bonnie strickland, director of division services for children with special health care needs, u.s. department of health and human services. mr. william ditto, director of the new jersey tbi division, new jersey department of health. dr. flaura winston, children's hospital of philadelphia and dr. mark ashley, president centre for neuro skills. we ask that you summarize your opening statements in five minutes and dr. stickland, you're recognized at this time for five minutes to make your opening statement. >> chairman, members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the department of health and human services traumatic brain injury program. i'm dr. bonnie strickland, director of the division of services for children with special health care needs at the health resources and services administration department of health and human services. our colleagues appreciate your interest in our work and welcomes this opportunity to discuss our tbi program with you and to provide some highlights of other hhs activities. congress is charged us with implementing a grant program to improve access t

director, center for substance abuse prevention, substance abuse and mental health services administration, u.s. department of health and human services, rockville, md; jane callahan, director, national community anti-drug coalition institute, community anti-drug coalitions of america, alexandria, va; jordan burnham, mental health advocate, active minds inc., washington, dc; dr. wendy greene, assistant director of trauma and critical care and program developer, screening, brief interventions and referral to treatment program, howard university hospital, washington, dc. fran, what is the definition of behavioral health, and how do we distinguish between prevention, early intervention, and treatment within that definition? the definition for behavioral health for samhsa is we are taking the substance abuse and mental health prevention, intervention, and treatment programs, and we are encasing it within the disorder realm. so substance abuse, prevention, intervention, and treatment are exactly the same, same levels, and so is mental health. we are finding that mental health properties for prevention, especially, are very similar

of trouble and spend our way into a better tomorrow. >> cspan.org/thecontenders. >>> next week, the supreme court hears three days of arguments in florida versus the department of health and human services. about the health care law signed by president obama two years ago. some of the legal issues to be covered include the constitutionality of the individual mandate. and whether the expanded medicaid program violates state's rights. 26 states are supporting the legal challenge. the cato institute hosted a discussion of legal scholars about the supreme court case, this is two hours, 40 minutes. >>> cato sin tcenter for constitutional studies, the host of today's event. i want to give a special welcome to you because of course we're here in the brand new fa hyatt auditorium. and this is the inaugural event for this auditor yuchlt we are he is personally proud to be hosting it for you. as you may have noticed we're not finished with everything. the furniture has not yet arrived for the podium, and we've got some other touching up to do but that goes with construction, and we're very fortunate to be as far along as we are. today, the topic is of course the subject of next week, namely is th

thank you to the department of health and humans services and secretary kathleen sebelius, who have been real leaders, effectively pushing tobacco control on to the agenda and moving us forward through the fda and through many other means to reduce tobacco use in the u.s. i'm here as the director of the centers for disease control and prevention, the nation's prevention agency. i'm also here as a doctor. and when i think about smoking, i think of the patients i've cared for with emphysema, gasping for every breath. the patients i cared for who didn't live to see their children graduate from high school or college. the patients i've cared for who have had strokes or heart attacks and been unable to go back to the lives that they were previously leading. and the people who developed cancer and died from it or been -- had to go through painful and difficult treatment. that's the real story of smoking. and that's why we're at the nuseum. this is the reality. this is the news. this is what smoking brings to people's lives. nearly 90% of smokers begin smoking at a young age, under the age 18.

department of health and human services. ed eisley, editor "the hill." john mulligan, providence journal. and tracy jann, "boston globe." washington these days, but it can work. just ask former congressman patrick kennedy, a democrat from rhode island and his friend and one-time colleague jim ramstad, the former republican representative from minnesota. in to 2008, these two co-sponsored the mental health act to treat mental illnesses as they would treat physical ailments. the legislation is considered a landmark achievement in the arena of mental health. and its passage is alsophafath r father, senator edward kennedy, long a champion of those with mental disabilities. this was a personal crusade for pat kennedy and mr. ramstad. mr. ramstad has struggled with alcoholism and mr. kennedy has been open about his past struggles with addiction. in 1996, then but the insurance companies used loopholes to get around the legislations. the legislation effectively closes those loopholes. both men are making sure all provisions of the act are fully implemented under

