Dementia Very Costly to Families

2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures Released Today: Alzheimer’s Strains Family Finances and Health

Nearly half of Alzheimer’s care contributors had to reduce their own expenses – including food, medical care, and transportation – in order to pay for dementia-related care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, released today. Care contributors – family and friends who provide direct care and/or financial support to people with the disease – are 28 percent more likely than other adults to eat less or go hungry because they cannot afford food. And, one in five report cutting back on their own doctor visits due to their caregiving responsibilities.

The 2016 edition of Facts and Figures also reports:

• An estimated 5.4 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, including 200,000 individuals under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s.

• One in nine seniors has Alzheimer’s, with nearly one-third of people aged 85 and older living with the disease.

• By 2050, the number of people aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s is projected to reach 13.8 million and could be as many as 16 million.

• Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and the fifth-leading among seniors.

• In 2016, an estimated 700,000 people aged 65 and older will die with the disease, meaning they developed Alzheimer's before they died.

• In 2015, more than 15 million Americans provided 18.1 billion hours of unpaid caregiving – worth an estimated $221 billion – to family members or friends with dementia.

• The cost of caring for those with Alzheimer’s will be an estimated $236 billion in 2016, with Medicare and Medicaid paying over two-thirds of the total.

Care contributors who lost income because they had to cut back or quit work in order to meet the demands of caregiving, lost, on average, $15,000 a year. One in five had to spend money from their own retirement savings to help pay for dementia-related care. Many also had to sell personal belongings (13 percent) and cut back on spending for their children’s education (11 percent).

To read the entire 2016 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report or to see Alzheimer’s statistics for your state, visit alz.org/facts.

How to use your new Marketplace health coverage

Congratulations on enrolling in 2016 health coverage! Now that you’re covered, here are a few tips to help you stay healthy and get the care you need.

3 ways to use your health insurance to stay healthy

• Find a doctor and get medical care: If you don’t have a doctor, check your plan to find one in your network. If you get medical services from a provider in your plan’s network, you’ll pay lower prices than you would without insurance. That can save you hundreds of dollars per year, even if you don’t meet your deductible.
• Learn about your prescription benefits: Health plans help pay the cost of certain prescription medications. Some plans offer reduced prices on generic drugs even before you’ve met your deductible.
• Stay healthy with preventive benefits: All health plans sold through the Marketplace cover a set of preventive services at no cost to you when delivered by a network provider. These include some screenings, check-ups, patient counseling, and wellness services.

If you’ve never had health insurance or if it’s been a while, you can get more information about using your coverage and improving your health using our Roadmap to Better Care and a Healthier You (PDF).

APHA Event for National Public Health Week April 4 - 8

Monday NPHW opening forum: Creating the Healthiest Nation by 2030

April 4, 1 p.m. EDT 

  

APHA President Camara Phyllis Jones, Aetna Foundation President Garth Graham, and Magi Linscott, 2014 Advocate of the Year, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, will have a lively discussion on how we can become the healthiest nation by 2030.

  

Register for the live webcast

  

Tuesday Webinar: Public Health Authority over Drinking Water Quality

April 5, 1 p.m. EDT 

Mona Hanna-Attisha, William Piermattei and Paul A. Biedrzycki

  

This webinar will feature Dr. Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician who helped expose the Flint lead poisoning, examine the regulation of drinking water quality as a health equity issue and identify some potential ways public health practitioners can address the problem. Presenters will describe the Flint water crisis from a scientific, legal and local public health department perspective, and then explain what role public health can help play in maintaining the quality of drinking water. 

  

Register today!

Wednesday Twitter chat 

April 6, 2 p.m. EDT

Join more than 1,400 Twitter participants including leaders from federal agencies, health departments, non-profits and more in a dynamic discussion. We’ll cover the health impacts of the environment, gun violence, high school graduation and other social determinants of health.

RSVP today! 

Friday Student Hangout with the Surgeon General 

April 8, 2 p.m. EDT

APHA will celebrate Public Health Student Day by hosting a Google Hangout featuring U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Don’t miss your chance to chat with the nation’s top doc and brainstorm on how to improve the health of our country. APHA Student Assembly Chair Suparna Navale, a doctoral student at the Kent State University Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, will provide opening remarks, and Tamar Klaiman, PhD, MPH, former APHA Student Assembly Chair, will moderate the discussion. 

