/PRNewswire/ -- In a letter delivered to President Obama today, a national coalition of wildlife conservation and sporting organizations has asked the President to take cuts to the National Wildlife Refuge System's budget off the table as he considers cutting federal agency spending by five percent in FY 2012. The coalition called the proposed cuts "wrong and inappropriate" at a time when refuges and the species they protect are dealing with potentially one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history in the Gulf of Mexico.
"It is neither the time nor the place to propose funding cuts for the National Wildlife Refuge System or for the Fish and Wildlife Service," said Evan Hirsche, Chair of the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE). "Agencies are already spread thin responding to the belching oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and the President's proposed five percent budget cut would have dire consequences in the Refuge System's ability to help wildlife recover. The survival of species like the brown pelican, which was only recently removed from the endangered species list, is now looking more bleak than it did just a year ago."
National wildlife refuges protect a host of species that are being decimated in the Gulf of Mexico, including sea turtles, manatees and numerous migratory birds. The FWS is projecting that 20% of its nationwide staff will be deployed to the Gulf at some point to address the ongoing crisis, making it difficult for the agency to address ongoing refuge needs or future emergencies such as floods, hurricanes, and forest fires. Should the proposed funding cuts occur, the problems will be magnified ten-fold. Understaffed wildlife refuges will be forced to make difficult decisions to cut programs that protect wildlife, such as vital scientific monitoring programs. Ultimately, the cuts will compromise the System's congressionally mandated conservation mission.
The Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) is a diverse coalition of 22 conservation, sporting, and scientific organizations representing more than 15 million members and supporters. According to a recent CARE report on Refuge System funding needs, the Refuge System currently faces a $3.7 billion operations and maintenance backlog.
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Showing posts with label care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label care. Show all posts
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Hospice Advocates to Congress: Protect Access to Compassionate & High-Quality End of-Life Care
/PRNewswire/ -- Today 450 Hospice Advocates from across the country took part in the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's (NHPCO) Capitol Hill Day 2010 by meeting with their U.S. Senators and Representatives on Capitol Hill and encouraging policy makers to preserve and protect access to compassionate, high-quality end-of-life care for all Americans.
Thousands of additional Hospice Advocates participated in NHPCO's Virtual Hill Day 2010 from their home communities by making phone calls and sending emails to their Members of Congress that furthered echoed the hospice community's message. NHPCO Hill Day and Virtual Hill Day participants emphasized the value of hospice in their communities and reacquainted Congress with the unique structure of the Medicare Hospice Benefit.
"In the aftermath of health care reform, NHPCO's Capitol Hill Day 2010 was just the beginning of our efforts this year to educate Members of Congress on the hospice community's value and uniqueness as compared with other health care provider groups. Over 1.4 million patients and their families depend on compassionate end-of-life care from hospice programs in communities throughout the country," said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO. "It is important that Congress know the importance of hospice to their constituents so they can take an active role in preserving compassionate end-of-life care for generations to come."
Over the past two years, the hospice community has been facing rate cuts on two fronts -- regulatory cuts enacted in October 2009 that eliminated a key component of the Medicare hospice reimbursement known as the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor (BNAF) and more recently, cuts slated to be implemented in 2013 as a result of the health care reform bill passed last month. This year, Hospice Advocates are working together to educate policy makers on how the hospice community will be impacted by the combined 14.3% reductions.
"Two cuts are too much for the hospice community," Schumacher added. "If these cuts stay in place, services will be reduced, programs will suffer, and the dying won't get the care they need."
At the Hill Day kickoff pep rally, NHPCO demonstrated its on-going commitment to engage and rally Hospice Advocates nationwide to educate their Members of Congress about the hospice community. The program started with rousing words of encouragement and support from Congressional hospice champions, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR.) and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-3rd-OR.). This year, Virtual Hill Day participants were able to watch the remarks live over the Web while simultaneously tweeting and Facebook chatting to each other and NHPCO staff in attendance.
The organization also unveiled the rebrand of its lobbying affiliate, The Alliance for Care at the End of Life (ACEOL). The ACEOL is now doing business as NHPCO's Hospice Action Network - the name originally coined for its interactive, online community earlier this year. Through social media resources such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the Hospice Action Network has already developed an ever-growing online advocate base of over [X] people from all over the country. In tandem with traditional outreach methods, these Hospice Advocates are using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to interact with each other, educate the general public and policy makers about the impact of health policy on hospices in their communities.