ending the tobacco epidemic, the tobacco controlled strategic action plan from the department of health and human services. the plan sets forth specific actions that the department can implement, progress and build on recent hegtive milestones, respond to the changing market of tobacco products and support robust tobacco control programs throughout the country. we have ample evidence that these comprehensive, multicomponent interventions work. such programs more than pay for themselves in terms of lives saved and dollars saved. the current problem is that we have not yet fully applied the evidence-based tools that would end this epidemic. between 2005 and 2010, 20 states had declines in smoking and we need to accelerate these declines in each and every state and sustain them to benefit all of our kids for the future. until we end the tobacco epidemic, even more young people will become addicted. even more will die. and even more fam his will be heft behind devastated by the loss of loved ones. so, thank you so much for being here today. we must redouble our collective commitment to accelerating comprehens

of preventable death and disease in the u.s. killing more than 440,000 americans every year and more than 8 million americans living with smoke related diseases. today the u.s. department of health and human services directly attacking the nation's tobacco addiction with a series of advertisements that is highlighting the grizzly toll of smoking. it's a kmain the federal health officials hope will renew the decline in the share of americans that currently smoke. we'll begin with the announcement early today from kathleen sebelius. >> we're here today to announce the latest step this administration is taking in our fight against the number one cause of preventable death in america. we have a new ad campaign that we're launching today and i want will feature some of the most moving and attention grabbing stories about smoking's devastating effects. these stories really haven't ever been seen in popular media. and we expect it will lead to more than a half a million smokers seeking out the resources they need to quit. now when we look back on just a few decades to the days of smoking on airplanes and elevators, it can be easy to focus on how far we've come since then. it can be easy to be lulled into

, you guys are pieces of [ bleep ] garbage and hell awaits. >> reporter: we smoehowed the tape of simpson to linda smith who is now with the department of health and human servicesoddlers in a room, you know, that's a stressful situation. and someone who cannot control their, you know, their own anger like that, that is frightening. >> reporter: this was our parents' third trip to simpson center and his temper flared only after several minute of my questioning. his day care center has gotten good ratings from state inspectors and simpson has received numerous certificates for child care training over the years. simpson's lawyer later requested a sitdown interview, but then canceled. so far, we've met a lot of day care operators who concealed their past. now we've been doing an investigation. now it's time to tell some parents the truth. >>> coming up -- >> she doesn't even have bad credit. >> did she happen to tell you that she had an arrest record of any kind? >> uh-uh. no. >> and coming up sunday on "dateline" -- >> now! >> we are back on the case with our hidden cameras. what are we investigating now? dangerous drugs getting on the market. is that fair to say

department of health and human services. [music] the mission of the new start program is to provide treatment opportunities for incarcerated males in the orange county jail system. the program is designed to treat them while they are in custody and continue their treatment into the community at whatever level of care it is that they need for at least 1 year postcustody. the phoenix house provides that treatment. they provide continuing care, a group counseling. they provide fellowship. basically an all-encompassing kind of program from beginning to end, which really enables a person a really, really good shot at making it. what makes this project unique from other projects in southern california is it is an in-custody program, but there is a continuum of care once someone is released from custody, and there is a team that works with these individuals when they are in custody and then follows up outside. it also includes family members. so that is the very important piece of this. once they begin to realize there is a possibi

the department of health and human services has so far issued 200 pages of guidance on how to draft a four-page summary of health benefits. when they released, by the way, their sample four-page summary, it was eight pages long. everyone is confused about this law, but none more so than its defenders. nearly every claim they make about the individual mandate is a myth. an individual mandate, for example, does not make health insurance more affordable as they claim. it makes coverage more expensive by forcing consumers to purchase additional coverage they do not want and may find morally offensive. it's increased some people's health insurance premiums by as much as 30%. before it's taken effect, these aspects have increased premiums by more than cost shifting from the uninsured does. the mandate will not eliminate cost shifting from the uninsured, but even if it did it will still increase premiums. the mandate does not reduce cost shifting as it suggests. it increases it. one of obamacare's leading cheerleaders is an economist named johnathan gruber. he projected when the mandate take

