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U.S. African Chamber Of Commerce Congratulates U.S. on New Surgeon General, May Improve Health Care for Middle Income Families

Washington, DC (Vocus) July 15, 2009

    U.S. African Chamber Of Commerce congratulates Dr. Regina Benjamin as President Obama’s pick for surgeon general. The Alabama family physician has been an advocate for universal care, and is expected to have a role “at the table” in health reform, which would be an unusual degree of influence over policy for a surgeon general. Obama said Benjamin “represents what’s best about health care in America.”

CBS/Associated Press reports: “Having lost most of her family members to preventable diseases, such as HIV, diabetes, and lung cancer, Benjamin said she feels a personal connection to public health issues.” Benjamin “is most famous for the role she played in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when she was determined to rebuild her rural health clinic in Bayou La Batre, Ala., despite hurricane and fire destruction.” She received a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” last September for her clinic, which serves 4,400 patients. CBS also notes: “Benjamin became President of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama in 2002, becoming the first black woman to head a state medical society and received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights. She is the Immediate Past-Chair of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, and previously served as Associate Dean for Rural Health at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.”

CBS quotes Benjamin on her vision: “‘My hope, if confirmed as surgeon general, is to be America’s doctor, America’s family physician. … As we work toward a solution to this health care crisis, I promise to communicate directly with the American people to help guide them through whatever changes may come with health care reform.’” (7/13).

Bloomberg reports on Benjamin’s commitment to providing care to the underserved and will likely focus on issues such as doctor shortages, inefficient care, preventative care and better access to care in low-income and rural areas. Bloomberg notes: “Obama, at a White House ceremony yesterday, restated his support for winning passage this year of legislation to cover the estimated 46 million uninsured in the U.S. and rein in medical costs. Benjamin, whose nomination needs Senate approval, will be a crucial voice in the debate, he said.” James Rohack, president of the Chicago-based American Medical Association, said that “in an administration dedicated to revamping health-care, Benjamin will be one of the few physicians in a high-profile position within the Obama administration” (Nussbaum, 7/14).

NPR: “If she is confirmed, Benjamin would direct the operations of the 6,000-member U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a team of health professionals that promotes public health and disease prevention programs. She also would serve as the country’s top educator on health matters ranging from childhood obesity to eliminating health disparities. The office is under the Department of Health and Human Services, which is overseen by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius” (Tedford. 7/13).

The USACC is the Leading Advocacy Organization for U.S. African Relations and promotes Emerging Markets. The USACC is the umbrella organization for African Chambers of Commerce and Professional Trade and Business Associations throughout the United States and abroad.

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Unemployment topped 10 percent in 15 states and the District of Columbia last month, according to federal data released Friday. The rate in Michigan surpassed 15 percent, the first time any state hit that mark since 1984.

The Federal Reserve this week projected that the national unemployment rate, currently at a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, will pass 10 percent by the end of the year. Most Fed policymakers said it could take “five or six years” for the economy and the labor market to get back on a path of long-term health. To get there, consumers must return to a regular spending groove and housing prices need to start rising again.

Home to the nation’s struggling auto makers, Michigan has been clobbered by lost factory jobs. Its jobless rate of 15.2 percent in June was the highest in the country. Still, the U.S. Labor Department said it’s the first time in 25 years that any state has suffered an unemployment rate of at least 15 percent. In 1984, it was West Virginia.

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In May, the jobless rate topped 10 percent in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Alabama and Georgia joined the list in June. The states with the lowest unemployment rates in June were: North Dakota at 4.2 percent, Nebraska at 5 percent and South Dakota at 5.1 percent. While Michigan’s rate was the highest in the country in June, the record-high for the state was 16.9 percent in November 1982.

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Bills in both the Senate and the House of Representatives would make more people eligible for Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor that states administer with reimbursements from the federal government.

At the same time, any bill that makes it to President Barack Obama to sign into law will likely mandate that people have health insurance. That would push more people to enroll in Medicaid and drive those numbers up even further.

For California, already dealing with historic budget problems and rising unemployment, covering the minimum of 1.6 million people it expects will sign up is close to impossible.

“Our number one concern is just the fiscal reality that we can’t afford our current program,” said Toby Douglas, chief deputy director of health care programs for California, at a conference of state Medicaid directors on Tuesday. “We can’t afford expansion.”

Alabama projects it would add 200,000 to 300,000 people to its Medicaid roster under the health-care reforms, a problem when the state is “not real sure how we’re going to get through tomorrow,” said Carol Steckel, commissioner of Alabama’s Medicaid agency.

Add to that the crux of the legislation — a network of state-operated healthcare exchanges — and the costs are even higher.

Nevada expects to spend $150 million creating information technology for any exchange and will also need to add 100 staff, said Chuck Duarte, administrator of the state’s health care financing and policy division.

Some states have already expanded their Medicaid coverage or built up data infrastructure on their own. Others will be set scrambling. Since this summer most have expressed concerns that federal reforms will push their costs up without providing sufficient funds to cover new needs.

One issue all face is creating exchanges that will act in tandem with their Medicaid systems so that individuals are funneled into the most affordable insurance option.

“There is no transition time,” said Steckel of how long states would have to set up systems linking to the federal government.

Once a bill is signed into law, “the work is going to have be done by the states,” said Carolyn Ingram, director of the medical assistance division in New Mexico.

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And with unemployment rising and driving more Americans onto the Medicaid rolls, states are facing tougher challenges.

The stimulus plan passed in February increased federal reimbursements for Medicaid in order to alleviate the burden, but that funding will likely run out before states recover from the recession. States’ economic recoveries generally lag the national recoveryWith unemployment now the highest in a quarter of a century, states are already stretched covering Medicaid costs, the executive director of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors, Ann Kohler, said.

The sudden drop in funds will push many states off of a funding cliff, she said.

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