September 1, 2009  
 

Tickets are still available for IMCHC’s upcoming 21st annual gala benefit “Advocacy and Action” taking place on Thursday, September 10th at Carnivale in Chicago’s West Loop. We will honor Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan for her public service to preserve and protect the health and well-being of women and children in Illinois.

Tickets and additional information are available on our website. We look forward to seeing you there!

Federal - Health Care Reform

Congressional Updates

Currently, Congress is on their August break and at home in their districts, but before they left both chambers were moving towards health care reform in a variety of methods.  While we are still waiting on language from the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee has drafted and passed out of committee “The Affordable Health Choices Act,” which includes many provisions regarding maternal and child health.

The three House committees worked together to craft one bill (HR3200) which was passed out of each committee individually, including Energy and Commerce, which is further than any other health care reform effort has ever come before.

Provisions in the proposed House bills include:

Private Insurance Reforms

• No longer allowing for pregnancy to be considered a preexisting condition by prohibiting all preexisting condition exclusions.
• Guarantee availability AND renewability of health insurance coverage.
• Require coverage of preventative health services, such as immunizations and preventative screenings for children and adolescents.
• Creation of a public insurance option with comprehensive coverage at low cost to the American consumer subject to all private insurance regulations and sold through a health care Exchange program.

Preventive Care

• Require insurers to develop a payment structure that incentivizes preventative care, the medical home model, coordinated care, case management and other cost-saving measures.
• Establishes a federal authorization and grant program for school health centers.
• Creates several councils, funds and campaigns that encourage the use of physical and oral prevention, as well as wellness programs and practices.

Medicaid Expansion

• Medicaid could be expanded to everyone up to 133% FPL, including to childless adults.
• 100% funding of Medicaid by the federal government.
• Creates a floor for provider reimbursements.
• Improve the health care infrastructure through investments in more primary care providers, community health care centers and health IT.

Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) - better known as All Kids in Illinois

• CHIP could be expanded beyond 133% FPL with new requirements for simplified application and re-enrollment processes.
• Children’s advocates are concerned that the legislation would eliminate CHIP after 2013.

Many experts think that offering the public health insurance option as a choice to private plans is the only way to ensure choice and control for consumers, as there is no indication that private insurance companies will reform their practices otherwise. Additionally, The Commonwealth Fund estimates that significant cost savings of $3 trillion over the course of a decade could be achieved by offering the choice of a public health insurance option.

 
Illinois - State Budget Updates

At the end of July, Governor Quinn used discretionary funding appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly to help fill the budget gaps in FY2010 budgets. As a result, the “doomsday” or “50% budget” did not go into effect. However, the effect of a state budget that did not fully fund human service programs were still felt and resulted in many layoffs, program cuts and even facility closures. Progress Illinois has helped illustrate the statewide effect of these cuts on their website.

A summary of cuts by some statewide programs include:

• Early Childhood Block Grant programs will be cut by 10 percent rather than slashed by one-third, as most recently proposed.  About 9,500 youngsters still could lose preschool services.
• Bilingual education will lose 10 percent of its funding, not 25 percent as recently proposed.
• Child care services will not be cut – a major victory for working families.
• State funding for Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership priorities will be pared by about 15 percent. Some of the Partnership's prevention, early intervention and treatment programs had faced one-third cuts.
• The Healthy Families Illinois and Parents Too Soon home-visiting programs – providing "parent coaching" to the families of at-risk infants and toddlers – will lose 10 percent of their state funding.
• Intensive prenatal case management for at-risk mothers will be cut by about 15 percent.
• Funding for many youth services, including homeless youths, will be reduced by more than 20 percent.
   

These figures do not reflect an additional $1 billion in cuts that still need to take place OR the more than $3 billion in unpaid bills that have been pushed into future fiscal years through short-term borrowing. Without significant structural reform that halts the band-aid budget solutions, Illinois will continue to face similar fiscal challenges in future fiscal years. This will result in more children, women, at-risk youth and other vulnerable populations who will face program cuts to vital services each year.

