2001.04.27The First 100 Days Department of Health and Human Services.html

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2001.04.27:The First 100 Days: Department of Health and Human Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, April 27, 2001 Contact: HHS Press Office

THE FIRST 100 DAYS: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

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President W. Bush and HHS Secretary Tommy G. have made

significant strides in the First 100 Days of the administration to meet the

President's campaign promise to improve the quality of care for all Americans.

The administration is also meeting the commitment to leave no child behind in

the quality of education and health care they receive. Here are some of the

highlights from the First 100 Days at HHS.

MAKING HHS MORE RESPONSIVE TO THE PEOPLE IT SERVES

Secretary is working aggressively to support the President's pledge to

make the federal government more responsive to those it serves. Nowhere is this

pledge more evident than in the number of waivers granted to states, helping

them serve families in innovative ways. As promised, is working in

close partnership with states to provide increased access to health insurance

for low-income Americans. Between Jan. 20 and April 20, 2001, the Department of

Health and Human Services approved 247 waivers and state plan amendments for

programs like Medicaid and SCHIP. And more are in the pipeline. By speeding up

and simplifying the waiver approval process, this administration is rewarding

and encouraging innovation and working in partnership with states. The result is

that states are able to provide more access and better healthcare to hundreds of

thousands of Americans. For example:

Colorado. The Secretary approved two changes in the Colorado State Children's

Health Insurance Program that will allow the state to eliminate monthly premiums

in the program and substitute a nominal annual enrollment fee of $25 for one

child or $35 for eligible families with two or more children whose income is

between 151 percent and 185 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). The

second change streamlines the state's application and enrollment process to make

it easier for families to sign up for coverage. The state expects to cover

29,743 children this year.

Louisiana. The Secretary approved Louisiana's request to extend its

CommunityCARE program. CommunityCARE's physician primary care case managers

coordinate health care and increase access to preventive care for approximately

46,000 people enrolled in Medicaid.

In addition, Secretary moved immediately upon his confirmation to

direct the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to improve

accountability, responsiveness, and partnership in the federal/state Medicaid

waiver and amendment process. In response to the Secretary's directive, HCFA has

developed a new data system for tracking all amendments and waivers in a common

format and central database. HCFA is implementing new procedures for

streamlining the approval process.

IMPROVING ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

President Bush and Secretary have already begun working to improve

access to health insurance for the uninsured by:

a.. Including a tax credit for purchasing health insurance for low-income

individuals of $1,000 for singles and $2,000 for married couples. This credit is

expected to make health care accessible to 6 million more people;

b.. Increasing by $124 million funding for Community Health Centers in FY

2002, for a total of $1.3 billion, as part of a multi-year initiative to support

1,200 new or expanded health center sites;

c.. Allowing states increased flexibility in running Medicaid and the State

Children's Health Insurance Programs through the waiver process.

PROTECTING PATIENTS' PRIVACY RIGHTS

At the President's request, Secretary began implementing strong patient

privacy protections included in a final rule that gives patients greater access

to their own medical records and more control over how their personal

information is used.

This rule makes sure that private health information isn't misused in the

information and technology age, when an array of data is readily available. This

administration is giving patients peace of mind in knowing that their medical

records are indeed confidential and their privacy is not vulnerable to

intrusion.

American consumers will continue to receive high-quality health care without

sacrificing the confidentiality of their private health matters. After patient

privacy debates lasting the better part of a decade, President Bush acted within

100 days to resolve this matter.

LEAVING NO CHILD BEHIND

The President has put substantial resources behind his promise to leave no child

behind, clearly making children a top priority of his administration. He has

requested a $3 billion increase in resources ($76.8 billion total) to fund

initiatives to support children and youth, including:

a.. After School Certificates (+$400 million),

b.. Promoting Safe and Stable Families (+$200 million),

c.. Mentoring Children of Prisoners (+$67 million),

d.. Independent Living Program (+$60 million),

e.. Promoting Responsible Fatherhood (+$64 million), and

f.. Maternity Group Homes initiative (+$33 million);

ORGAN DONATION

Secretary pledged that within his first 100 days he would launch an

initiative to increase organ donation in this country. On his 75th day in

office, the Secretary launched his five point " Donate Life " initiative

including:

a.. Workplace Partnership for Life. A public-private partnership whereby

participating corporations and companies of all sizes encourage employees to

become organ donors and raise awareness about the need for donation in their

workplaces.

b.. National Organ Donor Card that will serve as a model and legal card for

those wishing to make clear that they intend to be organ donors. The card

creates some uniformity and clarity in regard to the intent of the donor.

c.. National Forum on Donor Registries. This forum will bring together HHS

agencies overseeing donation and transplantation as well as the other

stakeholders in this issue to discuss the need for a national registry or state

registries that can be linked.

d.. National Gift of Life Medal. This medal will be created and given to the

surviving families of organ donation to recognize their loved one for giving the

gift of life.

e.. Organ Donation Curriculum for Driver's Education. HHS and HRSA, in

conjunction with the states, are developing a model curriculum that can be used

in driver's education classes to raise awareness for organ donation and

encourage young people to become donors.

The Secretary plans to build upon this foundation in addressing the issues of

organ donation and transplantation in America throughout his tenure.

STRENGTHENING AND IMPROVING MEDICARE

President Bush has kept his promise to focus on strengthening and improving

Medicare by committing $153 billion over 10 years to modernize Medicare,

including the addition of a prescription drug benefit.

