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This update was prepared by Susan L. Vaughn, Director of Public Policy, National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA) Administration News
To review the TBI rehabilitation research documents and to make comments go to:
AHRQ is also seeking comments on a reporton “Quality Outcomes Measurement for Persons with Disabilities”. Comments are due by Feb. 6. Go to: http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/research-available-for-comment/comment-draft-reports/?pageaction=displayDraftCommentForm&topicid=336&productID=927.
HHS Releases Funding to Help Low-income Households with Energy Costs: This week, HHS announced that it is releasing more than $863 million to grantees to help low-income households with their heating and other home energy costs under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). HHS is releasing the remaining funds, made available by the Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-74), to States, Territories, Tribes and the District of Columbia.
LIHEAP assists low-income households, including families with children and seniors, with their home energy needs such as heating in the winter, cooling in the summer, and insulating their homes to make them more energy-efficient and to reduce their energy costs. The $863 million in regular block grant funds is in addition to the $2.6 billion released since October 2011. Including funds released this week, grantees will receive a total of $3.4 billion in LIHEAP block funds for Fiscal Year 2012. For a complete list of additional funds available to grantees today please visit: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/news/press/2012/FY2012LIHEAP_GrossAlloc.html. DoD Opens Vision Center of Excellence: Next month will mark a major milestone in advancing care for wounded warriors suffering debilitating eye injuries with a ribbon-cutting at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. The Department of Defense/Department of Veterans Affairs Vision Center of Excellence will officially open its new headquarters at the Walter Reed facility, providing an expanded physical presence for a growing collaboration between the two agencies. The goal is to promote research and initiatives to prevent eye injuries and better diagnose and treat those suffering from them. One of the first goals of the Vision Center of Excellence, stood up under the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, is to establish a registry to determine the prevalence of eye injuries and track wounded warriors’ care and rehabilitation through both the DoD and VA systems. The new headquarters will provide an official home to the center, but will continue to draw on existing capabilities throughout DoD and VA, including VA’s network of 13 blind rehabilitation centers. SAMHSA Defines Working Definition of Recovery: Last month, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released a new working definition of recovery from mental disorders and substance use disorders. The definition is the product of a year-long effort by SAMHSA and a wide range of partners in the behavioral health care community and other fields to develop a working definition of recovery that captures the essential, common experiences of those recovering from mental disorders and substance use disorders, along with major guiding principles that support the recovery definition. The new working definition of Recovery from Mental Disorders and Substance Use Disorders is as follows: “A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.”
This came about after a lengthy process, initiated in 2010, involving behavioral health leaders, mental health consumers and individuals in addiction recovery. They also developed principles of recovery to reflect common elements of the recovery experience for those with mental disorders and/or substance use disorders. For further detailed information about the new working recovery definition or the guiding principles of recovery please visit: http://www.samhsa.gov/recovery/. |
| Upcoming Meetings
2012 National Health Promotion Summit The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) are hosting the “2012 National Health Promotion Summit: Prevention. Promotion. Progress.”, April 10-11, 2012, in Washington, DC. For more information and to register go to: http://www.aptrweb.org/2012summit/?source=govdelivery.
The Ticket Program Hosts Webinar for Support Services for People with Disabilities Other
Disability, Health Groups Support Individual Mandate in Supreme Court Amicus Brief Fourteen of the nation’s leading national disability and health organizations filed a Supreme Court amicus brief Wednesday, saying that the Affordable Care Act’s minimum coverage provision or individual mandate “falls squarely within Congress’ authority to regulate interstate commerce” and therefore is Constitutional.
In the brief, National Senior Citizens Law Center’s Rochelle Bobroff, acting as Counsel of Record, writes that wherever States enacted insurance reforms requiring insurers to cover individuals with pre-existing conditions and related reforms without also enacting a minimum coverage provision, there were “disastrous results.” Those States experienced steep, often unaffordable premium spikes and insurers exiting the market for individual insurance coverage altogether.
NSCLC was joined by the following organizations on the brief: American Association of People with Disabilities, The Arc of The United States, Breast Cancer Action, Families USA, Friends of Cancer Research, March of Dimes Foundation, National Breast Cancer Coalition, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, National Health Law Program, National Organization for Rare Diseases, National Women’s Health Network, The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, and Voices for America’s Children. The National Senior Citizens Law Center is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to protect the rights of low-income older adults. For more information, visit www.NSCLC.org. |
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