thanks also to the department of health and human services, and secretary kathleen sebelius have been real leaders, effectively pushing tobacco control onto the agenda and moving us forward through the fda and to many other means to reduce tobacco use in the u.s. i'm here as a director of centers for disease control and prevention, the nation prevention agency. i'm also here as a doctor, and when i think about smoking, i think of the patients i have cared for with emphysema, gasping for every breath. the patients i cared for who didn't live to see their children graduate from high school, college. patients i have cared for who had strokes or heart attacks and been unable to go back to the life they were previously leading. and the people who develop cancer, and died from it, or had to go through painful and difficult treatment. that's the real story of smoking, and that's why we are at the newseum, because this is the reality. this is the news. this is what smoking brings to people's lives. nearly 90% of smokers begin smoking at a young age of wonder under the age of 18. and smokers m

and women. today we have four witnesses on our panel. doctor bonnie strickland, director, division of services for children with special health-care needs. u.s. department of health and humanservices. mr. william ditto, director of the new jersey tbi division, new jersey department of health. doctor flora winston, children's hospital, philadelphia, and doctor mark ashley, president centre for neuro skills. you are testimony will be made part of the record. lisa marries your statements in five minutes. doctor stricklin, please make your opening statement. >> german pits, make ranking member paloma, to give her the opportunity to testify today on the department of health and human services traumatic brain injury program. i am doctor bonnie strickland, director of the division of services for children with natural healthcare needs at the health and services administration at that department of health and human services. we appreciate your interest in our work and on this opportunity to discuss our tbi program with you and providing highlights of other hhs activities. congress helped implement this program to improve access to rehabilitation and other services. the cdc has res

health care fraud is no less important. the federal government spends hundreds of billions every year to fund medicare and other health care programs and together with our partners at the department of health and human servicesthe fbi has more than 2600 active health care fraud investigations. in fiscal year 2011 these efforts led to the recover oi of more than $4 billion, taxpayer dollars. violent crimes and game activities continue to exact a high toll on our communities. according to the national gang intelligence center, there are more than 30,000 gangs with more than 1 million members active in the united states today. with sate streets and safe trails the fbi identifies and targets them. targets them as criminal enterprises. turning to the southwest border, the continuing violence along the southwest border remains a significant threat. and we rely on our collaboration with the southwest intelligence group, the in fusion center and the el paso intelligence senner to the track and disrupt this threat. with regard to crimes against children, we remain vigilant in our efforts to remove predator and to keep our children safe. we have ready response teams across the states to dries abductions. . the fbi and

of myself. narrator: you have many reasons to stay healthy. exercise and physical activity can help. so that national institute on aging at nih, of the u.s. department of health and human services. bud: i now excercise three times a week. narrator: featuring exercises you can do anywhere. irene: i can really go. narrator: find our more, visit nia.hih.gov/go4life. >>> this 29-year-old is preparing for the challenge of a lifetime. donald is our slice of life. ♪ >>> donald lawson is a very clear goal in life. to be a black superstar in sailing. >> i grew up watching michael jordan, tiger woods, if he can win 14 championships why can't i? >> a champion sailer with an unusual introduction to the sport. >> six years old my mother got me in sailing. she tricked me as a kid i didn't like boats, water. i was afraid to go out there. so summer camp she sent me out there, i walked on the boat, and first if thing i thought the boat didn't sink, hey, good, this is fun, i will be safe. >> got his first taste of danger crewing a trip for bruce schwab. >> when we left a hail storm, waves smashing through them, and i steered the boat for four hours and he told me that night he said awesome job o

