Read rest of article: City Limits News
Reminder! The Triangle Breastfeeding Alliance meets this coming Tuesday, March 2nd at 1:00 PM at the WakeMed Andrews Center.
Joan Levy suggested that TBA might want to sponsor a person who needs help to pay ILCA dues. See the excerpts from typical applications below. Please give this idea consideration and come prepared to discuss it at our meeting on Tuesday, March 1st.
Agenda attached, 3.02.11 Agenda.
Mary Overfield
February 18, 2011
The ILCA Partner Program is a great way to become connected with an ILCA member from another part of the world, or even from your own your country. It is a great way to learn about other cultures and their breastfeeding practices.
As we get into the 2nd month of 2011, we find we have more potential partners needing sponsorship than we have sponsors. Following are excerpts from some of the applicants on our Partners Program waiting list:
If you have ever thought about becoming involved in the ILCA Partner Program, now is the ideal time. These potential members all have a great deal to offer to ILCA in their part of the world. Membership for the Partner Program is at the Group A level ($120); however, for those who request partnership from the U.S., their dues are $165, which includes the USLCA. You can learn more, and download the application, by visiting the Partner info page.
If you cannot become a partner yourself, consider pooling with colleagues or friends; or ask your organization, chapter or affiliate to sponsor a colleague through the ILCA Partner Program.
You can make a difference in the professional growth and development of a colleague through your generous sponsorship!
Best regards,
Roberta Graham de Escobedo
Director of Membership and Affiliate Services
roberta@ilca.org
HHS Announces $100 Million in Affordable Care Act Grants to Prevent Disease
New Medicaid Prevention Grants Allow States to Pay Incentives to Enrollees Who Adopt Healthy Habits
As part of the nation’s efforts to prevent an increase in the number of people with chronic health conditions, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced a new, $100 million program allowing states to offer incentives to Medicaid enrollees who adopt healthy behaviors such as quitting smoking or losing weight.
“Keeping people healthy is an important goal of the Affordable Care Act,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “One way to reach that goal is to encourage all Americans to make better choices about diet, exercise and smoking to avoid potentially disastrous outcomes down the road like heart disease, cancer or diabetes.”
Under the Act, states may apply to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for grants to fund programs that demonstrate changes in health risk and outcomes, including the adoption of healthy behaviors.
One way to encourage difficult changes in life habits such as overeating or smoking, research has shown, is to offer economic incentives to those who reach stated goals. With that in mind, CMS will encourage states to adopt such strategies as rewarding Medicaid enrollees who meet goals established for them such as weight loss, smoking cessation or diabetes prevention or control. Rewards could range from direct cash incentives, gift cards to grocery stores or other retailers, reduced Medicaid program fees (if any apply) or offering services not normally available through Medicaid.
“With the right incentives, we believe that people can change their behaviors and stop smoking or lose weight,” said CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, M.D. “Not only can preventive programs help to improve individuals’ health, by keeping people healthy we can also lower the nation’s overall health care costs.”
The program focuses on those behaviors that can cause some of the most critical chronic conditions that together affect millions of Americans for example:
Research in the field, largely based on commercial insurance program experience, has shown that financial incentives can be effective in the short run for simple preventive care and distinct behavioral goals, but this demonstration will attempt to identify the most effective strategies for major, long-term changes in unhealthy habits.
“We are hopeful that these approaches will help to sustain patients’ behavior change over their lifetime, especially in the areas of physical activity, nutrition, and smoking cessation,” said Berwick. “We need to take aggressive steps to help give everyone the tools they need to improve their health.”
States can get more information about the incentive grants at http://www.cms.gov/MIPCD/
LONDON (Reuters) – A specialist ice cream parlor plans to serve up breast milk ice cream and says people should think of it as an organic, free-range treat.
The breast milk concoction, called the “Baby Gaga,” will be available from Friday at the Icecreamists restaurant in London’s Covent Garden.
Read rest of article: Reuters
Last week was a frenzied one on the media front, beginning with Michelle
Obama’s announcement that she would promote breastfeeding as part of her
“Let’s Move” campaign to reduce childhood obesity. This announcement
coincided with the IRS reversal of its ruling on breast pumps (refer to
message sent 2/16/11). You can also view that first article at this link:
After Michelle Obama’s statements there was political backlash from Michele
Bachmann and Sarah Palin. USBC leadership discussed this as the situation
unfolded and encouraged responses by several members and partners. There was
a huge response on the blogs as well as in some major media outlets (see
links below). Overall the erroneous statements were corrected, and the
consensus seems to have reaffirmed the status of breastfeeding as a
universal issue.
