IHM and CAN-TV

Illinois Health Matters' Neighborhood Stories will be broadcasting on Chicago television station CAN-TV! We are excited to share these stories of how health care reform will impact real people and organizations in Chicago with a whole new audience. Please tune in at any of the times listed below to see one of the great Neighborhood Story videos:

Neighborhood Story	Upcoming Air Date/Time on CAN TV
Waiting for Health Care Reform	2/11 -  5:52 am - Channel 36 2/11 - 11:51 am - Channel 19 2/12 - 1:17 pm - Channel 36
Health Insurance May be on the Table	2/08 -   6:50 pm - Channel 36 2/10 -  9:05 am - Channel 19 2/11 -  3:47 pm - Channel 36 2/12 -  8:50 pm - Channel 36
Policy to the People	2/08 - 7:26 pm - Channel 19 2/11 - 2:55 pm - Channel 36 2/11 - 4:54 pm - Channel 19 2/12 - 4:50 pm - Channel 36
Wellness on the Westside	2/09 -  9:25 pm - Channel 36 2/11 - 8:17 pm - Channel 36 2/12-  12:56 am - Channel 36 2/12 -  8:22 am - Channel 36

For more info on the IHM Neighborhood Stories, and to read the articles that accompany each video, click here. 

What lies ahead for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2012?

2011, the first full year for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), is coming to a close. As we’ve written about in the past blog posts, Facebook posts, tweets or on our home page, the year saw many ACA developments, from the announcement of the definition of “essential health benefits” that are guaranteed under the law, to the initial stages of Illinois’ health insurance exchange legislation, to the rescission of the CLASS Act. This year also saw the early effects of the law’s impact – from the young adults who can now stay on their parents’ health insurance plan, to the seniors whose prescription drug costs in the Medicare “doughnut hole” are shrinking, to the people with chronic conditions who are no longer uninsured due to the availability of the state’s federally funded pre-existing condition insurance plan. 

Of course, many provisions of the ACA will not take effect until 2014, but several provisions of the law are slated to start in 2012, including:

• A series of demonstration projects designed to strengthen Medicare by eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse;
• The Medicare Independence at Home demonstration, which will test out coordinated care medical teams providing care to certain high-need Medicare patients in their own homes;
• A Medicaid demonstration, which will allow bundled payments for medical care that include hospitalizations, as well as extending the Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations savings to pediatric providers within those organizations; 
• A new annual tax on pharmaceutical companies; and
• On October 2012, Medicare payments for hospital readmissions will be reduced, to offset excessive readmissions to hospitals, such as early discharges from a hospital, which could result in a return visit.
   

What will undoubtedly become the biggest news of 2012 will be the Supreme Court case on the constitutionality of the ACA, beginning on March 26, 2011. Due to the number of different arguments against the ACA – ranging from the validity of the individual mandate to the constitutionality of the Medicaid expansion - the outcome of the case could take many different forms, from keeping the law in its entirely, striking down the whole law or portions of the law. The decision is expected in June 2012.

Also in 2012, it will be important to watch how the implementation of pieces of the ACA that are already in effect will continue, most notably, the establishment of a health benefits exchange in each state. Many states, have already begun the implementation, and are at various stages in the process, such as the 15 states (like Illinois) that have already enacted an exchange or intent of establishment legislature. Other states are working to pass such legislation, and others have not taken any steps towards establishing an exchange, either deferring to the federal government to run their exchanges, or riding on the assumption that the ACA will be struck down in the upcoming Supreme Court case. (See here for a recent news article about the status of the Illinois Exchange).

There are still many unknowns about the future of the ACA; however, what’s clear from our eight-part Neighborhood Stories series is that we have a lot of work to do to educate the communities in Illinois about the benefits of the law for small businesses, individuals/families and community organizations. Stay tuned to Illinois Health Matters for interactive features in early 2012, to help YOU understand how health care reform will impact you, your family and your community.

Happy, Healthy Holidays! 

Neighborhood Stories: The Importance of Community-Based Health Organizations

Today, Illinois Health Matters launched the third release in their ongoing multimedia series, Neighborhood Stories. This installment reveals through video and investigative journalism the importance of community based organizations, such as neighborhood health centers and grassroots health coalitions. Such organizations provide a variety of comprehensive services to people in underserved communities, such as the South and West Sides of Chicago, who often do not have health insurance or access to quality, affordable care.
 

In “Community-Based Organizations Play a Critical Role in Reform,” author Jeffrey Steele finds community organizations act as a vital link between the federal level ACA, the state-level policies that result from the act, and the people who will benefit from the health care reform. Steele describes various ways that community organizations in Chicago are helping to implement the ACA. For example, there is an individual in every community-based organization that Celine Woznica, program director for the Asian Health Coalition in Chicago, calls a “mother hen.” They are usually trusted and respected members of community that people come to and ask questions. Inquiries may range from where to go for a flu shot to how to get heating assistance to when to go for citizenship classes. “These staff are the very people who have to be well versed on the Affordable Care Act, and how to help people take advantage of it -- from preventive care to the health exchange,” Woznica says.

Community organizations are integral to distributing accurate information about the health reform process. At Erie Neighborhood House, a west side social service organization and community service agency, they are focusing on more “in person” workshops while other groups may utilize ethnic media and webinars. As Jim Duffett, Executive Director of Campaign for Better Health Care, sums up, “The more people who take ownership at the local level, the stronger we’ll all be in winning comprehensive reform.”