  

RSVP today and students are invited to submit a video of your questions!

Voice your Vision: A Community Engagement Initiative

You are invited to a webinar hosted by the Federal Interagency Health Equity Team

and the Association for State and Territorial Health Officials.

New York State Department of Health, Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities and the New York State Minority Health Council convened Community Listening Sessions in New York State in 2015, in areas legislatively defined as Minority Areas (MA) (areas with a 40% or greater racial and ethnic populations) and which bear a disproportionate burden of poor health. The Listening Sessions utilized a community led, bottom-up approach to identifying and discussing complex health and social problems. This approach was based on the key principal that underlies place-based initiatives, wherein priorities and action plans are determined by the community – by the people impacted by health inequality – while the governmental agencies and service organizations serve as allies to a “bottom-up” process. This allows the community to create its space, identify and set priorities, and discuss strategies that can achieve improved health and long-standing social change.

Presenters will:
   1. Provide a contextual framework on health disparities and emerging place-based interventions; and
   2. Discuss the application of a place-based initiative through community-led listening sessions; and
   3. Articulate how the lessons learned will be used to develop policies, allocate resources, and support an infrastructure that
       works best for  communities across the state.

TOPIC:

Voice your Vision: A Community Engagement Initiative

  SPEAKERS:

Yvonne J. Graham, Director, Office of Minority Health &Health Disparities Prevention,
New York State Department of Health

Raul Vasquez, President, The Greater Buffalo United Accountable Healthcare Network (GBUAHN)

Lori V. Quigley, Dean, Esteves School of Education, Professor of Literacy Education, The Sage Colleges, New York

Lenora Reid Rose, Co-Director, Center of Excellence in Culturally Competent Mental Health Care,
Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research

Kristen Pergolino, Deputy Director, Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities Prevention,
New York State Department of Health

Amen Ptah, Digital Media Specialist/Program Coordinator, Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County;
Tele Counselor II, 2-1-1/Lifeline

DATE: March 30, 2016 

TIME: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST

Register Here¹: http://tinyurl.com/FIHETWEBINAR

Click Here for Full Abstract and Speaker Biographies: http://tinyurl.com/NYSDH-SpeakerBios  

CHW Job Announcement

Do you go out of your way to help your neighbors?



Have you ever helped a family member or friend receive healthcare service?

Do your neighbors or friends come to you for help? Are there things harmingyour community you feel passionate about changing? If the answer to any ofthese questions is "yes," this might be the job for you.
Job Description
Many things keep people from staying healthy and getting better when theyare sick. Patients have worries such as: “How will I get to the pharmacy toget my prescriptions filled?” “Who will watch my children while I go to thedoctor?” and “How will I be able to pay for both food and healthcare?”
At AUCH we believe that Community Health Workers (CHWs) should understandwhat low-income patients are experiencing and be able to help them getthrough difficult times. CHWs are people who come from the communities theyserve. CHWs act as caring neighbors to help patients address social andmedical problems that can hurt their health. The goals of the CHW are tohelp patients with the tasks of getting medical care, working on healthgoals (such as planning healthy meals or finding time to exercise), andhelping them deal with the “real-life” issues that keep them from gettingor staying healthy.

For a full position description, minimum qualification and information onhow to apply go to http://auch.org/chw

Planning is Underway for the Development of Healthy People 2030!

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has begun planning for Healthy People 2030, scheduled for release in 2020. The Healthy People initiative establishes disease prevention and health promotion objectives for the Nation.

The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) is seeking nominations for members of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2030. Nominations will be accepted until 6 p.m. ET on Monday, April 18, 2016. See the Federal Register notice for more information on the nomination process.

