Policy Corner: October 14, 2022
Categories: Policy Corner Archives
House Committee Releases Report on Importance of Preventative Health Care
At the end of September, House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.) released a new report, “No Right to Deny Care: The Importance of Preserving Preventative Care in the Affordable Care Act,” in response to recent a federal court ruling in Braidwood Management v. Becerra whereby the judge ruled that the Constitution does not allow a requirement for plans to cover certain preventive services. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded Medicaid for low-income Americans, protected access to coverage for people with preexisting conditions, and created Healthcare.gov and state-based exchanges where individuals can purchase quality, affordable coverage. The law requires private health insurance plans to cover preventive care, such as cancer screenings and other lifesaving services, without any cost-sharing, such as deductibles or copays, for those covered by private health care plans.
The Braidwood v. Becerra decision found that the mandate to cover certain preventive service items, such as medication that can prevent HIV transmission, substantially burdens the religious exercise of one of the plaintiffs. The ruling did not address every issue in the case, but the court indicated that it may also allow certain employers to limit coverage for other vital preventive services. This case is ongoing, and the decision may be overturned on appeal.
This case was formerly known as Kelley v. Becerra, but was later changed at the request of the plaintiffs. In February 2021, the court dismissed plaintiffs’ religious claims regarding the contraceptive mandate because the court had previously dealt with those claims by the same plaintiffs in a separate case, DeOtte v. Azar. With regards to plaintiffs’ objections to other preventive services, the plaintiffs’ amended complaint dropped religious objections to providing several other required preventive services, including behavioral counseling for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and substance use.
Although the preventive service coverage requirement is mandated by federal law, the specific items and services that must be covered are recommended by experts in preventive medicine from several entities, including the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Read the report here.
ACL Awards 16 TBIMS Grants
The Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) National Institute for Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) has announced the new Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems (TBIMS) grantees. Sixteen grantees will engage in their planned project activities from Sept. 1, 2022-August 31, 2027, with an estimated funding amount of $490,000 per year for each grantee. These Centers provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary services to people with TBI as a prerequisite for conducting research that contributes to the development of and access to evidence-based TBI rehabilitation with the ultimate goal of improving the health and function, community living and participation, and employment outcomes of people with TBI. TBIMS Centers generate new knowledge through site-specific research projects, collaborative projects, and contributions of data to the TBIMS national longitudinal database. Grant recipients are:
- Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, Pa.
- Baylor Research Institute, Dallas, Tex.
- Craig Hospital, Englewood, Colo.
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, N.Y.
- Kessler Foundation, East Hanover, N.J.
- Mayo Clinic, Rochester, M.N.
- Memorial Hermann Health System, Houston, Tex.
- New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, N.Y.
- The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
- Shepherd Center, Inc., Atlanta, Ga.
- Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Corporation, Charlestown, Mass.
- Trustees of Indiana University, Indianapolis, Ind.
- University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala.
- University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.
- Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.
View more details about this projects
ACL Awards One ARRTC for TBI Health and Function
This week, the Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) National Institute for Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) also announced funding for four 2022 Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training (ARRT) grantees cohort. The planned project period for these grants is June 1, 2022 – May 31, 2027, with an estimated funding amount of up to $200,000 per year for each grantee. The ARRT grants are intended to increase the number of high-quality disability and rehabilitation researchers. Grants are made to institutions of higher education to provide research training to individuals with doctorates or similar advanced degrees. This new cadre of disability and rehabilitation researchers will improve the community living and participation, employment, and health and function outcomes for people with disabilities. Grantees are:
- ARRT on Community Living and Participation: Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill. This project will provide training to post-doctoral fellows who will develop new skills to compete successfully for scientific career opportunities in research that advances understanding of community living and participation for individuals with disabilities.
- ARRT on Employment: Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. This project will train advanced postdoctoral researchers to develop their capacity to improve the delivery and quality of vocational rehabilitation services and improve employment outcomes of people with disabilities.
- ARRT on Health and Function: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, N.Y. The goal of this project is to provide advanced training to the next generation of researchers dedicated to improving health and function following brain injury.
- ARRT for Minority-Serving Institutions: Langston University, Langston, Okla. The goal of this project is to improve capacity to develop and support disability and rehabilitation training pipeline infrastructure to facilitate the development of the talent and produce well-trained equity investigators of color, including those with disabilities, who can lead and participate in research and development aimed at improving the employment status of multiply marginalized individuals with disabilities.
View more details about these projects.
ACL Awards TBI SPP Grant to South Carolina
The Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) Administration on Disability (AoD) has recently announced a Traumatic Brain Injury State Partnership Program (TBI SPP) four-year grant award to the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (SCDDSN) covering the period from August 1, 2022, to July 31, 2026, totaling $800,000. The purpose of the TBI SPP is to create and strengthen person-centered, culturally competent systems of services and supports that maximize the independence and overall health and well-being of people with TBI across the lifespan and the people who support them. The ACL TBI SPP is authorized by the TBI Program Reauthorization Act of 2018.
As a result of the TBI SPP, AoD envisions individuals with TBI will experience:
- Increased self-determination, independence, and quality of life;
- Highly streamlined, coordinated pathways to services and supports;
- Increased availability of high quality, person-centered, culturally competent, evidence- based services and supports; and
- Person-centered, culturally competent services and supports with the capacity to serve and support diverse and underserved populations.