To help fix these structural problems, the Campaign for Illinois’ Future will continue with their coalition meetings. The next one will be held on Wednesday, September 2nd at the SEUI Headquarters, 8200 W. Jackson, 8th Floor. Please RSVP to Amisha Patel.

Thanks to Voices for Illinois Children for providing the information about the budget cuts listed above.  

“Health is Academic” School Health Center Back-to-School Campaign

Health is Academic State Campaign:
This year, the ICSHC back-to-school campaign is focused on the intersection between school health and education. The message of the Health is Academic campaign is simple: “Want to succeed in school? Visit your school health center!” 

We want to support administrators, teachers and families in ensuring that their students are healthy and ready to learn. By helping schools complete compliance rates and working with teachers to keep students focused on academics, school health centers remove barriers to learning. Find out how to participate by going to IMCHC’s website.  

National School Health Center Week - National Campaign:
On a federal level, things have never looked better for school health centers (SHCs)! Our two main Congressional priorities include:

1. Create a federal authorization program for SHCs; and
2. Ensure that SHCs are reimbursed by Medicaid and CHIP. Both of these priorities have been included in Congressional Committee legislation.

The time is NOW to take action to ensure that health care reform passes with the inclusion of SHCs. We need EVERYONE to get involved in this momentous legislative occasion by contacting their Congressional Representatives and asking them to pass a health care reform bill that includes SHCs. Illinois SHCs are being asked to join the 1700 SHCs across the country in scheduling 20-30 minute Virtual DC Meetings with their Congressional offices and sharing the Virtual SHC Tour video during the meeting. Virtual DC Meetings should be scheduled during National School Health Center Week, taking place September 14 - 18.  

Find out more on IMCHC’s website  or on the National Assembly for School Based Health Care’s website.

Please email Megan Erskine, ICSHC Project Coordinator, for more information.

New IMCHC Chapter – Lake County and Greater Cook

As a result of demand from health care and social service providers in Lake County, IMCHC will now host quarterly meetings for interested individuals and organizations in this area. Our first meeting took place earlier this month and provided a venue for attendees to learn more about health care reform, state legislative updates and share opportunities to collaborate.

The next meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 2nd from 1pm-3pm at the University of Illinois Extension in Lake County, 100 S. Highway 45 in Grayslake. Contact Sara Howard with topics that you would to see discussed at the upcoming meeting.

New Home of Illinois Premature Infant Health Network 

IMCHC is proud to announce that we are the newest home of the Illinois Premature Infant Health Network, which involves community organizations, health care providers, faith-based groups and parents to improve access to quality of care and increase awareness about premature infant health issues.

The network will meet on a quarterly basis in Chicago, as well as in other regions of the state depending on interest. If you are interested in participating in upcoming meetings or on a subcommittee (policy, coordination of care or education/materials), please email Kathy Chan or call her at 312-491-8161x24.

Thanks to MedImmune, LLC, for providing a portion of the funding to support the network.

 
Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones, Get Your Seasonal Flu Shot This Fall!

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), in partnership with the Chicago Area Immunization Campaign, will be providing seasonal flu shots at the following locations. If you have a Medicare card, please bring it with you. For information about other CDPH clinic locations, please call 311.

2009 Faith-Based Flu Clinic Schedule

Staff Updates

Blair Harvey, former Project Director with the Illinois Coalition for School Health Centers, recently stepped down from her position to attend graduate school at the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration. While we will miss Blair tremendously, she will not be far away and plans to stay on as a part-time consultant with the Administrative Cost-Sharing pilot.

Annie Claggett recently joined IMCHC as a Project Associate for the Chicago Area Immunization Campaign (CAIC). She is working alongside the other CAIC staff to promote safe, effective and timely immunizations for children and adolescents. Annie is a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where she majored in Anthropology and Public Health. You can contact Annie at aclaggett@ilmaternal.org.