HHS Releases New Report: 50-Year Trends and Safety Net Impacts

HHS Releases New Report: 50-Year Trends and Safety Net Impacts

This week HHS’ Assistant Secretary for Planning and Research released a new report: Poverty in the United States: 50-Year Trends and Safety Net Impacts. The report highlights the vital role safety net programs have played since the beginning of the War on Poverty in helping families meet basic human needs. It also documents poverty trends for vulnerable populations such as single-mother families and workers without a college education. Key findings include:

·         The share of Americans lifted out of poverty each year by government programs and policies has increased tenfold since the 1960s.

·         The impact of the safety net on child poverty has grown substantially over time, reducing the number of children who do not have the resources to meet their basic human needs by just over 8 million in 2012.

·         The safety net mitigates the impact of economic contractions on the poverty rate. The safety net played a particularly important role in reducing poverty rates during the Great Recession.

·         In 2012 the full safety net cut the poverty rate nearly in half.

·         Social Security, tax credits for working families, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have the largest overall effects on the poverty rate.

·         Programs including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), housing assistance, and child support have a substantial impact on poverty rates among program recipients.

While the safety net successfully helps millions of families, poverty remains a persistent challenge for the nation. The report concludes with a discussion of how a strong safety net and anti-poverty strategies that focus on early childhood interventions, job-driven training, and place-based initiatives can further reduce poverty in the United States. To read the full report, click here. The HHS press release is attached.

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Taxes and your Form 1095-A   If you enrolled in a Marketplace health insurance plan for 2015, you should have gotten Tax Form 1095-A, Health Insurance Marketplace Statement in the mail. If you have an online Marketplace account, it should be there too. Carefully read the instructions on the back and make sure the information is accurate. Is your 1095-A incorrect in any way or missing? Read more to see what you need to do.  Remember: Don’t file your taxes without the correct 1095-A for 2015. The HealthCare.gov Team

Nationwide the Health Insurance Marketplaces signed up 4.9 million new people during the third Open Enrollment period

Health Insurance Marketplaces 2016 Open Enrollment Period: Final Enrollment Report, ASPE Issue Brief, March 2016

This issue brief highlights available national and state-level enrollment-related information for the Health Insurance Marketplace 2016 open enrollment period (11-1-15 to 2-1-16) for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Addendum to the Health Insurance Marketplaces 2016 Open Enrollment Period: Final Enrollment Report
This Addendum contains detailed State-level tables highlighting cumulative enrollment-related information for the Health Insurance Marketplaces (Marketplaces) during the 2016 Open Enrollment period for all 50 states and the District of Columbia (11-1-15 to 2-1-16). These data are available for the 38 states that are using the HealthCare.gov enrollment and eligibility platform for the 2016 coverage year (HealthCare.gov states), as well as for the 13 State-Based Marketplaces (SBMs) that are using their own Marketplace platforms for the 2016 coverage year.

State Level Data Excel Tables
For more information, see the Addendum to the Health Insurance Marketplaces 2016 Open Enrollment Period: Final Enrollment Report at Addendum to the Health Insurance Marketplaces 2016 Open Enrollment Period: Final Enrollment Report.

2016 County Health Rankings Released Today

2016 County Health Rankings to be released today

Published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the 2016 Rankings measure the health of virtually every county in the United States on more than 30 factors related to health. 

Factors include adult obesity, food environment index, physical inactivity, and access to exercise opportunities. See the 2016 Rankings on March 16.

Webinar: Voice your Vision- A Community Engagement Initiative

You are invited to a webinar hosted by the Federal Interagency Health Equity Team

and the Association for State and Territorial Health Officials.

New York State Department of Health, Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities and the New York State Minority Health Council convened Community Listening Sessions in New York State in 2015, in areas legislatively defined as Minority Areas (MA) (areas with a 40% or greater racial and ethnic populations) and which bear a disproportionate burden of poor health. The Listening Sessions utilized a community led, bottom-up approach to identifying and discussing complex health and social problems. This approach was based on the key principal that underlies place-based initiatives, wherein priorities and action plans are determined by the community – by the people impacted by health inequality – while the governmental agencies and service organizations serve as allies to a “bottom-up” process. This allows the community to create its space, identify and set priorities, and discuss strategies that can achieve improved health and long-standing social change.

