Highlights of Our Recent Activities and Accomplishments
SUBJECTS COVERED
Supreme Court Health Reform Ruling
Want to learn more about NHeLP, our work, successes and challenges ahead? Watch NHeLP executive director Emily Spitzer's new videos at the Arnold Foundation's Giving Library, available here.
Supreme Court Health Reform Ruling
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), NHeLP engaged in extensive and aggressive legal advocacy and provided significant support to state and national advocates working to implement Medicaid Expansions across the country. NHeLP ramped up efforts to support advocates with weekly strategy calls. In addition, NHeLP staff trained and presented at a number of events, including a webinar by the American Public Health Association, which was attended by over 3,800 public health practitioners; the Center for Children and Families annual conference; the Low Income Access Coalition; Raising Women's Voices for the Health Care We Need; and Black Women for Wellness.
NHeLP launched a new one-stop online resource center that provides up-to-date information about ACA litigation, national developments, and state specific resources. Click here to access the new Medicaid Expansion Toolbox.
NHeLP broke down the ACA decision and what it means for the Medicaid program and answered a number of common questions about the decision in a series of publications including:
- August Health Advocate: What Does the Supreme Court's Decision on Medicaid Mean?
- Factsheet: The Supreme Court's ACA Decision & Its Implications for Medicaid
- Q&A: The Supreme Court's Decision on the ACA's Medicaid Expansion
- NHeLP/APHA/The Network for Public Health Law: The Supreme Court's ACA Decision & Its Implications for Medicaid
- Factsheet: Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments and the Medicaid Expansion
- NHeLP/WCLP Factsheet: The Impact of the Supreme Court ACA Decision on the Medi-Cal Program
NHeLP produced a series of documents designed to furnish state and national advocates with concrete reasons the Medicaid Expansion benefits women,helps combat health disparities, and supports women with HIV. In addition, NHeLP recently published a set of easy to reference factsheets including 50 Reasons Medicaid Expansion Is Good for Your State and 10 Advocacy Steps to Support A Medicaid Expansion In Your State. Together, these resources paint a crisp picture of just how critical Medicaid is to the nation's health and well-being.
NHeLP's Jane Perkins was featured on Eliot Spitzer's Viewpoint where she discussed the impact of the Court's decision in terms of the number of uninsured and the financial toll if states refuse to expand their Medicaid programs. The Medicaid Expansion is critical to addressing the nation's high levels of uninsurance and will provide quality care to millions who would otherwise not be able to afford care. Watch the interview here.
Health Reform Implementation
NHeLP submitted comments on a number of ACA implementation regulations and guidances to ensure that health reform meets the needs of low-income and underserved individuals. NHeLP's comments address a wide range of topics including eligibility and enrollment, programs for older adults and persons with disabilities, and provider reimbursement issues.
- NHeLP Comments to MAGI Conversion Guidance
- NHeLP Comments on § 1915(i) State Plan HCBS and Integrated Settings
- NHeLP Comments on EHB Data Collection & Accreditation of QHP Issuers
- NHeLP Comments to CMS on Guidance on Federal Exchanges and Draft Blueprint for State-based Exchanges
- NHeLP Comments to Primary Care Provider Payment Boost Proposed Regulation
NHeLP also submitted detailed comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the recently released proposed data set for the single streamlined application that will be used for enrollment in the Exchanges, Insurance Affordability Programs, CHIP and Medicaid in 2014. The streamlined application will be critical to creating a seamless eligibility process and ensuring that individuals and families can apply for the coverage they are eligible for. Read the application comments here. Read all of NHeLP's previous ACA implementation comment letters here.
NHeLP, in collaboration with the Health Consumer Alliance, submitted comments to the California Health Benefits Exchange Board on the requirements that should be in place for Qualified Health Plans that will be serving millions of uninsured individuals in 2014. The comments also address the need for women to have access to comprehensive health services, including abortion. Read the comments here.
NHeLP's California office presented to the California Department of Health Care Services Stakeholder Advisory Committee on an advocate's perspective on the Medicaid benchmark in California and what the benefit should cover. Kim Lewis, managing attorney of NHeLP's Los Angeles office, was appointed as a member of that committee in May 2012. View the presentation here.
Reproductive Health
NHeLP continued to provide analysis and education on the ACA's women's preventive services requirements which took effect August 1st. NHeLP distributed a Q&A explaining the details of the contraceptive coverage requirement; it garnered tremendous attention and was cited by Media Matters. NHeLP also published a more extensive issue brief detailing how contraception is covered in the Exchanges and traditional Medicaid and will be covered for individuals newly eligible for Medicaid in 2014. In addition, NHeLP's Erin Armstrong authored a blog post on the Public Health Law Network Blog describing the importance of these newly covered preventive services.
