The Employer Assistance and Resource Network (EARN) will host a free webinar from 2 – 3:30 p.m. Eastern on June 30, 2011. During the webinar business leaders will talk about recruiting and hiring Veterans with disabilities and including people with disabilities as part of their diversity strategy.

Check our share of cost site for additional information.

Experts testified at a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) meeting that employers nationwide continue to discriminate against job seekers based on their race, sex, age, national origin, disability or other prohibited bases. An EEOC trial attorney described the case of two deaf applicants who were denied employment by Walmart because they were deaf. The public can submit written comments by mail or email on any issues or matters discussed at the meeting until July 6, 2011.

Get Your Share of Cost Threshold with Dental Insurance Compare share of cost with dental insurance in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arkansas, California Medi-Cal, Colorado Office of Medical Assistance, Connecticut Social Services, Delaware Health and Social Services, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Georgia Community Health, Hawaii Med-QUEST Division, Idaho Health and Welfare, Illinois Health and Family, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada Medicaid Check Up Program, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a new rule to strengthen affirmative action requirements of federal contractors and subcontractors for Veterans protected under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA). Comment deadline is July 11, 2011.

Get Your Share of Cost Threshold with Dental Insurance Compare share of cost with dental insurance in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arkansas, California Medi-Cal, Colorado Office of Medical Assistance, Connecticut Social Services, Delaware Health and Social Services, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Georgia Community Health, Hawaii Med-QUEST Division, Idaho Health and Welfare, Illinois Health and Family, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada Medicaid Check Up Program, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Information about the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C., a ruling that requires states to eliminate unnecessary segregation of persons with disabilities and make sure that they receive services in the most integrated setting possible. Includes information about the “Year of Community Living” and enforcement of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The U.S. Department of Justice also has a document that explains obligations and rights under the integration mandate of the law.

Get Your Share of Cost Threshold with Dental Insurance Compare share of cost with dental insurance in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arkansas, California Medi-Cal, Colorado Office of Medical Assistance, Connecticut Social Services, Delaware Health and Social Services, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Georgia Community Health, Hawaii Med-QUEST Division, Idaho Health and Welfare, Illinois Health and Family, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada Medicaid Check Up Program, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against the Tideland Electric Membership Corporation for not accommodating an employee and then firing him because of his disability. The employee takes a legally prescribed narcotic medication to manage a chronic pain condition. After learning about this, Tideland EMC terminated the employee without giving him time to change his medication regimen to keep his employment. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act it is unlawful to discriminate against an employee based on a disability.

Get Your Share of Cost Threshold with Dental Insurance Compare share of cost with dental insurance in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arkansas, California Medi-Cal, Colorado Office of Medical Assistance, Connecticut Social Services, Delaware Health and Social Services, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Georgia Community Health, Hawaii Med-QUEST Division, Idaho Health and Welfare, Illinois Health and Family, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada Medicaid Check Up Program, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

On the 13th Anniversary of the Olmstead Decision, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to intervene in Steward, et al. v. Perry, et al., a case filed on behalf of thousands of Texans with developmental disabilities, to enforce their right under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to receive services provided by the state in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. The proposed complaint alleges that Texas unnecessarily segregates individuals with developmental disabilities in nursing homes instead of giving them the opportunity to receive integrated, community-based services.

Get Your Share of Cost Threshold with Dental Insurance Compare share of cost with dental insurance in the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arkansas, California Medi-Cal, Colorado Office of Medical Assistance, Connecticut Social Services, Delaware Health and Social Services, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Georgia Community Health, Hawaii Med-QUEST Division, Idaho Health and Welfare, Illinois Health and Family, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada Medicaid Check Up Program, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) National Network will hold its 3rd annual Research Conference on July 12, 2011 in Arlington, VA. The event will cover workplace discrimination, employment of people with disabilities, reasonable accommodation strategies and mental illness. On July 13, 2011, the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) will hold its annual State of the Science in Disability Research conference at the same location. All sessions at both events are free, but registration is required to attend.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is reforming its Lifeline program to stop waste and ensure that multiple carriers do not get support for serving the same consumer. The Lifeline program helps low-income Americans get affordable phone service. Consumers are allowed to have only one Lifeline-subsidized phone service and have 30 days to choose which subsidized phone service to keep. Find out more about what steps customers should take. This link opens a PDF document. This information is also in text format.

