Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware said today they will look for opportunities to advance their proposal to include pharmacists in Medicare's program encouraging providers to give coordinated, high quality care to their Medicare patients.

"Pharmacists can play a critical role in coordinated health care," Grassley said.  "As Medicare moves toward payment policies that reward integrated care, we should recognize the role pharmacists play in encouraging adherence with doctors' drug prescriptions."

Grassley and Carper filed but did not offer an amendment to the physician payments bill considered in the Finance Committee last week that would include pharmacists in Medicare programs encouraging Accountable Care Organizations.  These are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who come together voluntarily to give coordinated, high quality care to their Medicare patients.  The coordinated care is meant to achieve the right care, especially for chronically ill patients, while avoiding wasteful duplication and preventing medical errors.

The organizations share in the savings they achieve for the Medicare program when they succeed in delivering high-quality care while avoiding wasteful duplication and spending.  Medicare currently does not promote pharmacists' participation in Accountable Care Organizations, even though pharmacists play a significant role in overseeing patients' prescription adherence.

Grassley and Carper said they will look for legislative opportunities to advance this proposal in the coming months.   Grassley also co-sponsored an amendment offered by Carper  encouraging the development of quality metrics related to medication adherence.  The Carper-Grassley amendment was offered and withdrawn.

$29 Million Project Will Improve Commerce and Quality of Life on Both Sides of the Rock River

ROCKFORD - Governor Pat Quinn today joined local and state officials to cut the ribbon and open the new $29 million Morgan Street Bridge over the Rock River. The new bridge is part of Governor Quinn's agenda to create jobs and build a 21st century transportation system that will drive Illinois' economy forward.

"Residents and businesses who need to cross the Rock River now have a better way," Governor Quinn said. "We expect as many as 60,000 people will use the new Morgan Street Bridge each day, improving commerce and the quality of life throughout the Rockford area."

The 497-foot Morgan Street Bridge includes a 370-foot tiered arch main span anchored to each bank of the river. The original bridge, which was built in 1916, was recommended for replacement in a 2000 bridge study. The new bridge includes a new roadway plus improved lighting, railings, sidewalks and a multi-use path.

The Federal Highway Major Bridge Fund, administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), provided $21.17 million for the bridge project. $4.26 million came from Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program, and $3.55 million from the city of Rockford.

"The city and state worked collectively to find the gap funding we needed in order to get the bridge built," Mayor Larry Morrissey said. "The commitment to the project by Governor Quinn and our local legislative delegation really made the project possible."

"We are proud to celebrate the completion of this important bridge project in Rockford," IDOT Secretary Ann L. Schneider said. "This project is a great example of federal, state and local officials working together to create jobs, improve safety, boost the local economy and help ensure Illinois' transportation system remains among the best in the nation."

The Morgan Street Bridge is part of a $40 million project that also involves $11 million worth of road work on both sides of the river. This includes reconstructing College Avenue from the bridge to Kishwaukee Street; Morgan Street from the new bridge to South Main Street; plus intersection upgrades. The City of Rockford also paid for land acquisition, utilities and engineering costs. Citizen input was incorporated throughout the planning process.

The project is part of Governor Quinn's $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program, which will support more than 439,000 jobs over six years. Illinois Jobs Now! is the largest capital construction program in Illinois history, and is one of the largest capital construction programs in the nation.

Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado said today they will look for ways to advance their provision to better coordinate care for children with complex medical conditions under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), leading to better care and health for these children.

"Considering creative models to promote better outcomes for children with medically complex conditions is something we need to explore in the future," Grassley said.  "Working with the Finance Committee on a bipartisan basis and the Congressional Budget Office, I hope we can move these ideas forward."

"Kids in Colorado and around the country deserve doctors and hospitals that have every tool and resource they need to help them get better," Bennet said. "We need to explore ways that we can ensure kids are getting the seamless care they deserve. We'll continue to work closely with the Senate Finance Committee to get this signed into law."

Grassley, Bennet and seven other bipartisan members of the Finance Committee sponsored an amendment to the physician payments bill considered in committee last week that would establish under the Medicaid program and Children's Health Insurance Program an accountable care collaborative providing a network of services to children with medically complex conditions.

The amendment, which was offered and withdrawn, establishes a Medicaid Children's Care Coordination Program for children with complex medical conditions that would provide services through nationally designated children's hospital networks. Medically Complex Children are defined as those who are included in Clinical Risk Groups (CRG) 5b-9.  The CRG methodology is a well-documented and accepted manner of classifying pediatric patients and their diagnoses nationally and can be adopted for these purposes easily.

Patients in these groups have significant lifelong chronic diseases, limiting the probability of churning in and out of the network, Grassley and Bennet said.  Approximately three million children in the country suffer from medically complex conditions, and two million of these children are in Medicaid, accounting for 6 percent of children enrolled in Medicaid and 40 percent of Medicaid spending on children.

Children with medically complex conditions are often need of specialized care that requires services provided by providers found in states outside of the family's state of residence.  Medicaid's state-based structure creates impediments to seamless, integrated models of care that may be more appropriate for these children.

Children's hospitals are seen as the anchors to the nationally designated hospital network.  While anchor hospitals will provide services for network patients including physician, inpatient and outpatient care, the network will necessarily include other hospitals, physicians, and providers to ensure these children receive the needed services in the most appropriate setting possible.  Key to these networks is assurance that there is an adequate network to support the specific pediatric population, Grassley and Bennet said.

Through integrated care and risk-based reimbursement, improved patient outcomes and lower health care costs can be achieved, the senators said.

Grassley and Bennet said they will look for legislative opportunities to advance this proposal in the coming months.