D.C. AND 16 STATES SUBMIT APPLICATIONS FOR RACE TO THE TOP-EARLY LEARNING CHALLENGE

FROM:  U.S. EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 
16 States and D.C. Submit Applications for the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge
OCTOBER 18, 2013

The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Departments) announced today that 16 states and the District of Columbia submitted applications for the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC), a $280 million state-level competitive grant program to improve early learning and development. Applicants included: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

In August, the Obama Administration released the final application for the second RTT-ELC competition, which provides grants at the state level to improve the quality of early learning and development programs and close educational gaps for children with high needs. The program also supports states' efforts to design and implement an integrated system of high-quality early learning and development programs and services.

The Departments conducted the first RTT-ELC competition under the Race to the Top program in FY 2011 and awarded grants to nine states: California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington state. In FY 2012, the next five highest-rated state applicants from the FY 2011 competition received funding: Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon and Wisconsin. As a result of this investment, these states are building a more unified approach to supporting young children and their families. They are improving access to high-quality early learning and development programs and helping to ensure that more children enter kindergarten with the skills, knowledge and outlook toward learning they need to be successful in school and in life. The Departments continue to work closely together on new initiatives to improve and expand services for children from birth through age 5. The President's 2014 budget request includes a historic new investment in early learning that will build upon RTT-ELC to ensure that all children have the opportunity for a strong start in life.

The RTT-ELC competition focuses on five key areas of reform:

Establishing Successful State Systems by building on the state's existing strengths, ambitiously moving forward the state's early learning and development agenda and carefully coordinating programs across agencies to ensure consistency and sustainability beyond the grant;

Defining High-Quality, Accountable Programs by creating a common tiered quality rating and improvement system that is used across the state to evaluate and improve program performance and to inform families about program quality;
Promoting Early Learning and Development Outcomes for Children to develop common standards within the state and assessments that measure child outcomes, address behavioral and health needs, as well as inform, engage and support families;

Supporting A Great Early Childhood Education Workforce by providing professional development, career advancement opportunities, appropriate compensation and a common set of standards for workforce knowledge and competencies; andMeasuring Outcomes and Progress so that data can be used to inform early learning instruction and services and to assess whether children are entering kindergarten ready to succeed in elementary school.

Grant awards will last for four years and range from $37.5 million up to $75 million, depending on the state's share of the national population of children ages birth through five-years-old from low-income families and their proposed plans. Current grantees are not eligible to apply in the FY 2013 competition. The Departments will announce winners in December.

ELDER ABUSE

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 
Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole Speaks at the White House World Elder Abuse Awareness Day EventWashington, D.C. ~ Thursday, June 14, 2012
Thank you for that kind introduction.

The Attorney General very much wanted to be here, but is headed to Canada, where he will be meeting with his foreign counterparts.   It is therefore my privilege to join my colleagues, Secretary Sebelius and Director Cordray, and all of you today to commemorate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

At the outset, I want to commend Secretary Sebelius for forming the Elder Justice Coordinating Council.   This critical first step firmly demonstrates this Administration’s commitment to protecting our older Americans and we look forward to working with our federal partners on the Council.

It’s worth noting that in anticipation of the Coordinating Council, the Department of Justice, with support from HHS, began working earlier this year on developing an Elder Justice Roadmap.  The Elder Justice Roadmap project has already sought input from hundreds of stakeholders from around the country in order to help identify potential policy, practice, and research priorities in the field of elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.  We expect the results of this Roadmap to help inform the Coordinating Council as it moves ahead in developing its strategic agenda.

I also want to thank Kathy Greenlee and her staff at the Administration on Aging for their tireless efforts to protect our older Americans and for organizing today’s event.

Elder abuse is a hidden epidemic that annually impacts the health and well-being of six million older people, as well as their families and caretakers.   It includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse; neglect; and what we’re here to talk about today -- financial exploitation.   Victims come from all ethnic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.   And sadly, perpetrators of financial exploitation are more likely to be family members than strangers.

This type of elder abuse depletes the resources of individuals, families, businesses, and public programs including Medicare and Medicaid, by billions each year, placing enormous burdens on our health care, financial, and judicial systems.

