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Health Care Unscrambled 2016

Thank you for making Health Care Unscrambled 2016 a success! If you weren’t able to attend last week’s Health Care Unscrambled, don’t worry! We’ve pulled together the highlights.

Whether we are giving a dental care or a full mouth restoration, we use the best technology and tools in the industry. Our partner Martindale dental is committed to providing an exceptional level of customer service. Our dental team provides caring, comprehensive treatment with an emphasis on preventative dental care, and the use of products from sensitivity toothpaste to the teeth whitening kits used by denstists.

Health Care Unscrambled in the news

Andy Miller, Georgia Health News

 

“Support for a higher cigarette tax, and for the emerging trend of ambulance crews treating people in their homes rather than in ERs were two areas of general unanimity on the panel, at an event sponsored by the group Georgians for a Healthy Future. But as expected, there was sharp division among the four legislators on the panel when it came to the issue of expanding the state’s Medicaid program….” Read More.

 

Regina Willis, Atlanta Progressive News
” ‘One of the biggest concerns I have is our rural hospitals…. I have personally seen what happened when some of my friends in Dooly County, when their hospital closed; here is some advice on how to whiten teeth in the comfort of your own home, directly recommended by one of the best Chandler dentist if not the best one. I had friends who worked for the Sedation Dentistry Provider there, doctors, nurses and so forth,” State Sen. Greg Kirk (R-Americus) said during a recent panel…” Read More.

Pictures, videos, & more

12496026_10153463293267861_1666740753110048770_oWe had a great (lookin’) crowd at Health Care Unscrambled this year! Check out our Facebook album to see if you made any of the photos!
The Twitter conversation was as lively as the panel discussions! You can find theStorify from the event here.

Humidification is pretty standard these days. No, you don’t have to have humidification, but it makes CPAP Machineo much more comfortable to use warm and moist air than cool dry air.

Lee_Hawkins_ThumbnailRep. Hawins on the importance of consumer health literacy

 

debbie_buckner_thumbnailRep. Buckner on her health care policy priorities

 

Greg_Kirk_ThumbnailRep. Kirk on the  importance of rural hospitals

 

Lynn_Quincy_thumbnailPresentation – Lynn Quincy, Consumers UnionLynn Quincy on health value

 


Presentations and event materials 

  • Health Advocate’s Guide to the 2016 Legislative Session
  • Health Care Unscrambled 2016 Program
  • Fact Sheet – A Networking & Resource Center for Advocates Working for Better Value in Health Care: Health Care Value Hub
  • Fact Sheet – A Framework for Thinking about Health Care Value Strategies
  • Presentation – Sue Polis, Trust for America’s Health
  • Presentation – Lynn Quincy, Consumers Union

Event Sponsors

Champion

Hemophilia of Georgia

Advocate

Easter Seals Southern Georgia
Harry Heiman & Abby Friedman
Polsinelli, P.C.

Ally

Alston & Bird
Insure GA
Jeremy Burnette
Susan Kupferberg & Richard Mitchell
Robert & Amy Arogeti
Xerox

 

Supporter

 

Alan Levow
The Columbus Organization
CEU Concepts
Cindy Zeldin & Doug Busk
Georgia Academy of Family Physicians
Georgia Council on Substance Abuse
Georgia Equality
Grady Health Foundation
Hayslett Group
Ilene Engel
Kennedy Center for Mental Health Policy and Research at Morehouse School of Medicine
Lois & Larry Frank
The Mabra Firm
Medical Association of Georgia
Mercer College of Health Professions
Nelson Mullins

 

Host

 

Albany ARC
Aliyya Haque
American Academy of Pediatrics, Georgia Chapter
American College of Physicians, Georgia Chapter
Jay & Jackie Berkelhamer
Allyson Burroughs
Sylvia Caley
Dekalb Medical Center
Representative Stacey Evans
GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students
Georgia Budget & Policy Institute
Georgia Charitable Care Network
Georgia’s AllStar Dental Academy and  Dental Hygienists’ Association
Georgia WAND
Georgia Watch
Jewish Community Relations Council of Atlanta
Julie Edelson
Linda Lowe
Dante McKay
Memorial Health
Planned Parenthood Southeast
Monica Ponder
Shepherd Center
Lewis & Joanie Shubin
Andy & Maura George Simpson
Marci Thomas
UGA College of Public Health
United Way of Greater Atlanta
Voices for Georgia’s Children

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Study committee work has finished, reports trickle in

Georgia legislative study committees meet during the off-session to take a deeper dive into specific policy issues and develop strategies for the legislature to address them. Each committee produces a report on its findings and recommendations that they want to move forward in the next legislative session. Click here for a complete listing of House and Senate study committees.  GHF has been following and participating in the study committees focused on health issues impacting consumers. Below is a run-down of committees that have published their reports, the issues they investigated, and report recommendations.

