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Public Hearing on Denti-Cal

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Thank you for continuing to follow-up on the eye-opening Denti-Cal report issued in April 2016. It was an important start to ensuring equitable dental care access for low-income Californians. Given the agenda of the public hearing on March 22 is focused on a day in the life of the patient and provider, I want to share some of our experiences at the nonprofit Gary and Mary West Senior Dental Center (“Senior Dental Center”) located in downtown San Diego and provide recommendations to strengthen the Denti-Cal program.

West Health comments on changes to CMS’ Innovation Center

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The Gary and Mary West Health Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan applied medical research organization dedicated to enabling successful aging for seniors, appreciates the opportunity to respond to your request for information on the agency’s planned new direction for the Innovation Center and its opportunities to deliver new delivery and payment care models for Medicare beneficiaries.

FY 2018 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long Term Acute Care Hospital (L TCH) Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule, and Request for Information CMS-1677-P

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The Gary and Mary West Health Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan applied medical research organization dedicated to enabling successful aging for seniors, appreciates the opportunity to provide comment on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS), “FY 2018 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule, and Request for Information (CMS-1677-P).” We support the proposal to adopt malnutrition electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) and a potential malnutrition composite measure for future inclusion in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) and Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs.

Letter to CA legislators on Prop 56

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As CEO and Dental Director of the nonprofit Gary and Mary West Senior Dental Center in San Diego and Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of West Health, we are writing to urge you to support the oral healthcare needs of seniors. It is a key reason why California voters passed Prop. 56 last year: to invest new tobacco tax revenues into expanding patient access to essential healthcare services provided by community clinics, dentists and physicians.

Ensuring Access to Dental Care for California Low-Income Seniors

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April 24, 2017 The Honorable Dr. Joaquin Arambula Chair, Sub 1 Health and Human Services Assembly Committee on Budget California State Assembly State Capitol, Room 5155 Sacramento, CA 95814 The Honorable Dr. Richard Pan Chair, Sub 3 Health and Human Services Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee California State Senate State Capitol, Room 5019 Sacramento,… Read more »

PCHETA House Support Letter 115th Congress

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The undersigned organizations write to express our support for H.R. 1676, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA). This bipartisan legislation will make a difference in the lives of millions of patients living with serious or life threatening illness and their caregivers. Despite a high intensity of medical treatment, many seriously ill individuals still experience troubling symptoms, unmet psychological and personal care needs, fragmented care, poor communication with their health care providers, and enormous strains on their family caregivers. However, numerous studies have shown that adding palliative care can improve pain and symptom control, quality of life, and patient and family satisfaction.

PCHETA Senate Support Letter 115th Congress

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The undersigned organizations write to express our support for S. 693, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA). This bipartisan legislation will make a difference in the lives of millions of patients living with serious or life threatening illness and their caregivers.