Presenters will:

   1. Provide a contextual framework on health disparities and emerging place-based interventions; and

   2. Discuss the application of a place-based initiative through community-led listening sessions; and

   3. Articulate how the lessons learned will be used to develop policies, allocate resources, and support an infrastructure that

       works best for  communities across the state.

TOPIC:

Voice your Vision: A Community Engagement Initiative

  SPEAKERS:

Yvonne J. Graham, Director, Office of Minority Health &Health Disparities Prevention, New York State Department of Health

Raul Vasquez, President, The Greater Buffalo United Accountable Healthcare Network (GBUAHN)

Lori V. Quigley, Dean, Esteves School of Education, Professor of Literacy Education, The Sage Colleges, New York

Lenora Reid Rose, Co-Director, Center of Excellence in Culturally Competent Mental Health Care, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research

Kristen Pergolino, Deputy Director, Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities Prevention, New York State Department of Health

Amen Ptah, Digital Media Specialist/Program Coordinator, Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County;  Tele Counselor II, 2-1-1/Lifeline

DATE: March 30, 2016 

TIME: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST

Register Here¹: http://tinyurl.com/FIHETWEBINAR

Click Here for Full Abstract and Speaker Biographies: http://tinyurl.com/NYSDH-SpeakerBios   

Utah Health Status Update: Community Health Indicators Spotlight- Effects of Perceived Racism during Pregnancy in Utah

Research shows that racial discrimination is a chronic stressor that may increase the risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight and preterm labor. According to 2012–2013 Utah Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data, approximately 5,133 (5.2%) of Utah women who answered the survey reported feeling emotionally upset as a result of how they were treated based on their race. 

Feelings of racial bias were more likely to be reported among women who were of younger ages, unmarried, of lower educational levels, of non-White race, Hispanic, and of lower income levels. In addition to adverse birth outcomes, PRAMS data indicate there are other aspects of a healthy pregnancy and postpartum period that may be affected by the stress caused by feelings of racial discrimination. 

Figure 1 shows significantly higher rates of inadequate prenatal care, postpartum depression, and not breastfeeding at the time of the survey among women with perceptions of racial bias during pregnancy. 

These results suggest that healthcare providers should consider the potential risk for increased stress among their patients who report feelings of racial bias. 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that clinicians screen patients at least once during the perinatal period for depression and anxiety symptoms using a standardized, validated tool. Relaxation and other stress reduction techniques should be recommended to assist women living with stressful circumstances such as perceived racial bias.

Read article published in the March 2016 edition of the Utah Health Status Update.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2016

Contact: HRSA Press Office
301-443-3376
media@hhs.gov

HHS awards $94 million to health centers to help treat the prescription opioid abuse and heroin epidemic in America

Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced $94 million in Affordable Care Act funding to 271 health centers in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to improve and expand the delivery of substance abuse services in health centers, with a specific focus on treatment of opioid use disorders in underserved populations.

“The opioid epidemic is one of the most pressing public health issues in the United States today,” said Secretary Burwell. “Expanding access to medication-assisted treatment and integrating these services in health centers bolsters nationwide efforts to curb opioid misuse and abuse, supports approximately 124,000 new patients accessing substance use treatment for recovery and helps save lives.”

The abuse of and addiction to opioids, such as heroin and prescription pain medication, is a serious and increasing public health problem. Approximately 4.5 million people in the United States were non-medical prescription pain reliever users in 2013, and an estimated 289,000 were current heroin users. HHS also estimates the number of unintentional overdose deaths from prescription pain medications has nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2013, and deaths related to heroin increased 39 percent between 2012 and 2013.

Administered by the HHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), these awards to health centers across the country will increase the number of patients screened for substance use disorders and connected to treatment, increase the number of patients with access to MAT for opioid use and other substance use disorder treatment, and provide training and educational resources to help health professionals make informed prescribing decisions.  This $94 million investment is expected to help awardees hire approximately 800 providers to treat nearly 124,000 new patients.

“Health centers treat some of the most at-risk patients in the country,” said HRSA Acting Administrator Jim Macrae. “These awards position health centers to be at the forefront of the fight against opioid abuse in underserved communities.”