Newsletter Archive

Visit our newsletter archive to read about recently listed articles from past issues. Past topics include:

• Federal and State Legislative Updates
• Inaugural Junior Fundraiser and Junior Board
• RSVP for the CAIC Summer Meeting
• Staff Updates

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Health Care Reform – Take Action Before August Recess Ends!

As the August recess comes to a close, it is more important than ever to ensure that members of Congress are ready to return to Washington, DC to work on health care reform legislation that includes a strong public option.

You can take action today by making a phone call to Senators Durbin and Burris, and most importantly, to your Congressman and tell them:

I urge the Senator/Congressman to continue working on health care reform the results in affordable, accessible and guaranteed health care for all when he/she returns from August recess. I also want to express my support for health care reform that includes a strong public option and I urge the Senator/Congressman to do the same.

Here are two toll-free numbers that you can use to get through to the Congressional Switchboard: 1-866-210-3678 OR 1-888-245-0215.

You can also make call to district offices if you have trouble getting through to the DC offices.

Click here to also send an email to your legislators.

Visit IMCHC's e-advocacy site to find your legislator or local contact information. Contact Kathy Chan to report the results of your phone calls.

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Judicial Bypass Coordination Project  by the ACLU of Illinois

On August 4, a law went into effect in Illinois requiring "parental notification" before a woman under 18 receives abortion services.

The Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995 had been dormant, due to legal injunctions put into place by the ACLU of Illinois, until July 14 of this year. That's when the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law, as well as the state Supreme Court's rules setting up judicial procedures for an expedited bypass hearing, satisfy minors' constitutional rights to the procedure. In other words, the court said young women would be able to get permission quickly to bypass the parental notice requirement, which overturned injunctions against the law.

As of Aug. 4, before providing an abortion to a woman under age 18, the abortion provider must give at least 48 hours' notice to an adult family member—a parent, step-parent living in the same house, grandparent or legal guardian. Consent is not required. There is another way to comply with the notice law in certain circumstances. This "judicial bypass" process is available to young women throughout the state in the Illinois circuit courts.

The Illinois Bypass Coordination Project has more information about parental notification and the judicial alternative for complying with the law. Visit their website or call 877.44.BYPASS (877.442.9727) or text 312.560.6607. IMCHC staff member Sara Howard is an attorney and has attended the judicial bypass training.

You can also keep up-to-date with the project on Facebook and MySpace.

Bridge to Healthy Smiles Campaign Successes

Oral health care advocates in Illinois applauded Governor Pat Quinn for signing key legislation into law to fund the construction of much-needed dental clinics in underserved Illinois communities. Governor Quinn signed into law SB 1393, which establishes procedures for awarding grants to communities waiting to open a dental clinic.

While there is still more progress to be made, the Bridge to Healthy Smiles Coalition is pleased with the campaign’s accomplishments. To learn more about the Bridge to Healthy Smiles campaign and to view the “Bridge to Healthy Smiles” video, please visit bridgetohealthysmiles.com.

Mid-America Regional Public Health Leadership Institute – Applications

The School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago is again inviting public health professionals to participate in a unique educational opportunity. The Mid-America Regional Public Health Leadership Institute (MARPHLI) is accepting applications to its twelve-month program which is designed to promote organizational, professional and personal leadership skill development. MARPHLI Fellows develop greater effectiveness in carrying out the core public health functions of assessment, policy development and assurance not only within their agencies, and across the full panoply of public health efforts in the community.

MARPHLI will begin with a three-day conference to be held October 19-22, 2009, at the Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, Illinois. The conference will bring together a select group of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan along with a cadre of faculty, Mentors and members of the Institute's Advisory Board. Together, this group will examine the characteristics, skills, attributes and successful practices of effective public health leadership during the twelve months of the Institute.