the department of health and human service is reporting people about a scam where callers will say theyill supply you with the supplies for your personal information. they will illegally bill your account. so you should be suspicious of anyone who calls offering free items and asks for your information. >> check your medicare summaries or other accounts to make sure upweren't billed for something upweren't ordered. otherwise, you or the feds cop end up pay -- cop -- could end up paying the scammer. >>> if you received diabetic supplies you didn't order, call the office of inspector general. . >>> sunny day, almost no cloud cover in the sky. humidity 25%. winds are blowing in north at 16. you can see our camera get whipped around at the naval academy. chop on the severn river. again, just a windy, scenario. in laurel, today, talking about severe clear weather with very, very limited cloud cover but a lot of people on the field dealing with the freshly chilled weather pattern. more seasonable. crystal clear. here's what we're watching overnight. freeze warnings for nearly the entire state

of the health risks near that site. the group found fault with a 2009 study by the department of health and human services. that study concluded that exposure to ground water contaminated by the chemicals at fort detrick was unlikely to have any harmful health effects. >>> well, here's something to think about as you get ready to sit down and have some lunch. the group center for science in the public interest says carcinogens in coke and pepsi. the group says the problem with the caramel coloring is the issue. they say it's what gives regular and diet cokes that distinctive color. the group says the sodas have high levels of something called 4mi which causes cancer in animals. >> there's 310 million americans and we're saying that about 1r,000 of us -- 15,000 of us will develop a cancer because of the caramel coloring. >> the american beverage association questions the science in this study. they released a statement saying in part, quote, this is nothing more than cspi's scare tactics and their claims are outrageous. cspi fraudulently claims to be operating in the interest of the american public health bu

and it was a carefully made representation in our brief, that it is the interpretation of the agency's charged with interpreting this statute, the treasury department and the department of health and human service there is is no other consequence aside from the tax penalty. i think if i could talk for a couple of minutes about the argument that was discussed as to whether this can be conceived of as a suit just challenging the requirement which is entirely stand alone based on inferences drawn from the exemptions. really don't think that's right. and if i could spend a minute on it i think it's important. the exemptions in section 5000-a, it is true that there are two categories of exemptions. there are exemptions to the penalty and exemptions to the subsection a requirement. but i think, not only as a practical matter but i think as an indication even as a legal matter, they are -- they both function as exceptions to the requirement. the first as a practical matter, one of those exemptions is a hardship exemption. if the court will bear with me for one minute. it's page 11-a of the appendix to our brief a. person can go to the secretary of hhs and obtain a hardship exemption for -- which would

under the authority, the department of health and human services announced that all employers had to provide contraception coverage to employees. >> this is not about contraception. it is about telling people of faith that the federal government has the belief and you better agree with them no matter what your religion dictates. >> similar protests also took place in germantown. >> in section 2012, the house approved a plan that is different than what the senate passed. this as the stage for a conference committee between the chambers. delegates spent two days debating a package including tax increases designed to balance the budget and chip away at the ongoing deficit. differences between the house and senate include personal increases. a measure to double the tax was also passed. the senate must approve the bill. maryland senators want to move the date of elections to the same day as the presidential contest. today the senate voted 36-10 to move the date in 2016. city council members are elected and in odd years, not during the gubernatorial or presidential race. the decision was ma

let's talk to department of health and human services secretary kathleen sibelius.am secretary, the administration opposed this amendment. roy blunt says he's simply trying to protect the first amendment rights of employers who might have a moral objection to abortion, a moral objection to contraception or something else. why does the administration say bad idea? >> first of all, john, the blunt amendment in the senate went well beyond women's health services and well beyond contraception services. it really would have allowed any employer for really any reason, not religious employers for religious reason, but any employer for any moral reason to deny any health benefit to any employee. so you really could have had a situation where employers got to pick and choose what coverage options would be available to their employees. if someone felt that they had a moral objection to people delivering children who weren't married, you can deny prenatal coverage and maternity services. you can deny hiv screening. you could turn down someone for a variety of treatments that y

