Stop Student Loan Interest Hike

Iowa will receive resources made available by the Affordable Care Act - the health care law - to help seniors and people with disabilities live in their communities, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today. These resources will help ensure Iowa residents can choose to live at home rather than in a nursing home or other facility.

The Iowa award, projected at $61.8 million, is a vital component of a broad State-based approach to expand community-based care provided by the Affordable Care Act's Balancing Incentive Program.

"The health care law is giving many seniors and people with disabilities the freedom to continue to live in their homes and communities, rather than in a nursing home," said Marilyn Tavenner, CMS acting administrator.  "We are pleased that Iowa is one of many States working to expand community services and supports."

While federal Medicaid law requires States to pay for institutional care for the elderly or persons with disabilities who may need assistance with their activities of daily living, Medicaid coverage for home or community-based services is optional.  And while all States have opted to provide such coverage, consumer demand frequently exceeds the State's available resources.

The health care law offers States additional resources through an increase in their federal Medicaid matching rates for home and community-based services, if a State commits to increasing access to these services.  A total of $3 billion is available to States under the Affordable Care Act's Balancing Incentive Program.

The Administration strongly supports ensuring that people with Medicaid can get the support they need to continue to live in their communities. While most Medicaid dollars for long-term services and supports still go to institutions, the national percentage of Medicaid spending on home and community-based services has more than doubled from 20 percent in 1995 to 43 percent in 2009.

States are eligible for the Balancing Incentive Program if less than 50 percent of their total long-term care spending goes toward home and community-based services.  The enhanced Medicaid payments must be spent increasing the availability of home and community-based services for Medicaid beneficiaries with long-term needs.  The Iowa Department of Human Services Balancing Incentive Program, in partnership with community organizations throughout the State, plans to further develop the systems of community-based care that serve seniors and individuals with behavioral health needs, physical disabilities, and intellectual disabilities.

For more information on the Balancing Incentive Program please visit: http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Long-Term-Services-and-Support/Balancing/Balancing-Incentive-Program.html

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ST. LOUIS (June 13, 2012) - Most U.S. soybean farmers know they employ sustainable farming methods, such as conservation tillage, cover crops and tactics that help minimize nutrient runoff. Now a group of representatives from global food companies know it, too.

The United Soybean Board (USB) and soy checkoff's Sustainability Initiative recently organized an educational series of U.S. farm tours through three states that showed five food-industry employees firsthand what U.S. soybean farmers do to keep improving their farm's sustainability performance. The companies represented included Kellogg's, Kraft, Sodexo and Unilever, which together use a total of about 3.5 billion pounds of soybean oil annually.

"As a food company, we're dependent upon the sustainability of farmers and want to promote their efforts," says Sherilyn Brodersen, Kraft Foods' sustainable agriculture lead for the Americas. "There are so many progressive measures farmers have taken, and I'll take that information back to my company, share those stories and help increase consumers' awareness."

The food industry remains by far the biggest user of U.S. soy oil, consuming more than 80 percent of it every year. And the importance the food industry and consumers place on using sustainably sourced ingredients continues to grow.

The program took participants to farms in three large and diverse soybean-producing states - Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska - and showed them a large array of farm-management practices used today. Participants learned about strip tilling, how technology can improve efficiency, methods to remove nutrients from runoff water and more.

"Many people don't realize how high of a priority U.S. farmers place on being good stewards of our resources," says Nebraska soybean farmer Mike Thede, team lead for the checkoff's Sustainability Initiative. "I think it's important to show people how common these practices are among farmers and how we're always looking to improve even more."

The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy's customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UnitedSoybeanBoard
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

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