Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Health Care Reform - Integrating Transportation

The Administration on Aging released the Affordable Care Act - Opportunities for the Aging Network, which is a quick summary of health care reform's changes for the public health system and communities.

There are opportunities for transportation providers because successful aging in place, getting people healthy after a hospital stay and providing a modern medical workforce will all require moving people from home to a medical facility.

Medicaid expansion is addressed in Covering Low-Income Childless Adults in Medicaid:
Experiences from Selected States
. "The paper attempts to summarize: (a) what is known about the incoming population, including their health care needs and costs; (b) the outreach and enrollment challenges presented by the expansion population; and (c) the delivery system design questions that need to be answered to adequately address their needs."

Medical Transportation

Non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) will be play a big part in getting people to appointments. With greater numbers of people to be covered by Medicaid and preventive and maintenance medicine to be practiced, there may well be many more people traveling to regular doctor appointments. The Community Transportation Association of America is assisting providers with current issues and helping them to be more efficient for when the new law takes effect.

CTAA has a new training to address these needs.

Limited funding combined with growing patient loads has states seeking intermediaries that can control costs through competition. Community and public transportation providers must become efficient, safe, cost-effective and accountable to maintain these important medical transportation services. CTAA, in response to requests from its members, is introducing a new initiative this fall -- the Competitive Edge -- which will give community and public transit providers the tools, resources and benefits they need to make them central players in this new medical transportation environment. For more information, contact Charles Dickson at 202.247.8356 or email dickson@ctaa.org.

Secretary LaHood's Blog in My Neighborhood

On a personal note, I read the Secretary's blog a moment ago and noticed he has been in my neighborhood for Walk to School Day. The Secretary is photographed at a nearby school surrounded by children. A video posted on the blog shows children walking to their local elementary school (yes, my daughters' old school) and discusses safety. I will brag a little to say that Takoma Park Elementary School boasts a 30 percent walker rate, thanks to pedestrian-friendly streets and child-friendly crossing guards on the corners.

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