July 28, 2017 Edition
Registration for the 2017 CHEAC Annual Meeting is now open! This year’s meeting theme is The Power of Public Health: Forging Opportunities in a Time of Change. The meeting will be held at the Anaheim Sheraton Park Hotel from Wednesday, October 18-Friday, October 20. To view the tentative conference agenda and to register, please visit the 2017 CHEAC Annual Meeting webpage. Registration is due Friday, September 15, 2017. We look forward to welcoming our CHEAC Members to Anaheim in October!
After a dramatic week, Senate Republicans were unable to garner enough votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Below, we detail the series of events:
Procedural Motion to Begin Debate: On Tuesday, the Senate held a vote on a motion to begin debate on the proposed options to repeal the ACA; the motion passed 51-50 with Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote.
Repeal-and-Replace Debate and Vote: The first option to be taken up for debate in the Senate on Tuesday was the repeal-and-replace option entitled the Better Care Reconciliation Act. The measure would have rolled back Medicaid expansion and capped Medicaid spending, authorized insurers to offer less comprehensive health plans, and eliminated coverage mandates for individuals and employers. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had not yet released a score on the latest version of the repeal-and-replace option, though a CBO score on an earlier version of the bill estimated 22 million more Americans would become uninsured within 10 years. The Senate’s ACA repeal-and-replace option, needing 60 votes to pass, was rejected on a 43-57 vote.
Repeal-Only Debate and Vote: On Wednesday, the Senate began debate on a repeal-only option of the ACA, entitled the Obamacare Repeal and Reconciliation Act. Modeled after a 2015 GOP bill that was previously vetoed by President Barack Obama, the measure would have repealed ACA coverage provisions such as the individual mandate, Medicaid expansion, and premium subsidies. The CBO estimated the repeal-only option would have resulting in an additional 32 million Americans without health insurance. The repeal-only option, needing 51 votes to pass, failed on a 45 to 55 vote.
“Skinny” Repeal Debate and Vote: After failing to pass both the repeal-and-replace and repeal-only options, Senate Republicans took up a “skinny” repeal measure, entitled the Health Care Freedom Act, on Thursday. The proposed measure was narrower in scope and was intended to be used as a way for the Senate to work with the House in a closed-door conference committee to finalize an ACA repeal-and-replace option. The “skinny” repeal measure would have repealed the individual and employer mandates, provided more flexibility to states through federal requirement waivers, expanded health savings accounts, delayed the medical device tax, and increased funds to community health centers. The CBO estimated the “skinny” repeal would leave 16 million more Americans without insurance and increase insurance premiums by approximately 20 percent over the next 10 years.
A handful of amendments were offered as debate on the measure lasted well past midnight. In a stunning turn of events, Republican Senator John McCain casted the decisive vote against the “skinny” repeal, joining Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. Given the Republican’s slim margin of majority, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could only afford to lose the support of two Republican senators. The “skinny” measure, needing 51 votes to pass, was rejected on a 49-51 vote. After multiple iterations and seemingly-endless legislative maneuvering, the attempts to make any major changes related to the repeal or replacement of the Affordable Care Act have been decisively defeated at this time.
After last night’s vote, it is unclear what next steps Congressional Republicans will take. For the foreseeable future, however, the Affordable Care Act is here to stay. CHEAC will remain apprised of the situation and will provide updates as action resumes.
This week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Oral Health Program held two informational webinars on the Proposition 56 Local Oral Health Program. The webinars provided information about the new funding opportunity created through the recently-passed Proposition 56 to increase capacity within local health departments to address oral health. Proposition 56 will provide $30 million annually to CDPH for the state dental program to educate about and prevent and treat dental disease, including disease caused by tobacco products.
Total funding awards letters are expected to be shared with LHDs within the next several weeks. Applications are due to CDPH Oral Health Program on August 31, 2017, and the five-year grant funding will begin on January 1, 2018. Information from the webinar include: webinar slides, local oral health program resources, oral health plan overview, and the status of oral health in California. An FAQ document and additional information will be posted on CDPH’s website in the near future. For questions, please contact CDPH at dentaldirector@cdph.ca.gov.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released technical guidance packages to assist local health departments and communities take advantage of the best available evidence to prevent and reduce violence. Each technical package is intended as a resource and information guide on prevention decision-making in communities in areas of sexual violence, child abuse and neglect, youth violence, intimate partner violence, and suicide. For more information and to access the CDC Violence Prevention Technical Packages, visit CDC’s website here.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) will be hosting a two-day workshop entitled, The Neurocognitive and Psychosocial Impacts of Trauma, next week on July 31-August 1. The workshop will feature a significant focus on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) by taking a systems-based approach to exploring ways in which the growing body of evidence related to ACEs can be integrated into trauma-informed approaches in community, education, health care, and juvenile justice settings. Perspectives to be featured during the event include survivors of trauma, scholars and researchers, and public health practitioners. A workshop overview is available here and an agenda is available here. The workshop will be held in Washington, D.C., and available via webcast; interested parties may register here.