October 29, 2009

Healthcare Reform Negotiations Continue; National Council and Partner Organizations Send Letter to Congressional Leadership in Support of Therapeutic Foster Care

Medicare 2010 Open Enrollment Period Begins Nov. 15; Please Complete Brief Survey on Access to Meds

National Council Signs on to Letters Supporting Allocation of $1 Billion to the National Housing Trust Fund

Fair Sentencing Act Introduced in Senate

Federal Government Continues to Take Steps to Improve Response to H1N1

Healthcare Reform Negotiations Continue; National Council and Partner Organizations Send Letter to Congressional Leadership in Support of Therapeutic Foster Care

House and Senate negotiators are continuing their work on reconciling their respective committees’ healthcare reform bills.  Although the merged proposals have not yet been released, House leaders have said they expect to bring their bill to the floor next week; both the House and Senate will likely expand their schedules for the rest of the year in order to accommodate the healthcare reform debate.

We would like to thank our members for responding to last week’s call for signatures on a letter in support of including therapeutic foster care (TFC) in healthcare reform.  Your participation, along with other mental health and child welfare advocates around the country, resulted in 40 national groups and 90 state and local groups signing the letter.  The National Council will continue to monitor this situation and will take every opportunity to advocate for the inclusion of TFC in healthcare reform.

The National Council will also be hosting a webinar on healthcare reform on Wednesday, November 4.  You can register for the webinar on our website.


Medicare 2010 Open Enrollment Period Begins Nov. 15; Please Complete Brief Survey on Access to Meds

The Medicare Open Enrollment Period for Prescription Drug Plans (Part D) and Medicare Advantage plans begins on November 15, 2009. This is the one time of the year in which all current beneficiaries can change their prescription drug plan (PDP) and individuals who wish to join a PDP may enroll. Clients who have Medicare Part D coverage may want to carefully evaluate their plan options in 2010 and choose a plan that best fits their needs. Many plans change year to year, and some beneficiaries may see significant premium increases or changes if they remain in the same PDP.

All current beneficiaries should have received a letter from their current plan, "Annual Notice of Change." Detailed information about each plan in each state can now be accessed through the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder at www.Medicare.gov.  A list of national stand-alone prescription drug plans and state specific fact sheets providing 'fast facts' about each state's PDP enrollment and key dates are available online.

In addition, Medicare Access for Patients Rx (MAPRx), a coalition that the National Council is a member of, has created several useful fact sheets to assist providers, consumers, and families to understand the process of PDP enrollment. These fact sheets include:

• 2010 Medicare Prescription Drug Annual Open Enrollment
• Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Enrollment for People with Both Medicare & Medicaid
• The ABCs of LIS: Tips on Assisting People with Medicare to Apply for Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs

You can also visit MAPRx's website to find useful resources in your state.

Lastly, the National Council is currently in the process of collecting information from members on ability of Part D clients to access needed mental health prescription medications. Please take 2 minutes to complete a very brief survey by Friday, November 6, 2009.

The National Council will continue to keep you posted on Medicare Part D updates.


National Council Signs on to Letters Supporting Allocation of $1 Billion to the National Housing Trust Fund

The National Council has signed on to two letters by the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities in support of legislation that would allocate $1 billion of TARP funds to the new National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF).  The NHTF, enacted in July 2008, is a critical resource for expanding access to affordable and accessible rental housing for people with disabilities.  On the Senate side, the $1 billion allocation was included in the Preserving Homes and Communities Act of 2009 (S. 1731), introduced by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI).  In the House, the provision was included as part of the Main Street TARP Act (H.R. 3766), introduced by Rep. Barney Frank.  H.R. 3766 also includes a rule limiting tenants’ rent payments in units funded by the NHTF to 30% of their monthly income.  The letters to Rep. Frank and Sen. Reed are available online.


Fair Sentencing Act Introduced in Senate

Ten senators have introduced a bill to eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine.  The Fair Sentencing Act (S. 1789) would equalize the criminal penalties for the possession of crack cocaine and powder cocaine; currently, the quantity of powder cocaine that triggers a mandatory prison sentence is 100 times greater than the amount of crack cocaine that triggers the same sentence.  The bill would also provide for harsher penalties for large-scale drug traffickers and violent crimes.  A similar bill, the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act (H.R. 3245), has been approved by the House Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support and is awaiting a hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.


Federal Government Continues to Take Steps to Improve Response to H1N1

President Obama on Saturday signed a proclamation declaring the H1N1 swine flu pandemic a National Emergency.  The move will facilitate the nation’s ability to respond to the flu outbreak by allowing the Department of Health and Human Services to waive certain legal requirements that could keep health facilities from quickly setting up alternate sites for treatment and triage in case of a large surge of patients with H1N1.

Obama’s declaration did not signify an anticipated worsening of the outbreak, although H1N1 continues to spread globally.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Tuesday that production of the H1N1 vaccine has increased, with millions more vaccine doses now available for states to order.  The CDC has also updated its guidelines for the control and prevention of H1N1 infection in health care facilities.