July 2005
July 28, 2005
Coalition for Health Funding Meeting
ACPM staff attended the Coalition for Health Funding
membership meeting and met with Dr. Charles Grim,
Assistant Surgeon General and Director of the Indian
Health Service. Dr. Grim gave an overview of the
current state of the Indian Health Service and its
funding. He also discussed the three primary
initiatives the Indian Health Service is focusing on:
Disease Prevention/Health Promotion, Behavioral Health,
and Chronic Disease Management. Dr. Grim concluded by
thanking the Coalition members for the support and
partnership that has existed between the Coalition and
the Indian Health Service
July 27, 2005
Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Coordination
Center
for Health Promotion (CoCHP) Partners Meeting
ACPM staff attended this partners meeting where in the
high-level design of the new organizational structure
for the Coordinating Center for Health Promotion (CoCHP),
CDC was shared and explained. The establishment of
coordinating centers was a direct result of CDC's
Future's Initiative and the goal to enhance the Agency's
ability to respond to public health challenges and to
improve public health impact. CoCHP Officers each spoke
in the areas of Enterprise Communications, Workforce and
Career Development, Science and Public Health Practice,
and Strategy and Innovation.
July 26-27, 2005
US
Preventive Services Task Force Meeting
ACPM
staff recently attended the two-day USPSTF meeting at
the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in
Rockville, Maryland. The screening issues discussed
include dyslipidemia in children and adults, elevated
lead levels in children and during pregnancy, iron
deficiency anemia in children and during pregnancy, and
other health topics. Discussion on day two included the
status of USPSTF topics and a report by the topic
prioritization workgroup. In addition, the task force
reviewed feedback from focus groups on the format of the
Guide to Clinical Preventive Services and debated on how
to respond to this provider feedback.
July 21, 2005
Bipartisan Dialogue on Solutions to Cover the Uninsured
ACPM
staff attended a Ceasefire on Health Care forum at the
National Press Club. Former Senator John Breaux (D-LA)
moderated a discussion between Senator Hillary Clinton
(D-NY) and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich
(R-GA) on topics ranging from health information
technology and disease management, to providing
insurance for the uninsured. Speaker Gingrich
acknowledged that prevention is a key to decreasing
healthcare costs, but that programs are scored on how
much they cost, and not how much the program can save.
The goal of the Ceasefire forums is facilitate
bipartisan discussion on reforms to the healthcare
system.
July 13, 2005
Strategizing Next Steps in Effort to Restore Title VII
Funding to Health Professions Programs
ACPM
staff attended a meeting with the Health Professions and
Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC) to discuss the next
steps for advocating restoration of funding to the Title
VII health professions programs. The efforts so far
from
ACPM and this coalition have led to the US Senate
Committee on Appropriations restoring funding to health
professions programs in its FY2006 spending bill.
July 12, 2005
Building Support for Preventive Medicine Residency
Funding
ACPM
staff met with Congressman Ralph Regula’s staff to
update the Congressman on
ACPM’s
progress towards obtaining funding for preventive
medicine training programs. We updated the staff on our
work in the Senate and asked to work with the
Congressman on the House side of Congress.
July 7, 2005
Advocating for Public Health Representation on US Trade
Advisory Committees
ACPM
staff participated in a meeting arranged by the Center
for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health and the Office
of the US Trade Representative. The Assistant US Trade
Representative and several USTR negotiators gave updates
on some bilateral trade negotiations currently in
progress. The importance of the need for public health
representation was again reiterated by CPATH,
ACPM,
and the other public health organizations that
participated. The Office of the US Trade Representative
promised to provide contact information for the
negotiators currently in trade talks so that informal
lines of communication on the issues of trade and health
could be established. The USTR also stated that
discussion regarding formal appointments to the US Trade
Advisory Committees has been ongoing, but that no formal
timetable could be given.