and consumer services at the usda. prior to his service at the department of agriculture he served as director of three different state government departments of health and human services, maine, oregon and iowa. welcome. miss phyllis fong is the usda inspector general and has served the department for ten years. she is also concurrently serving as the first chairperson of the counsel of inspector generals on integrity efficiency and, in fact, in that role you may be aware that this committee would like to pass on to that council greater authority including potentially subpoena authority that remains one of our long-term goals if we can convince the senate of the importance of investing in inspector generals. miss jennifer hatcher is the senior vice president of government and public affairs for the food marketing institute prior to joining ffm, she served as chairperson for chairman spencer baucus as his chief of staff. lastly, miss faulkner is inspector general of the commonwealth of pennsylvania prior to becoming inspect juror general she was a law partner to philadelphia office of ballard, spal, llp. she's had a lengthy career in public service as an assis

health issue that can come with hefty bills. die diabetics need a constant stream of supply. the feds say calls offering free diabetic supplies could cost you in the long run. the u.s. department of health and human services is warning people about a scam where callers claim they will give you the supplies you need in exchange for your personal financial or medicare information. the feds say the scammers may send along the supplies if you didn't order them so they can illegally bill your account. be suspicious of anyone calling offering free items. check medicare summaries or accounts to make sure you weren't build for something -- billed for something you didn't order. >>> if you receive diabetic supplies you didn't order, refuse the shipment after you take note which company sent them to you, call the office of inspector general. report if you get a scammed phone calls as well. if you find the story on your website, head to abc2news.com, click on the money tab which is in the top of the home page, click on the scam alert's link and find the information that you need. >>> this is because of unseasonably warm weather triggered an un usual problem. ice jams along the st. john river causing flooding in the

department of health and human services. with odor free aspercreme.dicine relieves pain fast, with no odor. so all you notice is relief. aspercreme. >>> that wraps it up for this special edition of "our world with black enterprise," on location at the seventh annual black enterprise women of power summit. be sure to visit us on the web at blackenterprise.com/ourworld. you can fan us on facebook and follow me on twitte twitter @marclamonthill. before we go, we'll leave with you a few more highlights from this week's women of power summit. thanks for watching. see you next week. >> i am inspired, rejuvenated and just really glad to be here. ♪ ♪ time ♪ i'm all alone but seeing something ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

of the tax credit and i'm planning on introducing the legislation that would remedy the solution. thank you, madam secretary, for being here. >> our witness today will be the secretary of the department of health and human services the honorable kathleen sebelius. secretary sebelius, we a you are recognized for five minutes for an opening >> so much mr. chairman and ranking members pallone and mr. waxman. members of the committee, i'm pleased to be with you today to discuss the president's 2013 budget for the department of health and human serv helps to create an american economy built to last by strengthening care and support the research to tomorrow's cures and lead to american children and families so every one has a fair shot to reach his or her potential. it makes investments that we need right now while reducing the deficit in the long run to make sure that the programs that millions of americans rely on will be there for generations to come. i look forward to answering your questions, mr. chairman, about the budget but i want to just take a few minutes to share some of the highlights. over the last two years, we have worked to deliver the benefits of the affordable care act to the people. we have american

of indian affairs, and keith moore, director of the bureau of indian education. next, we welcome the honorable yvette roubideaux, director of indian health service, department of health and humanservices. accompanying ms. roubideaux is mr. randy grenell, deputy director of the indian health service. let me just thank you for your patience, and i've been looking forward to this hearing. so secretary echo hawk, would you please proceed with your testimony? >> thank you, chairman akaka. we have previously submitted a written statement, but i will summarize my statement to begin with. we thank you for this opportunity to provide the department statement on the fiscal year 2013 president's budget request. the 2013 budget request for indian affairs within the department of the interior totals 2.5 billion in current appropriations. this is 4.6 million below last years enacted level, which amounts to a reduction of two-tenths of 1%. as you know, indian affairs meets with tribes on a quarterly basis on the budget through the tribal interior budget council, and through this informed consultation with tribes, we included in this budget request $43.8 million in program increases in priori

