QUADRENNIAL ENERGY REVIEW LAUNCHED BY WHITE HOUSE

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
Obama Administration Launches Quadrennial Energy Review
First QER Will Focus on Transmission and Distribution Infrastructure

Today, President Obama signed a Memorandum directing his Administration to conduct a Quadrennial Energy Review (QER).  This first QER will focus on the development of a comprehensive strategy for the infrastructure involved in transporting, transmitting, and delivering energy. The QER will be developed through robust interagency dialogue and engagement of external stakeholders and will help to build on the Nation’s progress toward greater energy and climate security.

Building on the foundation provided in the President’s Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future and his Climate Action Plan, this QER will study the opportunities and challenges that our energy infrastructure faces as a result of transformations in energy supply, markets, and use; issues of aging and capacity; impacts of climate change; and cyber and physical threats.  The QER will provide rigorous analysis in a focused, actionable document for policymakers across all sectors.

The development of the QER will include broad outreach, including to the private sector; state, local and tribal governments; labor and other non-governmental organizations; and the academic community.  The QER will be conducted by an interagency task force that is co-chaired by the leaders of the White House Domestic Policy Council and Office of Science and Technology Policy, and includes representation from all relevant executive departments and agencies.  The Department of Energy will play a key role in providing analytical support to the QER.

As the Presidential Memorandum outlines, the QER will provide an integrated view of, and recommendations for, Federal energy policy in the context of economic, environmental, occupational, security, and health and safety priorities; review the adequacy of existing executive and legislative activities and recommend additional executive and legislative actions as appropriate; assess and recommend priorities for research, development, and demonstration programs to support key goals; and identify analytical tools and data needed to support further policy development and implementation.

Since President Obama took office, domestic oil production has increased more than 50 percent and natural gas production is now the highest it has ever been. Today, America is not just leading the world in energy production but it is also leading the world in energy innovation: Investments in research, development, and deployment have more than doubled the renewable electricity that we generate from wind and solar, even as the prices of those technologies continue to drop, and advances in energy efficiency are making our energy system cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable.  All this change tests an aging infrastructure that must keep pace both with the transformations in energy supply, climate change and security.  In this context, the QER will help U.S. policymakers across all sectors make decisions based on unbiased data and rigorous analysis.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION FINDS PARTNER IN EDUCATING AMERICANS ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACE

FROM:  U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 
Pennsylvania Champions for Coverage partner with Obama administration to help Americans understand the Health Insurance Marketplace

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recognized more than 25 Pennsylvania organizations and businesses that have volunteered to help uninsured Americans get coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Secretary Sebelius made today’s announcement at an event hosted by Congreso, a Champion for Coverage dedicated to strengthening Latino communities.

“A network of volunteers on the ground in every state – health care providers, business leaders, faith leaders, community groups, advocates, and local elected officials – can help spread the word and encourage their neighbors to get enrolled,” said Secretary Sebelius.

Champions for Coverage are local businesses and organizations – bloggers, community health centers, hospitals, communities of faith, and civic organizations. They will use publicly available materials – both digital and in print – from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help members of their communities understand their new options through the Marketplace. There are many ways these organizations can help, including hanging a poster in their office, hosting an enrollment fair or educational event, or posting links on their website.

“We are both excited and thankful to have such a wide variety of businesses and organizations that want to get involved and help us spread the message about these new opportunities for people to access quality, affordable health insurance when open enrollment begins on October 1,” said CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner.

“Congreso is proud to partner with HHS on this historic effort to expand access to health care coverage for all Americans,” said Cynthia Figueroa, Congreso president and chief executive officer. “As a Champion for Coverage, we aim to be a trusted community resource for Latino individuals and families who want to learn more about their options for quality, affordable coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act.”

Today’s announcement follows the significant progress made this summer on outreach and education around the Marketplace. Consumers can learn about and enroll in coverage later this fall through HealthCare.gov.  They can participate in an online web chat, or call 1-800-318-2596 toll free to speak with a trained customer service representative.

The growing list of Pennsylvania organizations includes:

ACLAMO Family Centers
Berks Community Health Center
Better Health Network
Black Women's Health Alliance
Central Montgomery Mental Health
Columbia County Volunteers in Medicine Clinic Inc.
Community Health Clinic of Butler County
Congreso de Latinos Unidos
Dermatology Associates of Plymouth Meeting
Diagnostic Imaging Specialists LLC
Family Planning Council
Jewish Healthcare Foundation
Keystone Rural Health Center
La Comunidad Hispana
Maternity Care Coalition
Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Mt. Tabor AME Church
Office of HIV Planning Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health
Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative
Planned Parenthood Keystone
Susquehanna Community Health and Dental Clinic Inc
Webkite
Welsh Mountain Health Centers
West Philadelphia Salvation Army
Women's Law Project
There will also be people in local communities who can provide in-person help with coverage choices. Last week, HHS awarded $67 million to 105 Navigator grant applicants.  More than 1,200 community health centers across the country have received more than $150 million to help enroll uninsured Americans in coverage. And a partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services will help trusted local libraries be a resource for consumers who want information on their options.<</p>

Open enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace begins October 1 for coverage starting as early as Jan. 1, 2014. Visit HealthCare.gov to learn more and to sign up for account.