Information from the U.S. Department of Justice on how to file an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complaint. Includes answers to questions about how to file an ADA complaint by email, regular mail or other delivery service, what to do if you cannot prepare your own complaint due to a disability, how to find out the status of your complaint and what happens if your complaint is referred for possible mediation.

The Affordable Care Act is the most fundamental legislative transformation of the US health care system in forty years. This analysis estimates that the act will provide health insurance for an additional 3.4 million people in California in 2016. This will mean that nearly 96 percent of documented residents of California under age sixty-five will be insured. Enrollment in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, is expected to increase by 1.7 million people, while 4.0 million people are expected to enroll in the state’s planned new health insurance exchange. Employer-sponsored insurance and spending on health insurance will decline slightly. Low-income households will experience substantial financial benefits, but families at the highest income levels will pay more.

The fifty states will play a critical role in implementing the Affordable Care Act, and California is one of the states at the forefront of reform. The act can provide coverage to millions of currently uninsured Californians and offers important benefits in terms of more-affordable coverage, improved access to services, and better health outcomes. As the paper by Peter Long and Jonathan Gruber in this issue of Health Affairs notes, the ultimate effects of health reform in California will be influenced by the policy and program decisions that state lawmakers and administrators make during the next three years. Key issues include revamping cumbersome eligibility determination and enrollment processes that could prevent rapid enrollment in expanded public health insurance—but also affording that expansion in the face of large state budget deficits. California policy makers need to move thoughtfully and strategically to ensure that the potential of federal health reform becomes a reality for state residents.

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States’ budget woes continue, and one way many newly elected Republicans would like to address them is to pare back Medicaid. Several different options are already on the table.

In 2009, US health care spending grew 4.0 percent—a historically low rate of annual increase—to $2.5 trillion, or $8,086 per person. Despite the slower growth, the share of the gross domestic product devoted to health spending increased to 17.6 percent in 2009 from 16.6 percent in 2008. The growth rate of health spending continued to outpace the growth of the overall economy, which experienced its largest drop since 1938. The recession contributed to slower growth in private health insurance spending and out-of-pocket spending by consumers, as well as a reduction in capital investments by health care providers. The recession also placed increased burdens on households, businesses, and governments, which meant that fewer financial resources were available to pay for health care. Declining federal revenues and strong growth in federal health spending increased the health spending share of total federal revenue from 37.6 percent in 2008 to 54.2 percent in 2009.

The Affordable Care Act created accountable care organizations (ACOs), which will be a new part of Medicare as of January 2012, together with a “shared savings program” that will modify how these organizations will be paid to care for patients. Accountable care organizations have the potential to lower costs, improve the quality of care, facilitate delivery system reform, and promote innovation in health care. The federal government is set to create rules to regulate these organizations and has broad discretion to allow them to pursue a variety of approaches. Drawing on experience from some ACO pilot programs and the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage program, we argue that regulations governing accountable care organizations should be flexible, encouraging of diversity and innovation and allowing for changes over time based on lessons learned. We recommend using regulations as a general framework, while relying on notices and other guidance below the regulatory level to spell out specific requirements.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation will guide a number of experimental programs in health care payment and delivery. Among the most ambitious of the reform models is the accountable care organization (ACO), which will offer providers economic rewards if they can reduce Medicare’s cost growth in their communities. However, the dismal history of provider-led attempts to manage costs suggests that this program is unlikely to accomplish its objectives. What’s more, if ACOs foster more market concentration among providers, they have the potential to shift costs onto private insurers. This paper proposes a more flexible payment model for providers and private insurers that would divide health care services into three categories: long-term, low-intensity primary care; unscheduled care, including unscheduled emergency services; and major clinical interventions that usually involve hospitalization or organized outpatient care. Each category of care would be paid for differently, with each containing different elements of financial risk for the providers. Health plans would then be encouraged to provide logistical and analytic support to providers in managing health costs in these categories.