One last chance: Get 2015 coverage

The Special Enrollment Period ends next week. The Health Insurance Marketplace is providing individuals and families who paid the fee for not having health coverage when they filed their 2014 taxes with one last chance to get covered for 2015.  Get covered, avoid the fee. The fee for people who don’t have health coverage increases in 2015 to $325 per person or 2% of your household income – whichever is greater. The good news is you have until April 30 to learn about the options and financial assistance that is available and to enroll in a plan that meets your needs.

Join the millions who are saving: 8 out of 10 people can find coverage for $100 or less a month with tax credits through the Marketplace.   We hope you take advantage of this extended opportunity to get quality coverage this year. The HealthCare.gov Team

You're invited to Admit One With Courage (Apr 28, 2015)

Tuesday, April 28, 2015 from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM (MDT) Megaplex Theatres at Jordan Commons 9400 South State Street Sandy, UT 84070 View Map

Attend Event

You are invited to launch One With Courage Utah, a partnership between Utah Child and Family Services and the Attorney General's Office to raise awareness of child sexual abuse.  8:30 am - Continental breakfast and informal meet-and-greet with survivors, advocates, and community partners With Courage  9:00 - 10:00 am - One With Courage Program, including the first screening of One With Courage PSAs and a special musical performance by Deondra and Desirae Brown of The 5 Browns Protecting children is the responsibility of every adult. One With Courage is a campaign that provides adults with the tools they need to keep Utah's children safe from sexual abuse.  You are welcome to invite your friends With Courage to this special event, but please make sure they register through Eventbrite.  We look forward to seeing you soon!

FDA Celebrates 30 Years of Advancing Health Equity

By: Jonca Bull, M.D., Director of FDA’s Office of Minority Health

April is Minority Health Month! I am proud to say that FDA’s Office of Minority Health (OMH), in collaboration with  the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Minority Health, is celebrating this year’s theme: “30 Years of Advancing Health Equity, The Heckler Report: A Force for Ending Health Disparities in America.” For us at FDA, this year also marks the 5^th anniversary of OMH, which serves as the principal advisor to the Commissioner on minority health and health disparities.

The Heckler Report was a major, ground breaking document that transformed HHS’s views and actions on minority health. For the first time in history, representatives from each agency convened to talk about minority health and, more importantly, put forth recommendations to achieve health equity. Findings illustrated huge disparities between African Americans and other minorities compared to the population at large for key health indicators, such as life expectancy and infant mortality. Key recommendations relevant to FDA’s mission centered around health information and education, cooperative efforts (inside and outside of the government), health professions development, data development, and developing a research agenda.

• Work with Industry to increase diversity in clinical trials;

• Work with minority serving institutions and organizations to implement strategies and programs to improve regulatory science (specific to minorities);

• Provide platforms for stakeholders to become informed and involved about our work; and,

• Host and promote mentoring programs to encourage minorities to stay in scientific and academic careers.

Let’s stroll down memory lane and recap FDA’s activities that resulted from the Heckler report.

Health Information and Education

FDA has developed numerous outreach activities to improve consumer education and access to health information by utilizing the best cultural and linguistic practices to reach diverse minority populations. Hosting symposiums and webinars, participating in conferences, exhibiting in health fairs, and creating consumer educational materials are just some of the activities FDA has carried out to raise awareness and educate the public. Most recently, OMH has created a social media presence on Twitter and Pinterest, and maintains an active listserve with a quarterly newsletter. One of our most successful outreach campaigns has been the “Heart Health Toolkit” for American Heart Month, which reached over 6,000 people in February.

Our most recent consumer outreach occurred on March 25^th via a webinar on how the public can respond to requests for comments on regulatory proposals and public health issues by using FDA dockets.

Cooperative Efforts/Health Professions Development

OMH embraces the notion that protecting the public’s health cannot be done in isolation. We have focused on four areas to improve stakeholder relations:

Data Development and Research Agenda

We have a robust research agenda that focuses on advancing regulatory science related to eliminating health disparities. The agenda consists of various intramural and extramural grant programs, giving preference to minority-serving institutions. FDA also promotes and funds research that aims to increase the quantity, and improve the quality, of data on minorities, and to make these efforts transparent to the public.

In short: FDA has been and will continue to be committed to narrowing the health disparities gap. OMH will continue our legacy of creating culturally and linguistically tailored tools, materials, and resources for minority communities to increase their awareness and understanding of FDA’s mission and of the products that FDA regulates, increase their participation in clinical trials, and increase diversity in the workforce. This ensures better representation in the workforce, and most importantly: better health for all minorities!

More information about specific programs can be found on our website.

The Heckler Report can be found at: http://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-8602912-mvset.

HHS: Medicare spending $316 billion less

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an analysis that finds Medicare spending between 2009 and 2013 was approximately $316 billion lower than what it would have been if the average growth rate for 2000 to 2008 had continued through 2013.

