News from the White House -- Religious exemptions under ACA will be kept narrow!

Exciting news released today by the Obama Administration.  After months of pressure from the Catholic Bishops lobby, the administration announced that they will keep the religious exemption for contraceptives in the Affordable Care Act narrow.  This is great news for millions of women and we will be reaching out to press throughout the day.  A release outlining our position on the topic is available here. The official statement from  HHS can be found here.

Protect your patients against pertussis - new Tdap requirement for 7th-12th graders

To Clinics Serving California Adolescents:

Under a new law all California middle and high school students entering or advancing into 7th through 12th grades are required to have proof of a pertussis (Tdap) booster shot before starting the 2011-2012 school year. Please help spread the word now to ensure California’s youth are protected against the ongoing threat of pertussis and ready for school entry next fall by continuing with or starting the following steps:

1. Review the message from State Superintendent Torlakson about the importance of the new Tdap vaccine requirement
2. Alert youth and their parents/guardians to the following messages:
   • Get your pertussis (Tdap) booster shot if you haven’t had it yet
     • Make an appointment now with your doctor or other health care provider
       • Pertussis is spread year-round, especially in spring through fall - get protected now.
       • Appointment waits may be longer during the back-to-school rush time
     • Spring Break may be a good time for a clinic visit
   • Get a clear record of the Tdap booster shot from your doctor to share with school
   • Bring your record into school by your school’s deadline
3. Post these messages above and downloadable electronic banners on your website
   • Websites, emails and electronic newsletters
   • 2011-2012 Calendar
   • Community partners’ communications
4. View the free 1 hour CME webcast: Shots For School: Clinicians’ Role in California’s New Tdap Requirement for 7th – 12th Graders, available at www.uctv.tv/capertussis/
5. Provide clear and accurate documentation about Tdap immunization for your patients and their schools if you provide immunization services.
   • Vaccines have similar names and abbreviations, e.g. Tdap, Td, DTaP, DT, etc., which can be confusing to the school staff who will be keeping records for the new law.
   • If you use the California Immunization Registry, consider printing out a copy of the ‘Blue Card’ after Tdap has been given for the student to take to school. 
   • Make sure that you have ordered plenty of Tdap and other adolescent immunizations and have adequate vaccine storage space.
6. Have parents check with their child’s school about how they should provide the Tdap documentation.
7. Post downloadable electronic banners on your practice’s website and in electronic newsletters to help notify your patients.

For additional information and tools to communicate with youth and their parents on the new Tdap school requirement, visit www.ShotsForSchool.org.

Kaiser Side-By-Side Provides An Overview of Legislation Concerning Federal Funds And Abortion Coverage And Family Planning Services

The Kaiser Family Foundation has issued a side-by-side document, which can be found at http://www.kff.org/womenshealth/8155.cfm, that summarizes three pieces of legislation introduced in the new Congress that address how federal funds can be used with regard to abortion coverage and family planning services.  The document compares the major features of the new bills to the current law and the provisions for 2014 in the new health reform law. The three bills are H.R. 3, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ); H.R. 217, sponsored by Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.); and H.R. 358, sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.).

The Foundation last year released an issue brief, which can be found at http://www.kff.org/healthreform/8021.cfm, that reviews current federal and state policies on abortion coverage and how they may be modified under health reform, and discusses the potential impact of the federal legislation on women’s access to abortion coverage.

For additional information, please contact:
Chris Lee at (202) 347-5270 or clee@kff.org.

HealthCare.gov Informs You and Your Clients about Health Care Reform

Sign up for the HealthCare.gov Bulletin to find out what’s happening in your state and listen to stories from people across the country who are benefitting from the new law!

Click here to access the new consumer focused Health Care Website.

Also check out www.CuidadodeSalud.Gov, the partner site of HealthCare.gov.

• For more information on the new Affordable Care Act click here.
• Get information on relief the Affordable Care Act can provide to you here.
• Get the Facts Straight on Health Reform here.
• Check out our archived web chats here.
• How is the Affordable Care Act helping you?  Share your story here.

 

Title X Clinics and Recommendation for Flu Outreach

The Department of Health and Human Services is committed to enhancing seasonal influenza vaccine coverage and raising awareness of the disease and the importance of immunization.

All clinic staff and volunteers in the Title X clinic system should be vaccinated following the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation for universal influenza vaccination for all persons 6 months of age and older. OPA also urges you to use any opportunity to remind all patients of the importance of receiving influenza vaccination, perhaps utilizing options that might be available through pharmacies, schools, workplaces, or other local partners. 

This year’s vaccine will include the 2009 H1N1 strain as part of the regular seasonal vaccine. Communication science research conducted this summer has shown that consumers may have safety concerns about the 2009 H1N1 strain being included in the vaccine, which may be a barrier to seeking vaccination.

We rely on you as health service providers to emphasize the fact that this year’s flu vaccine is made in the same way as past flu vaccines. An average of 100 million doses of influenza vaccine have been used in the United States each year, and flu vaccines have an excellent safety record.

While everyone is now recommended to receive influenza vaccine, your high-risk patients—pregnant women, those with asthma, diabetes, or other chronic conditions—remain at risk for serious complications from influenza. CDC, and state and local public health agencies, will continue to reinforce efforts to emphasize the crucial importance of vaccine for these groups while simultaneously promoting annual influenza vaccination for everyone in the community.