For me, and for today’s Department of Justice, protecting older Americans is a top priority that we advance on multiple fronts.

For example, in order to protect the financial integrity of the Medicare program, upon which so many of our older Americans rely, both the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services decided early on to make combating healthcare fraud an enforcement priority and created the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team, or HEAT.

Since HEAT began in May 2009, we’ve recovered over $8 billion dollars in cases involving fraud against the Medicare program and other federal health care programs.   We believe this has sent a strong and clear message that Medicare fraud will not be tolerated and that DOJ and HHS will act swiftly to where it does occur.          

Just as important as protecting the fiscal integrity of the Medicare program, is our commitment to ensuring that our nation’s nursing homes and other health care providers are actually providing the care and services to which our Medicare beneficiaries are entitled, rather than exploiting those beneficiaries (and the Medicare program) for their own profit.   Tony West, the Department’s Acting Associate Attorney General, has taken a particularly active role in supporting these cases and will discuss a particularly egregious example of financial exploitation this afternoon.  

Protecting older Americans from consumer scams and fraud is also a top priority of the Department.   Just this past March, the Department hosted an historic consumer protection summit that brought together federal and state law enforcement and regulators with consumer advocates to harness our collective experiences, to discuss strategies for enhancing our civil and criminal enforcement of consumer fraud crimes, and to increase public awareness about common schemes so that ordinary citizens can fight back themselves.  

Likewise, the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch has done terrific work combating fraud on the elderly as part of a broader emphasis on fraud targeting vulnerable populations.   We have had successful prosecutions of a number of fraudsters targeting the elderly through reverse mortgage fraud scams and lottery scams. And we have enhanced public awareness about these schemes through collaboration with others such as AARP.

Our health care fraud and consumer protection efforts are just some of the ways that the Department protects our nation’s older Americans from financial exploitation.   But while we have made strides to address this form of elder abuse, enforcement alone is not a complete strategy.   We can’t simply prosecute our way out of this problem.

Everyone here today knows that the way we can be most effective in protecting older Americans from financial exploitation is by combining our resources and expertise, and by collectively deploying the myriad tools at our disposal.

We need the federal agencies represented on this stage, Adult Protective Services workers, long term care ombudsmen, domestic violence advocates, geriatric specialists, the financial services industry, health care providers, advocates, state and local law enforcement and prosecutors, and – what has been a “missing link” in this area – civil legal aid lawyers.

Legal services programs have a unique opportunity to prevent and remedy elder abuse, especially the scourge of financial exploitation.   For example, they can  help prevent mortgage foreclosures resulting from a family member’s theft of a senior’s life savings; they can counsel worried older clients about legal options for responding to debt brought on by a financial scam, or better yet counsel them on how to avoid the scam in the first place; they can advise clients on how to revoke a power of attorney that is being used by someone unscrupulous to exploit them; and they can offer elders a safer future by representing abused clients in obtaining a protective order.

While this expertise can be critical to preventing or addressing abuse, legal services program staff too often don’t have the specialized training on how to identify and support older victims, and how to harness their existing expertise to respond to older victims’ special needs.

That’s why, with the essential cooperation of Legal Services Corporation President Jim Sandman, who is with us here today, I’m delighted to announce the “Missing Link Project,” a new collaborative effort by the Department’s Elder Justice Initiative, our Office for Victims of Crime, and our Access to Justice Initiative to develop such training materials for legal services providers.   President Sandman has pledged that when the training has been developed, it will be made available to all LSC programs, which together provide critically needed services to every county in this country.   We are hopeful that the trained legal aid lawyers’ efforts will be further leveraged by private lawyer pro bono volunteers, thus increasing the overall capacity to serve elderly victims.   Jim, we thank you for your commitment.   And I also want to thank Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary Lou Leary and the staff of the various offices involved for their strong support of this effort.

Too many elderly Americans are suffering alone.   Together we can change that.

We know the importance of your work on the front lines of the battle against elder abuse and financial exploitation.   What you do every day makes an extraordinary difference in ordinary lives.   I want you to know that the U.S. Department of Justice is honored to be your partner.

Thank you.