“We’re very pleased to see that cumulative Medicare spending from 2009 through 2013 was $316 billion less than it would have been if 2000 – 2008 growth rates had continued,” said Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. “This is a good result for the taxpayer and our economy. We are also spending our dollars more wisely and improving the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries.  Using tools in the Affordable Care Act, we are changing  the nation’s health care delivery system to one that achieves better care, smarter spending, and healthier people.”

Link to ASPE Report: http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2015/MedicareSpending/ib_MedicareSpending.pdf

Navigator Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Released

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a funding opportunity for organizations and individuals to operate as Navigators in Federally-facilitated Marketplaces (FFMs), including State Partnership Marketplaces (SPMs).  As they did have done over the past two years, and as they are doing now, Navigators will continue to assist consumers in various ways, including providing information about available coverage options through the Marketplace during open enrollment. 

Navigators have been an important resource for the millions of Americans who enrolled in coverage over the past two years. This funding announcement ensures this important work will continue over the next three years in states with a FFM, including during Marketplace open enrollment periods.

Key Changes

This year’s FOA creates a multi-year funding structure. The 2015 FOA expands the period of performance, or project period, from 12 months to 36 months. The multi-year grant award will have a funding period of one year and subsequent years will be funded incrementally based on funding availability. This change is designed to provide greater consistency for Navigator grantee organizations and their staff from year to year, reducing yearly start up time and providing for a more efficient use of grant funds.

In addition, the 2015 FOA places a greater emphasis on re-enrollment activities and consumers enrolled in coverage through the Marketplace. Applicants are encouraged to explain how they will assist persons seeking to re-enroll in coverage through Marketplaces and how they will assist consumers with applications for coverage available through the Marketplace and selection, including renewal of a QHP. The 2015 FOA also places a greater emphasis on working with underserved populations. This year applicants are encouraged to demonstrate a focus on rural, underserved, vulnerable, or special needs populations or communities, and a commitment to serve these populations or communities. 

Application and Award Information

HHS will award up to $67,000,000 to recipients across all service areas of FFMs (including SPMs).

Key Dates for Pre-Application Calls:

First call: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

• Audience URL: https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1061468

• Webcast title: Navigator Funding Opportunity Announcement Pre-Application Webinar 4-29-15

• Audience URL: https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1061470

• Webcast title: Navigator Funding Opportunity Announcement Pre-Application Webinar 5-6-15

• Audience URL: https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1061472

• Webcast title: Navigator Funding Opportunity Announcement Pre-Application Webinar 5-20-15

• Audience URL: https://goto.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1061473

• Webcast title: Navigator Funding Opportunity Announcement Pre-Application Webinar 6-3-15

Second call: Wednesday, May 6, 2015 from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Third call: Wednesday, May 20, 2015 from 11:00am-12:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Fourth call: Wednesday, June 3, 2015 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Letter of Intent to Apply (required) Due: June 3, 2015

Applications Due: June 15, 2015, by 1:00pm ET

Anticipated Award Date: September 2, 2015

At least $600,000 in total cooperative agreement funds will be available for each FFM (including SPM) service area. Small entities and individuals proposing to serve smaller, hard-to-reach or underserved populations are encouraged to apply, particularly by partnering with other entities and/or individuals to form a consortium which serves a larger total portion of the population. 

To see the FOA for the Cooperative Agreement to Support Navigators in Federally-facilitated and State Partnership Marketplaces go to Grants.gov and search for CFDA 93.332.

Only 1 day left until the tax filing deadline

The Tax Deadline and Your Coverage

April 15 is the deadline to file your taxes. There is only 1 day left! If you owe a fee on your taxes for not having health coverage in 2014 and don’t yet have health coverage for 2015, you may still be able to get covered for 2015. The Health Insurance Marketplace is providing individuals and families who need to pay the fee when they file their 2014 taxes with one last chance to get covered for 2015. This is too important to put off. If you don’t have coverage for the remainder of 2015 you’ll risk having to pay the fee again next year. The fee for people who don’t have coverage increases in 2015 to $325 per person or 2% of your household income – whichever is greater.

Don’t miss out on potential savings:  Millions of people have already signed up, and 8 out of 10 can find coverage for $100 or less a month with tax credits through the Marketplace. We hope you take advantage of this extended opportunity to get quality coverage this year. The HealthCare.gov Team

Now Is the Time to Answer the Call

At a commemorative event two years ago, I heard a historian say that history is not a steady stream of events, but rather a series of punctuation points, like ripples from stones tossed into water. I believe that we are at the cusp of just such a punctuation point today as we commemorate National Minority Health Month and the 30th anniversary of the landmark Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health (also known as the Heckler Report).  
The Heckler Report marked the first time the U.S. government convened a group of health experts to conduct a comprehensive study of the health status of minorities. This legacy health equity tome elevated minority health onto a national stage and continues to serve as a driving force for the monumental changes in research, policies, programs and legislation to end health disparities in America. Read the full blog post.

J. Nadine Gracia, MD MSCE, Deputy Assistance Secretary for Minority Health , HHS OMH Director