"We are very excited about the rebrand of our lobbying affiliate. The Hospice Action Network will have all of the strengths of the Alliance, but will also allow us to use innovative and interactive strategies to grow our advocate ranks nationwide. This new identity will allow our Hospice Advocacy efforts to evolve into a national grassroots movement. The Hospice Action Network will not only support professional lobbying on Capitol Hill, but also serve to enhance the important advocacy work that hospice providers are doing in the trenches back home," Schumacher said.
Thousands of additional Hospice Advocates participated in NHPCO's Virtual Hill Day 2010 from their home communities by making phone calls and sending emails to their Members of Congress that furthered echoed the hospice community's message. NHPCO Hill Day and Virtual Hill Day participants emphasized the value of hospice in their communities and reacquainted Congress with the unique structure of the Medicare Hospice Benefit.
"In the aftermath of health care reform, NHPCO's Capitol Hill Day 2010 was just the beginning of our efforts this year to educate Members of Congress on the hospice community's value and uniqueness as compared with other health care provider groups. Over 1.4 million patients and their families depend on compassionate end-of-life care from hospice programs in communities throughout the country," said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO. "It is important that Congress know the importance of hospice to their constituents so they can take an active role in preserving compassionate end-of-life care for generations to come."
Over the past two years, the hospice community has been facing rate cuts on two fronts -- regulatory cuts enacted in October 2009 that eliminated a key component of the Medicare hospice reimbursement known as the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor (BNAF) and more recently, cuts slated to be implemented in 2013 as a result of the health care reform bill passed last month. This year, Hospice Advocates are working together to educate policy makers on how the hospice community will be impacted by the combined 14.3% reductions.
"Two cuts are too much for the hospice community," Schumacher added. "If these cuts stay in place, services will be reduced, programs will suffer, and the dying won't get the care they need."
At the Hill Day kickoff pep rally, NHPCO demonstrated its on-going commitment to engage and rally Hospice Advocates nationwide to educate their Members of Congress about the hospice community. The program started with rousing words of encouragement and support from Congressional hospice champions, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR.) and Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-3rd-OR.). This year, Virtual Hill Day participants were able to watch the remarks live over the Web while simultaneously tweeting and Facebook chatting to each other and NHPCO staff in attendance.
The organization also unveiled the rebrand of its lobbying affiliate, The Alliance for Care at the End of Life (ACEOL). The ACEOL is now doing business as NHPCO's Hospice Action Network - the name originally coined for its interactive, online community earlier this year. Through social media resources such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the Hospice Action Network has already developed an ever-growing online advocate base of over [X] people from all over the country. In tandem with traditional outreach methods, these Hospice Advocates are using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to interact with each other, educate the general public and policy makers about the impact of health policy on hospices in their communities.
"We are very excited about the rebrand of our lobbying affiliate. The Hospice Action Network will have all of the strengths of the Alliance, but will also allow us to use innovative and interactive strategies to grow our advocate ranks nationwide. This new identity will allow our Hospice Advocacy efforts to evolve into a national grassroots movement. The Hospice Action Network will not only support professional lobbying on Capitol Hill, but also serve to enhance the important advocacy work that hospice providers are doing in the trenches back home," Schumacher said.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
National Oncologist Group Warns: Current Health Care Reform Legislation Woefully Short in Addressing Cancer Care Crisis
/PRNewswire/ -- The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) today issued a statement warning that oncologists throughout the U.S. may face closing their practices if critical Medicare reimbursement fixes for treating cancer patients are not made as a part of health care reform.
"Current health reform legislation before Congress does not address major inadequacies in Medicare reimbursement and substantial cuts coming in January to cancer care," said Patrick Cobb, M.D., president of COA and managing partner of Hematology-Oncology Centers of the Northern Rockies in Billings, Montana. "These problems are impacting oncologists now. Many have had to let staff go, and some have already closed practices in communities across the U.S."
"Released this week, the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer highlighted the progress made in treating cancer over the past 30 years. This country's cancer care system deserves much of the credit for helping cancer patients receive high quality treatment near home, in their own communities," continued Dr. Cobb. "But this system is under threat if President Obama and Congress do not act before January. These January cuts threaten the viability of the nation's community cancer care delivery system, where 84% of Americans with cancer are treated, and jeopardize patients' access to care."
In separate letters to President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, COA president Dr. Cobb submitted a statement approved by the COA Board of Directors, including a six-part recommendation on solving the cancer care crisis. COA noted that the recent financial crisis has exposed the fragility of the health care payment system, with more Americans unable to afford cancer care and falling between the treatment cracks.
