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What:The National Medicare Training Program is pleased to announce the next Understanding Medicare webinar will be held on March 6 and 7, 2012.   This webinar, which is designed for people who are new to Medicare, and for people wanting a refresher, will provide current, accurate, consistent information on Medicare, including hospital (Part A) coverage, medical (Part B) coverage, Medicare Advantage plans (Part C), and prescription drug (Part D) coverage.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is authorized by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) to offer 0.4 Continuing Education Units (CEU) for this program.   To receive CEU credit participants must: Complete the pre-assessment Attend all four hours of the training Complete the course registration and evaluation Complete the post-test with an aggregate score of at least 70%. When:March 6-7, 201211:00 am - 1:00 pm MTContact:Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Phone: (410) 786-5473Website: Medicare.govRegistration:Click this link to register! Please complete the registration form and select a password that is 8 characters long and contains one capital letter and a numeric digit. If you have previously attended a webinar with us please select “click here” at the top of the page. You will be redirected and asked to enter your login (your email address) and password. If you do not remember you password, please click “Forgot your password?” You will receive an e-mail confirming your registration and providing the link to the webinar pre-assessment. Space is limited, and only approved participants will receive instructions on how to register. The pre-assessment must be completed prior to the start of the webinar. You will not be able to participate in the webinar if you have not completed the pre-assessment.

Today, as part of the Obama administration’s work to make our health care system more transparent, affordable, and accountable, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the release of new, privacy-protected data on services and procedures provided to Medicare beneficiaries by physicians and other health care professionals. The new data also show payment and submitted charges, or bills, for those services and procedures by provider.“Currently, consumers have limited information about how physicians and other health care professionals practice medicine,” said Secretary Sebelius “This data will help fill that gap by offering insight into the Medicare portion of a physician’s practice. The data released today afford researchers, policymakers and the public a new window into health care spending and physician practice patterns.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced grants to 41 health programs operated by the Indian Health Service; tribes and tribal organizations; and urban Indian organizations. The grants will help improve outreach and enrollment of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) uninsured children eligible for, but not enrolled in, their state’s Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP).

Blackfeet Tribe, Po'Ka ProjectMontana$300,000Indian Health Board of Billings, Inc.Montana$300,000

A $7.7 million federal grant is being used to expand mental-health services in Montana and Wyoming where there is a severe shortage of psychiatrists and therapists.A Sacramento-based company, HealthLinkNow, received the three-year grant last year from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Awards, a federal program designed to underwrite promising new models of health care delivery.

Federal officials are taking steps to clarify new requirements surrounding Medicaid coverage of autism treatments. Over the summer, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a bulletin to states indicating that Medicaid programs across the country must provide “medically necessary diagnostic and treatment services” to beneficiaries with autism under age 21. Now, the agency is providing new details about the mandate.

The health overhaul package passed by the House Sunday and sent to the Senate for final action is the most far-reaching health legislation since the creation of the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

While the underlying Senate bill will become law as soon as President Barack Obama signs it, additional changes will occur if the Senate passes the reconciliation-bill part of the package. The following is a look at the impact of the entire package, which would extend insurance coverage to 32 million additional Americans by 2019, but also have an effect on almost every citizen. Here's where things stand and how you might be affected:

What: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) are disability income benefits administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) that also provide Medicaid and/or Medicare health insurance to individuals who are eligible. The application process for SSI/SSDI is complicated and difficult to navigate. Nationally, about 37 percent of individuals who apply for these benefits are approved on initial application and appeals take an average of two years to complete. For people who are homeless or who are returning to the community from institutions (jails, prisons or hospitals), access to these programs can be extremely challenging. Approval on initial application for people who are homeless and who have no one to assist them is about 10-15 percent. For those who have a mental illness, substance use issues, or co-occurring disorders that impair cognition, the application process is even more difficult – yet accessing these benefits is often a critical first step in recovery. SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) is an approach that helps states increase access to mainstream benefits for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness through: Strategic Planning Meeting(s) to establish collaboration among key state and/or local stakeholders and to develop an action plan for implementing the SOAR approach (e.g. SSA and Disability Determination Services (DDS); State Mental Health Agency and Department of Corrections leadership; and community homeless, health and behavioral health providers). Training of case managers using SAMHSA's Stepping Stones to Recovery curriculum that includes a step-by-step explanation of an improved SSI/SSDI application process. A Train-the-Trainer program allows for expansion and sustainability. Technical Assistance to states and communities including support for action plan implementation, training observations with feedback, and assistance with tracking outcomes in order to document success and help access additional resources.  (SOAR Technical Assistance Center. http://www.prainc.com/SOAR). When/Where: Great Falls SOAR Refresher Course September 23, 2011 & October 28, 2011  9AM – 2PM Largent Building - 915 First Avenue South Great Falls, MT (406) 761-2104 Billings SOAR Training Registration: September 28 & 29 | 8:00 – 5:00 Garfield School – Room 103 3212 1st Avenue South Billings, MT 59102 Great Falls SOAR Training Registration October 13-14, 2011 Largent Building - 915 First Avenue South Great Falls, MT (406) 761-2104 Helena SOAR Training Registration November 1-2, 2011 Disability Determination Services 2550 Prospect Avenue Helena, MT 59601

For the better part of a year, people who have speech impairment or loss, feared that a sudden, and painfully literal, reinterpretation of Medicare policy would diminish their abilities to communicate. Their advocates and the makers of communications devices also worried about how the changes might affect them.