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MCMCH LOGO       Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health
                 Friday Notes

Friday Notes is intended to share current information, resources and notices.

If you have information or announcements that you would like to have included in the next issue, forward them to MCMCH.

                         May 27, 2011
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In this issue
State Budget Update
Cost of Unintended Pregnancies: $11 billion
Grade C for Michigan in Dental Care for Kids

STATE BUDGET UPDATE   

The House and Senate swiftly passed omnibus budget bills for the 2011-12 fiscal year on Thursday, sending them to Governor Rick Snyder for his signature.  Passage of the state budget has not been completed so early in 30 years.

The main budget bill, HB 4526, was adopted in the House on a 62-47 vote, with Rep. Thomas Hooker joining Democrats in opposing the budget. In the Senate it was passed 23-15. 


You can view the full text of HB 4526 here and the House Fiscal Agency's analysis of the bill here.

In terms of MCMCH's budget priorities, we are pleased with the restoration of portions of the Healthy Michigan Fund, although there is no line item detail. The conference committee report placed $5 million in HMF with an additional $3 million appropriated in a special "one-time only" section of the budget for a total of $8 million. There are no line items specifically appropriated, such as pregnancy prevention, although $900,000 is specified through boilerplate to go to cancer prevention and control. Our efforts to see MCH programs funded will now move to the administration/department level.

The continued commitment to not use Medicaid rate cuts to balance the budget was honored and a large portion of the Graduate Medical Education cut was mitigated.  Much of our effort on the DCH budget was spent monitoring boilerplate language that was potentially damaging to maternal and child health efforts and the final agreement reflects those efforts to draft language supported by the Council.

Thank you to those of you who took the time to contact your state representative or state senator throughout the budget process.
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Reports Reveal National Cost of Unintended Pregnancies

Two new studies taking different methodological approaches arrive at the same conclusion: Unintended pregnancy costs U.S. taxpayers roughly $11 billion each year. Both estimates are conservative in that they are limited to public insurance costs for pregnancy and first-year infant care, and both studies conclude that the potential public savings from reducing unintended pregnancy in the United States would be huge.  

 

"The Public Costs of Births Resulting from Unintended Pregnancies: National and State-Level Estimates," by the Guttmacher Institute, relied on state-level data from 2006 to estimate costs for each state, which were then added together to arrive at a national total. The study found that two-thirds of births resulting from unintended pregnancies-more than one million births-are publicly funded, and the proportion tops 80% in a couple of states. The cost of those births, and the potential gross saving from helping women to avert them, is estimated at $11.1 billion.  

A breakdown by state, using 2006 data, shows that of Michigan's 127,500 births that year, 55,500 were publicly funded. 62 percent of those publicly funded births were from unintended pregnancies.  


"At a time when policymakers everywhere are looking for ways to cut costs under Medicaid, these findings point clearly to a way to achieve that goal by expanding access to health care, not cutting it," said author Adam Sonfield. "Investing in publicly funded family planning to help women avoid unintended pregnancy has a proven track record: In the absence of the services provided at publicly funded family planning centers, the costs of unintended pregnancy would be 60% higher than they are today."  

"Unintended Pregnancy and Taxpayer Spending," by the Brookings Institution, estimated the cost of unintended pregnancy by counting 2001 national estimates of the outcomes of publicly financed unintended pregnancies (births, abortions, miscarriages and need for infant medical care) and multiplying those counts by the average cost per outcome. The estimates of the cost to taxpayers of providing medical services to women who experience unintended pregnancies and to the infants who are born as a result of such pregnancies range between $9.6 and $12.6 billion per year, and average $11.3 billion. The estimates of the public savings that would result if these unintended pregnancies were prevented range from $4.7 billion to $6.2 billion per year, and average $5.6 billion.

 

The Guttmacher Institute is currently analyzing data on the factors influencing unintended pregnancy at the state level.   

 

Both articles will appear in the June issue of the journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.