of myself. narrator: you have many reasons to stay healthy. exercise and physical activity can help. so that national institute on aging at nih, of the u.s. department of health and human servicesi now excercise three times a week. narrator: featuring exercises you can do anywhere. irene: i can really go. narrator: find our more, visit nia.hih.gov/go4life. announcer: it's time to join forces... ...get energized... ...and fuel up right. because starting today... ...every kid in america... ...has a mission... bring out... the action hero... in you. be part of the greatest action movie ever. the first movie that puts you in the action. show us how you train and eat like an action hero. join in at actionheroalliance.com >>> welcome back to "our world" with black enterprise. is he responsible for the freshman spirit in the schomburg center. dr. cal he'll mohammed is a slice of life. is he the new director of the new york public library schomburg center for research in black culture. >> i want this center to be as aggressive and as well positioned as possible to be a resource to anyone who has questions about the kind of country we live in and the kind of country that we can live in.

and pam hyde we've started down the path to parity. these two dynamic terrific leaders have been forceful advocates for the mental health community. their staffs in the department of health and human services and sampsa are working to translate the law into strong, sensible regulations. they have been both energetic and they've been empathetic. and we thank them for their leadership. pam and sherry, thank you for your great work. [ applause ] already one third of affected employers have modified their benefits with a vast majority expanding mental health coverage. we

illustration of our recent progress than the department's groundbreaking work to combat health care fraud. over the last fiscal year alone in cooperation with the department of health and human services as well as other partners, by utilizing authorities provided under the false claims act and other essential statutes, we were able to recover nearly $4.1 billion in funds that were stolen or taken improperly from federal health care programs. that is the highest amount ever recorded in a single year. over the same period we opened more than 1100 new criminal health care fraud investigations, secured more than 700 convictions and initiated nearly 1,000 new civil health care fraud investigations. and form every dollar that we have spent combating health care fraud, we have returned on average about $7.00 to the united states treasury, the pled care trust fund and others. these numbers are stunning, but my colleagues and i recognize that we cannot be satisfied, and this is no time to become complacent. that's why in addition to helping us build on this record of success, the president's budget request also would bolster our fight against drug trafficking, international crime networks, ga

. >> we will continue argument this morning in case 11398 the department of health and human services versus florida. general. >> mr. chief justice and may it please the court, the affordable care act addresses a fundamental and enduring problem in our health care system and our economy. ensure has become the predominant means of paying for health care in this country. for most americans for more than 80% of americans the insurance system does provide effective access. for more than 40 million americans who do not have access to health insurance either h em programs such as medicare or medicaid, the system does not work. those individuals must resort to the individual market. that market does not provide affordable health insurance. it does not do so because the multibillion dollar subsidies that are available for the employer market are not available in the individual market. it does not do so because erisa and hiipa regulations that preclude discrimination against people based on their medical history do not apply in the victim market. that is an economic problem. it begets another

of the health care law. >> we will hear argument this morning in case number 11398, department of health and human services versus florida. mr. long? >> mr. chief justice, and may it please the court, the anti-injunction act imposes a pay first, litigate later rule that is central to federal tax assessment and collection. the act applies to essentially every tax penalty in the internal revenue code. there is no reason to think that congress made a special exception for the penalty imposed by section 5000a. on the contrary, there are three reasons to conclude that the anti-injunction act applies here. first, congress directed that the section 5000a penalty shall