Research demonstrates that a whole-patient approach to treatment through a combination of medication and counseling and behavioral therapies is most successful in treating opioid use disorders. In 2014, over 1.3 million people received behavioral health services at health centers, This represents a 75 percent increase since 2008 and was made possible with support from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Recovery Act.  Today’s funding builds upon and leverages these previous investments by providing support to health centers to improve and expand the delivery of MAT substance abuse services in an integrated primary care/behavioral health model with a specific focus on treatment of opioid use disorders in underserved populations.

Today, over 1,300 health centers operate approximately 9,000 service delivery sites in every U.S. state, D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Pacific Basin; these health centers employ more than 170,000 staff who provide care for nearly 23 million patients. In 2014, health centers provided behavioral health services to more than 1.3 million patients, including those in need of substance abuse services.

“HRSA's innovative investment in the delivery of medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders affirms the importance of behavioral health to overall health,” said Kana Enomoto, Acting Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). 

Addressing the opioid crisis is a top priority for the Administration and the Department. The Department is focused on three key areas: improving opioid prescribing practices, increasing the use of naloxone, and increasing access to MAT.  In addition, the President has made addressing the prescription opioid abuse and heroin epidemic a top priority and issued a Presidential Memorandum last year on improving access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders.  Today’s awards are an example of HHS taking every available step to expand access to MAT.  Building on these efforts, the President’s Budget includes a $1.1 billion initiative to help ensure that all individuals with opioid use disorders who want treatment are able to access it.

To view a list of the award winners, visit:http://bphc.hrsa.gov/programopportunities/fundingopportunities/substanceabuse/fy16awards.html

For more information on the Department’s key areas of focus to address the opioids crisis, visit:http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2015pres/03/20150326a.html

To learn more about HRSA’s Health Center Program, visit http://bphc.hrsa.gov/about/index.html

To find a health center in your area, visit http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/        

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Can't Get In To See Your Doctor? Many Patients Turn To Urgent Care

27% of Americans turn to urgent care

	Despite having a primary care physician, many Americans are visiting urgent care clinics. Why? Many cite cost and convenience according to a new poll from NPR, RWJF, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Read the article at NPR.org >

HHS Health Equity Forum

HHS Health Equity Forum Commemorating National Minority Health Month 2016 and the 30th Anniversary of the HHS Office of Minority Health  WHAT:    HHS Health Equity Forum: “Accelerating Health Equity for the Nation” WHO: Featured speakers: Senior Administration and Federal Officials WHEN:   Thursday, April 7, 2016; 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EDT) WHERE:  Join us live online.  Live-stream details and an agenda to come! BACKGROUND: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) will host a Health Equity Forum (Forum) in recognition of National Minority Health Month 2016 and the 30th anniversary of the HHS Office of Minority Health.  During these observances, OMH will continue to build upon initiatives and campaigns initiated in 2015 during the 30th anniversary of the Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health (Heckler Report). The Heckler Report marked the first convening of health experts by the U.S. government to conduct a comprehensive study of the health status of racial and ethnic minorities, elevated minority health onto a national stage, and led to the establishment of OMH in 1986.  For 30 years, OMH has led efforts to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs that will help eliminate health disparities. The Forum will highlight initiatives underway by the Obama Administration and HHS to reduce disparities and further efforts needed to accelerate health equity and expand opportunity for all. For questions or additional information, contact us at: forum@minorityhealth.hhs.gov or 240-453-8833.

New funding opportunity from RWJF

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Healthy Eating Research: Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity RWJF is seeking research proposals that will inform efforts aimed at helping all children grow up at a healthy weight. Studies must be related to food, nutrition, and healthy eating and have strong potential to help reduce children’s excess calorie intake and eliminate racial, income, and/or geographic disparities in childhood obesity rates. Up to one-third of the available funds will be allocated to research focused on the rural United States, including the Appalachian region, Asian/Pacific Islander children, and/or American Indian children. Each grant will award up to $190,000 for a maximum funding period of 18 months. Approximately $2.4 million will be awarded. Application deadlines: May 11, 2016 and August 3, 2016 Apply today >