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Meet the Two Newest Members
of Our Team   

We would like to introduce two new members of the Catalyst Center team:  Beth Dworetzky and Rose Hamershock.

You may already know Beth Dworetzky, B.S., M.S., from her work as Project Director for the Massachusetts Family-to-Family Health Information Center at the Federation for Children with Special Needs.  Beth's in-depth understanding of health care policies and issues affecting children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) is an invaluable asset in her new role as Assistant Director for the Catalyst Center. Beth researches issues of health care financing, how they affect health care coverage for CYSHCN, provides research on and responses to technical assistance questions by stakeholders, and regularly contributes to Week in Review and Catalyst Center Coverage.

Rose Hamershock joins the Catalyst Center as a research assistant.  She has a B.S. in mathematics from Muhlenberg College with a concentration in biology.  She is currently pursuing her M.A. in biostatistics from Boston University.  Prior to joining the Catalyst Center, Rose was a participant in the National Science Foundation-funded Research Education for Undergraduates at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech and participated in the Summer Institute for Training in Biostatistics at Boston University.  In addition to providing help with technical assistance questions, Rose will play an integral role in conducting and analyzing the results of a Catalyst Center research project to determine the effects of Medicaid Buy-In programs in two states for CYSHCN and their families.   

You can find a list of our staff, together with short bios, on the "Meet the Team" page on the Catalyst Center website. 

Thoughts on Thanksgiving from the Catalyst Center   

Announcements and Events   

Got Transition Radio Episode 3: Healthcare Transition & College- It Doesn't Have to Be Learned the Hard Way! Part 2    

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 3:00 - 3:30 PM EST

Mallory Cyr, Youth Coordinator for Got Transition? the National Health Care Transition Center, will share her experience planning for college and talk about all the things she learned along the way.
Register for this episode of the radio show event.
Listen to past Got Transition? broadcasts. 

Family Advocacy and Involvement in Title V Programs 

December 2, 2011 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM EST
Rylin Rodgers, State Coordinator for Family Voices of Indiana, Family Discipline Coordinator at the Riley Child Development Center, and nationally recognized family leader, will discuss the skills family advocates need to partner with Title V programs, their roles as advocates for maternal and child health polices, and successful partnership models. Register for this satellite conference and live webcast.

Note: State Title V programs include a measure for family participation in children with special health care needs programs. Visit the Catalyst Center State-at-a-Glance Chartbook to see the Family Involvement score for each state or visit the Title V Information System for a snapshot of each indicator that contributes to a state's overall score. 

Prematurity Prevention Symposium: Examining National, State, Clinical and Community Efforts 

This symposium, hosted by the March of Dimes in collaboration with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Nurse-Midwives, and the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses is an opportunity for health care providers, health purchasers, health insurers, policy makers, public health personnel, concerned citizens, and other stakeholders is an opportunity to learn about prevention strategies, share best practices, and participate in collaborative problem solving. This two-day event will also be the official launch of the Prematurity Prevention Network, a global initiative to prevent prematurity. Learn more about the symposium, application for poster sessions, and the Prematurity Prevention Resource Center.  

 Recent Media Highlights   

Resources on Deficit-Reduction Plans  

The Kaiser Family Foundation

November 17, 2011 

28 States, DC Cut $1.7B in Mental Health Funding  

By Matt Sedensky 

Associated Press

November 10, 2011 

Low-income State Workers Begin to Gain Access to Children's Health Insurance Program  

By Sara Barr

The Washington Post 

November 6, 2011

Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), state employees who were income eligible for their state's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) were barred from enrolling their children. As a result, some children were not receiving the comprehensive services they needed through state health insurance plans. Additionally, some families experienced financial hardship paying their share of the health plan's premiums. A provision of the ACA lifts this ban for states that do not decrease the amount they contribute towards employees' health premiums, or who can demonstrate the employees' premiums cause financial hardship. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the CHIP option for state employees in Alabama, Kentucky, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Georgia, currently waiting for CMS approval, will be the sixth state to utilize this provision of the ACA. 

CMS Survey Shows High Satisfaction Rates for Medicaid and CHIP  

November 8, 2011 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) commissioned a survey to learn about family satisfaction with the health care services their children receive through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Of the almost 2,000 families surveyed, every family had income less than 250% of the federal poverty level (for example, less than $55,875/year for a family 4). One-third of the children were enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP, one-third were covered by a parent's employer-sponsored health insurance, and one-third were uninsured or had been uninsured during the last year. Families whose children were covered by Medicaid or CHIP reported they were very satisfied with access to and the quality of care provided to their children. Overall, families whose children were enrolled in these public health programs were more satisfied (66%) with their children's health care services than families whose children had employer-sponsored health insurance (48%). Read the CMS report for more information about the survey methods, demographics, barriers to enrollment, outreach and enrollment efforts, and family preferences for learning about Medicaid and CHIP. 

Faces of Medicaid  

November 2011

Over the past year, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured interviewed Medicaid beneficiaries throughout the country. Visit this interactive guide to meet the families, hear their stories, see state data, and learn about the pathways to Medicaid eligibility in each state. You can also hear about preventative health services that ensure children's overall health and home health services that enable children with complex health needs to live at home. Download the Faces of Medicaid booklet.