of the point on health care, how the republican national committee is framing the debate based on an opening minute before the u.s. supreme court on monday. >> 11398, department of health and human serviceersus florida. >> more than 80% of americans, the insurance system does provide effective access. excuse me. because the -- the -- excuse me. >> so this into, has been and will be a political issue in 2012. >> there's no question that there's been a lot of rhetoric in opposition to this legislation, and a lot of the public is persuaded that it's not a good thing to have done, but my own strong view is that, that it is a good thing for the country. we've got 50 million people without health care coverage today. in country. and this is a way to reverse that trend, and begin to provide coverage for everyone legally in this country and i think -- you know, within the law and congress should be back faults. instead we're engaged in this argument about the constitutionality of it. >> is the chair of the energy and natural resources committee, let me ask you two related questions. first of all the president's approach is in all of the above, getting a lot of criticism from democrat, from repu

benjamin you will be hearing from in a minute, great colleagues at the department of health and human services, fda, cdc, office of assistant secretary and so many others. want to thank dr. perry, senior science editor of this report and colleagues who helped edit and write this very important product. and most important, we want to thank each and every one of you for being here to support this very, very important effort in this great day. we are here today to bring heightened urgency to the tremendous public health burden that tobacco continues to impose on our youth. a burden that is completely avoidable and completely preventible. too many of our children are addicted. too many cannot quit. and too many go on to die far too young. in fact, as you heard from our secretary, each day, more than 1,200 people die due to smoking and each death replaced by two new smokers under age 26. i have personally witnessed the cycle of dependence and despair as a physician who has cared for patients over 30 years. i can tell you it is heartbreaking when our patients tell us that they want to stop smoking b

i want to again thank the department of health and human services, secretary sebelius, surgeon general regina benjamin, and most of all, the courageous men and women who came forward to share their stories with america to protect and help other americans get free of tobacco. we can now, i think, take a few questions? [ inaudible ] >> tom with abc news, for both of you, please. i wanted to ask you about the states. you've taken a major step forward on the federal level. the states may not be. we've done some looking at the figures, and the $25 billion they're getting from the tobacco only 2% is going to antismoking. is that enough? should the states be doing more? >> the centers for disease control and prevention publishes guidelines for what states should spend on tobacco control in order to reduce the use of tobacco. no state reaches the recommended level of funding, and some of them are at single digits in terms of the proportion of the funds that they dedicate to tobacco control. there are some people who have said, well, the reason smoking isn't going down so much is we've reached

the veterans administration actually established a program in conjunction with the department of health and human services that is called consumer directed home and community-based veterans services. and it was modeled after a program -- in a number of states in which individuals were given an individual budget, and then allowed to decide how to use that money to meet their specific needs. and so the states have gotten involved, and it's a slow process, but it's taking off. in getting involved in understanding that the returning service people, once they have had the acute care and the -- you know, they go through the acute rehabilitation phase through veterans' affairs, they then need sort of a they're not ready to just go back into their communities and live. they need an environment, a therapeutic environment. no, s not as intense as intense physical rehab is, but something that is more a day to day living kind of getting adjusted program. and so i think we're making headway with that, because before, to be perfectly blunt, in most states the department of defense was placing individuals in long-term c

. >> case 11398, the department of health and human services versus florida. >> for more than 80% of americans, the insurance system does provide effective access. excuse me. because the -- excuse me. >> oh, balma care, it's a tough sell reads the ad from the rnc. if the entire law is struck down, a provision that allows young adults to stay on their parents' health insurance plan until age 26 also would be in jeopardy. certain preventative services, including free mammograms for women, may also be overturned. of course, the decision will not come now until june when it will likely re-emerge as a major political issue smack dab in the middle of the presidential election. and speaking of that election, mitt romney is heading into next week's primaries with a new boost of support from one of the senate's rising stars. in an announcement late last night, senator marco rubio of florida announced he will back mitt romney. the tea party favorite has been a highly sought after endorsement, and often mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick. the first term republican says romney has ea