To see the list of 100 national organizations announced last week visit: http://marketplace.cms.gov/help-us/champions-for-coverage-list.pdf.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AND GLOBAL ADVANCEMENT OF RIGHTS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Presidential Memorandum on Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women and Girls Globally
Press Statement
Washington, DC
January 31, 2013
　

The Obama Administration has made it clear that advancing the rights of women and girls is critical to the foreign policy of the United States. This is a matter of national security as much as it is an issue of morality or fairness. President Obama’s National Security Strategy explicitly recognizes that "countries are more peaceful and prosperous when women are accorded full and equal rights and opportunity. When those rights and opportunities are denied, countries lag behind."

That’s why I’m so pleased about the Presidential Memorandum that President Obama signed yesterday, which institutionalizes an elevated focus on global women’s issues at the State Department and USAID and ensures coordination on these issues across the federal government. And it is so important that incoming Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed his support for the continued elevation of these issues in our foreign policy.

As I have said many times, protecting and advancing the rights of women are critical to solving virtually every challenge we face as individual nations and as a community of nations. We have made great progress, but there is more to do. This is the unfinished business of the 21st Century, and it is essential that it remains central to our foreign policy for years to come.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION WILL ALLOW SOLAR UTILITY DEVELOPMENT ON PUBLIC LANDS

Photo Credit:  U.S. Navy  
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Obama Administration Approves Roadmap for Utility-Scale Solar Energy Development on Public Lands

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As part of President Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to expand domestic energy production, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today finalized a program for spurring development of solar energy on public lands in six western states. The Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for solar energy development provides a blueprint for utility-scale solar energy permitting in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah by establishing solar energy zones with access to existing or planned transmission, incentives for development within those zones, and a process through which to consider additional zones and solar projects.

Today’s action builds on the Administration’s historic progress to facilitate renewable energy development. On Tuesday, with the authorization of the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project site in Wyoming, Interior reached the President’s goal of authorizing 10,000 megawatts of renewable power on public lands. Since 2009, Interior has authorized 33 renewable energy projects, including 18 utility-scale solar facilities, 7 wind farms and 8 geothermal plants, with associated transmission corridors and infrastructure. When built, these projects will provide enough electricity to power more than 3.5 million homes, and support 13,000 construction and operations jobs according to project developer estimates.

"Energy from sources like wind and solar have doubled since the President took office, and with today’s milestone, we are laying a sustainable foundation to keep expanding our nation’s domestic energy resources," said Secretary Salazar, who signed today’s Record of Decision at an event in Las Vegas, Nevada with Senator Harry Reid. "This historic initiative provides a roadmap for landscape-level planning that will lead to faster, smarter utility-scale solar development on public lands and reflects President Obama’s commitment to grow American made energy and create jobs."

The Solar PEIS establishes an initial set of 17 Solar Energy Zones (SEZs), totaling about 285,000 acres of public lands, that will serve as priority areas for commercial-scale solar development, with the potential for additional zones through ongoing and future regional planning processes. If fully built out, projects in the designated areas could produce as much as 23,700 megawatts of solar energy, enough to power approximately 7 million American homes. The program also keeps the door open, on a case-by-case basis, for the possibility of carefully sited solar projects outside SEZs on about 19 million acres in "variance" areas. The program also includes a framework for regional mitigation plans, and to protect key natural and cultural resources the program excludes a little under 79 million acres that would be inappropriate for solar development based on currently available information.

"The Solar PEIS sets forth an enduring, flexible blueprint for developing utility-scale solar projects in the right way, and in the right places, on our public lands," said David J. Hayes, Deputy Secretary of the Interior. "Never before has the Interior Department worked so closely and collaboratively with the industry, conservationists and sportsmen alike to develop a sound, long-term plan for generating domestic energy from our nation’s sun-drenched public lands."

The signing of the Record of Decision today follows the July release of the Final PEIS, a comprehensive analysis done in partnership with the Department of Energy that identified locations on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands most suitable for solar energy development. These areas are characterized by excellent solar resources, access to existing or planned transmission and relatively low conflict with biological, cultural and historic resources.

"We are proud to be a part of this initiative to cut through red tape and accelerate the development of America’s clean, renewable energy," said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. "There is a global race to develop renewable energy technologies—and this effort will help us win this race by expanding solar energy production while reducing permitting costs."