HHS SAYS "WE SHOULD ALL BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE"

FROM:  HHS HealthBeat (May 9, 2012) 
Getting real about fitness
Age is no excuse. Young or old, we should all be physically active. For adults, that means 30 minutes of activity a day, five days a week. For kids, that means 60 minutes of activity a day, five days a week. You can also count your steps using a pedometer. Experts say adults should walk 8,500 steps a day. Kids should walk around 12,000 steps a day.
Shellie Pfohl is executive director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.

"Just because we’re aging does not mean that we are going to get heart disease. It does not mean that diabetes is in our future. We have got to take care of ourselves now."
Being active reduces your risk for heart disease, certain cancers, stroke, osteoporosis, and diabetes.

TRIED-AND-TRUE WEIGHT LOSS METHODS WORK

FROM:  HHS HealthBeat (May 4, 2012)
What's worked in weight loss
It is possible for obese people to lose weight, and researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston say national survey data indicates many do. So the researchers also looked at the data to see what worked.

Jacinda Nicklas says it wasn’t the supposed quick fixes, like fad diets, diet foods, or supplements:

“Americans with obesity are having success with some of the tried-and-true methods of weight loss – eating less fat, exercising more, and also using other techniques, like prescription weight loss medicines and commercial weight loss programs.”  Nicklas says diet and exercise were big factors that worked.

The study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

HHS SECRETARY SEBELIUS ON OLDER AMERICANS MONTH

Statement from Secretary Sebelius on Older Americans Month

In May, we recognize Older Americans Month -- a tradition dating back to 1963 to honor the many contributions of our nation’s older citizens.  This year's theme “Never Too Old to Play” encourages older Americans to stay active in their own lives and in their communities.  Older Americans are living longer and are more active than ever before. With the aging of the baby boomer generation – the largest in America’s history – our senior population is expected to number 72.1 million by 2030.  This increase will present all of us with tremendous opportunities, as well as, new challenges.

Keeping our nation’s older citizens and their families healthy is a top priority of the Obama administration.  At the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), we are working to expand access to affordable, high-quality health care. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, more than 5 million people with Medicare saved an average of $635 on the cost of their prescription drugs in 2010 and 2011.  Individuals with Medicare prescription drug coverage who had to pay for drugs in the “donut hole” coverage gap received a one-time, tax free $250 rebate from Medicare for prescriptions and a 50 percent discount on many brand-name medications. The donut hole will be closed by 2020 as a result of the health care law.

We know that preventing disease before it starts helps people live longer, healthier lives. The new health care law is giving older Americans greater control over their own health by providing many free preventive services in Medicare such as flu shots, mammograms, and an annual wellness visit so seniors can spend more time with their doctors. In 2011, more than 32.5 million seniors took advantage of one or more preventive services covered without cost-sharing.

Through the Affordable Care Act and other efforts underway at HHS, we are working hard to ensure that older Americans of today and tomorrow are able to age healthy in their homes and communities.

HHS WARNS OF CYBERBULLIES

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
HHS HealthBeat (April 30, 2012)
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying, which happens online, can hurt feelings and damage relationships, and it is increasing with emerging technologies. One-click access to the Internet makes it that much more dangerous for kids.

Marci Hertz is a health scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” Parents and kids can choose to be careful online.

“There are definitely steps that parents can take to help prevent cyberbullying in terms of kids being careful who they’re friends with, adults and parents being friends with their kids on the social networking sites, going to the sites that their kids go to themselves.”

VITAMINS AND HEALTH

FROM:  HHS HealthBeat (April 18, 2012)
Getting out vitamins
t looks like we’re getting enough of at least some of the vitamins and other nutrients that we need. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at blood and urine samples from participants in a national health and nutrition survey. Researcher Christine Pfeiffer says this means that, for some nutrients, few of us have deficiencies:
"The prevalence of nutrient deficiencies in the general U.S. population ranges from less than 1 percent for folate and vitamins A and E, to about 10 percent for iron and vitamins B6 and D."

Folate, for instance, is important for women of childbearing age because deficiencies can lead to birth defects in babies. It’s found now in some foods fortified with folic acid.
The full information is in CDC’s Second Nutrition Report.

