THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS AT:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly

IN THIS ISSUE:
1) 2002 Proves a Successful Year for HHS
2) Number of American Children with Health Insurance Continues to Increase
3) HHS Awards Grants for Child Support Development Projects
4) RNA Research Named Breakthrough of the Year
5) Parents' Involvement Helps Kids Overcome Peer Influence on Smoking

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2002 Proves a Successful Year for HHS

The Department of Health and Human Services achieved significant successes under the leadership of Secretary Tommy G. Thompson in 2002. Noteworthy achievements came in seven principle areas:

Bioterrorism preparedness. America ended the year 2002 much better prepared to confront terrorism. HHS' budget for bioterrorism preparedness increased ten-fold, from $305 million in FY 2001 to $2.98 billion in FY 2002. More than $1 billion was provided to states and major cities to support increased preparedness by hospitals and public health systems. HHS took steps to provide enough smallpox vaccine to be able to vaccinate every American, in the possible event of a release of this disease.

Expanded access to health care. In 2002, HHS successfully expanded access to health care for Americans by expanding the number and reach of community health centers nationwide and by helping states to offer health coverage to more uninsured Americans through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid. Since the start of Bush Administration, HHS has approved waivers and plan amendments that expand access to coverage to nearly 1.8 million Americans and improved benefits for more than 5 million other Americans.

Prevention initiative. Secretary Thompson launched his comprehensive initiative on disease prevention in a National Press Club speech April 30, outlining steps that individuals can take on their own for good health. Working through HHS agencies and in partnership with many other organizations, new activities were launched throughout the year to support healthy choices and behaviors. The initiative particularly focused on diabetes, obesity, diet, and ethnic disparities in health.

Improving quality of care. In 2002, HHS moved ahead with a far-reaching effort to promote higher-quality care among healthcare organizations in part by measuring and reporting quality information to consumers. HHS' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) have worked to validate quality measures using available data and then develop meaningful measures that can be used by health care providers to improve quality and reported to the public to empower consumers to choose quality healthcare providers.

Next steps for helping those in need. The number of Americans on welfare continued to go down and more of those receiving welfare were taking part in work or training. Secretary Thompson led the Administration's efforts toward reauthorization of the 1996 welfare reform law, with stronger work requirements, more supports for families to achieve self-sufficiency, and greater flexibility for states. In addition, HHS led the administration's efforts to enable more faith-based and community organizations to deliver federally-supported services.

Protecting patient privacy. In 2002, HHS completed the first-ever comprehensive federal patient privacy regulations giving patients sweeping protections over the privacy of their medical records. The regulations empower patients by guaranteeing them access to their medical records, giving them more control over how their protected health information is used and disclosed, and providing a clear avenue of recourse if their medical privacy is compromised. The privacy rule covers medical records and other personal health information maintained by certain health care providers, hospitals, health plans, health insurers and health care clearinghouses.

Regulatory reform. In 2002, HHS moved to restore common sense to its regulatory process in order to remove unnecessary barriers between patients and their doctors, nurses and other health care providers. During the year, Secretary Thompson's newly created Advisory Committee on Regulatory Reform made hundreds of recommendations to remove potential obstacles to patients' access to care, reduce the time doctors and other health care professionals must spend on paperwork, improve communication with consumers, and improve the use of technology to promote quality care while ensuring patients have strong privacy protections. HHS has already moved to implement dozens of those recommendations.

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Number of American Children with Health Insurance Continues to Increase

A new report from HHS' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the percentage of American children with health insurance continued to increase in the first half of 2002, meaning that a half million more children are now covered by insurance than in the previous year. The improvement comes as more children rely on public coverage for their health care, including the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) created in 1997.

"More and more children are getting the health care they need, thanks in large measure to our success in working with states to expand health coverage through the SCHIP program," HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. "We are giving governors the flexibility they need to continue to expand coverage to more children, and our strategy is paying off for children and parents alike."

