December/January 2009
An Overview of 2008: Health Care Challenges Remain, but Reform Opportunities Await
New York State and America face an economic crisis that is affecting every aspect of our daily lives. In no area is that crisis more pressing than in our ability to afford high-quality health care.
As more and more New Yorkers lose their employer sponsored health coverage--either through layoffs or benefit cuts--they are unable to secure new coverage due to high costs or pre-existing health conditions.
The growing ranks of the uninsured compound many of the problems we already face in the State and nation, including a lack of primary care physicians, rising medical costs, growing numbers of people suffering from diabetes, untreated co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, and returning veterans facing difficult reintegration into their communities.
Despite these challenging economic times, we have a number of opportunities to improve our health care system, and numerous organizations across the State are working tirelessly to take on the challenge.
Looking back at the past year, NYSHealth supported more than 100 organizations, campaigns, and initiatives to advance three objectives: reducing the cost of health insurance and expanding coverage, improving diabetes care, and integrating care for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
To reduce the number of uninsured New Yorkers, the Foundation actively brought together the best minds in the field to find solutions. In April, we convened two coverage consortiums with State policymakers to discuss broad-scale reforms to the current system. Later in the year, we gathered more than 300 leaders from across the health care spectrum-policy analysts, hospital leaders, insurance providers, employees, doctors, and advocacy groups-to discuss reforming the individual health insurance market so that New Yorkers without employer-sponsored plans can access coverage.
We also helped The Freelancers Union launch a new insurance provider that will push the concept of low-cost coverage plans, and assisted numerous community-based organizations in enrolling uninsured New Yorkers in State-sponsored programs such as Child Health Plus and Healthy NY.
In the area of diabetes care, the Foundation launched a $35 million statewide campaign to 1) spread best practices in diabetes management among primary care providers; 2) advance community-based strategies for diabetes prevention, screening, and management; and 3) promote payment policies that enable providers to deliver comprehensive care for diabetes patients. We selected the Institute for Family Health to lead the Campaign with the Foundation. Additionally, we made grants to three statewide organizations to deliver technical assistance to primary care providers: the Community Health Care Association of New York, the American College of Physicians, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. We also established the NYSHealth Diabetes Policy Center to advance policy that will sustain the improvements made in the clinical and community settings. Using this three-pronged strategy and working with leading organizations throughout the State, NYSHealth anticipates making significant strides to reverse the diabetes epidemic.
To address the challenge of providing both mental health and substance use services in one setting, NYSHealth created a new Center of Excellence for the Integration of Care for persons with substance use and mental health disorders-which will be launched in January 2009-to focus on improving screening, assessment, and treatment for the 1.4 million New Yorkers who suffer from these co-occurring disorders. The mission of the Center will be to transform the delivery of care among the State's 1,223 licensed outpatient mental health and substance abuse facilities, and to standardize integrated care across the phases of recovery.
As increasing numbers of soldiers return home from Afghanistan and Iraq, both they and their families have a wide range of needs. As part of our initiative to integrate care for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, the Foundation has committed $2 million to the NYSHealth Initiative for Returning Veterans and Their Families. In 2008, the funding supported groups ranging from the Rochester Veterans Outreach Center to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
In addition to our three priority areas, NYSHealth supported a wide range of innovative ideas to improve the health of New Yorkers that were proposed as "special opportunities." This competitive grant process currently supports 50 initiatives throughout the State with excellent ideas for making a difference in our health system, 19 of which received funding in 2008.
The various initiatives we support exemplify how New Yorkers can continue to improve our health care system. We must not allow the economic crisis to become an excuse for providing New Yorkers with inadequate or inaccessible care. Our commitment to improving New York's health care system is steadfast.
Looking ahead, NYSHealth will continue to promote the health of New Yorkers. We thank you for your commitment to making New York a healthier place to live. New Yorkers deserve nothing less.
On behalf of the Foundation, I wish you a prosperous and healthy New Year.
James R. Knickman