Studies show that your recommendation makes the difference in convincing patients to seek influenza vaccination.

Free resources such as patient education handouts, posters for your clinic, copies of the vaccine information statement (VIS), and updated information for you and your staff are available at www.cdc.gov/flu/ and www.flu.gov. 

For those of you who have been long-time champions of flu vaccine, we truly appreciate your efforts and hope that this new ‘universal’ recommendation makes your job that much easier. For those of you recently joining the fight to prevent the spread of influenza in your community, we hope that you will begin the practice of “any opportunity, for every patient.”

Vaccination continues to be the best protection against influenza, and your efforts will be reflected in a healthier community.

Thank you,
Marilyn Keefe
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs

• CDC flu news (PDF)
  
• Q&A on 2010-2011 Flu season

Affordable Care Act New Rules on Prevention

Please take a few minutes to review the two links below: 

1. News release about the regulations requiring Health Insurance Plans to provide free preventive care:
2. From the Healthcare.gov website, additional information.

Presidential Memorandum on the Rights of LGBT People in Hospital Settings

President Barack Obama issued a historic memorandum to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) directing relevant agencies to take steps to ensure that individuals are not discriminated against in hospital settings on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The memorandum requests agencies to develop rules to protect LGBT patients and their families and address issues of hospital visitation, medical decision-making, or other healthcare issues. (via GLMA  - Gay & Lesbian Medical Association)

The full announcement is available http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-hospital-visitation

SUBJECT: Respecting the Rights of Hospital Patients to Receive Visitors and to Designate Surrogate Decision Makers for Medical Emergencies

It should be made clear that designated visitors, including individuals designated by legally valid advance directives (such as durable powers of attorney and health care proxies), should enjoy visitation privileges that are no more restrictive than those that immediate family members enjoy. You should also provide that participating hospitals may not deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The rulemaking should take into account the need for hospitals to restrict visitation in medically appropriate circumstances as well as the clinical decisions that medical professionals make about a patient's care or treatment.

The full announcement is available http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-hospital-visitation

CFHC Urges 100% Federal Support of the Family PACT Program

CFHC along with a coalition of 34 other health care providers, associations and advocates  are urging California’s Congressional Delegation to help save the Family PACT program, California’s innovative family planning program, by securing an increase in the program’s federal match from 90% to 100%.

In his current budget proposal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger targets the program for immediate reduction and possible elimination. His proposal immediately cuts family planning provider reimbursement by $28.7 million, which will create major barriers to patient access at a time when more and more individuals are relying on this critical program for their health care needs.

In addition, the Governor’s proposal will eliminate the program altogether if California is unable to secure more than $6 billion in federal funding by July 15, 2010. Since its inception, the Family PACT program has saved California more than $2 billion in medical and social service costs by preventing unintended pregnancies, has reduced the rates of sexually transmitted disease in the state and provides women with essential health care such as life-saving breast and cervical cancer screenings. If the Governor’s cuts are imposed, these women and men will lose access to the essential health care services provided through FamilyPACT at a time when they need it the most.

Click here to read the whole letter

CDC Acyclovir Shortage - Website Link

On January 21, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported a shortage of acyclovir, a recommended therapy for genital herpes. CDC has published an alert on its website at http://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment/ with referrals to additional information and other recommended therapies.

CDC will continue to publish updates as new information becomes available.

John M. Douglas, Jr., MD
Director, Division of STD Prevention
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention

Extension of the 2009 Poverty Guidelines Until at Least March 1, 2010

• [ Federal Register Notice, January 22, 2010 — Full text ]
  
• [ Prior Poverty Guidelines and Federal Register References Since 1982 ]
  
• [ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ]
  
• [ Further Resources on Poverty Measurement, Poverty Lines, and Their History ]

On December 19, 2009, the President signed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-118), which included a provision affecting the poverty guidelines. Section 1012 of the law states that:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall not publish updated poverty guidelines for 2010 under section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) before March 1, 2010, and the poverty guidelines published under such section on January 23, 2009, shall remain in effect until updated poverty guidelines are published.

The Congressional Record (House) (December 16, 2009, p. H15370) provides the following explanation of Congressional action:

Section 1012 includes a provision to freeze the Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines at 2009 levels in order to prevent a reduction in eligibility for certain means-tested programs, including Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and child nutrition, through March 1, 2010.

For the first time since the poverty guidelines began to be issued in 1965, the annual average Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) has decreased from the figure for the previous year. In the absence of this legislative change, the decrease in the annual average CPI-U for 2009 announced on January 15, 2010 (see http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf [PDF - 25 pages], Table 1A) would have required HHS to issue 2010 poverty guidelines that were lower than the 2009 poverty guidelines, which would have led to the “reduction in eligibility” referred to in the Congressional explanatory language.

A Federal Register notice about this extension of the 2009 poverty guidelines was published on January 22, 2010. (See Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 14, January 22, 2010, pp. 3734-3735.) We will provide updated information about the post-March 1 period when it becomes available.

Betty Chern-Hughes, MS, CNM
Captain, USPHS
Office of Family Planning