MHA Press Room

Report: Obesity rates continue to climb

Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states in the past year, according to a report released July 1 by Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Mississippi had the highest rate of obese adults (32.5%) and Colorado the lowest rate (18.9%).

Mississippi also had the highest rate of obese and overweight children (44.4%). Childhood obesity rates have more than tripled since 1980.

“Reversing the childhood obesity epidemic is a critical ingredient for delivering a healthier population and making health reform work,” said RWJF president and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D. Children with a BMI above the 95th percentile for their age are considered obese. Adult obesity is defined as having a body mass index greater than 30, about 30 pounds overweight for a 5’ 4” person.

Survey: Use of health savings accounts growing

A new survey suggests that health savings accounts are becoming increasingly popular, with the number of accounts and level of assets rising steadily. A new study from Celent reported that the number of HSAs increased 46.1 percent between January 2008 and January 2009, and their asset base grew by 62.6 percent.

Average account balances grew by only 13 percent, to $1,561, but that number was dragged down the 18 percent of accounts with a zero balance and a failure of banks to purge inactive accounts. But future numbers should look different, with a relatively high number accounts being created in January 2009.

Investments as a percent of total assets, meanwhile, fell off 5 percent, due to a mix of recessionary pressures, unemployment and falling investment values.

Another piece of survey data was that debit cards - while attached to almost all HSAs - are only used for 66 percent of funds disbursed. Checks account for 20 percent of volume.

To learn more about this survey, read this Healthcare Finance News piece.

Study: 47,000 walker/cane injuries treated in EDs annually

More than 47,000 Americans age 65 or older are treated each year in emergency departments for fall injuries involving walkers and canes, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of the injuries involve walkers; fractures are the most common injury; and women are more likely to be injured than men. Based on 2001-2006 data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program, the study can be found online in this month’s Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The authors recommend additional research to understand the physical and cognitive demands that walking aids place on users.

Statement of Sam Cameron of MHA on reauthorization of Medicaid at June 30th press conference

Statement of Sam W. Cameron, President/CEO, Mississippi Hospital Association

Good Morning. I’m Sam Cameron, President of the Mississippi Hospital Association. 

Last night around 11:00, House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement with the Executive Branch regarding Medicaid funding and reauthorization of the Division of Medicaid.  I was not here last night when that agreement was reached.  An MHA staff member, though, was here and he had a direct conversation with Governor Barbour and his Chief of Staff.  

In that conversation, Governor Barbour made it clear that MHA had to endorse the agreement or he would not issue the call to reauthorize and fund the Division of Medicaid. 

He made it clear that the bill would have to be adopted by both chambers last night (remember, this was around 11:00 p.m.) or he would not issue the call for a Special Session to extend the Division of Medicaid before it “sunsets” tonight. 

He made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that if the bill was not passed last night, hospitals would face far more drastic measures from the Governor’s Office if he were to run the Division of Medicaid by Executive Order.

Since neither MHA nor the Legislature met those deadlines or conditions (and since the Governor has obviously had time to “sleep on it,”) I am not here to respond to the Governor’s threats. I am here to address what I understand to be in the agreement reached between the House, Senate, and Governor Barbour last night.

My understanding is that all of MHA’s requested protections are included in the agreed-upon bill. If that is the case and we are trying to verify that, this is certainly something we can endorse.  But, as I said, that endorsement is subject to verification.

I understand there are sufficient taxes levied on hospitals that will finally provide the Division of Medicaid with a permanent source of funding, or for at least three years. While the current Division of Medicaid is yet to demonstrate its ability to plan, project, and administer any budget, we accept and endorse the tax amounts and assessment methodologies contained in the bill.

I want to warn everyone that there are hospitals who cannot afford to pay the tax provisions in this bill. I want to warn everyone that service and staff reductions in local hospitals may occur as a result of this bill. I want to warn everyone that, regardless of the amount of taxes contained in this bill, the Division of Medicaid will continue looking for additional taxes or cuts in services in the near future.

To protect the 600,000 of our most vulnerable citizens who depend on Medicaid for their health care, to protect the interests of hospitals who provide that care, to preserve as much as possible the economic health of those cities and towns in which hospitals are the largest employers, and —most importantly—to prevent Governor Barbour from trying to run the Division of Medicaid by Executive Order, I ask members of the Mississippi House and Senate to adopt this bill.

 

HHS releases state-specific reports highlighting need for reform

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on June 26 released a series of state-specific reports on the “health care status quo,” which she said highlight the urgent need for health reform. The reports include data such as the rising cost of health coverage and the uninsured, and the impact of failing to adequately invest in disease prevention.

“In states across the country, health care costs are going up and families are struggling to get the quality care they need and deserve,” Sebelius said. “We cannot wait to pass reform that protects what works about health care and fixes what’s broken.”

Mississippi's report is available here.

HHS highlights ‘hidden costs’ of health coverage

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on June 23 releaseda report documenting the rising out-of-pocket expenses for Americans with employer-based health coverage. "Every year, co-pays, deductibles and other expenses are taking a bigger bite out of the family budget and the American people are demanding reform,” Sebelius said.

