Alaska Health Policy Review

The Alaska Safe Medicine Alliance is joining the US Drug Enforcement Agency to host Alaska’s 3rd Statewide Prescription Drug Safe Disposal Event.  The event is free and open to the public.  Safely dispose of your unused/expired medications.  Anchorage at Mat-Su Fred Meyer Store disposal locations: Abbott Road near Lake Otis, DeBarr and Muldoon, Eagle River, Palmer and Wasilla.  Talkeetna Sunshine Clinic, Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson Base Exchange; and Veterans Administration Medical Center near Tikahtnu Commons, Statewide disposal locations supervised by local Police and Alaska State Troopers.

[Source: Excerpted From www.dea.gov

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A document providing new ways to discuss the social determinants of health is now available from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website.

The document was compiled using both traditional and non-traditional research methods, and will prove beneficial to anyone interested in health care policy formation and discussion.

The 42-page document is available in .pdf format and is accompanied by a webinar recording and slides. You can access them here.

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Our next meeting will be Thursday, April 28 from 7-9am at (ANTHC) Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium located at 4000 Ambassador Drive. Commonwealth North has recently partnered with other concerned Alaskans in order to hold structured conversations with health care experts to evaluate specific policy solutions in health care reform. This month’s topic will be Medicaid Expansion.

We have invited Mark Foster (Mark A Foster and Associates), Bruce Scandling (Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association), Marilyn Kasmar (Alaska Primary Care Association), Bill Hogan (Alaska Mental Health Trust), and Karen Perdue (Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association) to give short presentations to be followed immediately with a group discussion. Each of the speakers will be addressing the following questions:

• What is in our power as Alaskans to control and act upon and what is not?
• Timing – specifically what is coming up that needs to be addressed and what sequence of steps needs to be taken in order to make a difference?
• How do solutions to this specific issue fit into the overall system of reform?

Commonwealth North is seeking to determine what potential benefits and challenges Alaska will face due to health care reform in the coming years and what actions can be taken now to prepare. The hope is that with enough information Alaskans will be able to clarify and leverage those aspects of health care reform that are beneficial to Alaska while at the same time work diligently to mitigate those elements that are identified as detrimental. (If you need to call in the number is 276-4900.)

If you are interested in the public policy issues facing Alaska, and supporting the work Commonwealth North does to inform, involve and influence all Alaskans on public policy issues, you should be a member of Commonwealth North. Membership information is available at www.commonwealthnorth.org or call 258-9522.

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National Plan for Action Is Open for Public Comments

Hurry up and comment. Time is running out!

Your Turn! Comment on the National Plan for Action

The Plan is open for public comments until February 12, 2010. Don’t wait! With your help, this Plan will be a roadmap for the elimination of the health disparities that burden our nation. Read the National Plan for Action

Comment Now!

Learn more about the Plan

The National Plan for Action, which captures the status of health disparities in our country and proposes 20 strategies for their elimination, is a thoughtful and thorough collaborative effort of representatives from community, faith-based and non-profit organizations, academic institutions, foundations and Federal, State and local agencies. Read the rest of this entry »

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SB 101, Student Questionnaires and Surveys (sponsor Senator_Bettye_Davis@legis.state.ak.us) is scheduled for a hearing in the House Health and Social Services Committee on Tuesday, February 2nd. This bill allows for passive parental consent for students taking the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS.)

ACTION NEEDED:

PLEASE Contact House H&SS Committee members before the 3 p.m. hearing on Tuesday. Testify in favor of the bill from you local Legislative Information Office at the hearing on Tuesday. To find your office: http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/misc/lios.php

House H&SS Committee

Co-Chair: Representative_Wes_Keller@legis.state.ak.us 800-468-2186

Co-Chair: Representative_Bob_Herron@legis.state.ak.us 800-323-4942

Vice Chair: Representative_Tammie_Wilson@legis.state.ak.us 800-860-4797

Members: Representative_Bob_Lynn@legis.state.ak.us 800-870-4931

Representative_Paul_Seaton@legis.state.ak.us 800-665-2689

Representative_Sharon_Cissna@legis.state.ak.us 800-922-3875

Representative_Lindsey_Holmes@legis.state.ak.us 888-465-4919
BACKGROUND INFORMATION

What the bill does:

The bill maintains and strengthens current parent notification provisions. It ensures that parents are informed that the survey will be given, provides for the opportunity to review survey content, and allows parents to choose not to allow their children to participate.

What the YRBS is:

The YRBS is an anonymous, school-based survey with a middle school and high school version. It is a nationally recognized and administered survey instrument developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.) It is conducted every two years. It is completely anonymous. No identifying information is given and the surveys are immediately put into sealed envelopes to be turned into the state. The survey is administered through cooperation between the state Department of Education and Early Development, the Department of Health and Social Services, and local school districts.  Data from this survey provides accountability for programs to address identified needs and is used for grant applications for needed programs.

Why we need the law changed:

The current law, requiring signed permission slips for any student to participate, unnecessarily hinders data collection needed to design and evaluate risk prevention programs and services to protect our youth. The state spent about $90,000 last year on incentives to support getting permission slips returned. This is in addition to extra staff time and costs incurred by local school districts. Over the last decade, the survey has had years of not meeting the necessary sample size to have valid data or has barely made the cut off for valid data, but with a higher margin of error than a larger sample size would have provided.

Win-Win:

SB101 recognizes the need to keep parents informed and given opportunities for engagement. It balances this with the need to keep administrative burden to a minimum, resulting in a bill that supports both parental involvement and the ability to better serve our youth.

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The American Public Health Association recently presented a Webinar discussion on climate change and public health, with expert key speakers, including climate change experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Association of County and City Health Officials. The subject: the impact of climate change on human health, and the public health role in facing the challenges posed by climate change. Read the rest of this entry »

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