The ACA's women's preventive services requirements, and in particular the contraceptive coverage requirements, continue to generate attention from opponents who are attempting to roll back the clock on women's health. NHeLP is actively engaged in preserving these critical services. Read NHeLP's July Health Advocate: Health Care Refusals and the ACA - What's Next? for an overview on how refusal clauses threaten women's access to essential health care.
NHeLP's Susan Berke Fogel and Tracy A. Weitz from the University of California San Francisco authored a paper on health care refusals and the ACA: The Limits and Potential of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in Promoting Women's Health.
On the administrative front, NHeLP submitted comments to the Department of Health and Human Services on the ACA's contraceptive requirement urging the Department to limit the ability of religiously-affiliated employers to deny their employees access to contraception. The recently released proposed rule considers "accommodations" that could allow certain religiously-affiliated non-profit employers and universities to refuse to comply with the women's preventive health services requirements. NHeLP opposes these accommodations as they would undermine the ACA and the health and autonomy of affected women.
NHeLP made eight presentations on critical issues related to reproductive health, including one for North Carolina policy makers on the obstacles and opportunities for health reform implementation and the Medicaid Expansion; one to the Los Angeles Unified School district on the California Pregnant and Parenting Youth Guide; one at the National Council of Jewish Women on what the ACA means for women's health in California; a series of presentations at the Law Students for Reproductive Justice National Leadership Institute; and a series of presentations for state advocates working to include abortion coverage in their state Exchanges.
Medicaid Defense
Between the upcoming elections and continuing budget and deficit debates, Medicaid financing continues to garner attention. NHeLP published a new factsheet Medicaid Block Grants = Devastating Cuts to Health Care that breaks down the real impact block grants would have on the Medicaid program. In addition, NHeLP's executive director Emily Spitzer published anew Huffington Post blog piece that provides a fact-driven description of the Medicaid program, what it does, and why it is important.
NHeLP in the News
The Huffington Post featured a blog post by Emily Spitzer, Ripping Up the Social Contract In Tampa, August 31, 2012. Read the blog post here.
California Progress Report quoted Susan Berke Fogel, Health Care Reform in California, August 30, 2012. Read the article here.
Inside Health Policy quoted Michelle Lilienfeld, States Eye Small Group Plans to Define Essential Benefits As Selection Deadline Nears, August 24, 2012.
The Huffington Post featured a blog by Emily Spitzer, August 1, 2012: A Milestone for American Women, August 1, 2012. Read the blog post here.
Buffalo News referenced NHeLP in Scanning of Medicaid Consumers Urged, July 31, 2012.
National Journal quoted Sarah Somers, Bending But Not Breaking on Medicaid, July 19, 2012. Read the article here.
American Public Media interviewed Mara Youdelman on language access and medical interpreters, July 11, 2012. Listen to the interview here.
The Huffington Post quoted Leo Cuello, Pedro Hermenegildo, Uninsured Texas Man, Claims Doctor Botched Hernia Surgery, July 6, 2012. Read the article here.
Congressional Quarterly Weekly quoted Jane Perkins, Medicaid Expansion: 'Opt Out' Dilemma, June 30, 2012.
States News Service quoted Jane Perkins, The Supreme Court Ruling and Seniors: Day Two Follow Up, June 29, 2012.
The Network for Public Health Law published NHeLP's blog post, The Affordable Care Act and the Supreme Court Decision, June 29, 2012. Read the article here.
Inside CMS quoted Leo Cuello, Poorest Would Not Get Help Buying Private Insurance, June 28, 2012.
Congressional Quarterly Healthbeat quoted Jane Perkins, States With Largest Uninsured Populations May Be More Likely to Opt Out of Medicaid, June 28, 2012.
Congressional Quarterly Today quoted Jane Perkins, Poorer States May Decide Against Medicaid Expansion, June 28, 2012.
Radio Bilingue interviewed Leo Cuello, on the recent Supreme Court decision on health reform, June 28, 2012. Listen to the interview here. (Spanish only).
Inside Health Policy quoted Leo Cuello, Poorest Would Not Get Help Buying Insurance In States That Do Not Expand Medicaid, June 28, 2012. Read the article here.
The Telegraph quoted Mara Youdelman, Language Barriers Hamper Patients, Providers, June 10, 2012.