Sadly, that money (which is substantial) is only available right now for hospitals and doctors. We’re working hard to get this federal program expanded to include post acute/long-term care.

But after years of not much movement, there really is now momentum behind a national move to electronic health records (EHR). Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently wrote about this EHR momentum topic in Kaiser Health News.

The secretary points out that “ambitious investments” were made via the Recovery Act to help reduce many of the obstacles that curtail the implementation of EHRs.

“As part of that investment, we’ve created health IT Regional Extension Centers across the country where providers can go to find out which health record system fits their needs,” writes Sebelius. “We’re training thousands of new health IT professionals who can help providers make the switch from paper to digital records. “

The changes, which would expand individuals’ rights to access their information and restrict certain disclosures of protected health information, stem from the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The proposed modifications to the HIPAA rules issued include provisions:

• Extending the applicability of certain of the Privacy and Security Rules’ requirements to the business associates of covered entities (and their subcontractors)
• Establishing new limitations on the use and disclosure of protected health information for marketing and fundraising purposes, prohibiting the sale of protected health information
• Expanding individuals’ rights to access their information and to obtain restrictions on certain disclosures of protected health information to health plans.  In addition, the proposed rule adopts provisions designed to strengthen and expand HIPAA’s enforcement provisions.

“HHS strongly believes that an individual’s personal information is to be kept private and confidential and used appropriately by the right people, for the right reasons,” Joy Pritts, chief privacy officer at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), said in a release.  “Without such assurances, an individual may be hesitant to share relevant health information.”

In addition to issuing the notice of proposed rulemaking, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) also updated its breach notification site.  Breaches of unsecured protected health information affecting 500 or more individuals that are reported to the HHS secretary are now posted in a new, more accessible format that allows users to search and sort the reported breaches.

The new format includes brief summaries of the breach cases that OCR has investigated and closed, as well as the names of private practice providers who have reported breaches of unsecured protected health information to the secretary.

The proposed rule will be published in the July 14 edition of the Federal Register.  Comments will be due no later than 60 days following publication in the Federal Register.

In related news, HHS also launched Health Data Privacy and Security Resources.

Across the country on Tuesday, residents and clients of AAHSA members attended watch parties for a tele-town hall meeting attended by President Barack Obama.  These individuals gathered in meeting rooms to hear the president and Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) talk about how health care reform affects seniors, particularly the Medicare Part D drug benefit and the rebates that will be coming to those who fall into the “doughnut hole” this year.

With very little notice, AAHSA members rallied to notify residents and set up Internet and phone connections to participate in the town hall meeting. Barbara Kulp, a client of Total Long-Term Care in Denver, a PACE program, asked one of the few questions that Obama responded to.

“I am concerned about how any health care changes will impact seniors and choices around alternatives to having to go live in a nursing home?” said Kulp.  “My friends and I want to live independently.” 

This prompted Secretary Sebelius to highlight the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) Act, for which AAHSA advocated during the health reform fight. Total Long-Term Care’s watch party also welcomed Jeff Hinson, the regional administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and Percy Devine, regional administrator for the Administration on Aging (AoA).

The watch party at Menorah Park in Beachwood, Ohio, was visited by Jon Blum, director, Center for Medicare Management at CMS and acting director, Center for Drug and Health Plan Choice.  Menorah’s watch party was covered by The News-Herald of Ohio.

Christian Health Care Center in Wyckoff, N.J., held two separate watch parties and received coverage from the Wyckoff Suburban News and The Record. Provena St. Anne’s Center in Rockford, Ill., and St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System in St. Louis, Mo., each had more than 50 people turn out to participate in their watch parties.

Carroll Lutheran Village in Westminster, Md., had a smaller party, but a healthy debate about health reform. NewCourtland in Philadelphia welcomed Caya Lewis, chief of staff of CMS, and a reporter from the Philadelphia Tribune.

As I sat in AAHSA’s conference room watching the town hall online and hearing from members about their watch parties, I felt the magic of being part of an association. Working with members who are highly engaged and influential in AAHSA and their local communities, we were able to connect people and organizations with information.

Through this initiative, two residents of AAHSA members attended the event in person and got to meet President Obama in person. A PACE client from Denver spoke directly with the president of the United States. Several HHS officials got to answer questions about health reform for hundreds of elders at watch parties in Denver, Cleveland and Philadelphia.

Connie March, president & CEO of Provena Life Connections, wrote, “The first thing that most people shared with me was the number of people that were taking notes.  All were alert and attentive whether they were taking notes of not; it was impressive to see how engaged our elders were!  They came prepared with their questions and felt that the ones they identified were covered in the meeting.  They also commented on feeling like they were actually in the room with the president.”

That’s the magic of a strong association fueled by strong members.