The Mid-America Regional Public Health Leadership Institute is accepting applications from potential Fellows who are interested in leadership development. The cost of tuition of for the year is $1500 and the application can be found online.  Applications must be received no later than September 15, 2009.

Pre-Registration Process for H1N1 Vaccination

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is asking health care providers to pre-register to administer pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine if it is available in the fall.  IDPH will facilitate distribution of Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Vaccine to health care facilities located outside the city of Chicago.  The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) is initiating a similar effort for providers located within its jurisdiction.   If your clinic is outside the city of Chicago and interested in administering Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Vaccine to your patients, please pre-register online BY AUGUST 31, 2009.  By pre-registering, you will help guide IDPH's distribution plans and help us understand private sector capacity to administer pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine. Pre-registration is not a commitment to place an order.  IDPH will provide follow-up to pre-registered providers, including current Vaccine for Children (VFC) providers, for orders.

This link will provide pre-registration access for providers located outside Chicago. If you do not have internet access, please call 800-526-4372 for providers outside the city of Chicago.

For those providers located within the Chicago city limits, the Chicago Department of Public Health has provided the following link for access to pre-registration: www.chicagohan.org.  If you do not have internet access, please call 312-746-6129.

Fit Day Event – Sept 12, 2009

Join participants and organizers for the 1st Fit Day Event on Saturday, September 12, 2009. Free bras and post-surgery apparel (limited sizes) will be offered. You can also receive free information on after-surgery care and be fitted by a Certified Mastectomy Fitter.

The event takes place on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at Tabarnacle Christian Academy, 1233 W. 109th Place in Chicago from 9am-12pm. Please RSVP by September 8th to Trina Khalfani at (312) 942-4281.

This project is a result of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force, Patricia A. Joyce Comprehensive Care Institute, the American Cancer Society and Amoena.

Government watchdog group Common Cause found that major health care interests have spent upwards of $1.4 million a day on lobbyists so far this year, which is equivalent to a 73% increase since 2000. Campaign contributions to Congressional members increased $40 million since 2000.

Source: Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report – June 25, 2009

Earlier this summer, Wal-Mart expressed support for health care reform efforts that includes a requirement for employers to provide health insurance to workers.  According to Wal-Mart officials, 52% of their 1.4 million US employees currently receive health insurance from Wal-Mart, 43% get it elsewhere and 5% are uninsured.

As the largest private employer in the nation, Wal-Mart says that it supports an employer mandate because they believe in “shared responsibilities” across all businesses alongside cost-control measures. 

Source: Wall Street Journal, July 1, 2009

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that private health insurance coverage is the lowest it has been in 50 years. In the 70s and early 80s, nearly 80% of non-elderly Americans had private coverage, compared to about 65% in 2008.

Insurance coverage also ranged widely between states with only 3% uninsured in Massachusetts and 23% in Texas. States in the South and West showed the highest number of uninsured. Experts connect these trends to unaffordable health insurance premiums for businesses and individuals.

Source: Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report – July 2, 2009

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IMCHC 21st Annual Benefit
Thursday, September 10th
5:30pm-8pm
Carnivale, 720 W. Fulton in Chicago’s West Loop
A limited number of tickets are still available – visit www.ilmaternal.org for more information

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IMCHC Southern Illinois Chapter Meeting
Wednesday, October 21st 
12:15pm-2:15pm
Municipal West Building
200 Potamac in Mt. Vernon
RSVP to Lilah Handler

IMCHC Lake County Meeting
Wednesday, December 2nd
1pm-3pm
University of Illinois Extension
100 S. Highway 45 in Grayslake
RSVP to Lilah Handler

IMCHC Chicago Area Chapter Meeting
Wednesday, December 9th
1pm-3pm
Metropolitan Family Services
1 N. Dearborn, 10th Floor in Chicago.
RSVP to Lilah Handler

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