| Save
the Date! |
February
23, 2010
AAP
District II's
Annual
Legislative Day
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Hear presentations from
legislative &
government leaders
*
Be a voice & advocate
for NYS's children &
pediatricians
*
Meet with your Assembly member
& Senator
Come
and Make a Difference!
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| Free
Immunization Bookmarks
available in 4
colors
To
order batches of 100, email
George Dunkel at:
front
back
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Dear
District II member, 
In the constantly changing
legislative, budget and policy
environments at the national
and state levels, we, as
pediatricians, need to take
care of and raise our voices
for the children and families
we serve as well as all
children.
Although this is a rather
exhaustive report, your
District leadership believes
it is important for members to
have information about what we
are doing and the key issues
that dominate our work for and
with you.
I would like to take this
opportunity to wish each of
you a happy and healthy
holiday season. It is my hope
that working together we can
make 2010 the best year yet
for children and for
pediatricians in our state.
Henry Schaeffer, MD, FAAP
Chair, AAP District II, New
York State
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National
Health Care Reform Update
At the federal level, the health
care reform debate continues its
circuitous path through the
congressional process. The
struggle between cost, quality
and access bedevils the
discussion.
The National AAP has taken a
position not to engage in the
specifics of any current debate
or any specific bill. This
is reasonable, since there is a
long way to go before all sides
actually sit down and try to
negotiate a bill that can pass
both houses of Congress and be
signed by the President.
But the Academy has taken a
series of positions during the
ongoing debate that reflect the
needs of children and of our
members in terms of insuring an
appropriate array of services
for children and an adequate
supply of pediatricians and
other primary care physicians.
The five core issues to assure
quality children's health care
remain central to our
discussions with our federal
leaders. These are:
- All children are entitled to
health insurance coverage
regardless of income
- There should be
comprehensive age appropriate
benefits based on Bright
Futures
- Children deserve quality
care delivered in a medical
home
- Children must have access to
pediatric specialists
- There must be appropriate
payment for necessary services
Recently, the National AAP has
retargeted its effort to a
position which focuses on the
need to pay primary care
physicians, especially
pediatricians, fees that reflect
the work they do. The new target
includes support for the
development of a more focused
federal investment in primary
care at the medical school and
residency levels. It includes a
tuition payback model similar to
New York State's Doctors Across
NY program. It also proposes
federal support for the
development of patient centered
medical homes, which, for
children, would be built on the
foundation of our Bright Futures
Medical Home model.
The ongoing federal debate on
health care reform holds many
potential pitfalls for
pediatricians and the children
and families we serve, but it
also offers incredible
opportunities. It is
imperative that we continue to
communicate with our federal
representatives about the
importance of supporting the
AAP's pediatric priorities in
the final federal health reform
legislation that goes to the
President's desk.
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NYS
Deficit Reduction Plan Update
At the state level the
environment is just as
chaotic and uncertain.
The Governor's recent
Deficit Reduction Plan,
which passed the state
Assembly and the state
Senate, spared most of
office based health care,
and especially children's
health care, from any
significant cuts. But other
programs of importance to
the well being of the
children we care for have
been cut to the bone:
- after school programs
- home visiting programs
- many community based
child focused programs
- children's mental
health, foster care,
juvenile justice and
community based prevention
programs
- adolescent reproductive
health care services
- school based health care
programs
There are also cuts to
hospitals which are yet to
be clearly outlined, but
they do include cuts to
graduate medical education.
And this is only the
beginning. The cuts
that are being put in place
at this time are cuts to
this year's ongoing budget.
The state budget that the
Governor will propose on
January 20th for the state's
next fiscal year, 2010-2011,
is anticipated to have even
larger cuts to state
programs across the board.
We know that the next state
budget proposal will propose
even larger cuts to all
programs that are not
legally required, but we do
not know exactly where the
cuts will fall or how deep
they will be.
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AAP District II's Annual
Legislative Day: 2/23/10
 On
a more optimistic level, there are
economists who are suggesting that
New York State's current budget
problems will resolve over the
next few months as revenues to the
state increase based on the
profits of Wall Street and the
banks. Time will tell.
But we need to prepare our
advocacy as we get ready to
protect vital programs for
children in health, mental health,
education, family supports, child
care and community based child
well being.
This year our Advocacy Day on
February 23rd in Albany will be
one of the most important times
for pediatricians to learn about
the latest state budget and policy
issues in children's health and
well being and to show their state
representatives that they care
about what happens to children in
our communities across the state.
Mark February 23rd on your
calendar and plan to join us in
Albany as we advocate for
children's health. |
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Other
Legislative Issues
Beyond national Health Care
Reform and the challenges that
the New York State budget may
present, there are many other
issues directly involving
District leadership and staff:
- The New York State Assembly
is exploring legislative
authority to develop more
retail clinics. The
District was invited to the
first legislative Roundtable
to discuss the issue.
Legislation may be proposed
this session.
- There is legislation
proposing the expansion of all
payer health care
demonstration programs.
- The State Health Department
is competing for a federal
grant to work on the
development and implementation
of Children's Medical Homes
for the state's Medicaid
program.
- It is also anticipated that
legislation impacting the
state's current Early
Intervention Program will be
proposed this year.
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Children's
Mental Health Services in
Primary Care
Our work with the State
Office of Mental Health
and State Health
Department to create a
training and support pilot
program to work with
pediatricians in providing
children's mental health
services in the primary
care office setting
continues to move forward.
We expect to hear who the
Department of Mental
Health has chosen as the
principal by the end of
this month.
Our members also continue
to work with the State
Health Department on
training and
implementation of newly
required developmental
screening in the pediatric
office.
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NYS
Immunization Coalition
The District's work on
immunization issues
remains a policy and
legislative priority.
The NYS Immunization
Coalition has
distributed more than
75,000 Immunization
Bookmarks to
pediatricians, child
care providers, school
based programs, and
other advocate
organizations over the
last several months.
These very attractive
bookmarks are
available at no cost
to all members.
Those who have used
them have reported
that parents love them
and they are important
tools in the
immunization
discussion with
families.
We are currently
exploring the best
ways to get the
Bookmarks into ob/gyn
offices to be
available to pregnant
women who are making
decisions about
immunization for their
new babies. The
Coalition is exploring
more media work once
the current H1N1 focus
abates. We also
continue to work with
the Department of
Health to assure
attention to
pediatricians'
concerns regarding
administration payment
and vaccine supply.
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Foster
Care Efforts
The District has
joined the efforts
of national AAP to
become involved in
the implementation
of the federal
Fostering
Connections
legislation. AAP
National worked at
the federal level
on the details of
the Health
Oversight and
Coordination Plan
(HOCP) of Public
Law 110-351.
Our work at the
state level
focuses on helping
the state develop
the required
Health Oversight
and Coordination
Plans for children
in foster care.
We are working
with both the
state Office of
Children and
Families, the
agency providing
foster care
oversight in New
York, and the
State Department
of Health,
Medicaid Office,
the arm of SDOH
responsible for
the health care of
children in care.
This work
dovetails with
national AAP's
core commitment to
improved health
care and child
well being for
children in foster
care.
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