Priority Issues

*SPECIAL STATE BUDGET ADVOCACY ALERT!!*

Governor Brown Proposes Severe Health Cuts That Would Harm Children’s Health

If enacted, Governor Brown’s proposed budget could lead to:

• Loss of health coverage for over 100,000 California children.
• Increased premiums and co-pays for health care, and elimination of vision coverage for children in the Healthy Families Program.
• Medi-Cal limits on service, utilization controls, increased beneficiary costs, and implementation of past 10 percent provider reductions may impact families.
• A raid on $1 billion in First 5 fund reserves to supplant Medi-Cal funds for children through the age of five, as well as redirection of 50% of future state and local First Five revenues to General Fund-supported “early childhood services.” (Would require voter approval.)
• Potential loss of more than $25 billion in federal matching funds for California health care.

On January 10, 2011, Governor Brown released his proposed 2011-2012 Budget. It includes severe cuts to health and human services, including $1.7 billion to Medi-Cal, with provider cuts and caps on care, $38.5 million in cuts to Healthy Families, and redirection of over $1 billion in First 5 funds away from the current voter-approved structure to provide services to children and pregnant women.

There are difficult decisions that must be made in order to balance the state budget. However, Governor Brown’s proposal would result in hundreds of thousands of children losing access to health coverage. AAP-CA will fight these cuts, consistent with our mission to promote optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults living in California.

For more information contact Kris Calvin, CEO, American Academy of Pediatrics, California at kris.calvin@aap-ca.org or 626-796-1632.

Special Notice:Optional Forms Available to Implement new California Tdap school entry law--Download here!

AAP-CA supported AB 354 which was signed into law last year to combat the pertussis epidemic in California by establishing new school entry requirements for Tdap for high school and middle school. The AAP-CA and the California Academy of Family Physicians have collaborated to develop user-friendly, voluntary forms that your office may use, if desired, to document when teens have received the needed vaccine.

These forms may be used by health care providers to clearly document for schools the records of immunization with Tdap (pertussis booster) vaccine to help meet the new Tdap requirement for attendance in 7^th through 12^th Grades in California during the 2011-2012 school year (and only in 7th Grade in 2012-13 and future school years).

When used, these forms are to be completed by health care providers and provided to schools by families of patients affected by the new requirement. As these supplemental forms are intended to be utilized at schools, make sure that a separate record that describes all of the patient’s immunizations, including Tdap, is also accessible to both the medical chart and the patient or family.

Two versions are available:

1. Tdap Administration: can record information about Tdap immunization of up to 2 patients on a single sheet, which can then be cut in half as desired.
2. Medical Exemption or Tdap Administration: allows a licensed physician to indicate to a school that the patient has a rare contraindication to Tdap immunization. While this form also has Tdap administration information fields, only the student name and one of the two sections, either the administration or the exemption information, needs to be filled out for each student.

As examples, a physician or clinic may

1. Enter the physician’s or clinic’s name and address electronically, print out the form, make multiple photocopies, and then complete each patient’s name, birthdate and Tdap immunization information by hand; or
2. Print out the form, rubber stamp the physician’s or clinic’s name and address in the appropriate box, make multiple photocopies, and then complete each patient’s name and Tdap immunization information by hand; or
3. Complete the form through any other combination of electronic and handwritten entry.

SPECIAL STATE BUDGET ADVOCACY ALERT!!
Governor Brown Proposes Severe Health Cuts That Would Harm Children’s Health

• Loss of health coverage for over 100,000 California children.
• Increased premiums and co-pays for health care, and elimination of vision coverage for children in the Healthy Families Program.
• Medi-Cal limits on service, utilization controls, increased beneficiary costs, and implementation of past 10 percent provider reductions may impact families.
• A raid on $1 billion in First 5 fund reserves to supplant Medi-Cal funds for children through the age of five, as well as redirection of 50% of future state and local First Five revenues to General Fund-supported “early childhood services.” (Would require voter approval.)
• Potential loss of more than $25 billion in federal matching funds for California health care.

On January 10, 2011, Governor Brown released his proposed 2011-2012 Budget. It includes severe cuts to health and human services, including $1.7 billion to Medi-Cal, with provider cuts and caps on care, $38.5 million in cuts to Healthy Families, and redirection of over $1 billion in First 5 funds away from the current voter-approved structure to provide services to children and pregnant women.

There are difficult decisions that must be made in order to balance the state budget. However, Governor Brown’s proposal would result in hundreds of thousands of children losing access to health coverage. AAP-CA will fight these cuts, consistent with our mission to promote optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults living in California.

For more information contact Kris Calvin, CEO, American Academy of Pediatrics, California at kris.calvin@aap-ca.org or 626-796-1632.

SUCCESS: AAP-CA bill to ensure adequate payment for vaccine acquisition and administration passed the Assembly 73 to 1!

AAP-CA, California Medical Association (CMA), and the California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP) are cosponsoring AB 2093 to set a reasonable floor for vaccine acquisition and administration payment.

With strong advocacy by AAP-CA, the bill passed the Assembly 73 to 1! Our primary concern was acquiring sufficient Republican votes to support the Governor in signing the bill over potential health plan opposition. Republicans, as well as Democrats, came through with flying colors in support of our bill. Thank you to all who were able to take the time to contact Assemblymembers.

Next stop: Senate Health Committee!

YOUR ACTION MATTERS: To see how your Assembly member voted on AB 2093, go to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_2051-2100/ab_2093_vote_20100602_0244PM_asm_floor.html.

• If your Assembly member voted AYE, please call, email, or fax to thank them! (This is an important step often missed in advocacy efforts).
• Second, if your Senator sits on the Senate Health Committee, please urge them to vote AYE on AB 2093 when it comes before them. Let them know AB 2093 supports access to life-saving vaccines. Senate Health Committee Members are Alquist (Chair), Strickland (Vice-Chair), Aanestad, Cedillo, Cox, Leno, Negrete McLeod, Pavley, and Romero.

State Budget Update: Conference Committee Meets

AAP-CA has identified top priorities for state budget advocacy on behalf of children and pediatricians:

• Preserve funding for children in Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, and California Children’s Services.
• Protect First 5 revenues as intended by the voters for children 0-5.
• Preserve funding for CalWorks, serving one million children, to prevent homelessness and other deprivation linked to poverty.

Faced with a $20 billion deficit, the Governor has proposed increased premiums and copayments in Healthy Families and elimination of the CalWorks program. Both houses of the Legislature separately rejected those proposals. The joint Budget Conference Committee is now meeting to develop a single, balanced budget to present to the Governor. The challenge remains the enormous deficit – in order to eliminate cuts to kids health care, other cuts must be found, revenues must be raised, or some combination of the two.

Members of this year’s Conference Committee are: Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny, Chair; Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield, Vice Chair; Senator Bob Dutton, Senator Bob Huff, Senator Mark Leno, Senator Alan Lowenthal, Assemblymember Connie Conway, Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes, Assemblymember Jim Nielsen, and Assemblymember Nancy Skinner.

YOUR ACTION MATTERS: If your legislator is on the Budget Conference Committee, please contact them now. Three points to emphasize:

1. Funding for kids in Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, and California Children’s Services must be protected. Federal reform, built on the continued strength of these programs, will not replace these funds!
2. Protect First Five funds, which address children’s needs in a targeted, local manner and should not be raided for state programs.
3. Ensure that CalWorks remains a safety net for children most in need.

To identify your Legislator and find their webpage to get contact information go to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html