Senate Study Committee on the Consumer and Provider Protection Act (SR 561)

In light of changing practices and norms in the insurance market Senate Bill 158, the Consumer and Provider Protection Act, was introduced in 2015. This bill outlined provisions for consumer and provider protections regarding health insurance and created the Senate Study Committee on the Consumer and Provider Protection Act. The aim of this committee was to understand how the current insurance environment affects the stability of providers and consumers’ access to care. The committee members included legislators and representatives from the provider, insurer, and consumer communities, including GHF’s Executive Director Cindy Zeldin as the consumer representative.

Committee recommendations include the following:

  • Rental networksWhen insurers create networks for health plans, they contract with providers who agree to offer services at discounted rates. Rental networks are created when the same insurer “rents out” or sells access to network providers, at a different discounted rate, to other payers (e.g. insurers, third party payers, employers). Oftentimes this is done without provider’s consent, so a provider may unknowingly treat someone who is part of the rental network and have to accept a different payment amount. The committee agreed that transparency for both consumers and providers can be improved by including a more complete definition of “rental networks” in Georgia Code and further defining the Georgia Department of Insurance’s regulatory authority in this area.
  • Provider contracting- The committee agreed that more discussions need to take place in two areas surrounding how insurers contract with providers. First, insurers are allowed to change the terms of a contract with a provider, at any point, without the provider’s consent. Second, providers argue that some insurers include all-product clauses in contracts, which means a provider has to participate in all plans offered by the insurer or none.
  • Health provider network adequacy- As you may have read in the November Peach Pulse, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has put together a model act to address network adequacy. The committee recommended convening a multi-stakeholder group to review the Model Act to determine whether Georgia should consider adopting some of the Model Act’s measures and if we need additional legislation and regulation in these areas to protect and provide an appropriate level of access to care for consumers in the future.

GHF has identified network adequacy and the need for more accurate and user-friendly provider directories as important, emerging consumer issues. We support the setting and enforcement of network adequacy standards for all health plans in Georgia. As the multi-stakeholder group looks into these issues further, GHF will continue to add the consumer voice to the dialogue to keep consumer priorities at the forefront of the minds of decision-makers.

Senate Study Committee on Youth Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Mental Health Substance Use Disorders (SR 487)

The committee was charged with identifying prevention and screening approaches for youth substance use disorders (SUD) and examining issues around the diagnosis rate of youth attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The committee made recommendations in the following five areas:

  • Behavioral therapy- Behavioral therapy should be the first line of treatment for ADHD in young children and be required treatment for any child under six who has a diagnosis and receives medication.
  • School workforce- Georgia must increase efforts to reduce student-behavioral health personnel ratios in schools and maximize resources available to students.
  • Clubhouse Services Provided by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD)- The committee supports the clubhouse programs that provide a place for youth to go for substance use recovery support. The committee recommended increasing state funding for them, as well as creating additional clubhouse sites across the state.
  • SBIRT: Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment- While the Committee supports SBIRT programs and training in the state, currently Medicaid does not bill for services, so the Committee will continue to monitor states that have recently activated Medicaid codes for SBIRT.
  • School-Based Health Clinics- The Committee plans to monitor and share findings with Georgia’s CMOs and the House Study Committee on School-Based Health Centers (see below for committee summary), to potentially convene a joint study on the issue in 2016

GHF appreciates the Committee’s special focus on SBIRT and has been working over the past two years with the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse to raise awareness about the promise of taking a public health approach to substance use disorders that focuses on prevention through screening. GHF will continue to advocate for the activation of Medicaid codes to bill for SBIRT services because it is an effective approach to reducing youth substance use disorders and creating a bright future for our youth.

Senate Study Committee on Women’s Adequate Healthcare (SR 560)

The focus of the Senate Study Committee on Women’s Adequate Healthcare was on the current condition of women’s healthcare in Georgia, areas with existing deficits, and the growing number of women who are at risk of unhealthy outcomes. Here are some of the Committee’s recommendations:

  • The Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee and the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) State Registry are important initiatives that the Committee strongly supports.
  • Strategies for funding and development (e.g. loan forgiveness, tax credits, increasing GME residency slots, etc) for health care providers that serve women across the state should be increased.
  • The Committee will continue to monitor the status of the Rural Hospital Stabilization Pilot Program to inform future opportunities for patient-centered medical homes and increase the use of telemedicine.
  • Continue state funding to Elder Abuse Investigations and Prevention under DHS and the Cancer State Aid Program for FY 2016.

