Concord, NH - The State Commission studying autism spectrum disorders is set to release its findings during a press conference, Tuesday, May 13 at 1:00 in the Legislative Office Building. The Commission on Autism Spectrum disorders was established by the legislature in 2007 in response to the rapidly increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorders.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) one in 150 children born today will be affected by an autism spectrum disorder, a neurologically based medical condition that impacts an individual's ability to communicate and interact socially. Staff from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Bureau of Developmental Services (BDS) served on the Commission.

One of the recommendations in the Commission's final report is for the State to make significant improvements to its system of care for children and adults with autism-related disabilities or face billions of dollars in long term, largely preventable costs.

EVENT   

NH Commission on Autism to Release Report at Press Conference

DATE   

Tuesday May 13
1:00 PM

LOCATION

Legislative Office Building
Concord, NH

Concord, NH - The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services (BEAS), along with the State Committee on Aging (SCOA), will kick off its series of Community Listening Forums on May 12. The two-hour listening sessions are for seniors and their families to ask questions, discuss concerns and offer suggestions about long term care in New Hampshire. Representatives from the State will attend the sessions to hear your ideas firsthand. The Community Listening Forum on May 12 is being held at the Nashua Senior Center at 1:30.

DATE: Monday, May 12
1:30 PM

EVENT: Community Listening Forums
Helping Each Other Through the Ages

LOCATION: Nashua Senior Center
70 Temple St
Nashua, NH

Concord, NH-Members of PrioritiesNH and New Hampshire Citizens Alliance "stirred it up" Thursday, as they celebrated their "mixer" over ice cream treats with Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen.

PrioritiesNH, the campaign for sensible budget priorities known for its colorful pie charts and eye-catching vehicles, has become a project of New Hampshire Citizens Alliance.  The PrioritiesNH campaign calls for cutting off funds for Pentagon waste and obsolete weapons and using the savings to fund priority programs like education, healthcare and energy independence.  

As an affiliate of US Action, New Hampshire Citizens Alliance promotes the Invest in America's Future campaign, which calls for safely, responsibly ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq and making public investments in the same priorities:  education, quality, affordable healthcare for all, and energy independence.

As a special guest of the "Stirring Committee" of the two groups, Cohen launched the "mixer" by stacking Oreo cookies to demonstrate the lopsided priorities of the federal budget.  "We're still spending about $60 billion a year on weapons that are designed to fight the Soviet Union," said Cohen.  "That money could be used to renovate and rebuild all the schools in the U.S., or provide healthcare to all the kids who don't have it, or help us gain energy independence."

NHCA Board of Directors Chair Margaret Duffy said, "There's great momentum here to build on.  Bringing our organizations together strengthens our work to shift national priorities in directions that better meet the needs of us all."

Bob Marley's "Stir it Up" played in the background as the crowd at the Common Man Restaurant in Concord enjoyed Ben & Jerry's ice cream treats and wrote their ideas for the next phase of the campaigns on giant sheets of paper on the walls.

Cost of family coverage increases 10 times faster than policyholders' earned income

Concord, New Hampshire – The same week presidential candidate John McCain is under attack for his lacking health care proposal, a new analysis of government data shows that Americans who get health insurance for theirfamilies through their jobs have seen their premiums increase 10 times faster than their income in recent years. Z

The study, released as part of Cover the Uninsured Week (April 27–May 3) by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, shows that a growing share of workers' earnings is being absorbed by the increasing cost of health insurance.

Nationwide, the amount employees pay for family coverage increased 30 percent from 2001 to 2005, while family policyholders' income increased just 3 percent over the same period.

The analysis was compiled by researchers at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, located at the University of Minnesota. It uses the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau (two-year averages for 2001-2002 and 2006-2007) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2000, 2001, 2005).

"This study makes plain what every working parent knows – that providing insurance coverage takes a bigger bite from the family budget every year," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "There is a clear connection between the rising cost of health care and the increasing number of uninsured Americans."

Key findings from New Hampshire show:

• The average cost of family coverage increased.
  The average cost of family coverage increased over $1,300 – from $10,500 in 2002 to $11,835 in 2005. The percentage of family premiums that employees pay held steady at about 24 percent.

 

• Families are paying more for insurance premiums, with less income.
  The amount that workers pay for family premiums, on average, increased $273, from $2,615 in 2001 to $2,888 in 2005. Meanwhile, the median income of people who hold family health insurance policies actually decreased $437 during the same period, from $44,740 in 2001 to $44,303 in 2005.

 

• Employers are paying more to provide health care coverage.
  The average cost that employers pay for their share of family coverage increased from $7,886 to $8,947, or 13 percent, during the period.

 

• More people are uninsured. 
  According to the latest Census figures, 150,000 New Hampshire residents do not have any health insurance. Nationally, 47 million Americans are uninsured.

 

"The skyrocketing cost of health care is hurting employees and employers," said John Thyng, state director of New Hampshire for Health Care, a group pushing for comprehensive health care reform. "It's ironic that the same week this report is being issued, John McCain is touting a health care proposal that does nothing to control escalating health care costs. In fact, his health care policy would actually shift more costs onto families by discouraging employers from offering health care coverage, leaving families to fend for themselves."

New Hampshire for Health Care has teamed up with RWJF to distribute the report in New Hampshire during Cover the Uninsured Week, a nonpartisan week of action advocating for access to quality, affordable health care for every American. New Hampshire for Health Care is also supporting the launch of the Road to American Health Care tour during the week, a nationwide bus tour calling for comprehensive health care reform that will travel through battleground states on its way to the Democratic and Republican National Conventions.

To download the full report, go to www.newhampshireforhealthcare.org

April 24 –New Hampshire residents Molly Campbell, (Rochester), Barbara Wentworth, (Somersworth), Nicole Riel, (Goffstown) and Jon Wahrenberger, M.D. from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon) will be joining youth advocates, heart and stroke survivors and researchers from across the country in Washington, D.C. on April 28-29^th to urge Members of Congress to make a commitment to save lives. During the American Heart Association's Congressional Lobby Day, You're the Cure on the Hill 2008, they will call on lawmakers to boost funding for research and prevention programs to fight cardiovascular diseases, the nation's No. 1 killer.  American Heart Association President Daniel Jones, M.D., President-Elect Timothy Gardner, M.D., CEO M. Cass Wheeler and Board Chairman Gary Ellis will also meet with House and Senate leadership.

The New Hampshire volunteers look at this trip to Washington as an opportunity to tell their stories about the effects of heart disease and/or stroke.

According to Barbara Wentworth, Stroke Survivor and American Heart Association Advocate “I represent thousands of New Hampshire residents who have been impacted by childhood obesity, heart disease and stroke.  By sharing our stories with our lawmakers on Capitol Hill, we are sending a clear message that we expect Congress to do their part to help all Americans live longer, stronger and heart-healthier lives.”

Advocates will ask their representatives to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health, the CDC's Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program as well as to co-sponsor the Fitness Integrated with Teaching (FIT) Kids Act and legislation to amend No Child Left Behind to make quality physical education a priority in schools.

Please Visit: www.yourethecureonthehill.heart.org.