HHS SAYS WATCH OUT FOR MEDICARE SCAMS

FROM: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
HHS HealthBeat (April 17, 2012)
 Calling out Medicare scams
Diabetes patients, beware when you pick up the phone. Calls claiming to be from Medicare are not. If they offer you free glucose meters or diabetic test strips, that’s a red flag, because Medicare never makes calls offering supplies or services.
Gary Cantrell is deputy inspector general for investigations with HHS’ Office of the Inspector General.

“The scammers sometimes use names like “MED-‘EE’-CARE, or “MED-“UH’-CARE, “MEDIC-CARE,” in order to trick the listener.”
The number one no-no is giving your away personal information over the phone.
“Don’t provide callers with your Medicare number, bank account information, or credit card numbers.” If you think you’re the target of a scam, report to the OIG hotline, at 1-800-HHS-TIPS.

HHS WANTS KIDS FULLY VACCINATED

FROM:  HHS HealthBeat (April 19, 2012) 
Fully vaccinated 
To help keep kids healthy, parents can keep their children up to date on vaccinations. Being fully vaccinated can help kids prevent a lot of illnesses.  At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Yabo Beysolow offers some reasons:

“One is that you’re protecting your infant and child early on in life, when they’re most vulnerable to diseases. Another reason is that when you delay getting your child vaccinated, you’re leaving your child vulnerable during that period.”

Dr. Beysolow says that, just for kids under 6 years, vaccination can protect against 14 diseases. And you can add a couple more during the teenage years.  The diseases include whooping cough, measles, diphtheria, and tetanus, as well as the flu. It’s a good idea to check with your kid’s doctor about the vaccination schedule.

HHS SAYS BEING ACTIVE MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
HHS HealthBeat (April 11, 2012)
Being active feels good
Researchers at Penn State have found a link between physical activity and feelings. Undergraduate students kept diaries, recording physical activity and end of day feeling states, for eight straight days. Researchers found that students who were more active in general, felt better than their peers who were less active.  Regardless of the level of physical activity, students felt better on days when they were more active than usual.
David Conroy is a professor at Penn State University.

"People should focus on trying to get a little more activity than they’re used to every day, and over time, it’s not only going to increase their level of activity, but also lead to improved health." (The study in the Journal of Sports and Exercise Psychology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

HHS RECOMMENDS A1C TEST FOR SUGAR GLUCOSE

HHS Health Beat (April 4, 2012)
How's your A1C
An A1C test can help to diagnose diabetes. That’s because an A1C test measures the sugar glucose attached to a specific blood protein, hemoglobin, which stays in the blood about three months. By comparison, the standard blood test for glucose is at a single point in time.

At the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. David Sacks also says the usual blood tests for glucose require at least an eight hour fast. He notes the A1C does not.

"Because hemoglobin AIC is not affected by short-term glucose in the blood, you can measure it at any time of the day and whenever the patient arrives, regardless of the time of their previous meal."

GLUCOMA SHOULD BE WATCHED FOR

FROM DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Watching out for glaucoma
Glaucoma can sneak up on a person. The eye condition damages the optic nerve that carries information to the brain. Glaucoma can affect the outer edges of the field of vision – the side vision. At Yale School of Medicine, Dr. James Tsai says glaucoma can come on so slowly that, in its early stages, people might not be aware it’s happening.

Dr. Tsai, who chairs the glaucoma education program committee of the National Institutes of Health, says it’s important to get an examination every one or two years:
"The eye care professional has to do a dilated exam and carefully look at the optic nerve for signs of glaucoma as well as assess the side vision in that patient."  (10 seconds)
Dr. Tsai says the risk is higher for African-Americans and older people.

HHS SAYS RAW MILK PUTS CHILDREN AT RISK

The following excerpt is from a Department of Health and Human Services e-mail:

Raw milk has its following, but experts say the followers are putting themselves at risk – and their children and families, too. Raw milk is nonpasteurized, which means it has not been treated against germs that can be found in cows – even if the cow looks healthy. Some people think raw milk is better, but researcher Adam Langer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention knows what happens to people who drink it.

“Raw milk and other nonpasteurized dairy products can carry harmful bacteria and other germs that can make you very sick or kill you.”  (8 seconds)

He says some raw milk drinkers have wound up needing weeks of kidney dialysis, and even ventilators to help them breathe.