House Study Committee on School Based Health Centers (HR 640)

The intent of the committee was to provide recommendations on how to establish school-based health centers in communities to ensure students are healthy and achieve academic success. Committee members looked at the associations between health and education and ways in which school based health centers can be leveraged to increase access, provide affordable care, and produce cost savings. I am giving my children focus supplements and it has really helped a lot with their grades. Key committee recommendations include the following:

  • Steps to establish a SBHC should include three stages: planning, implementation, and sustainability.
  • Telemedicine is an important element, especially in rural areas and is most effective when integrated into a healthcare system that is capable of delivering comprehensive services. State-wide investments should be made to increase use of telemedicine for systems of care and expanding the scope of practice for on-site providers who can be authorized to deliver services.
  • Lake Forest Elementary School (Fulton County) and Albany Area Primary Health Care at Turner Elementary are models that have been successfully implemented.

The legislative session begins January 11th and many of these recommendations will be moving forward in the form of bills, policy changes within state agencies and through additional study committees. GHF will continue to follow these issues and keep you posted on progress and advocacy opportunities to get involved. Stay tuned!


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Study committees conclude their work

Meredith-and-Claire-11.15-300x225Several health-related study committees met during the summer and fall months, and most of them are wrapping up their work. The Consumer and Provider Protection Act Study Committee held its final open meeting in November with a focus on network adequacy and provider directories. Claire McAndrew from Families USA, a national consumer health advocacy organization, and Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Health Policy Analyst Meredith Gonsahn delivered testimony on the importance of setting network adequacy standards and ensuring provider directory accuracy and usability. Look out for a final report from the committee later in December!


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Can newly covered Georgians access the care they need?

DSC_0912 (2)

Commentary from Cindy Zeldin, Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Executive Director

 

The nation’s uninsured rate has plummeted over the past year and a half. Here in Georgia, more than 400,000 people have enrolled in health insurance, bringing our state’s uninsured rate down to 15 percent. While there is still much work to be done to ensure that all Georgians have a pathway to coverage (like expanding Medicaid), it’s also important to make sure that those who are newly covered are able to access needed health care services.

 

Are newly insured Georgians accessing the care they need? For the most part, the answer seems to be yes. The early evidence shows that most people who signed up for health insurance have been able to find a doctor with relative ease and get an appointment for primary care within a week or two.

 

This is a development worth celebrating, but there are also some warning signs on the horizon that policymakers should heed: according to a recent study by the University of Pennsylvania, Georgia had the highest percentage of health plans utilizing “narrow networks” of providers. In addition, reports of provider directory inaccuracies and networks too skinny to deliver all of the services in a plan’s benefit package have started to emerge.

 

Narrow networks offer a limited choice of providers in exchange for a lower premium. While many Georgians are willing to make this trade-off, others need a broader network to meet their health needs. And everyone deserves the tools and information to make that choice and to know that they can access services for all covered benefits.

 

Health care consumers now have access to standardized information about premiums, benefits, deductibles, and other health plan features that make it easier to pick the right plan. Yet provider network size and composition remain a black box for consumers, holding them back from making the best, most informed decision they can. Combined with a rapid trend toward narrow networks, this could put some consumers at risk of not being able to access all of the providers and services they need (or at risk for high medical bills if they have to go out-of-network).

 

 

Cindy Study Committee 9.15

These trends are being examined as part of the Senate Study Committee on the Consumer and Provider Protection Act (SR 561). I was honored to be appointed to this committee to represent Georgians for a Healthy Future and to bring the consumer perspective to the committee. The committee’s third meeting, slated for the morning of November 9th at the State Capitol, will focus on network adequacy, or whether there are adequate standards in place to ensure that consumers enrolled in a health plan have reasonable access to all covered services in the plan.

 

As a committee member, it is my goal to make sure the voices and needs of consumers are heard and considered. It is becoming clear that consumers don’t yet have 1) access to all of the information they need to select a health plan that best meets their needs and 2) protections that ensure their health plan will provide timely and meaningful access to all covered services. Fortunately, these are problems we can address.

