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HHS WEEKLY REPORT
March 24-30 2002

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

IN THIS ISSUE:
1) Secretary Thompson's public schedule for the week of March 24-30
2) Arkansas Gift of Life
3) Speech to the American Enterprise Institute
4) HHS Week in Review


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Secretary's Schedule for the week of 24-30 March

Monday, 25 March
2 p.m.- Gift of Life Awards, Arkansas Governor's Mansion, Little Rock, Arkansas

Wednesday, 27 March
12:40 p.m. - Address to the American Enterprise Institute, Wohlsteeter Conference Ctr., 12th Floor, 1150 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
2:30 p.m. - Diabetes event, HHH Building (room TBD)

 

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Arkansas Gift of Life

On Monday, March 25th, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson will join Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to present Gift of Life awards to twelve Arkansas families who made the decision to donate the organs of deceased loved ones. This is the first Gift of Life event in Arkansas, and Governor Huckabee hopes it will be the first of many.

The Gift of Life awards began when Secretary Thompson was governor of Wisconsin. As he tells it:

"When I was governor of Wisconsin, a good friend of mine, Dr. Hans Sollinger - now the Chairman of the Transplant Division at the University of Wisconsin Hospital - joined me for dinner at the governor's residence. Dr. Sollinger lamented that he had lost a patient that very day because of a lack of the necessary organ. Dr. Sollinger spoke to me that night about the desperate need for more organs, and the need for a high-profile spokesman to lead the effort.

"So that night I made a commitment - to him, to myself, to Wisconsin, and now to America. I made a commitment to make organ donation a priority, to articulate a vision for our country, and to make a concerted effort to get more people involved and recognized for giving organs. We did this in Wisconsin, and the gift of life awards have spread across our nation as a way to honor those brave Americans who made the compassionate choice to donate."

Also present at the event will be Arkansas Senator Tim Hutchinson and Pete Johnson, an Administration appointee to the Delta Regional Authority.

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Speech to the American Enterprise Institute

On March 27th, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson will address the American Enterprise Institute on the subject of the Administration's efforts to reform Medicare. As the Secretary has said, "There are few things more important to the future of the United States than a fiscally sound, user-friendly and, most importantly, effective Medicare system. Medicare is designed to meet the health care needs of our seniors, the men and women who have given us the nation whose freedoms and blessings we enjoy today. We have an obligation to meet the commitments we have made to them."

The Secretary will discuss reforms at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the President's plan for long-term reform of the Medicare system, and current steps being taken to address Medicare needs today.

CMS reforms have included the "Open Door Policy Initiative," in which senior managers in CMS meet with providers and other key stakeholders at least once a month; a vigorous effort to eliminate the approximate $11 billion lost each year to Medicare errors; and initiatives to streamline the Medicare and Medicaid bureaucracies.

The President's plan long-term reform of the Medicare system includes such features as a prescription drug benefit, and a bipartisan effort to resolve the fiscal troubles that threaten the system in the years to come. It emphasizes preventive care. Most importantly, it seeks to give Medicare recipients more options for insurance, akin to what Federal employee receive.

In the short run, the FY 2003 budget dedicates $190 billion over ten years for immediate targeted improvements and comprehensive Medicare modernization, including a subsidized prescription drug benefit, better insurance protection and better private options for all beneficiaries. Secretary Thompson has also acted to extend health insurance to as many Americans as possible, through the approval of state plan amendments and Medicaid and SCHIP waivers that have expanded opportunity for health coverage to 1.8 million Americans, and improved existing benefits to 4.5 million individuals.
According to its website, "The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is dedicated to preserving and strengthening the foundations of freedom-limited government, private enterprise, vital cultural and political institutions, and a strong foreign policy and national defense-through scholarly research, open debate, and publications. Founded in 1943 and located in Washington, D.C., AEI is one of America's largest and most respected 'think tanks.'"

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HHS WEEK IN REVIEW

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National Association of Community Health Centers

Secretary Thompson on Wednesday received the National Association of Community Health Centers' 2002 Distinguished Community Health Champion Award for his ongoing commitment to increase the number of people cared for at the nation's community health centers.

In accepting the award, Secretary Thompson thanked the community health center workers for their dedication and compassion to helping those in need. He said, "Community health centers play a valuable role in the public health system in America, from our biggest cities to our smallest, rural communities. . . . President Bush and I are committed to making [them] as strong as possible.

Secretary Thompson outlined key parts of the President's 2003 budget, which includes initiatives that focus on the nation's uninsured and underinsured. "There are roughly 38.6 million Americans who don't have health insurance - - that's 38.6 million men, women and children. That's simply too many in a nation as compassionate and caring as ours," Secretary Thompson said.

Community health centers are at the heart of the President's proposal to expand access to health care. Community health centers treat and care for thousands of people every day, and they are a cornerstone of our nation's health care system.

The President's 2003 budget also supports several critical activities to prevent, identify and respond to incidents of bioterrorism - - and told the group that community health centers will play a key role in the strengthened public health system.

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PhRMA speech

On Saturday, March 23rd, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson addressed the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, the primary industry group representing the makers and developers of drugs in the United States. The Secretary discussed issues including the Administration's response to bioterrorism:

"We've been aggressive and prudent in our work to prepare for any biological or chemical threat our enemies could use against us. To prepare further, President Bush and I are requesting an additional $4.3 billion - an increase of 45 percent over the current fiscal year - to support a variety of critical activities to prevent, identify and respond to incidents of bioterrorism.

"We are strengthening the Hospital Preparedness program to improve local hospital preparation for biological and chemical attacks and expand their surge capacity. We're already distributing the $1.1 billion for state government bioterrorism preparedness. And we're working to connect every major county and metropolitan region with the Health Alert Network.

"The NIH is researching better anthrax, plague and hemorrhagic fever vaccines … and we're purchasing an additional 154 million doses of smallpox vaccine, so that - by the end of the year - every man, woman and child in this nation will have the vaccine he or she needs. When it comes to bioterrorism, we're growing stronger in our preparedness every day."

In addition to this, the Secretary expressed support for reduction of medical errors through measures such as the introduction of bar coding for pharmacies. He urged PhRMA to support Medicare reform as a means of driving down drug costs while maintaining profitability for the manufacturers. And he updated PhRMA members on the status of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA.

According to its website, "The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country's leading research-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives."

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Privacy press release

On Thursday, March 21st, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson proposed changes to HHS's health privacy regulations to ensure strong privacy protections while correcting unintended consequences that threatened patients' access to quality health care.

"The President believes strongly in the need for federal protections to ensure patient privacy, and the changes we are proposing today will allow us to deliver strong protections for personal medical information while improving access to care," Secretary Thompson said.

The federal privacy regulations guarantee patients full access to their medical records, give them more control over how their personal information is used and disclosed, and provide a clear avenue of recourse if their medical privacy is compromised.

The proposal would make the following revisions:

The proposal also would make other revisions to simplify the rule's paperwork requirements while preserving the rule's strong privacy protections. The changes reflect Secretary Thompson's commitment to making regulatory requirements simpler and easier to implement - without reducing their effectiveness. For example:

Most covered entities have until April 14, 2003, to comply with the patient privacy rule; under the law, certain small health plans have until April 14, 2004 to comply. To help people prepare for and meet the rule's requirements, HHS's Office for Civil Rights will continue to conduct outreach and education for healthcare providers, consumers and others affected by the privacy regulation.

 

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Last updated 25 March 2002
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