In addition, to assist seniors with limited incomes or high drug expenses, the

President put forward his Immediate Helping Hand prescription drug proposal. The

Immediate Helping Hand proposal will give immediate financial support to states

so they can provide prescription drug coverage to beneficiaries with low incomes

or high drug expenses. The HHS budget allocates $46 billion for Immediate

Helping Hand, which is designed to provide drug coverage to those most in need

until the Administration and Congress enact broader Medicare reforms, including

the creation of a prescription drug option for all beneficiaries.

In addition, Secretary , along with his fellow Trustees, approved new

technical assumptions so that the Medicare Part A Trust Fund will better

estimate future Medicare resource needs. This is particularly important as the

Administration creates a plan to strengthen and modernize the Medicare program

to ensure its financial stability in the coming years.

Also, HCFA approved requests by managed care plans to reenter areas where plans

had left or to offer new Medicare managed care options to beneficiaries in New

York, Illinois, New Mexico, Texas, Massachusetts and Missouri. These

Medicare+Choice organizations give Medicare beneficiaries another health plan

option.

COMMITMENT TO MEDICAL RESEARCH

President Bush showed his commitment to research by meeting his campaign pledge

of doubling the funding for the National Institutes of Health by 2003. In his FY

2002 budget request, the President included $2.75 billion in increased funding

for NIH -- the biggest single year budget increase in NIH's history. He has been

a passionate advocate for more scientific research since becoming Secretary.

ENCOURAGING HEALTHY BEHAVIOR

Surgeon General's Report on Women and Smoking. On March 27, Surgeon General

Satcher and Secretary released a major new report " Women and

Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. " This report summarizes patterns of

tobacco use among women, factors associated with starting and continuing to

smoke, the health consequences of smoking, tobacco marketing targeted at women,

and cessation and prevention interventions.

Women now account for 39 percent of all smoking-related deaths each year in the

United States, a proportion that has more than doubled since 1965, according to

the report. The report concludes that the increased likelihood of lung cancer,

cardiovascular disease, and reproductive health problems among female smokers

makes tobacco use a serious women's health issue.

This report helped put the spotlight on the issue of women's health, which

Secretary plans to make a major priority at HHS during his tenure.

National Campaign to Screen for Colorectal Cancer. HCFA and CDC are following

through on the Secretary's efforts to inform the public about Medicare's

coverage of screening for colorectal cancer. The two agencies, along with the

National Cancer Institute, are targeting people 50 and older in the early

detection and prevention of this cancer. Medicare, the program for elderly and

disabled Americans, is reminding beneficiaries that four types of colorectal

cancer screening tests are now covered by Medicare. In July, Medicare will also

cover a fifth test, a screening colonoscopy every 10 years for people not at

high risk for colorectal cancer.

Breast or Cervical Cancer Screening for Women Covered by Medicaid. The Secretary

approved proposals from land, New Hampshire and West Virginia to expand

Medicaid benefits to uninsured women who are diagnosed with breast or cervical

cancer through a federal screening program. The action allows the states to take

advantage of the federal Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act

(BCCPT) that was signed into law in October 2000. The law extends the full

Medicaid benefit package to women who are screened and found to need treatment

through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Breast

and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. Adoption of coverage for women

under the BCCPT is optional for states. However, states that do offer the

benefit receive an enhanced matching rate for women who enroll.

REACHING OUT TO ALL AMERICANS

In the first 100 days, Secretary has been reaching out to Americans,

speaking several times a week. spoke to 18 national groups and

organizations representing almost 3.2 million health care professionals,

including doctors, dentists, hospital employees, community health care workers,

and audiologists. He has also spoken to advocacy groups, scientists, lawmakers,

state and local government groups, and citizens visiting HHS. He has traveled to

California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Rhode Island, land and Wisconsin.

The Secretary has also reached out to more than 1,800 HHS employees in three

regional offices and more than 29,000 employees in six satellite offices

including the Center for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, and

the National Institutes of Health. During these visits, the Secretary is

learning about the agencies and encouraging more cooperation and coordination

within the Department. Some HHS employees said Secretary was the first

Secretary they had met in 20 years.

NEW FREEDOM INITIATIVE

On February 1, President Bush launched his New Freedom Initiative, a

government-wide framework for helping provide people with disabilities with the

tools they need to fully access and participate in their communities.

FAITH AND COMMUNITY BASED INITIATIVES

Within the first 100 days of this new administration, and pursuant the President

Bush's Executive Order, Secretary has created a Center for Faith and

Community Based Initiatives at the agency. The Secretary created the center to

establish a level playing field for all faith-based and community organizations

applying for federal grants.

MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS

HCFA Reform. The Secretary has launched a comprehensive management review to

modernize and reform the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), which

oversees the Medicare, Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program.

The review will examine the agency's mission, competing demands, and resources.

The Secretary expects to take appropriate steps to ensure HCFA has the structure

and resources to respond to the needs of beneficiaries, states and health care

providers.

As part of this effort, the Secretary will spend the week of April 30 working

out of the HCFA Office in Baltimore.

Consolidated Software Purchases. Consistent with the Secretary's support for

information technology standardization and centralized buying, the Department

negotiated major new software contracts (with SAS Software, and Oracle). Based

on historical usage using piecemeal contracts, these consolidated purchases will

save over $40 million. More consolidated contracts of this type are planned.

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