 

I will be supporting enhancements to provider directories that give consumers the information they need and deserve (such as enhanced search functionality and a simple way to report inaccuracies) as well as network adequacy standards for Georgia that ensure no insured Georgian has to travel an unreasonably long distance or wait an excessive amount of time to access the care they need. I’ve also learned a great deal about this issue by watching the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s work in this area, and was happy to sign on in support of the policy recommendations around network adequacy that the NAIC’s consumer representatives issued last year.

 

I am excited about this opportunity to make our health system work better, and GHF will keep you posted on new developments. If you’re interested in providing testimony to the committee, please let us know and we can forward your request to Senator Burke, who chairs the study committee.


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Legislative study committees underway

 

The pre-game to the 2016 Georgia legislative session kicked off with the convening of House and Senate study committees last week. Study committees meet during the off-session to take a deeper dive into specific policy issues that may arise when the session gets underway. Each committee will produce a report on its findings and recommendations by the end of the year and potentially introduce legislation during the 2016 session. Click here for a complete listing of House and Senate study committees.

GHF is following and participating in health-related study committees that directly impact consumers. Here’s what you need to know.

Senate Study Committee on the Consumer and Provider Protection Act (SR 561)

In light of changing practices and norms in the insurance market Senate Bill 158 the Consumer and Provider Protection Act was introduced in 2015. This bill outlined provisions for consumer and provider protections regarding health insurance and created the Senate Study Committee on the Consumer and Provider Protection Act. The aim of this committee is to understand how the current insurance environment is affecting the stability of providers and consumers’ access to care. The committee consists of legislators and representatives from the provider, insurer, and consumer communities, including GHF’s Executive Director Cindy Zeldin as the consumer representative. The committee plans to examine the operations of rental networks, contractual issues between insurers and providers, and network adequacy.

 

The first meeting of this committee was held on September 14th at the State Capitol and focused on “rental networks,” also known as silent PPOs. The committee heard testimony from physician and insurer groups as well as from the Department of Insurance. Rental networks occur when third-party entities “rent out” physician-insurer negotiated rates to other payers. The second study committee meeting is scheduled for October 26th at Tift Regional Health System in Tifton and will focus on “all-products clauses” and provider stability issues. The committee will then be back at the State Capitol on November 9th for a meeting focusing on network adequacy and provider directories.

 

Georgians for a Healthy Future has identified network adequacy and the need for more accurate and user-friendly provider directories as important, emerging consumer issues. Network adequacy refers to a health plan’s ability to deliver the benefits promised by providing reasonable access to a sufficient number of in-network primary care and specialty physicians, as well as all and other health care services an insurer guarantees to provide.  GHF will present recommendations on meaningful standards to measure and ensure that provider networks are adequate, as well as how to design provider directories effectively for consumer use. If you are interested in providing testimony or input to this committee, please contact Senator Burke, the study committee chair. Please also let GHF know if these issues have emerged for communities or populations you serve so we can provide the strongest and most informed consumer voice we can on the committee.

 

 

 

Senate Study Committee on Youth Mental Health Substance Use Disorders (SR 487)

The first meeting of the Senate Study Committee on Youth Mental Health Substance Use Disorders convened last week at the State Capitol. The committee is charged with examining prevention strategies and identifying promising approaches to address youth Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Substance Use Disorders (SUD). The first meeting included overview presentations from representatives of the Department of Education, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and Georgia Council on Substance Abuse (GCSA). The next meeting on October 7th will focus on ADHD and the meeting following that, on October 22nd, will delve into substance use disorders. Georgians for a Healthy Future has been working over the past two years with the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse to raise awareness about the promise of taking a public health approach to substance use disorders that focuses on prevention. We are teaming up with GCSA to host a lunch-time policy forum and discussion on this approach on October 22nd at the Loudermilk Center prior to the study committee’s meeting later that afternoon. Please save the date and we’ll send more details soon. If you are interested in testifying at the October 22nd study committee meeting to talk about prevention, please let Senator Unterman’s office know (you can also reach out to GHF and we can try to pass along your request).

 

 

Senate Study Committee on Women’s Adequate Healthcare (SR 560)

The Senate Study Committee on Women’s Adequate Healthcare met to discuss the current condition of women’s healthcare in Georgia, areas with existing deficits, and the growing number of women who are at risk of unhealthy outcomes. The Department of Public Health, Department of Human Services and Georgia Obstetrical and Gynecology Society along with Dr. Daniel G. Becker and Dr. Scheinberg vaginal rejuvenation surgeon presented data and information on areas in which women’s health is in high risk and he being one of the top cosmetic surgeon make this data matters, although some women don’t like surgery and prefer to use other products as analbleachingblueprint.com/vaginal-lightening-cream for this, the policy options to move the needle in the right direction on major health indicators. The next meeting will be health on October 6, 2015, from 9am- 2pm, at Georgia Regents University in Augusta.