The video, “Wellness on the West Side,” profiles the story of Eliazar Mejia, a woman diagnosed and treated for diabetes at Lawndale Christian Health Center (LCHC). LCHC is a shining example of “coordinated care” – where they provide a multitude of different types of care and programs all in one place. Many people who do not have insurance, such as the 38% of LCHC’s patients, end up letting a health problem develop and worsen until it sends them to the emergency room. LCHC fills the gap between no care and the emergency room for its 60,000 patients. Bruce Miller, the CEO of LCHC, sums up the organization’s overall commitment to its patients: “Our goal as a community-based organization is to provide care for everybody who needs care. Whether they have insurance, whether they don’t have insurance, we’ve never cared. So, as we think about the future, what the impact could be of health care reform, it’s our hope certainly, that many of our uninsured patients will have…better access to care, and will use that care more frequently.”

“Wellness on the West Side” is just one in the Neighborhood Stories series, presented by Illinois Heath Matters. Previous videos profile individuals and families, small businesses, and the importance of a consumer-focused health policy in Illinois. All videos and articles are featured in the “Neighborhood Stories" section of the Illinois Health Matters website, along with articles that share how community organizations, including Health & Disability Advocates, local Chambers of Commerce and others are educating and informing underserved groups about their health care coverage options under the new law. The multimedia series is part of the Local Reporting Initiative, supported in part by The Chicago Community Trust.

Policy to the People - Illinois Policymakers Weigh In about ACA Implementation in Illinois

Health care reform in Illinois may originate from the federal law, the Affordable Care Act, but it is up to each state to implement many pieces of the law. For that reason, we made Illinois' implementation of health care reform the focus of our latest multimedia Neighborhood Stories series. The video, Policy to the People (by Jay Dunn) is the third in our series, and is accompanied by an article, Making Health the Best Policy (by Jeff Steele).

As health reform policies take shape in Illinois, it is important to make sure they benefit the citizens of the state. In the video, Senator Donne E. Trotter (IL -17th District) explains what he sees as necessary to keep policy geared towards the people, specifically those who are currently uninsured or underinsured. He advocates a “three pronged attack,” that involves policymakers, medical care providers and the citizens and health care consumers themselves, in the establishment of reform. “What we’re looking at,” Sen. Trotter explains, “is not as much what this law is going to do for people like myself, but for the future of America. We’re going to have a healthier society.”

The accompanying article, Making Health the Best Policy, explains the steps that Illinois policymakers have taken since 2010 to establish health care reforms right here in the Prairie State. Those who back the Affordable Care Act are attempting to impart positive messages, to counter the law's opponents working daily to ensure its provisions never go into effect.

We spoke to key policymakers in the Governor's Office, the Department of Health & Family Services (HFS) and the Illinois General Assembly about their vision of how reform will impact west and south siders' ability to gain insurance. Under the new health care law, HFS Director Julie Hamos says: “We believe there will be one million more people who will have access to private health insurance through the exchange, or public insurance through Medicaid...These are people who have not had a doctor, or a health checkup, in many years.” Michael Gelder, Governor Quinn's senior health policy advisor and Chair of the Illinois Health Care Reform Implementation Council says, “People on the west and south sides should see this as an opportunity to get health insurance. They should also see it as an opportunity to make their elected representatives, both federal and state, hear that they’re enthusiastic about [reform], and that they expect us to deliver on that.”

Check out these two great new pieces, as well as the other articles and videos in the Neighborhood Stories section of the Illinois Health Matters website, or on our new high quality Vimeo channel here. Stay tuned for the next installment where we look at how the Affordable Care Act is impacting local community organizations.

Neighborhood Stories: The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on the South and West Sides of Chicago

“We don’t talk about health care much,” Henry Edwards admits.

Henry is a 24-year-old father, husband and life-long resident of Garfield Park and suffers from asthma. Henry works 30 hours a week – just under full-time – so employer-based insurance isn’t available to him. His wife, Renee, is hoping to be promoted to a full-time position soon so they can apply for insurance coverage through her job.

Henry and Renee have a six-month-old son, making them eligible for health insurance from FamilyCare, an Illinois Medicaid program. But the cost of living and caring for a family while trying to afford Henry’s more than $200-a-month asthma medication is a constant concern for the Edwardses.

Henry’s struggle is profiled in a new Local Reporting Initiative called Neighborhood Stories, released today by Illinois Health Matters and supported in part by The Chicago Community Trust. The Neighborhood Stories series will showcase articles and videos of people living and working in the underserved neighborhoods of Chicago’s South and West sides and how the Affordable Care Act affects them.

Neighborhood Stories also profiles small businesses, such as Ruby's in Garfield Park, formerly Edna’s, a soul food landmark. At one time, Ruby’s employees bought health benefits through AFLAC; today, Ruby’s owner Henry Henderson says he can’t afford to help out, even though he wants to.

To see and share the videos profiling Henry Edwards and Ruby’s restaurant, go here and here. Under the new health care law, people who have a pre-existing condition can no longer be disqualified from affordable private insurance. Health care reform will also provide a range of options for health coverage through a health insurance exchange to those who do not have such coverage through their employers. In addition, small business tax credits are now available for those who want to provide coverage.

Still, experts say that many individuals and small businesses on the South & West sides of Chicago either don't know much about the new health care law or are wary of how its provisions might affect them. To that end, Neighborhood Stories will also publish a series of articles that discuss how to better disseminate information about the Affordable Care Act. The first of these articles focuses on what small business leaders think about the new law, and how to help educate business owners.

For more information about the impact of the Affordable Care Act, check out our Individuals & Families and Small Business pages. And be sure to bookmark our Neighborhood Stories page – next month we’ll highlight what local policymakers are doing to implement the new health care law in Illinois.