Utah Law Enforcement Leaders Urge Extension of Home Visiting to Address 600% Increase in Incarceration of Women

Renewal of federal home visiting program is vital because 200,000 women are behind bars, and almost two-thirds of the women in state prisons are mothers

WHO:             Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank

                        Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill

Kami Peterson, Nurse-Family Partnership Nurse Supervisor for the

Salt Lake County Health Department

WHAT:          Release of a new report, “Orange is Not Your Color,” that documents the impact of voluntary home visiting programs for expectant and new mothers who live in poverty.

                        These programs bring trained nurses or other trained mentors into the women's homes to help them understand their children's emotional needs, make their homes safe for children, and respond appropriately to stressful parenting situations to reduce child abuse and neglect. The report documents the significant impact voluntary home visiting can have on reducing incarceration of women and their daughters.

                        Citing a 600 percent rise in the incarceration of women during the past

three decades, 65 Utah law enforcement leaders are among the more than 1,000 police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors have signed a letter urging Congress to renew the Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, which funds home visiting in Utah and around the nation.

WHERE:        Salt Lake City Public Safety Building, 475 S. 300 E., Salt Lake City

801 799 3000

WHEN:          Tuesday, December 2, 11 a.m.

FDA Issues Long-Awaited Menu Labeling Rules

Prominently posted calorie counts will soon be the norm around the nation at chain restaurants, movie theaters and supermarkets selling ready-to-go food. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) quietly issued final rules for calorie information on menu labels right before Thanksgiving. 

"No one will order Outback Steakhouse's 1,959-calorie Bloomin' Onion or a tub of 1,200 calories of popcorn unawares," says PHI's Dr. Lynn Silver, who helped author New York's model menu labeling rules in 2008.

Public Health Institute 

Bilingual tool launched to help uninsured get enrolled in health coverage

	Talk Health Insurance to Me
	RWJF has launched a bilingual advertising campaign to encourage key segments of the uninsured population to enroll in health coverage. The campaign, called Talk Health Insurance to Me, is designed to provide information on  quality, low-cost health insurance plans, financial help, and in-person assistance. Visit the campaign website >

Take the next step! Create your account at Healthcare.gov

Take the next step! Create your account You’re on your way to affordable health care coverage. Now, you just need to take the next step by creating your account on HealthCare.gov. Getting covered is cheaper than you think and you may even qualify for lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs. Remember: Act by December 15 and your new coverage can start as soon as January 1. Don’t wait. Take the next step and create your account. We're committed to making sure you get the quality, affordable health coverage you deserve. The HealthCare.gov Team

Enroll by December 15th and coverage can begin on January 1st, 2015. Don't let your friends or loved ones miss important dates & deadlines!

Turning 21? Here's How To Avoid A Big Hike In Health Premiums

For young people, turning 21 is generally a reason to celebrate.

If they're insured through the federal health insurance marketplace that operates in about three-dozen states, however, their birthday could mean a whopping 58 percent jump in their health insurance premium in 2015, according to an analysis by researchers at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Many 21-year-olds who qualify for premium subsidies will be able to sidestep the rate increase if they re-evaluate their coverage options on the federal marketplace before Feb. 15, when the annual open enrollment period ends.
If they don't, they'll generally be automatically renewed into the same plan and with the same premium tax credit they had in 2014.

Families with federal marketplace plans whose now 21-year-old children are covered as dependents will face a premium jump as well.

Under the health law, insurers can no longer base premiums on people's health or pre-existing medical conditions. Instead, insurers are permitted to apply just four premium rating factors in their calculations: age, where someone lives, how many people are going to be covered and whether someone uses tobacco.
The law also prohibits premiums for older adults from being more than three times higher than those for younger adults.

Because of age rating, premiums for most adults will rise slightly every year as they get older. But with children, it's different. Insurers apply the same age-rating factor to all children when computing their premiums. When people turn 21, however, the insurer begins to compute their premiums based on an adult age-rating factor, which results in that 58 percent premium increase.

Young people who go back to the marketplace to shop for a 2015 plan can generally avoid any age-related premium increases. They likely qualify for premium tax credits that are available to people with incomes between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($11,670 to $46,680 for an individual). If they return to the marketplace, their premium tax credit will be adjusted to cover the higher age-related premium for their 2015 coverage.


"We've been encouraging everyone to update their profiles on HealthCare.gov so they can ensure that they have a tax credit that reflects what they should be getting," says Jen Mishory, executive director at Young Invincibles, an advocacy group for young people.

npr.org and Kaiser Health News

Open Enrollment 2015 has begun!

View in browser | This newsletter created and distributed by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Official Notice: Open Enrollment 2015 has begun Enroll in a 2015 health plan! Find a quality health insurance plan that meets your needs and fits your budget. Take a moment to review your options for 2015 and see if you qualify for help with costs. You may be eligible for $0 or low-cost health coverage. Remember: Enroll by December 15th so your coverage will start on January 1, 2015. We want to make sure you #GetCovered, so enroll today to get the quality coverage you deserve. The HealthCare.gov Team

Spread the word! Open Enrollment runs from Nov 15th to Feb 15th

Webinar - Focusing on Education Outcomes to Improve Health Equity

You are invited to a webinar hosted by the Federal Interagency Health Equity Team. A decade ago, Spokane public schools’ graduation rate was less than 60%. The same year, Eastern Washington University’s Policy Department started an initiative to compile data in the sectors of health, education, economic vitality, public safety, and environment in Spokane County. Community leaders recognized the data’s utility for identifying challenges, measuring change, and prioritizing actions to maximize impact in the community. With this vision in mind, Priority Spokane was launched as a collaborative organization to fostering measurable improvements across sectors. Their work demonstrates the importance of recognizing education as a social determinant of health, and how addressing the education needs of a community is a critical step in promoting health equity. In this webinar, speakers will discuss the structure of Priority Spokane as well as the strategies, resources and tools implemented through the Promote Spokane to promote equity in education and health. TOPIC: Priority Spokane: Focusing on Education Outcomes to Improve Health Equity SPEAKERS:    Lyndia Wilson, MS, Division Director, Disease Prevention and Response, Spokane Regional Health District   Gloria Ochoa, JD, Director of Local Government and Multi-Cultural Affairs, City of Spokane  DATE: December 3, 2014 TIME: 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. EST

Register Here*: http://tinyurl.com/FIHETWEBINARSERIES  Click Here for Full Abstract and Speaker Biographies: http://tinyurl.com/PrioritySpokane  The Federal Interagency Health Equity Team (FIHET) is a group of 12 federal agencies convened under the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA). The NPA is a national movement with the mission to improve the effectiveness of programs that target the elimination of health disparities through coordination of leaders, partners, and stakeholders that are committed to action. The FIHET provides a forum for federal agencies to increase dialog between traditionally siloed programs in ways that enhance cross-agency coordination, maximally leverage existing resources, and increase the impact of federal resources on conditions within communities. *If the registration link does not work, please copy the entire link and paste it into your web browser. For webinar-specific or technical questions, contact the moderator at enoyes@explorepsa.com.