The new report reflects the latest data from the CDC's annual survey tracking health insurance and other health indicators for Americans. The report shows that the percent of children (17 and under) without health insurance declined from 13.9 percent in 1997 to 9.8 percent in the first half of 2002. During this period, reliance on public programs for coverage was fairly constant between 1997 and 2000 at about 21 percent, but then rose to 23.4 percent in 2001 and jumped to 27.2 percent in 2002. As public coverage rose, the percent of children covered by private plans dropped from 67.1 percent to 64.5 percent from 2002 to 2001.

SCHIP is designed to help children without health insurance, many of whom come from working families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford private health insurance. There were 4.6 million children enrolled in SCHIP at some point during fiscal year 2001, the most recent year for which complete state data is available.

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HHS Awards Grants for Child Support Development Projects

Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced on Jan. 2 the awarding of over $2.2 million in child support development project grants to 12 states, faith-based, non-profit, and tribal organizations to aid them in their child support enforcement systems.

The Special Improvement grants are part of HHS' commitment to the American family by strengthening the child support enforcement program.

"These grants are designed to examine new ways to augment child support enforcement services to increase child support collections, promote fatherhood and healthy marriage, and help struggling families to take care of their children," Secretary Thompson said.

A number of grants are designed to assist unmarried, low-income parents understand the importance of parenting skills, as well as unemployed fathers recognize the impact their actions can have on their child's life.

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RNA Research Named Breakthrough of the Year

Science magazine has declared advances in understanding molecules called "small RNAs" as the top scientific achievement of 2002. This "Breakthrough of the Year" research was funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), a component of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Once thought to be mere foot soldiers that carry out DNA's orders, RNA molecules are now known to play a significant role in controlling gene expression and other cellular activities. NIGMS grantees whose discoveries are included in the Science Breakthrough of the Year include Dr. Andrew Fire of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Baltimore, Md.; Dr. Craig Mello of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Dr. Gregory Hannon and Dr. Shiv Grewal of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, Dr. Martin Gorovsky of the University of Rochester in New York, and Dr. C. David Allis of the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville.

Two other NIGMS-funded research areas were named among the Science magazine top 10 achievements for 2002: research on TRP (transient receptor potential) ion channels that allow us to taste spicy hot and minty cool sensations, and advances in a technology called cryoelectron tomography, which makes it possible to view cellular structures in three dimensions.

NIGMS supports basic biomedical research and training nationwide. NIGMS-funded studies lay the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

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Parents' Involvement Helps Kids Overcome Peer Influence on Smoking

Having involved parents can help children overcome peer influence to start smoking, according to a study by a researcher at HHS' National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

The study also confirmed earlier findings that the more widespread children think smoking is, the more likely they are to start. Moreover, children who are socially adjusted and have parents who monitor their behavior tend not to start smoking.

While researchers have known that both peers and parents play an important role in whether young teens and preteens start smoking, they've known less about whether the effects of peer influence on starting smoking is affected by other factors, such as parents' involvement, children's adjustment to school, and their degree of social competence.

"Many children start to experiment with smoking in early adolescence, " said Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the NICHD. "Many then go on to develop a life-long addiction that can cause them serious health problems later in life. This study shows that by staying involved in their children's lives, parents can help them to avoid the smoking habit."

Researchers found that teens with friends engaging in problem behavior-those who smoked, drank, cheated on tests, lied to parents, bullied others or damaged property - were more likely to smoke if their parents were relatively less involved than if their parents were relatively more involved.

"Parents' involvement may be particularly important during early adolescence," said study-chief Dr. Simons-Morton, of NICHD's Division of Epidemiology, Statistics and Prevention Research . "It is a time when many young people first begin asserting their independence from their parents, but before peer influences reach their full strength. It's also a time when young people are still sensitive to their parents' values and concerns, and may be reluctant to try smoking, because they know their parents would disapprove."

The study also confirmed two earlier findings. The researchers found that students who provided higher estimates of how many other youth smoke were more likely to smoke than those who provided lower estimates. In addition, the researchers found that sixth graders who had the ability to exercise self-control and good judgment, and had parents who monitored their behavior were less likely to start smoking.

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