 

House Study Committee on School Based Health Centers (HR 640)

Committee members for the House Study Committee on School Based Health Centers met to explore the associations between health and education and ways in which school based health centers can be leveraged to increase access, provide affordable care, and produce cost savings. The committee heard from Voices for Georgia’s Children, the Partnership for Equity and Child Mental Health, and the Global Partnership for Telehealth on the details of the relationship between health and education outcomes. The committee tentatively scheduled the next meeting for September 29th and two additional meetings to follow.


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Conversation on coverage needed

This column was authored by Cindy Zeldin, Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Executive Director, and originally appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on September 28th, 2015.

 

Earlier this month, the Georgia Department of Community Health announced that it had abandoned plans — at least for now — to seek flexibility in Georgia’s Medicaid program to allow for expanded coverage and an innovative delivery-of-care model for the patient populations served by Grady Health System in Atlanta and Memorial Health in Savannah.

 

 

While this pilot program would have been fairly limited, it was designed with the changing health care landscape in mind and in the spirit of making the health system work better for patients. The proposal relied on an integrated care model with primary care medical homes, care coordination, data sharing and a focus on prevention. The costs to the state would have been nominal — negligible, even — as Grady offered to foot the bill. That this effort is not moving forward is a disappointment, but it should not be a conversation-ender.

 

 

For years, the nation’s uninsured rate appeared stuck at a stubbornly high level. This had implications for individuals and families who couldn’t access the care they needed, for communities and health systems that experienced spillover effects, and for overall health and productivity. Over the past year and a half, the tide has turned. The uninsured rate has steadily declined, and in some states it has plummeted to less than 5 percent.

 

 

It is a time of tremendous change in health care, yet this change is being felt unevenly. According to a recent Gallup-Healthways survey, states that both established their own health exchange (or a partnership exchange) and expanded Medicaid saw greater declines in their uninsured rates than states that did neither. States that viewed the changing health care landscape as an opportunity, and the Affordable Care Act as a toolbox, to improve coverage saw far better results than those who did not.

 

 

Many states taking this “opportunity and toolbox” approach are now building on the foundation of high coverage rates to invest in prevention, improve access to care and enhance value for consumers, often in collaboration with local health care stakeholders.

 

 

Kentucky, for example, has reduced its uninsured rate from over 20 percent to 9 percent since 2013. Combined with an intentional focus on prevention, this has translated to a more-than doubling of the number of screenings for breast, cervical and colon cancer and of dental and physical exams. Other states like Oregon are developing initiatives to contain costs, improve quality and achieve better price transparency for consumers.

 

 

Of course, not every promising initiative will be a smashing success, but the pace of innovation and advancement is historic for American health policy. Here in Georgia, approximately 500,000 people enrolled in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, an exciting development that has helped bring our state’s uninsured rate down to just above 15 percent. In normal times, with all else being equal, this would be extraordinary.

 

 

And while this achievement is transformative for the people and communities impacted, these are not normal times for the health system. Georgia’s uninsured rate remains among the nation’s highest, and our health outcomes, among the nation’s poorest. Without a more deliberate focus on coverage, access, value and outcomes, Georgia risks falling further behind other parts of the country. We cannot continue to do less with less.

 

 

The demise of the Grady experiment, while a disappointment, should be a conversation starter about moving Georgia towards an “opportunity and toolbox” mindset. To date, our state has stayed on the sidelines while others have moved forward, but we don’t have to remain there.

 

 

The evidence is beginning to pour in from around the country, and we can take the most promising initiatives out there and use them to inform a uniquely Georgia approach. The clearest evidence we have shows us the decision by the majority of states (30 and counting) to expand Medicaid is foundational in transforming the health system. The Grady initiative, while not Medicaid expansion, was at its heart a delivery system reform that was predicated on moving its target population into coverage as a first and necessary step.

 

 

We cannot make progress as a state if 15 percent of our population is uninsured. Too many Georgians fall into a coverage gap our leaders can fix. Medicaid expansion should be on the table, not as a perfect solution, but as a necessary first step.