The study is in the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

DETROIT MEDICARE FRAUDSTER PLEADS GUILTY

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Three Detroit-Area Clinic Owners Plead Guilty for Their Roles in $5.4 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
WASHINGTON – Three Detroit-area clinic owners pleaded guilty today for their participation in a Medicare fraud scheme, announced the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  

Karina Hernandez, 28, Marieva Briceno, 46, and Henry Briceno, 58, all of Miami, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow in the Eastern District of Michigan to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.  At sentencing, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.      

According to the plea documents, Hernandez managed the daily operations of three Livonia, Mich., clinics: Blessed Medical Clinic, Alpha & Omega Medical Clinic and Manuel Medical Clinic.  Marieva Briceno contributed capital to fund the opening of one clinic, and assisted her daughter, Hernandez, in the daily management of the clinics.  At each clinic, Hernandez and Marieva Briceno hired recruiters, who paid cash bribes to Medicare beneficiaries to attend the clinics and provide their Medicare numbers and other information.  Hernandez and Marieva Briceno admitted that they used the beneficiary information to bill for medically unnecessary diagnostic tests and treatments.  Henry Briceno admitted that he incorporated Manuel Medical Clinic and opened a bank account to conceal the actual ownership of the clinic.  According to court documents, Blessed Medical Clinic, Alpha & Omega Medical Clinic and Manuel Medical Clinic fraudulently billed Medicare for $5.4 million during the course of the scheme.

Today’s guilty pleas were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade; Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the HHS Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Chicago Regional Office.
   
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Frances Lee Carlson and Philip A. Ross of the Eastern District of Michigan, with assistance from Assistant Chief Gejaa T. Gobena of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.    

Since their inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in nine districts have charged more than 1,190 individuals, who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $3.6 billion.  In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

BCBST SETTLES POTENTIAL INSURANCE COVERAGE VIOLATIONS

The following excerpt is from a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services e-mail:
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee (BCBST) has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) $1,500,000 to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules, Leon Rodriguez, Director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), announced today.  BCBST has also agreed to a corrective action plan to address gaps in its HIPAA compliance program.  The enforcement action is the first resulting from a breach report required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act Breach Notification Rule.

HHS SAYS AFFORDABLE CARE ACT SAVED $2.1 BILLION ON PRESCRIPTION DRUGS IN 2011

The following excerpt is from the Health and Human Services website:

February 2, 2012
 “Nearly 3.6 million people with Medicare saved $2.1 billion on their prescription drugs in 2011 thanks to the Affordable Care Act according to data issued today by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Savings for people with Medicare will increase over time. According to a new report issued today from HHS, the average person with Medicare will save nearly $4,200 by 2021 because of the new law.
“The Affordable Care Act is already saving money for millions of Americans with Medicare,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  “As we move forward, we will close the donut hole completely and save even more money for everyone with Medicare.”

The Affordable Care Act provides a 50 percent discount on brand-name prescription drugs and this year, a 14% discount on generics. Last year, it provided a seven percent discount on covered generic medications for people who hit the prescription drug coverage gap known as the donut hole, with 2,814,646 beneficiaries receiving $32.1 million in savings on generics.
In 2011, the 3.6 million Americans who hit the donut hole saved an average of $604 on the cost of their prescription drugs.

Data also show that women especially benefitted from the law’s provision with 2.05 million women saving $1.2 billion on their prescription drugs.
By 2020, the donut hole will be closed completely.  The new report released today by the Department of Health and Human Services finds that this provision and other features of the health reform law will generate substantial savings for people with Medicare. Typical Medicare beneficiaries will save an average of nearly $4,200 from 2011 to 2021. People with high prescription drug costs could save as much as $16,000.
The savings are a product of provisions in the Affordable Care Act and other cost trends that:
Decrease prescription drug costs for seniors

Make preventive services like mammograms free for everyone in Medicare
Reduce growth in Part B premiums (for physician services)
Reduce growth in cost-sharing under both Parts A (hospital care) and Part B.
These announcements come one day after HHS announced that in 2012, Medicare Advantage premiums have fallen by seven percent on average and enrollment has risen by about 10 percent since last year.”