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Michigan Earns 'C' on Dental Care for Kids Report Card 

A national report card gives Michigan a 'C' grade for children's dental health. Nationwide, more than 16 million children go each year without seeing a dentist. The report released this week by the Pew Center on the States reveals that Michigan met only four out of eight benchmarks for sound oral health policies.

 

This is the second straight year Michigan earned a C and is among 22 other states that made no progress on their grade since last year's report. To develop the report, Pew assessed states and the District of Columbia on eight proven policy solutions that ensure dental health and access to care for children. The policies fall into four groups: cost-effective oral health

prevention programs, such as sealants and fluoridation; Medicaid improvements that enable and motivate more dentists to treat low-income children; innovative workforce models that expand the number of qualified dental providers; and the availability of oral health data. Each state was then given a grade on an A to F scale.

 

The report reveals some areas in which Michigan stands out:

· Michigan does well providing fluoridated water to residents (89.8 percent) whose homes are connected to public water systems. Studies prove that fluoridation reduces tooth decay by 18 to 40 percent.

 

· Michigan does not require a dentist's exam before a hygienist, working in a school program, places dental sealants. Dental sealants are recognized as one of the best preventive strategies for children at high risk for cavities. Sealants cost one-third as much as filling a cavity and studies have shown that sealant programs targeted to schools with many high-risk children are a cost-effective strategy-as children living in poverty suffer two times more untreated tooth decay than their peers.

 

This report is the second time that Pew has assessed and graded all states on their dental health policies for kids. You can view Pew's fact sheet on Michigan and learn more details about the state's progress on oral health here. 

 

The Michigan Oral Health Coalition will hold its 2011 conference June 9-10 in Lansing. Learn more here. 

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Contributors to this Issue
AHIP HI-Wire
Associated Press
Brookings Institution
Guttmacher Institute
HealthDay
Michigan Oral Health Coalition
Wiener Associates
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Quick Links . . .


Program Looks at Success of Newborn Screening
To hear "The Remarkable Public Health Program of Newborn Screening" broadcast, tune into "Life Love & Health: Special Edition" at 5PM Eastern on May 27, 2011 at www.healthradio.net.  On this program (America's most listened-to daily health, prevention and wellness program) -experts and a parent discuss how, with advances in medicine, it is now possible to diagnose, treat and prevent the negative outcomes of death and disability of these diseases. Read more here.
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Study Finds Almost 1 in 5 Young Adults Has High Blood Pressure
About 19 percent of U.S. adults aged 24 to 32 have high blood pressure, but many of them are unaware that they have the potentially life-threatening condition, new research reveals.
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White House Unveiling Plans to Curb Regulations
The White House would eliminate requirements for trapping polluting vapors at gasoline stations and let employers and hospitals file fewer reports as part of a plan it is announcing Thursday to ease regulatory burdens on business.
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Too Many Kids Getting Antibiotics for Asthma
Although guidelines don't recommend antibiotics for asthma, almost 1 million children with the respiratory condition are prescribed the medications each year in the United States, a new study finds. 

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Excess Medical Costs Tied to Diabetes in Youth Substantial
The excess medical expenditures related to diabetes among youth are substantial, and this is particularly true for insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (ITDM), according to a study published in the May issue of Diabetes Care.
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Order your 2011-12 Watch Me Grow Calendars!  This 24-month calendar highlights a different program each month - offering both program information and contact information. Activities and tips for parents are also offered throughout the calendar providing information on health, safety, nutrition, and parenting. The best part is that these calendars are $1 each.  Visit the website for complete information and order form.

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The Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Healthblur image MCMCH is made up of
member organizations who share a commitment to the health of
Michigan's women, children and families.
To learn more go to http://www.mcmch.org or email info@mcmch.org.

             Amy Zaagman - Executive Director - azaagman@mcmch.org
     Jennifer Gorchow - Communications Manager - jgorchow@mcmch.org 
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