According to the report, a person with employer-based health coverage paid an average $3,744 in out-of-pocket costs in 2006, 30% more than in 2001. A separate study released by Milliman in December, conducted for the AHA, found that an average family of four pays an estimated $673 more out of pocket because under-funding of Medicare and Medicaid shifts costs to the privately insured.

Statement from Sam Cameron on Medicaid reauthorization

A Statement from MHA President/CEO Sam Cameron:

Because of the Governor’s refusal to call a Special Session of the Mississippi Legislature, it appears the Division of Medicaid will cease to exist after midnight on June 30, 2009. The Governor’s lack of action will have disastrous results for Medicaid patients and all health care providers who serve them.

While most legal experts agree the Governor can “run” the agency without reenactment of the Division, they also agree the Legislature cannot appropriate funds to an agency that does not exist. 

Pure chaos will result.  

For example, any payments to Medicaid staff or vendors after July 1st would be considered illegal gratuities, leaving the Governor with no staff to run the program.  Since there will be no Division of Medicaid, there will be no authority by which the state can collect provider taxes or draw down federal matching funds, leaving the state liable for 100% of provider payments. There is also the possibility the state would have to refund the $190 million it has already received in federal Medicaid stimulus funds.

Further complications result from the Division of Medicaid’s recent notification that it will not reimburse health care providers for treatment of Medicaid patients until the beginning of the new fiscal year.  If the agency does not exist as of midnight on June 30th, there will be no agency to pay providers for the care they extended.  Providers would then be forced to sue the State of Mississippi to recover cost of those services which, according to one estimate, could be as high as $150 million.

Many hospitals and other health care providers have already informed their vendors they will not be paid until the providers are reimbursed by the Division of Medicaid.  These delays impact the health and viability of thousands of small businesses across the state.

Beginning tomorrow, auditing firms retained under contract by the Division of Medicaid to audit hospitals will be asked to begin terminating their work with an expected departure date of June 30th.  Since the contractual agreements under which such firms are retained will be nullified with the dissolution of the Division, hospital auditors will have no standing to be in health care facilities (unless they require medical attention).

While these arguments address the “economics” side of the Governor’s inaction, MHA is most concerned with the “human” side.

Also beginning tomorrow, many hospitals will begin informing their Medicaid patients that, if the Division of Medicaid is not extended prior to July 1st, the beneficiaries may become liable for the total cost of their care.  No patient will be denied care or treatment by any hospital, but without the existence of the Medicaid program, beneficiaries will be considered “private pay” patients responsible for the whole cost of their treatment and care.   Loss of coverage will not be limited to just hospital services but will include all Medicaid services, ranging from nursing home care to physician visits, from prescription drugs to dialysis centers, from home health services to special needs children, from nurse mid wives to psychiatric treatment facilities.

Medicaid recipients - those among us who are most vulnerable and most in need of our care and compassion - should not be made victims of this stalemate between our Legislative and Executive branches.  On behalf of the 600,000 of our fellow citizens who depend upon continued Medicaid coverage, we implore the Governor to call the Special Session to reauthorize the Division of Medicaid before it expires at midnight on June 30th.

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Group calls for health reform to adequately fund safety net

A new report by the American Public Health Association calls for Congress and the administration to adequately fund the health care safety net, including hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of poor and uninsured patients. The report examines how the economic recession is impacting hospitals and other safety-net providers. Among other recommendations, it calls for adequately funding their capital and operating needs, support for standardized and interoperable health information technology, and financial and other incentives to strengthen the health and public health workforce.

MHA Media Briefing on Barbour's proposed hospital tax hike

In anticipation of the upcoming Special Session to finalize the state budget (and Medicaid funding), the Mississippi Hospital Association will provide media with a briefing on how Gov. Barbour’s proposed $90 million hospital tax hike will affect access to health care in Mississippi. We will also respond to misinformation being generated and Gov. Barbour’s latest proposals regarding Medicaid funding.    

 

A Question & Answer session with MHA President/CEO Sam Cameron will immediately follow the briefing. Interviews will also be available.

 

If you are a reporter covering a certain area, we can provide you with the specific impact of the $90 million tax hike on your coverage area. If you cannot attend but have questions you would like answered, contact Shawn Lea at (800) 289-8884, (601) 368-3237 or slea@mhanet.org.

 

When:  1:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 16

 

Where:  MHA offices, 116 Woodgreen Crossing, Madison, MS 39110 or call-in to participate

 

Call-In Instructions:  Phone lines will open at 1:20 p.m. The dial-In number is 1-888-640-7748. The entry code is 3830676(#)

Study: Disparities in women’s health, access to care vary by state

Racial and ethnic disparities in women’s health and access to health care vary substantially by state, according to a study released June 10 by the Kaiser Family Foundation. For example, the diabetes rate among minority women ranges from 2.6% in Maine to 10.4% in North Dakota, while the uninsured rate among minority women ranges from 9.9% in Hawaii to 46.1% in Montana.

Social determinants of health, such as poverty levels and high school graduation rates, also vary substantially by state, the study found. “This report demonstrates that disparities in health are not one problem but many and vary from state to state - and that a variety of strategies will be needed if we hope to turn things around,” said Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman.