The Committee believes that
these topics represent important issues and challenges for rural communities
across the health and human services spectrum.
The Committee will continue
its work at the Summer meeting in Nebraska City, NE in June.
October, 2003
The Committee held its Fall
meeting in Charleston, West Virginia September 7-9 and continued work
on its 2004 report which is due to the Secretary in February of 2004.
The 2004 report will focus
on three key issues. The first is access to oral health services in
rural communities. The second is the integration of behavioral health
and primary care in rural communities. The third focuses on serving
the rural elderly.
During the September meeting,
the Committee heard testimony from a number of West Virginia officials
related to the Committee topic areas. The Committee also visited a number
of clinics and area agencies on aging to help provide information for
the 2004 report. The Committee will continue work on the report through
the Fall and it is expected to approve the report at its February 22-24th
in Washington D.C. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
March, 2003
Committee approves quality
report and recommendations
The National Advisory Committee
on Rural Health and Human Services approved its quality report at its
meeting March 2-4th and recommended forwarding the report to Secretary
Tommy Thompson.
The report, which has been
a year in the making, looks at the issue of health quality in rural
areas and makes several recommendations to the Secretary on this issue.
The report is undergoing final editing and formatting and should be
sent to the Secretary by early April. The Committee also approved a
short white paper on the allied health workforce needs in rural areas
and will also forward that to the Secretary along with the quality report.
Both document will be available publicly within the next few weeks.
"We think both of these
documents will highlight important issues for the Secretary," said
David M. Beasley, the Committee chair and former Governor of South Carolina.
"In both cases, we took a look at key health policy issues and
then focused in on some of the important rural considerations."
The Committee will now turn
its attention to its work plan for 2003 and 2004. This will include
an examination of the integration of behavioral health and primary care
in rural settings and access to oral health care services in rural communities.
The Committee will also focus on issues affecting the rural elderly.
Fall 2002
The National Advisory Committee
on Health and Human Services held its fall meeting in Pray, Montana
Sept. 8-10th and continued work on its report on health quality in rural
areas.
The report is expected to
be reviewed and approved at the Committee's meeting March 2-4th in Washington,
D.C. In addition to the quality report, the Committee is also continuing
work on a white paper that looks at the challenges facing the allied
health workforce in rural areas. The white paper is also expected to
be reviewed and approved at the March meeting. Both documents will then
be sent to HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson for review.
"Both of these projects
focus on issues that are important to rural America," said David
Beasley, the former South Carolina governor who chairs the Committee.
"We're hopeful that the Quality report will help provide some needed
rural perspective in the larger discussion about quality in our health
care system. We also feel like the workforce white paper will bring
a needed focus to the challenge rural communities are facing in recruiting
and retaining allied health care providers."
July 9, 2002
HHS
Names New Members to Rural Health Advisory Committee
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson
today announced the appointment of five rural health experts to serve
on the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health.
"The five new members
of the committee are national leaders in rural health," Thompson
said. "Their input will ensure that HHS and its many programs serve
and support rural communities as strongly as possible."
The selections are:
- Evan Dillard, administrator
of the Walker Baptist Medical Center in Jasper, Ala.,
- Joellen Edwards, a nurse
practitioner and educator from East Tennessee State University in
Johnson City, Tenn.,
- Michael Enright, a psychologist
and nurse practitioner from Jackson, Wyo.,
- Raymond D. Rawson, a
dentist and state legislator from Carson City, Nev.,
- Glenn D. Steele, administrator
of the Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pa.
The 16-member committee,
chaired by former South Carolina Governor David Beasley, meets three
times a year and prepares annual reports for the Secretary on key health
issues that affect rural communities. This year the committee will focus
on two issues - rural health quality and workforce.
The committee will also
play a key role in a new Department-wide initiative designed to strengthen
rural health care. Initiative staff received more than 450 comments
from members of the public on rural health issues; among the most critical
issues identified were access to mental health and oral health services.
The committee's new members, who will serve four-year terms, include
rural experts in both these fields.
March, 2002
Committee Approves
Safety Net Report, Looks Toward Workforce and Quality
The National Advisory Committee
on Rural Health approved its safety net report at its meeting March
3-5th and will soon begin work on reports on quality and workforce.
The March meeting featured
the introduction of a new chair, former South Carolina Governor David
M. Beasley, who replaced former Kansas Senator Nancy Kassebaum Baker.
Under Governor Beasley's leadership, the Committee decided to take on
the task of writing two reports in 2002. One report will focus on rural
health care quality while the other will focus on research. The Committee
will spend the next few months research both topics to define the particular
focus of each report.
In the meantime, the Committee
approved a report on the rural health care safety net that it has been
working on for the past year. The report is awaiting final edits and
will be sent to Secretary Thompson in early April.
May, 2001
Committee Sends
Medicare Reform Report to the Secretary
Group Begins work on FY 2001 Topic
The National Advisory Committee
on Rural Health sent a report on the rural implications of Medicare
reform to Tommy G. Thompson, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, that calls for a move toward greater equity
of benefits for all beneficiaries and steps to address the payment gap
between rural and urban providers.
The report, which was a
year in the making, provides a range of recommendations to the Secretary
in the hope that a rural voice will be heard in any possible redesign
of the Medicare program, which has been discussed by both the new Administration
and the 107th Congress. The report looks at Medicare issues related
to four key areas: finance, access, quality and workforce. It argues
that Medicare, as currently configured, does not serve rural beneficiaries
well and that any redesign of the program should address current problems.
Among the highlights of the report are a call for an equity of benefits
for Medicare beneficiaries regardless of where they live and strengthening
and protecting the fee-for-service delivery system.
“We hope this report can
help inform the debate on Medicare reform by providing a rural perspective,”
said Nancy Kassebaum Baker, outgoing chair of the Committee and a former
U.S. Senator from Kansas. “The Committee felt strongly that it’s important
that a rural voice be heard in any discussion about Medicare reform.”
The Committee now turns
its attention to its next project for 2001, which is a targeted look
at the rural health care safety net. In the past few years, issues affecting
the health care safety net have garnered significant attention. This
has been driven by concerns about continued increases in the number
of Americans who are uninsured and underinsured as well as the impact
of changes in the health care system brought about by managed care along
with payment reductions in Medicare and Medicaid. The focus on the safety
net, to date, has been largely global in nature. Few studies have looked
at these issues from the rural perspective. The National Advisory Committee
on Rural Health decided at its February 2001 meeting chose to take a
targeted look at the rural health care safety net for its annual report
to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
in FY 2001. The Committee’s intent is not to duplicate work on this
issue that has already been produced by recent reports from either the
Institute of Medicine or the Urban Institute but to instead focus on
several discrete rural safety net issues that fall within the scope
of existing Federal statutory authority.
February, 2001
Committee Putting
Final Touches on Report on Key Rural Issues in Medicare Reform
The National Advisory Committee
on Rural Health is putting the final touches on its report on the rural
implications of Medicare reform and expects to submit the document to
Tommy G. Thompson, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services, sometime in the Spring of 2001.
The Committee reviewed
the report at its most recent meeting, Feb. 4-6, and gave approval to
the overall tone of the report and issued some final suggestions to
staff to revise the report in preparation for release. The report focuses
on issues related to financing, workforce, quality and access for rural
Medicare beneficiaries.
The report, which the Committee
has been focusing upon for the past year, will contain recommendations
to the new Secretary on key rural issues to be addressed in any redesign
of the Medicare program. The issue of Medicare reform has been raised
by both Congress and the White House, but it is not clear when or if
any definitive action will take place. The Committee's report, according
to the chair, is an attempt to raise issues that affect the health care
delivery system for Medicare beneficiaries who live in rural areas.
"Hopefully, this report
will shed some light on some important issues for rural beneficiaries,"
said former Senator Nancy Kassebaum Baker, the group's former chair.
"Should Medicare reform take place, this will help ensure that rural
concerns have a voice."
While final work on the
report takes place, the Committee is also looking ahead to its topic
for the 2001 calendar year. The group voted during its February meeting
to focus its next report on the rural safety net.
November, 2000
Committee Developing
Report on Key Rural Issues in Medicare Reform
The National Advisory Committee
on Rural Health, chaired by former Senator Nancy Kassebaum Baker, continues
work on a report examining the rural implications of Medicare reform
that will be sent to the Secretary of Health and Human Services early
in 2001.
The report will lay out
the key rural issues that must be addressed in any major redesign of
the Medicare program. The report and subsequent recommendations offer
the Committee an opportunity to highlight key rural issues identified
by the 16-member Committee.
“We think it’s important
to highlight some of these issues,” Kassebaum Baker said. “Rural Medicare
beneficiaries have a lot at stake in terms of access to care and affordability.
The Committee will try to bring some attention to the particular rural
concerns in this report.”
The Committee, which developed
the framework for the report at its September 2000 meeting in Hazard,
Kentucky, will meet again February 4-6 in Washington, D.C. The Committee
hopes to have the report ready for that meeting and to forward it to
the Secretary shortly thereafter. The document is the culmination of
a year’s work by the Committee, which focuses on one key topic each
year that is the focus of an annual report and recommendations.
July, 2000
Committee Continues
Focus on Medicare Reform
The National Advisory Committee
on Rural Health calls on the Administration and the Congress to give
special attention to rural issues in any possible reform to the Medicare
program.
The Committee, which is
chaired by former Kansas Senator Nancy Kassebaum Baker, met in Eufala,
Oklahoma June 4-7 and produced a set of rural guiding principles on
key Medicare reform issues that have been forwarded to Donna Shalala,
the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. That
document, "Key Issues for Medicare Reform," recommends that policymakers
take into account the key differences in the rural health care delivery
system in redesigning the 35-year-old Medicare program. Rural areas
tend to have fewer health care providers serving sparse populations
spread out over large geographic areas, which makes it hard to rely
on a standard competitive model to deliver services.