 

 

 


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Network adequacy takes the stage

panelDuring the 2015 Legislative Session, the State Senate established the Consumer and Provider Protection Act Study Committee. This committee will review and make recommendations around several health insurance practices, including network adequacy. GHF has identified network adequacy, or the sufficiency of the health care providers patients can access when they enroll in a health insurance plan, as an important emerging consumer health issue. Our Executive Director, Cindy Zeldin, is a member of the study committee and looks forward to bringing the consumer perspective to the committee’s work. Cindy also recently appeared on WABE and Top Docs Radio to talk about network adequacy and participated in a panel discussion along with several state legislators at the Medical Association of Georgia’s Summer Legislative Education Seminar to discuss this important issue. Stay tuned for study committee agendas, updates, and opportunities to weigh in!

 

Study Committee Schedule:

 

September 14, 9:00 – 12:00

State Capitol, Room 450

 

October 26, 2:00 – 5:00

Tift Regional Healthy System, Tifton

 

November 9, 9:00 – 12:00

State Capitol

 

 


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Ensuring health coverage for all Georgians

GHF surveyed and interviewed enrollment assisters across the state to understand not only the “what,” but also the “why” behind the second open enrollment period.  The results of that research have led us to several policy recommendations to maximize health insurance enrollment and retention and to ensure that coverage translates to meaningful access to timely and appropriate medical services for Georgia health care consumers.

  1. Close the coverage gap in Georgia. Approximately 300,000 Georgians fall into the coverage gap, meaning they do not qualify for Medicaid under existing income eligibility guidelines in Georgia but their income is still too low to qualify for financial assistance (tax credits) to purchase health insurance on the Marketplace. Eligibility for tax credits begins at 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, or $11,770 for an individual or $20,090 for a family of three in 2015, while Medicaid eligibility for most adults in Georgia cuts off at income much lower. Thirty states including DC have closed their coverage gaps thus far with promising results. We encourage Georgia policymakers to take this important step as well to ensure all Georgians have a pathway to coverage.
  2. Set and enforce network adequacy and transparency standards. Many of the plans sold through the Health Insurance Marketplace are Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans that feature narrow provider networks. While these narrow networks can help keep premiums down, a trade-off many consumers may be willing to make, consumers do not currently have sufficient information to make this choice. There is no information available to consumers at the point of sale about whether a provider network is ultra narrow, narrow, or broad, and provider directories are routinely inaccurate. More transparency and oversight are needed to ensure that consumers have accurate and useful information to make these choices. It is also important that all provider networks allow for meaningful access to all covered benefits. To ensure this, we support putting in place and enforcing network adequacy standards.
  3. Encourage public-private partnerships and remove unnecessary restrictions on consumer education and assistance. Many of the enrollment assisters we surveyed indicated that reducing barriers to partnering with state government organizations such as public colleges, universities, and health departments would lead to stronger and more effective partnerships. Specifically, many respondents indicated that improved coordination between enrollment assisters, the Marketplace, and the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) to better facilitate PeachCare for Kids and Medicaid enrollment would be helpful. The “Health Care Freedom Act,” passed in 2014 as part of HB 943, prohibits state and local governmental entities from operating a health insurance navigator program and places other limitations on governmental entities. This provision has been counterproductive, creating confusion around what educational and consumer assistance activities local entities can engage in as they work to serve their community members. We recommend lifting these restrictions.

 


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2015 legislative session review: webinar

gold dome

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How much of the state budget went to health, and where was that money allocated?

Which health care-related bills passed, and what do they mean for my family and my community?

For the bills that didn’t pass, are they dead?

What study committees should I be paying attention to throughout the summer and fall?

 

For a complete understanding of what happened this legislative session, don’t miss our webinar.  Lobbyist Andy Lord and Community Outreach Manager Laura Colbert will walk you through what you need to know and answer any questions you may have.

 

Don’t worry – you can still sign up!

 

Date:Thursday, April 9

Time:12:00 – 1:00 EDT


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Join us for health advocates day at the capitol!

 

informationPlease join us on Wednesday, March 25, from 8:45 am to mid-day for a morning of advocacy!  GHF will provide individuals and organizations with the opportunity to advocate for the important health issues that matter to you in the closing days of this legislative session.  You may want to advocate for closing the coverage gap, Medicaid payment parity, raising the tobacco tax, the Family Care Act, rural health care access, or another health policy issue.  You’re all invited to participate!  We’ll provide breakfast, an advocacy training, and an opportunity to share and network with other health advocates.

To sign up, click here.  If you have any questions, please contact Laura Colbert.

 


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