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September 2009 Policy Updates for City/Local, State, and Federal.

Policy Updates: City/Local

1. “Healthy San Francisco” Program Presents Annual Report to the Health Commission; SFCCC Testifies That State and City Budget Cuts Have Reduced Clinics’ Patient Care Funding to Support HSF

Tangerine Brigham, HSF Director, presented the program’s annual report (attached) to the September 1 Health Commission.  The Commission again requested that the HSF expenditures of community providers be included – as well as the Department’s expenditures. 

SFCCC testified that State and City budget cuts have reduced the patient care funding that clinics can contribute to support HSF enrollees’ care.  Also, the $6.5 million in cuts exceed the $3.3 million in economic stimulus funding for expanding patient care that clinics received; there has been a significant net loss for clinics in patient care funding while the numbers of uninsured patients continue to grow.  SFCCC has agreed to provide to the Health Commission the total expenses of SFCCC clinics for participation in HSF.      
2. SFCCC, Alameda, Contra Costa/ Solano and Redwood Consortia/ Clinics to Hold Clinic Boards/ Leadership Staff Training on “Federal Health Care Reform and Clinics” on October 28 and 29  
Dr. Leighton Ku, George Washington University professor of health policy and an expert on clinics and health care reform, will be the principal trainer.  The program (attached) will include a strategy session on how to influence health care reform to help clinics address their missions. 
For additional information, please contact Dick Hodgson at 415 355-2230/ rhodgson@sfccc.org.    

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Policy Updates: State

1. Legislators, Clinics and Advocates Fight Back Against State Health Budget Cuts – Legislature Approves AB 1422 to Restore Healthy Families Funding; Judge Halts Adult Day Health Program Cuts; Western Center on Law and Poverty (WCLP) Lawsuit Against Line Item Vetoes Court Decision Pending     
AB 1422 – to be funded by a voluntary tax on health plans – received bi-partisan legislative support and the Governor announced he would sign it (although he hasn’t yet).   Pending further actions, Healthy Families has suspended plans to disenroll current beneficiaries. 

U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong has ordered California to halt scheduled cuts to the state's adult day health care program. In July, lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) passed a budget revision package that reduced services for the program from five days per week to three.  In her 24-page decision, Armstrong ruled that the service reductions could cause "irreparable and imminent" harm to program participants.
        
The WCLP lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court on behalf of patients who would be harmed by the Governor’s line item vetoes.  The Court’s decision is pending. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg has withdrawn his lawsuit so the Courts can concentrate on the WCLP suit.             

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Policy Updates: Federal

Some highlights of Dan’s comments:

1. Medicaid expansion to all adults 150% of FPL (or it may be reduced to 133% FPL) will be a boon to the uninsured as well as health centers who will see large increases in funded patients.
2. NACHC is pushing for mandatory contracting with health centers at reasonable reimbursement by the entities in the health insurance exchanges.
3. Health centers could increase patients from 20 million to 45 million over the next 5 years
4. “Insurance does not equal access.”  The 10 year/ $40 billion expansion of health centers is essential to providing the primary care/ prevention resources needed to implement coverage. 
5. The consensus of key Democratic and Republican leaders is that “health care reform will pass this year.”   

The Tele-Town Hall recording can be accessed through the NACHC website   

Please call or email Dick Hodgson at 415 355-2230/ rhodgson@sfccc.org if you have questions or need additional information on any of these topics. 

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