NNED Forums

Powerpoints, Resources and Webinar Recording

2009-07-13T18:34:29-10:00

Attached are powerpoints for the 7-14-09 Forum call.

To re-watch the webinar click here.

On-line training resources

2010-06-25T20:57:17-10:00

This file contains information on on-line training resources related to cultural and linguistic competence related to health and behavioral health.

Telehealth Funding Opportunities

2010-05-19T11:58:14-10:00

June 14 -- Telehealth Network Grant Program: The purpose of TNGP is to demonstrate how telehealth programs and networks can improve access to quality health care services in underserved rural and urban communities. TNGP networks are used to: (a) expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of health care services; (b) improve and expand the training of health care providers; and/or (c) expand and improve the quality of health information available to health care providers, patients, and their families. Applications are due June 14, 2010. For more information click here.

June 15 -- Telehealth Resource Center Grant Program: The purpose of TRCGP is to support the establishment and development of Telehealth Resource Centers (TRCs). The Centers are to be an impartial, independent source of technical assistance to health care organizations, health care networks, and health care providers in the implementation of cost-effective telehealth programs to serve rural and medically underserved areas and populations. For more information click here.

Forum Call Resources

2010-05-19T06:06:17-10:00

To download Part 1 of the presentation slides click here. To download Part 2 of the presentation slides click here.

To view the UTMB Telehealth Center website click here.

To view the Telemental Health Guide website developed by the University of Colorado Denver and SAMHSA click here. An updated version of this website will be available in a few weeks.

To view the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) website click here.

A recording of the Forum Call will be available next week.

Medical Disparities May Worsen With Pay-For-Performance Programs

2010-05-10T12:58:21-10:00

"Rewarding primary care physicians for providing better care to patients could end up widening medical disparities experienced by poorer people and those belonging to racial and ethnic minorities, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Researchers found that under a typical pay-for-performance program medical practices that serve vulnerable populations would likely receive lower payments than other practices, a result of existing gaps in the quality of health care received by patients in these groups.

The finding suggests that pay-for-performance programs could divert resources away from medically needy communities, further eroding the quality of medical care rather than driving improved quality."

To read the full article from Medical News Today click here.

Disparities Provision Implementation Information and Timeline

2010-05-10T13:01:45-10:00

Some of the proposed regulations for the new health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act, are starting to be released and more will continue to be released and implemented throughout the year and until 2015. To help you with your implementation efforts around the health equity provisions, Daniel Dawes of the Premier Healthcare Alliance has produced two charts on these provisions in the health reform law.

* This chart describes each provision and includes a section on funding levels and the expected dates for
implementation of these provisions. To download the chart click here.

* This chart outlines the implementation timeline for the provisions that focus on disparities. To download
the chart click here.

Any organization wishing to help eliminate disparities in health and behavioral health in their communities will find these charts beneficial.

Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum Health Care Reform Resource Center

2010-05-07T09:04:14-10:00

The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum's Health Care Reform Resource Center sheds light on how the over 2,400 pages of health care reform legislation affects Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.

Visit the Health Care Resource Center by clicking here.

This Resource Center includes:

*The Impact of Health Care Reform: An assessment of how health care reform improves access, affordability, and quality of health care for our communities, as well as what improvements we still need.

*Health Care Reform Implementation Timeline: Breaks down by year when key health care reform provisions for our communities will take effect.

*Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Answers common questions related to health care reform legislation.

APIAHF will continue to update the Resource Center with additional analyses of health care reform as it affects different segments of our communities.

Please continue to check the Health Care Reform Resource Center for new information, and feel free to email us at hcr at apiahf dot org with suggestions, comments or questions.

Also, if you missed APIAHF's webinar on "How Health Care Reform Will Impact Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Communities," please click here to view it.

Black Americans Look to Health Plan for New Hope

2010-05-07T09:01:58-10:00

The Kaiser Family Foundation Reports:

As black Americans disproportionately suffer from conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes, and roughly 20% lack health insurance, some blacks are looking to the new health care law to reduce many of the health disparities that they face, NPR reports.

“One of the things I've seen as part of the health disparities,” said Donna Thompson, CEO of the Access Network, “is that for many people, they think, ‘If my grandmother died from the results of diabetes, that's probably going to be my legacy also.’ So, there's a huge opportunity with the health care bill” to persuade people to actually get treatment.”
With the health care overhaul expected to insure 32 million currently uninsured individuals, allowing for an opportunity to address chronic disease and focus on preventive care, many, including Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) who recently held a forum to explain benefits of the bill, view the health care overhaul as a civil rights victory. “I was there in spirit to witness a president who with the stroke of his pen freed more people from 'health carelessness' than Abraham Lincoln freed from slavery,” Jackson said.

Not all believe, however, that the legislation has the ability to eliminate racial disparities. Claudia Fegan, a doctor at the Woodlawn Health Center, a public clinic in Chicago, believes that because millions of individuals will remain uninsured with the new health care law, the system won’t be fair. “There'll be people who have private insurance, there'll be people who have the public program, and there'll be people who are uninsured…As long as we have that multitiered system, we will perpetuate the disparities which people of color suffer more than anyone else” (Corley, 4/22).

To read the full NPR story click here.

Publication: Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities - Key Health Equity Provisions

2010-05-07T08:59:22-10:00

Families USA’s latest issue brief, Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Key Health Equity Provisions, discusses how health reform will improve language access and cultural competence, support community health centers, strengthen the federal Office of Minority Health, increase workforce diversity, and reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.

To download the publication click here.[b/]

RWJF Web Portal Explains Health Care Provisions

2010-05-07T08:56:29-10:00
Implementing the recently passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (H. R. 3590) will be a complex process for numerous stakeholders. In order to make this process easier, the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have launched Health Reform GPS, a comprehensive Web portal that offers users the information and insights needed to cover, analyze and implement this new law.

Health Reform GPS provides policy-makers as well as journalists, researchers, policy analysts and health reform stakeholders comprehensive information about all phases of the law and the process of implementation. The portal offers regularly posted short essays, called “Health Reform Implementation Notes,” that explain the changes made by the law, provide background about the act, describe the federal implementation process and timetable, and identify the questions and challenges policy-makers will be grappling with in the months ahead. Once posted, health policy experts and the public are invited to comment.

The portal also offers an online “library,” consisting of resources such as federal agency regulations and guidelines, analyses and studies, and other materials from key stakeholders. In addition, the site will offer a health reform glossary of terms and will be searchable through a topical index.

To access the portal click here.