. >> scott bennett, department of health and human services. just wondering, wonderful lecture, what you would say for what my agency might be able to do to reorganize, re-emphasize, rehabilitate ourselves to follow some of this wisdom. >> i have a lot of sympathy and respect for the work of the maternalists and your agency, in fact is a direct descendant to julia lathrop's work at the children's bureau and the women's bureau. i would go back and reread what they did. some of their language seems a little stilted in our time. but i think they had a proper understanding that -- that women and men are wonderfully different from each other, that in fact there would be -- what flows out of that is in fact a series of obligations that governments as well as the rest of culture have in terms of defending motherhood, fatherhood, small children and life and whatever laws come along, including such major laws as social security need to be configured around those principles. now, the problem gets to be -- actually, your agency did a pretty good job of de

department of health and human services [music] so, screening and brief intervention is what we call a secondary prevention approach. so, it is a way of intercepting people who might be already engaging in risky substance abuse behavior and trying to reduce their abuse and reduce the harm that they might experience from their substance use. we decided to do our intervention in this mental health clinic. and that's something that hadn't been done before, so we decided to use this very brief screening and brief intervention tool called the assist. it is the alcohol smoking and substance involvement screening test, which was developed by the world health organization. well, we use the assist results in intervention planning quite immediately; that is part of the beauty of the assist, that it has kind of a built-in intervention that, based on the score that is deduced from the eight questions of the assist, you are kind of guided to do a validating response, a brief intervention, or an intervention with kind of a referral to treatment or a discussion about kind of getting further treatme

and apply we'd check against the labor department, irs, child support program list for new hires every state has to maintain. so security has something called the social security list, the u.s. department of health and human services has another list. the acronym of which is p.a.r.i.s. now some 47 states rely on that database alone. back in 2000 only 16 states used it. the office of the inspector general, among others, has urged us to make sure that states make use of these particular databases. so there are a variety of ways to assure, one, i am who i am. when i report my income, it is that which is truly income that is coming into my household. >> let me ask you this. how does the s.n.a.p. era compare to other programs. >> i haven't tracked them lately but i think it's one of the best among federal state benefit programs. i know at a state level, governor's office, i know this directly, pay attention when the qc error rate is made known to each state. we do this individually. we punish the state that falls below certain minimums around qc error rates and reward states who do an outstanding job thain regard. >> let me ask you, miss fong, you mentioned the amount of indictments. you know, my question to you would

brought to you by the department of health and human services. [music] the cool thing is that i'm at the level now of the recovery movement, that i'm at the federal level with samhsa and the white house, you know what i mean, and seeing how the top, how really still today, when we say that stuff rolls down hill. so the cool thing is that thirteen years ago, when csat and dr. clark said, you know, hey we're going to do a peer-to-peer recovery community support, and then i was part of that in '97-'98, and thirteen years later where we are today. so we've come a long way from thirteen years ago of just advocating for recovery, prevention, and treatment. but i think again five years from now, we're going to come a long way, because now, everybody's on board. i mean, this year is like really turning point and historical point, because we got not only the federal, but we also have the state, i'm involved at the state level and the local level. and everybody's doing the same work right now, transformation of behavioral health leadership integration and d

health policy and technology and human choice are central to lengthening life spans and reducing the cost of medical care. our research today is anchored by the secretary of the department of health and human services. as to our speaker, i can think of no better speaker in the u.s. senate to examine how to solve the crisis of medicare which opposes such a broad fiscal threat to our country than senator tom coburn of oklahoma. the senator is a rare bird in washington. he is known for speaking his mind, his independence, standing up to the left and right on critical issues. and for his opposition to waste in federal spending. the center was known for leading the fight against earmarks, he called for an unprecedented nine trillion dollars in spending cuts. he is a physician training and practice of until this year. a businessman by background. he was elected to the senate in 2004 after three terms in the house of representatives. he served with distinction as a member of the house judiciary as the only non lawyer. in response to the current medicare crisis, he has introduced the senior choice act. the center will speak briefly. he has graciously agreed to take questions after his remarks. you can foll