In a national call to action, the organization is encouraging oncology professionals and the entire cancer community to contact Members of Congress to request action on these recommendations, starting with the prevention of planned severe Medicare cuts to cancer care. These cuts start in January and continue to increase over the next four years.
"As a nation, we have watched the health care reform legislation evolve over the past year. One issue we have not heard much about -- and not through lack of trying -- is legislation for the reform of cancer care," continued Dr. Cobb. "Although there are certain positive aspects of reform relating to insurance coverage, the proposed legislation comes up woefully short in addressing a growing cancer care crisis."
Prior to Congress embarking on health reform legislation, a national team of oncologists spent more than a year researching and developing a plan to improve the Medicare payment system for cancer care. This initiative resulted in collaborating with members of Congress, now embodied in the National Cancer Care Demonstration Project Act of 2009 (H.R. 3675).
Dr. Cobb noted, "Because of the timing of the health care reform debate, we're concerned that progress in funding and implementing this very specific national project is too slow to stop the impact of the upcoming January cuts."
The organization has issued a six-part recommendation, which includes immediate action:
1. Enact real-world solutions to enhancing quality cancer care while
controlling costs by including the National Cancer Care Demonstration
Project Act of 2009 (H.R. 3675) in health care reform legislation.
2. Stop implementation of Medicare reimbursement cuts to cancer care,
especially the payment reduction to cancer drug administration.
3. Stop the 2010 21.2% Medicare reimbursement payment cut affecting all
physician-related services and fix the broken Medicare payment system
based on the SGR formula.
4. Stop cutting cancer care reimbursement further by using cuts to pay for
primary care bonuses.
5. Fix the problem of artificially low Medicare drug reimbursement by
including the "prompt pay" solution in health care reform legislation.
6. Eliminate the 20% Medicare patient co-payment requirement for cancer
drugs.
A full statement is listed the organization's web site (www.communityoncology.org).
"The War on Cancer, declared almost 40 years ago, has resulted in increased survival for Americans with cancer and has transformed many cancers from a death sentence to a chronic disease," continued Dr. Cobb. "However, the cost of cancer is still in excess of $220 billion annually and it claims the life of one American every minute. Congress must act now as health care reform legislation is being debated because the risk of getting this wrong is too great, both as measured in medical costs and the lives of Americans."
-----
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"Current health reform legislation before Congress does not address major inadequacies in Medicare reimbursement and substantial cuts coming in January to cancer care," said Patrick Cobb, M.D., president of COA and managing partner of Hematology-Oncology Centers of the Northern Rockies in Billings, Montana. "These problems are impacting oncologists now. Many have had to let staff go, and some have already closed practices in communities across the U.S."
"Released this week, the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer highlighted the progress made in treating cancer over the past 30 years. This country's cancer care system deserves much of the credit for helping cancer patients receive high quality treatment near home, in their own communities," continued Dr. Cobb. "But this system is under threat if President Obama and Congress do not act before January. These January cuts threaten the viability of the nation's community cancer care delivery system, where 84% of Americans with cancer are treated, and jeopardize patients' access to care."
In separate letters to President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, COA president Dr. Cobb submitted a statement approved by the COA Board of Directors, including a six-part recommendation on solving the cancer care crisis. COA noted that the recent financial crisis has exposed the fragility of the health care payment system, with more Americans unable to afford cancer care and falling between the treatment cracks.
In a national call to action, the organization is encouraging oncology professionals and the entire cancer community to contact Members of Congress to request action on these recommendations, starting with the prevention of planned severe Medicare cuts to cancer care. These cuts start in January and continue to increase over the next four years.
"As a nation, we have watched the health care reform legislation evolve over the past year. One issue we have not heard much about -- and not through lack of trying -- is legislation for the reform of cancer care," continued Dr. Cobb. "Although there are certain positive aspects of reform relating to insurance coverage, the proposed legislation comes up woefully short in addressing a growing cancer care crisis."
Prior to Congress embarking on health reform legislation, a national team of oncologists spent more than a year researching and developing a plan to improve the Medicare payment system for cancer care. This initiative resulted in collaborating with members of Congress, now embodied in the National Cancer Care Demonstration Project Act of 2009 (H.R. 3675).
Dr. Cobb noted, "Because of the timing of the health care reform debate, we're concerned that progress in funding and implementing this very specific national project is too slow to stop the impact of the upcoming January cuts."