Many thanks to our partners for responding so quickly: breastfeeding has
received a great deal of attention recently! When your organization is
promoting all of this “news” to your members and constituents, we strongly
encourage you to express appreciation for the efforts of the First Lady, as
well as to Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann. All three of them breastfed
their own children and have expressed strong support for breastfeeding. This
is a rare opportunity to focus on what they DO have in common!
When promoting the First Lady’s initiative and the Surgeon General’s Call to
Action, we also encourage you to mirror their messaging. Their tone of their
messaging has been very strategically crafted and honed, yet is not always
coming across as intended in the media (as can be expected). As the First
Lady and the Surgeon General have emphasized, their initiatives are not
about pressuring more women to breastfeed. The “Take Away message” could be
summarized as follows:
“Most women today choose to breastfeed. The Surgeon General’s Call to Action
to Support Breastfeeding focuses on making that choice easier for women
through policies and environmental changes to ensure that ALL women have the
support they need to meet their personal breastfeeding goals.”
Big newspaper mentions:
HHS Announces $750 Million Investment in Prevention
New health care law provides new funding to reduce tobacco use, obesity and heart disease, and build healthier communities
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced a $750 million investment in prevention and public health, funded through the Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the new health care law. Building on $500 million in investments last year, these new dollars will help prevent tobacco use, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and cancer; increase immunizations; and empower individuals and communities with tools and resources for local prevention and health initiatives.
“Prevention is something that can’t just happen in a doctor’s office. If we are to address the big health issues of our time, from physical inactivity to poor nutrition to tobacco use, it needs to happen in local communities,” said Sebelius. “This investment is going to build on the prevention work already under way to help make sure that we are working effectively across the federal government as well as with private groups and state and local governments to help Americans live longer, healthier lives.”
The Prevention and Public Health Fund, part of the Affordable Care Act, is designed to expand and sustain the necessary capacity to prevent disease, detect it early, manage conditions before they become severe, and provide states and communities the resources they need to promote healthy living. In FY2010, $500 million of the Prevention Fund was distributed to states and communities to boost prevention and public health efforts, improve health, enhance health care quality, and foster the next generation of primary health professionals. Today, HHS posted new fact sheets detailing how that $500 million was allocated in every state. Those fact sheets are available at www.HealthCare.gov/news/factsheets/prevention02092011a.html.
This year, building on the initial investment, new funds are dedicated to expanding on four critical priorities:
The Obama Administration recognizes the importance of a broad approach to addressing the health and well-being of our communities. Other initiatives put forth by the Obama Administration to promote prevention include:
For more information about the FY2011 Prevention and Public Health Fund investments, visit http://www.HealthCare.gov/news/factsheets/prevention02092011b.html.
The 2011 Funding Opportunity Announcement for the US Community Transformation Grants should be announced soon. Several states and communities are currently working on breastfeeding with Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) funding, as part of larger initiatives on obesity (learn more at http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/recovery/).
Quick links compiled:
SAN CLEMENTE, CA — The California Milk Processor Board (CMPB), the creator and owner of the popular GOT MILK? tagline, has signed a licensing agreement to give La Leche League International permission to use the slogan “GOT BREASTMILK?” La Leche League, whose mission is to promote breastfeeding among mothers worldwide, will be able to use the tagline in its promotional and merchandising materials.
Read rest of article: MSNBC.com
Thomas Hale is in the process of studying the contributors to insufficient milk production. He has posted a survey asking clinicians to look at the subset of mothers in their practice with insufficient milk and then estimate the percentage of insufficient milk that is caused by each item in a list to be checked off–i.e., 2% of insufficient milk in my practice can be attributed to oral anomalies in the infant, 20% to breastfeeding mismanagement, etc. Please take just a couple of minutes to respond to this survey as your input will be very helpful.
Thanks so much.
Scott Sherwood
USLCA Executive Director
The survey can be found at http://surveys.ttuhsc.edu/wsb.dll/s/60g8c0
I just wanted to make sure we spelled out the benefit of the change in the IRS ruling. Can you believe the basis of the old ruling was that food is not a deductible item and that pumps are used to provide food!?
Breast pumps and other lactation supplies are now tax deductible as medical expenses, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday (2/10/11), reversing a long-held position. The new ruling means that families can use pre-tax funds from their flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts for these supplies.
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