National MS Society Joins President Obama's Call for eHealth

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society's fight for better health care has accelerated to a whole new level.

President Obama and Congress directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to accelerate a nationwide program to assist health care providers in adopting, implementing and effectively utilizing health information technology to improve the quality, safety, efficiency and accessibility of health care for their patients. The National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) was formed to support this requirement.

In response to the hard work and dedication of Julie Butcher, CIO, National MS Society, Janet Kramer, President of the Ohio Buckeye Chapter, and David Stallman, Director of Information Technology of the Ohio Buckeye Chapter, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society received unanimous approval by the NeHC Board of Directions for membership into this important Collaborative. The NeHC Board viewed the Society's clients as an important group to include and an example of the diversity of members needed to make up the Collaborative. As a member of the Collaborative, the Society will have the opportunity to:

• Identify breakthrough strategies to accelerate health IT adoption and interoperable use


• Participate in the development of a governance framework white paper for the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN)


• Provide expertise on policies related to an interoperable, standards-based electronic health care system


• Support the implementation of health IT through market-driving approaches


• Provide and share technical resources to accelerate health information technology interoperability

In addition to being invited to be a Collaborative member, the Society specifically asked to be a part of the Policy Committee.

The National eHealth Collaborative operates in partnership with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC/HHS), the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT), and the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN).

Which would you choose - health care or food?

Could you survive without food or water or shelter? What if you had to choose one of these necessities to give up in order to pay for your health care? Believe it or not, this could happen to you. During an insurance company's open enrollment period, health insurance must be offered to everyone regardless of current health status. However, there is no limit as to what the insurance company is able to charge. It is not impossible to see an insurance premium of $100,000 per year with $25,000 due January 1st. Therefore, people living with chronic diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) must choose between paying for vital health care and having food to eat or water to drink or a place to live.

To help make a difference, advocates from across Ohio made their voices heard at the State House when they met with legislators to express how critical the decisions they make about health care reform are to people living with MS. Specific topics discussed are:

• Modifying the open enrollment process by capping premiums
• Requiring businesses to create pre-tax flexible health spending accounts
• Increasing the age of dependency to 29 for purposes of coverage on a family's group insurance policy
• Legislators were also asked to consider creating legislation that would elimiate exclusion riders that bar coverage for a specified pre-existing medical condition that would normally be covered.

This movement to achieve a world free of MS did not stop at the state level, but went all the way up Capitol Hill. Representative Barbara Lee of California led a resolution recognizing MS Awareness Week (March 2 - 8) in Congress. In addition, Senators Casey and Snowe steered an MS Awareness Resolution through the Senate. That measure passed unanimously.

Both of these important measures get the issues, such as health care reform, important to people living with MS on the minds of legislators. It also prepares them for when hundreds of MS Activists from across the country descend on Capitol Hill in effort to shape public policy that will improve the lives of people living with MS and other chronic diseases.

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