Today’s action is in line with the President’s direction to continue to expand domestic energy production, safely and responsibly. Since President Obama took office, domestic oil and gas production has increased each year, with domestic oil production at an eight-year high, natural gas production at an all-time high, and foreign oil imports now accounting for less than 50 percent of the oil consumed in America – the lowest level since 1995.

HHS SEC. SEBELIUS ANNOUNCES NEW INVESTMENTS IN WORKFORCE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ANDHUMAN SERVICES

Obama administration takes new action to improve public health
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced new investments that will help strengthen the nation’s public health workforce and fight disease and illness.

"These investments are part of our work to promote public health and they will help strengthen our efforts to fight disease and illness before they happen," Secretary Sebelius said.

The initiatives include:
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is awarding $23 million in grants to 37 Public Health Training Centers to provide training to current and future public health workers in key public health issues such as nutrition and epidemiology, and to enhance the workforce’s basic public health skills.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing $25 million to support fellowship programs, similar to medical residencies, and placement of fellows in state and local public health departments, as well as expanding training programs for existing public health workers, focusing on e-learning. This includes funding for 227 new fellows in contract and field positions providing necessary screening services and community education, as well as critical assistance with ongoing public health challenges.
"Public health workers are on the front lines, educating their community members and doing the hard work to ensure we stay healthy and can respond to public health challenges when they arise," HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., said. "These resources will help ensure they have the resources they need to do the job."

NEW PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO PREVENT HEALTH CARE FRAUD

FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Thursday, July 26, 2012
Obama Administration Announces Ground-breaking Public-private Partnership to Prevent Health Care Fraud

Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the launch of a ground-breaking partnership among the federal government, state officials, several leading private health insurance organizations, and other health care anti-fraud groups to prevent health care fraud. This voluntary, collaborative arrangement uniting public and private organizations is the next step in the Obama administration’s efforts to combat health care fraud and safeguard health care dollars to better protect taxpayers and consumers.

The new partnership is designed to share information and best practices in order to improve detection and prevent payment of fraudulent health care billings. Its goal is to reveal and halt scams that cut across a number of public and private payers. The partnership will enable those on the front lines of industry anti-fraud efforts to share their insights more easily with investigators, prosecutors, policymakers and other stakeholders. It will help law enforcement officials to more effectively identify and prevent suspicious activities, better protect patients’ confidential information and use the full range of tools and authorities provided by the Affordable Care Act and other essential statutes to combat and prosecute illegal actions.

"This partnership is a critical step forward in strengthening our nation’s fight against health care fraud," said Attorney General Holder. "This administration has established a record of success in combating devastating fraud crimes, but there is more we can and must do to protect patients, consumers, essential health care programs, and precious taxpayer dollars. Bringing additional health care industry leaders and experts into this work will allow us to act more quickly and effectively in identifying and stopping fraud schemes, seeking justice for victims, and safeguarding our health care system."

"This partnership puts criminals on notice that we will find them and stop them before they steal health care dollars," Secretary Sebelius said. "Thanks to this initiative today and the anti-fraud tools that were made available by the health care law, we are working to stamp out these crimes and abuse in our health care system."

One innovative objective of the partnership is to share information on specific schemes, utilized billing codes and geographical fraud hotspots so that action can be taken to prevent losses to both government and private health plans before they occur. Another potential goal of the partnership is the ability to spot and stop payments billed to different insurers for care delivered to the same patient on the same day in two different cities. A potential long-range goal of the partnership is to use sophisticated technology and analytics on industry-wide healthcare data to predict and detect health care fraud schemes.

The Executive Board, the Data Analysis and Review Committee and the Information Sharing Committee will hold their first meeting in September. Until then, several public-private working groups will continue to meet to finalize the operational structure of the partnership and develop its draft initial work plan.

The following organizations and government agencies are among the first to join this partnership:

• America’s Health Insurance Plans
• Amerigroup Corporation
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• Coalition Against Insurance Fraud
• Federal Bureau of Investigations
• Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General
• Humana Inc.
• Independence Blue Cross
• National Association of Insurance Commissioners
• National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units
• National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association
• National Insurance Crime Bureau
• New York Office of Medicaid Inspector General
• Travelers
• Tufts Health Plan
• UnitedHealth Group
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• U.S. Department of Justice
• WellPoint, Inc.

The partnership builds on existing tools provided by the Affordable Care Act, resulting in:

• Tougher sentences for people convicted of health care fraud. Criminals will receive 20 to 50 percent longer sentences for crimes that involve more than $1 million in losses.
• Enhanced screenings of Medicare and Medicaid providers and suppliers to keep fraudsters out of the program.
• Suspended payments to providers and suppliers engaged in suspected fraudulent activity.