Jack Salo Executive Director

Rural Health Network of South Central New York is currently looking for two AmeriCorps*VISTA members to start service in February 2018. VISTA members serve for one year and focus on anti-poverty measures and capacity building. For more information, please see the specific position descriptions below. You can also learn more about these positions (and several others) and submit an application on the RHSC website. Please share this information with anyone you know who may be interested in a year of national service.

Rural Tioga Poverty Educator (Owego/Binghamton, NY)
The Rural Tioga Poverty Educator will lead efforts for Tioga County initiatives focused on stronger analysis of data. The member will work with the Rural Health Network of SCNY Senior Leadership Team and Tioga County community stakeholders to gather and analyze data to identify strengths and weaknesses of Tioga County's rural municipalities. The final product will ensure more equitable resources and service allocation to rural Tioga County residents.

Rural Poverty Educator (Whitney Point/ Binghamton, NY)
This VISTA member will work to increase project sustainability through resource development and communications efforts aimed at addressing the adverse health impacts of living in poverty. Additionally, the VISTA member will lead efforts at the Rural Health Network of SCNY, educating community members on the realities of living in rural poverty. The member will be responsible for Rural Poverty Simulations and community presentations delivered to targeted audiences, including: health care providers, elected officials, school personnel, and other community members. 

Looking ahead to 2018:

Rural Health Network of SCNY will continue to move forward with advocacy efforts focused on transportation, access to healthy food, and rural behavioral health, along with some additional activities around community health. Our 2018 Advocacy Plan is expected to be approved by our Board of Directors before the end of this year. If you would like more information about our efforts or our plans moving forward, please contact Mary Maruscak.

While we have not developed our own 2018 "Wish List", we felt that David Sandman from the NY State Health Foundation expressed himself well in his monthly Huffington Post contribution for December.

Current policy considerations:

CHIP - Child Health Improvement Plan:

As it stands today, our representatives in Washington DC have still not made clear decisions on the reauthorization of funding for the Child Health Improvement Plan which provides healthcare for approximately 700,000 children in NY State and millions more across the country.  Estimates are that current NYS funding for CHIP will run out between January and March, 2018. All states in the nation are considering various actions as final budget deadlines loom, including enrollment freezes.  This fact sheet from the Kaiser Family Foundation provides more detail.  There currently exists a bipartisan proposal to reauthorize CHIP, but it is not clear if it will make it to the floor for a vote before the end of the year - all signs point to this being unlikely. And while it is a positive that a proposal has been drafted, it is not so positive that the proposed funding for CHIP would cut a large amount of money from the Prevention and Public Health Fund, a vital component of the Affordable Care Act which funds vaccinations, community health education, and opioid treatment initiatives. 

Please reach out to your representatives and tell them what the loss of CHIP funding means to you, your communities, and the populations you serve. Resources to share can be found here.

Tax Reform: 

As we are sure you are aware, the Senate passed a hastily developed tax bill in the early morning hours of December 2.

Here, CNN Money provides an overview of what can be found in the Senate's bill and how it differs from the bill approved by the House in mid-November; and here, how the tax bill is likely to impact individuals and families.

According to Families USA's analysis of Congressional Budget Office estimations, the tax bill could have the following impacts on health coverage:

1) Increase the federal deficit by more than $1 Trillion, leading to health care cuts down the road.

2) Cause 13 million people to lose coverage.

3) Increase premiums by 10 percent.

4) Slash $25 Billion from Medicare.

Currently, the House and the Senate have passed separate tax bills. The next step is to take them both to conference committee to agree on differences, with a goal of a signature from the president before the end of the year.

RHNSCNY's mission continues to be to advance the health and well-being of rural people and communities. As such, we encourage our readers and community partners to learn as much as possible about the potential impacts of this legislation, consider how these changes may impact your communities, and reach out to your representatives as it feels appropriate to you at 866-426-2631.