"This is part of the Committee’s
ongoing effort to highlight some of the important rural concerns that
need to be addressed in any reform or revision of the Medicare program,"
Kassebaum Baker said. "We can’t assume that a one-size-fits-all solution
will work."
During the June meeting,
the Committee reviewed the leading Medicare reform plans put forward
by the Administration and the Congress with the help of a background
document, "A Rural Assessment of Leading Proposals to Redesign the Medicare
Program," which was prepared by the Rural Policy Research Institute’s
(RUPRI) Health Panel.
The Committee also forwarded
to the Secretary a recommendation on the issue of prescription drug
coverage for Medicare beneficiaries. The Congress and the Administration
both have introduced drug coverage proposals and the issue continues
to dominate the debate on Capitol Hill. The Committee’s recommendation
calls on the Administration to offer some protection to small, rural
pharmacists in any possible drug coverage benefit that might be added
to the Medicare program. The Committee expressed concern that these
important local providers might be bypassed by large pharmacy benefit
managers or private insurers. The failure to include local pharmacists
in any new delivery system could deprive rural communities of a local
source of urgently needed prescriptions.
The Committee will continue
to address the issue of Medicare reform at its September meeting in
Hazard, Kentucky September 10-12.
March 5, 2000
Committee Will
Examine Rural Aspects of Medicare Reform
The National Advisory Committee
on Rural Health will spend the next year examining the rural aspects
of Medicare reform along with several other related issues.
"It's important that we
make sure that rural concerns are part of the ongoing debate about Medicare
reform," said Nancy Kassebaum Baker, who chairs the Committee. "We hope
the Committee can bring some important issues to the table over the
next year as the Administration and the Congress begin discussing ways
to improve and modernize the Medicare program."
Each year, the Committee
chooses an issue to study. Last year, the Committee focused on rural
public health. The decision to focus on Medicare reform came out of
discussions at the February 6-9, 2000 meeting. The Committee will spend
the next 12 to 18 months working on this initiative, which will culminate
in the release of a report and a set of recommendations for the Secretary
of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In addition to Medicare
reform, the Committee will also continuing studying several other critical
issues, including rural mental health, the rural uninsured, collaboration
with the VA in rural communities and continued work on rural public
health.
January 12, 2000
New Chair Begins
Tenure with NAC
Former Kansas Senator Nancy
Kassebaum Baker takes over leadership of National Advisory Committee
on Rural Health when she chairs the February 6-9 meeting of this group
of national rural health experts at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington
D.C.
A strong advocate for rural
health issues during her time in Congress, Senator Kassebaum Baker brings
a wealth of experience to her job as chair of the Committee. She served
three terms as a Republican Senator from Kansas and is a former chair
of the Labor and Human Resources Committee. Since retiring from the
Senate, Kassebaum Baker has remained active on health issues, serving
on the boards of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and as chair of
the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Senator Kassebaum Baker
and the Committee will have an ambitious agenda during her initial meeting
as chair. The Committee will hear presentations on a range of issues
including the work of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured,
mental health and Medicare payment. In addition, the Committee will
begin discussing its annual project for the coming year, which will
focus on collaborative models of health care delivery in rural areas
with the Veterans Administration and the Indian Health Service.
The National Advisory Committee
on Rural Health is a 16-member board that advises the Secretary of Health
and Human Services on issues concerning the provision and financing
of health care services in rural areas.
For further details on this
appointment, see the February 7, 2000 HRSA
press release.
October 1999
NAC Meets with
Secretary, Completes Public Health Report
The National Advisory Committee
on Rural Health voted to forward its report on the Rural Public Health
Infrastructure to the Secretary at the close of its September meeting
along with a handful of recommendations on issues related to the impact
of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) on rural health care providers.
The meeting, which was
held September 12-15 in Washington, D.C., was highlighted by a visit
from Donna E. Shalala, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. Secretary Shalala addressed the Committee and discussed
ongoing negotiations with the Congress to mitigate some of the more
harmful impacts of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and asked Committee
members for suggestions on how to address key rural concerns.
"We're just not going to
have a rural America if we don't have health care in rural America,"
the Secretary said.
The meeting also marked
the final meeting for Chair Robert D. Ray, a former Iowa Governor, and
four committee members (Frank Newman, Jay Wheeler, Barbara Doty and
Jennifer Frary). Governor Ray, who has chaired the Committee since its
inception in 1987, will be succeeded by former Kansas Senator Nancy
Kassebaum Baker.
By the close of the September
meeting, the Committee approved two recommendations on public health
issues, five recommendations on Medicare payment issues related to the
BBA and a pair of recommendations on rural hospitals. Each of the recommendations,
as well as the public health report, will be available on this web site
as soon as they are forwarded to the Secretary. The Committee's next
meeting will be February 6-9 in Washington, D.C.
