Nebraska Rural Health Association
NeRHA E-News November 2006
Message from the Executive Director
INITIATIVE 423 DEFEATED!
Initiative 423 was voted down by more than 2-to-1 across the state last night. And although this lid proposal had a handful of vocal supporters in the state, they proved no match for what was probably the largest grass-roots political organization ever assembled in Nebraska.
Nearly 100 groups with total membership topping 500,000 Nebraskans opposed Initiative 423, highlighting their Nebraska roots with their motto: "Not in our state." The Nebraska Rural Health Association was proud to be part of that coalition.
Thanks to all the NeRHA members who shared information in their community about the negative effects the spending lid it would have on rural health.
ITS TIME TO GET TO WORK!
The election is now over and we have plenty of work to do in the policy and advocacy arena to promote rural health both at the national level as well as the state level.
>From the Democrats taking over the House of Representatives to the Nebraska Legislature convening in 2007 with 22 or more new senators we certainly have our work cut out for us.
We need each and everyone of our members now more than ever. I would encourage you to get involved and build relationships with our new policy makers. We have a great opportunity here to tell our story.
New NeRHA Board Set to take Office in 2007
The Nebraska Rural Health Association Board of Directors is pleased to announce the new officers and board members that will take office January 1, 2007.
Joleen Huneke will be the incoming NeRHA President and Alan Van Driel has been selected President-Elect. John Rainey will serve as Secretary and Carly Woythaler-Runestad will continue in her role as Treasurer. Julie Smith will serve as Past-President.
New NeRHA Board members are:
Barb Langley, Clinic Manager
Tri-Valley Health Systems
Cambridge, NE
Barb Langley has worked for Tri-Valley Health Systems for 19 years and has worked closely with the establishment and operations of their rural health clinics.
Karen Kliment, VP
Community Hospital
McCook, NE
Karen Kliment has been with Community Hospital since 2002 and oversees their rural health clinics as well as patient therapies, imaging services and anesthesiology.
Laura Meyers
Executive Director of Development
DKG Consultants, Incorporated
Kearney, NE
Laura Meyers is representing consumers on the Board and is an independent consultant that is very familiar with rural health issues and works with many rural communities in Nebraska.
Julie Smith
CIMRO of Nebraska
Wilsonville, NE
Julie Smith will be serving her second term on the NeRHA Board. She is the QI Manager for the Physician Office Project with CIMRO of Nebraska.
The remainder of the 2007 NeRHA Board will be:
Marty Fattig, Auburn, NE
Kim Engel, Hemingford, NE
Roxanna Jokela, Omaha, NE
Kathy Nordby, Wisner, NE
Health Care Affordability a Top Concern for Americans, Survey Finds
Two in 10 Americans identify health care as the most critical issue facing the nation, according to the latest annual poll by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Health care was chosen as more important the war (17%), energy and gas prices (16%), terrorism (14%), the economy (13%), education (10%) or Social Security (7%).
When asked the top health care priorities for Congress in the next five years, respondents most often picked “slowing the rising costs of medical care” (55%) and “ensuring Medicare continues to pay future benefits” (48%). About four in 10 respondents said “improved access to health insurance,” while three in 10 said “using technology to improve the quality and safety of care” and one-quarter said “structuring Medicare payments to reward quality.”
While half of Americans are “extremely” or “very” satisfied with health care quality, only 16% are satisfied with the cost of health insurance or with costs not covered by insurance, the survey found.
Click here, for more survey results
Free Web Site Helps Consumers Track Medications
MedActionPlan.com, a healthcare information company based in Peapack, N.J. has just launched My Med Schedule.com(TM). My Med Schedule.com(TM) is a free, secure Web site.
It allows consumers to create medication schedules that include images of the pills. Available on the Web, the site lets consumers save schedules for themselves or family members.
"My doctors love it when I bring my chart to each visit, so they can see everything I am taking at once," says J.V. McPhillips of Norfolk, Va. The site targets people like McPhillips, who take a lot of medications or supplements, or who see multiple doctors. The printed chart helps both doctor and patient.
Users simply click on medications and vitamins to add them to their own list. They can then print their schedule in a letter size that shows colored pictures of the pills. They can also print wallet-sized and large-type charts. Weekly checklists help people keep track of whether they have taken all their medications. My Med Schedule.com(TM) also allows patients to schedule refill reminders and map nearby pharmacies. Future plans include links to on-line pharmacies.
MedActionPlan.com LLC was founded in 2001 by Tim Peters, president of Tim Peters and Company Inc., a state-of-the-art multimedia group serving the healthcare industry for over 25 years. MedActionPlan.com offers a family of Web-based applications to help patients and their healthcare providers improve medication adherence.
Click here, for free Registration
Seniors and People Who Require Developmental Disability Services Most at Risk from Looming Cuts
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) released new data showing the stability and viability of intermediate care facilities for individuals with mental retardation or developmental disabilities (ICFs/MRDD) are severely jeopardized by the Administration’s proposed five-year, $12.2 billion Medicaid cuts.
The cuts, which would slash more than $104 million in federal funding for ICFs/MRDD, are slated for implementation in the coming weeks, perhaps even the day after the November elections.
The ICFs/MRDD in the following ten states are most at risk from the pending Medicaid cuts, according to the new ElJay LLC data; however, people with developmental disabilities living in Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Vermont also could be affected should the Administration proceed in cutting this important Medicaid funding for ICFs/MRDD in those states.
Rank State (Loss in Federal Revenue)
#1 Texas - $38,100,000
#2 Louisiana - $14,600,000
#3 California - $13,700,000
#4 Illinois - $ 9,800,000
#5 Pennsylvania - $ 8,700,000
#6 Kentucky - $ 6,900,000
#7 Ohio - $ 6,000,000
#8 North Dakota - $ 2,500,000
#9 South Carolina - $ 1,300,000
#10 Nebraska - $ 1,100,000
More than half of the United States Senate, a majority of the House of Representatives, including 95 GOP Representatives, and individual governors as well as the National Governors Association have contacted Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt to express concern about these Medicaid cuts that have the potential to undermine the quality of care provided by an especially vulnerable segment of our population who require special care and treatment.
2007 Conferences - Mark Your Calendar!
NRHA Rural Health Policy Institute
February 26-28, 2007
Washington, D.C.
13th Annual NRHA Rural Minority and Multicultural Heath Conference
May 14-15, 2007
Anchorage, AK
30th Annual NRHA Rural Health Conference
May 16-18, 2007
Anchorage, AK
NeRHA Annual Rural Health Conference
September 6-7, 2007
Kearney, Nebraska
NeRHA E-NEWSLETTER November 2006