Kathleen Sebelius

Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced today a new grant program to help individuals and their caregivers better understand and navigate long-term care options.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will work with the Administration on Aging (AoA) to award the grants, which will be funded by $60 million from the Affordable Care Act.

According to the HHS release, the grant money will be used to create coordinated statewide systems of information and counseling that help consumers find easy-to-understand information about long-term care services, including:

• Assisting individuals who are under-served and hard to reach with information about their Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
• Helping older adults and individuals with disabilities live at home or in settings of their choosing with the right supports.
• Assisting people transition from hospital or nursing home stays back into the community.
• Strengthening linkages between the medical and social service systems.

I asked some of my colleagues here at AAHSA about the grants. Peter Notarstefano, director of home and community-based services, said a program that helps inform people about long-term services is important because many people, even today, are not aware of alternatives to nursing homes.

“The grants will help empower older individuals to remain healthy in their own homes,” Notarstefano said. “Research has shown that if older individuals who are dealing with chronic diseases are given efficient case management, as well as a system that helps them get access to services, they have fewer hospital stays and reduced risk of needing nursing home placement.”

Notarstefano went on to say that in the long run, the grant program will save both federal and state funds by reducing the use of expensive acute care and nursing care facility services.

If you’re interested in applying for a grant, submit an application by July 30, 2010. The grants will be awarded in September.

The HHS says the center will identify data sources, evaluate the usability of data, conduct research, and disseminate relevant information to help patients, providers, policy makers, consumers, caregivers, and family members make decisions on health care.

“With the establishment of a Center of Excellence in Research on Disability Services, Care Coordination and Integration, we will make necessary data improvements to better understand health and support services for people with disabilities,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a release. “The data collected will allow the Office on Disability and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to examine the effectiveness of different services and supports being provided, and in turn, improve care for people with disabilities.”

The agency noted that the new center will assess Medicaid data and use it to identify and propose ways to achieve greater consistency on how services are used and defined.

“Without a doubt, both elders and younger people with disabilities suffer from a disjointed system that make it complicated and expensive to receive the care and services needed,” said AAHSA President Larry Minnix. “In the age of patient-centered care and increased consumer choice, the information and resources that come out of the new HHS center will be enormously helpful.”

Kathleen Sebelius source: Wikipedia

On Wednesday, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services (HHS), spent about an hour at the

Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO) meeting discussing health care reform. In addition to Rother, principals at the meeting were Jim Firman, Barbara Kennelly, and Ed Coyle.

Highlights:

• Obama administration realizes they have won the health care reform battle, but will only win the war by timely implementation.

• The administration is focused on communications and marketing strategies. Stephanie Cutter is the point person on communications.

• They are focusing first on 2010 deliverables.

• A new office at HHS is being set up on insurance oversight. The secretary reminded us of her and Kathy Greenlee’s backgrounds in insurance regulation and said that other former insurance commissioners will be involved. The first effort will be to stabilize the current private market.

• The administration also is reaching out to seniors, a group that was “targeted and terrorized” during debate on health care reform. The administration plans to have a “robust” call center for seniors in operation by this summer. The secretary wants to coordinate with LCAO on outreach.

• The administration plans mailings to reassure seniors that Medicare Advantage is not disappearing. HHS has determined to freeze, not cut reimbursements to Advantage plans for 2011 and the secretary expects about the same number of plans to participate in Advantage next year as this year.

• The Administration sees the doc fix and the 6 month extension of FMAP as unfinished legislative business. Pending legislation would fix physician reimbursement for either 5 or 10 years. Congress should finalize that by the Memorial Day recess.

• Sec. Sebelius is staying close to her former colleagues, the governors. She commented that the health care reform law is exceedingly state-friendly, with many opportunities and funding for state initiatives. Not a federal takeover of health care.

• CLASS Act – the secretary expects this program to be very popular once people understand it. Jennifer Dexter asked about implementation plans, noting that the effective date is “squishy.” The secretary said that there will be a decision within the next 6 to 8 weeks on which agency officials will have responsibilities for the program and establishing a framework for its administration. The actuarial piece will be very important; “we don’t want to repeat the mistakes of long-term care insurance.”

• Appropriations for implementation: she said that most of the funding that was provided for early implementation is being spent. The administration doesn’t want a conversation with the Hill this year on implementation costs, so they likely will wait until next year to request funding for new programs authorized by the legislation.

• Regulations are being written in record time, especially considering that more than one agency is involved. Six weeks after enactment, several regulations are ready for White House review. The White House is setting up an expedited process for reviewing health care reform regs.

• In response to a question about how soon demo projects under the Center for Medicare Innovation can start, the secretary said they will wait at least until Berwick is confirmed as head of CMS.

Rother gave Sec. Sebelius a packet containing materials that various LCAO member organizations have put together to educate their members on the benefits of health care reform. AAHSA provide some information from our Health Reform Hub.