A survey conducted by the Indiana Rural Health Association shows that 66 percent of adults in rural Indiana would support a smoke-free ordinance. The Survey Research Center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis conducted the public opinion poll of 2,418 residents in four rural Indiana counties, including Clay, Lawrence, Montgomery, and Warren.

The survey measured current tobacco use, knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes regarding smoking in public places. According to the survey, 85 percent agree that all workers should be protected from secondhand smoke in the workplace. The survey also indicated that 82 percent agree that restaurants, bars, and workplaces and other enclosed public places would be healthier for customers and employees if they were smoke free. For more information on the survey click here.

The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $30 million to 19 community health centers from across Indiana. The grants will be used to address pressing construction and renovation needs and expand access to quality health care. The HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced awards of $727 million to 143 community health centers across the country. The funds are the first in a series of awards that will be made available to community health centers under the Affordable Care Act.

A list of awards by state can be found here.

Earlier today, Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman announced the launch of the Indiana Telehealth Network. When completed the network will connect 22 of Indiana's rural hospitals with fiber optic broadband. The network will allow doctors and patients to access specialty services anywhere in the state, nation, or world in real time in order to increase diagnostic capabilities through telemedicine. Additionally it will reduce patient need to travel to urban centers for treatment. Partner organizations of the Indiana Telehealth Network include the Indiana Rural Health Association and its member institutions, the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, and Indiana Telecommunications Association.

Thomas Tsang from the Office of National Coordinator has been added to the speaker lineup for the HITECH conference on Oct. 18 in Plainfield. Tsang is the medical director for meaningful use at the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in Washington, D.C. He will provide a national overview on meaningful use for the HITECH EHR incentive program under ARRA.

The Purdue University Indiana Health Information Technology Extension Center is in the process of enrolling physicians and other prescribers to help achieve meaningful use. I-HITEC services are designed and available for those who already have an EHR as well as physicians without an EHR. Many hospitals throughout the state are scheduling forums with their medical staffs and I-HITEC to provide an overview of their meaningful use services including a robust discussion on what it will take for the "eligible professional" to achieve meaningful use. For a listing of those hospitals already scheduled, click here. I-HITEC meaningful use services include gap analyses, recommendations to fill the gap, workflow and implementation assistance, and metrics monitoring. Services are subsidized under the ARRA funding for qualifying physicians and other prescribers. For more information,contact Allison Bryan at a bryan@purdue.edu or 765/496-9791.

Indiana has reached out to stakeholder organizations to provide feedback to the Daniels Administration on implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The administration has formed the Interagency State Health Reform Task Force and is hosting meetings to receive input from various groups, including health care providers. Representatives of FSSA and the Indiana Department of Insurance will staff these meetings. The health care provider meeting is set for Aug. 27. The Indiana Hospital Association was invited to participate and submitted a letter outlining general concerns and areas of interest related to the PPACA. The letter expresses concern about the Medicaid expansion, support for increasing the number of health care providers (particularly in primary care) to accommodate expanded coverage, and thoughts on the development of an Indiana health insurance exchange. Click here to read the full letter.

Indiana’s Medicaid program will receive federal matching funds for state planning activities necessary to implement the electronic health record incentive program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Indiana will receive approximately $2.31 million in federal matching funds.

IHA has posted a new resource to its website that gives an overview of the Beacon Community Program. In May 2010, as part of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced 15 communities that were selected to participate in the Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program. The Indiana Health Information Exchange-led collaboration is one of these Beacon Communities, receiving $16 million to advance the mission of the program. Under this grant, hospitals, physician groups, and patients across Central Indiana will see enhanced information connectivity, reductions in unnecessary tests and hospital visits, and improved preventive care through electronically communicated patient information. The Central Indiana Beacon Community will drive IHIE to achieve five main collaborative and technical areas including: • Leadership and Stewardship • Health IT and Meaningful Use • Clinical Transformation • Data and Performance Measurement • Sustainability and Payment Reform

President Obama signed legislation into law yesterday giving states an additional $16 billion in Medicaid funding. This contains a six-month extension through June 2011 of Medicaid's temporary enhanced FMAP for states. Indiana will receive an estimated $227 million in additional federal Medicaid matching funds. The FMAP extension contained in H.R. 1586 is scaled-back from the original 6.2 percent for six months to 3.2 percent for the first additional quarter and 1.2 percent for the second quarter. For the same six-month period, states with high unemployment will continue to receive the additional percentage points in funding, as they do under current law. The estimated cost for this pared-down provision is $16.1 billion (down from the original $24 billion).