WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley today introduced legislation with Senator Mark Begich of Alaska to waive co-payments for veterans for telehealth and telemedicine visits.

"Telemedicine can help rural residents access health care services that otherwise might be out of reach.  This legislation is designed to make sure veterans are able to take advantage of telehealth's valuable, cost-effective services," Grassley said.  "Based on the fact that telehealth services continue to improve, and that telehealth reduces overall costs for the VA, our bill is a win-win for veterans and taxpayers."

The proposed legislation would waive copayments, which can be as high as $50 per visit, for telehealth appointments.  "Waiving the payments would lessen the burden on veterans and encourage more veterans to take advantage of telehealth programs, improving their ability to manage health issues and have a better quality of life," Grassley said.

According to the Veterans Health Administration, telehealth programs have demonstrated reduced hospital admissions and clinic and emergency room visits.

Thousands of Iowa veterans are enrolled in Care Coordination Home Telehealth, Clinical Video Telehealth, and Teleretinal Imaging telehealth programs in Iowa.

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Washington -- May 5, 2011 - Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) are working to make it easier to receive quality health care in rural areas throughout our nation.  Today, the Senators introduced bipartisan legislation to allow physician assistants to serve Medicare hospice patients.

In some rural areas, physician assistants may be the only health care professional available.  Physician assistants can provide care to Medicare patients until the point when hospice care is needed, and patients must then find an alternative provider.  This can disrupt the continuity of care at a time when the Medicare patient is most vulnerable.

Grassley and Conrad introduced the Medicare Hospice Care Access Act of 2011, which would allow physician assistants to provide hospice care to their patients who elect Medicare's hospice benefit.  For individuals and families who rely on physician assistants as their principal health care professional, this legislation promises continuity of quality medical care when the Medicare beneficiaries and their families are most in need.

"It makes sense to allow patients to continue to see the same health care provider through hospice care," Grassley said.  "Patients benefit when they continue to see the health care professionals who know them.  This provision is especially important for rural areas, where physician assistants provide a lot of direct care, and where access to providers is always a challenge."

"We cannot apply a one-size-fits-all approach to health care in this country.  Physician assistants are a crucial part of the health care system in North Dakota and other rural areas.  They provide quality health care to our seniors and should be allowed to continue when the patient transitions to hospice care. This legislation will make this transition easier and allow physician assistants to continue to provide these patients with quality care throughout the process," Conrad said.

The physician assistants profession was created more than forty years ago in response to a shortage of primary care physicians. Today, more than 75,000 physician assistants provide high quality, cost-effective medical care.  It is estimated that in 2009 alone, nearly 300 million patient visits were made to physician assistants, according to the American Academy of Physician Assistants.  Medicare coverage was originally extended to physician assistants through the 1977 Rural Health Clinic Services Act, but the program has never been updated to allow physician assistants to deliver hospice care.

Grassley and Conrad are both on the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over health care legislation.

Moline, Illinois - Bethany for Children & Families, in conjunction with Edgerton Women's Health Center and the Scott County Health Department, is hosting a teen forum, entitled T.O.P. (Teens on Point) to kickoff Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. at Bethany for Children & Families, Moline. Invitations have been sent to area high schools, asking each school to bring one student and one staff member.

Teen pregnancy; so what?  Mary Ann McLeod, Director of Community Services at Bethany for Children & Families, said that "In examining the issues related to teen pregnancy and how it effects youth in the Quad-Cities area, the following statistics are sobering:

--only 38% of moms who have a child before 18, graduate from high school;

--80% of teen fathers do not marry the mothers of their first child and contribute less than

$800 annually for child support;

--only 2/3 of children born to teen moms receive a high school diploma compared to 81%

of children born to adults;

--daughters of teen mothers are 3X more likely to become pregnant as a teen than

daughters born to mothers who were age 20-21;

--sons of teen moms are 2X more likely to end up in prison;

--over 75% of unmarried teen mothers will receive welfare; and

--children of teen parents are 2X more likely to suffer from abuse and neglect."

Both Rock Island County, Illinois (13.3%) and Scott County, Iowa (11.5%) have higher teen birth rates than their respective state rates of 10.1% and 8.7%. To address the issues related to teen pregnancy and the implications for the Quad-Cities, the teen forum will provide an opportunity for a representative group of area high school students and a separate representative group of adults, composed of parents, school personnel, social service providers, and community members, to discuss the following four questions:

• To what extent is teen pregnancy a problem in your school and how does it affect you personally?
• What is not working in addressing the issue as presented by parents, educators, media, and/or community organizations?
• Should a different message be sent to junior high school students than high school students, and if so what?
• What are three steps that can be taken in the next year to help reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy and/or increase awareness regarding teen pregnancy and its related issues?

After the discussion has been completed, the groups will re-convene to share respective findings and direction for action in the upcoming year. A press conference is scheduled at 11:00 a.m., at which time the findings and direction for action will be revealed to the media. The press conference is scheduled to be held in Bethany for Children & Families' Education Center, which is located at 1830 - 6th Avenue in Moline.

For more information about Bethany for Children & Families, its mission and program services please visit www.bethany-qc.org or call 309-797-7700.

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