The organization has issued a six-part recommendation, which includes immediate action:
1. Enact real-world solutions to enhancing quality cancer care while
controlling costs by including the National Cancer Care Demonstration
Project Act of 2009 (H.R. 3675) in health care reform legislation.
2. Stop implementation of Medicare reimbursement cuts to cancer care,
especially the payment reduction to cancer drug administration.
3. Stop the 2010 21.2% Medicare reimbursement payment cut affecting all
physician-related services and fix the broken Medicare payment system
based on the SGR formula.
4. Stop cutting cancer care reimbursement further by using cuts to pay for
primary care bonuses.
5. Fix the problem of artificially low Medicare drug reimbursement by
including the "prompt pay" solution in health care reform legislation.
6. Eliminate the 20% Medicare patient co-payment requirement for cancer
drugs.
A full statement is listed the organization's web site (www.communityoncology.org).
"The War on Cancer, declared almost 40 years ago, has resulted in increased survival for Americans with cancer and has transformed many cancers from a death sentence to a chronic disease," continued Dr. Cobb. "However, the cost of cancer is still in excess of $220 billion annually and it claims the life of one American every minute. Congress must act now as health care reform legislation is being debated because the risk of getting this wrong is too great, both as measured in medical costs and the lives of Americans."
-----
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Isakson: Senate Needs to ‘Go Back to the Drawing Board’ on Health Care Reform
In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today criticized the health care reform proposal currently under consideration in the Senate Finance Committee and urged his colleagues to start the process over.
“There is common ground, but you've got to be willing to find it and so far that hasn't been the case. Ramming through something we can't read, we can't quantify and we can't score isn't the right way to go about this debate,” Isakson said. “This is too important for us to take a guess, too important for us to take a chance. It's imperative that Congress knows precisely what it's doing. We need to go back to the drawing board and have a bill we can read and a bill we can afford.”
In addition to criticizing the Democrats’ proposed tax increases and expansion of government into our health care, Isakson also said it’s difficult for the public to judge the merits of the Finance Committee plan when the Democrats refuse to make available the text of the legislation to members of Congress and the public.
Isakson also criticized Democrats for rejecting efforts to reduce frivolous medical lawsuits, which drive up costs and force doctors to order wasteful tests and treatments to cover liabilities. The Finance Committee proposal calls for only a non-binding ‘Sense of the Senate’ on medical liability.
On July 15, Isakson voted against the health care reform legislation that passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on a 13-to-10 vote. Isakson argued the legislation would cost more than $1 trillion, would put the federal government in an unfair competition with private health insurers and managed care providers and would place a massive financial burden on Georgia and other states to pay for a proposed expansion of Medicaid.
Isakson is a co-sponsor of S.1099, Patients' Choice Act of 2009, which seeks to strengthen the relationship between the patient and the doctor by using choice and competition, rather than rationing and restrictions, to contain costs and ensure affordable health care for all Americans.
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“There is common ground, but you've got to be willing to find it and so far that hasn't been the case. Ramming through something we can't read, we can't quantify and we can't score isn't the right way to go about this debate,” Isakson said. “This is too important for us to take a guess, too important for us to take a chance. It's imperative that Congress knows precisely what it's doing. We need to go back to the drawing board and have a bill we can read and a bill we can afford.”
In addition to criticizing the Democrats’ proposed tax increases and expansion of government into our health care, Isakson also said it’s difficult for the public to judge the merits of the Finance Committee plan when the Democrats refuse to make available the text of the legislation to members of Congress and the public.
Isakson also criticized Democrats for rejecting efforts to reduce frivolous medical lawsuits, which drive up costs and force doctors to order wasteful tests and treatments to cover liabilities. The Finance Committee proposal calls for only a non-binding ‘Sense of the Senate’ on medical liability.
On July 15, Isakson voted against the health care reform legislation that passed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on a 13-to-10 vote. Isakson argued the legislation would cost more than $1 trillion, would put the federal government in an unfair competition with private health insurers and managed care providers and would place a massive financial burden on Georgia and other states to pay for a proposed expansion of Medicaid.
Isakson is a co-sponsor of S.1099, Patients' Choice Act of 2009, which seeks to strengthen the relationship between the patient and the doctor by using choice and competition, rather than rationing and restrictions, to contain costs and ensure affordable health care for all Americans.
---
Community News You Can Use
Follow us on Twitter: @gafrontpage
www.FayetteFrontPage.com
www.GeorgiaFrontPage.com
www.PoliticalPotluck.com
www.ArtsAcrossGeorgia.com
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