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Moving Alabama Forward -- ACPP Policy Conference, Fri., Feb. 8, Auburn University Montgomery

You won't want to miss "Moving Alabama Forward," the 2013 ACPP Policy Conference, Fri., Feb. 8, at Auburn University Montgomery. This year's event comes at a particularly urgent and promising time for improving public policies that affect our most vulnerable neighbors. During opening week of the 2013 legislative session, the conference will highlight:

  • Late-breaking developments in Alabama Medicaid reform;
  • New benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA);
  • Crucial steps to erase Alabama's health disparities;
  • How the ACA helps small businesses;
  • New strategies for ending predatory lending;
  • The challenge of food insecurity among Alabama's older adults;
  • Restoring the constitutional right to a public education; and
  • Other topics you care about.

The registration deadline is Feb. 1. Get the registration brochure here.

Arise Daily News Digest 2-3-2013

AL.COM  - Fences to mend among Republicans after vote over party chairmanship.

AL.COM  - Alabama lawmakers seek pardon, exoneration for Scottsboro Boys.

AL.COM  - PSC Commissioner Jeremy Oden defends informal hearing.

AL.COM  - Legislative preview #7:  Clay Scofield emphasizes budget over pro-life issues this session.

AL.COM  - Bill Armistead beats Matt Fridy and the biggest names in state GOP to win re-election as party leader.

AL.COM  - Tough budgets, Medicaid to dominate Alabama legislative session.

AL.COM  - Alabama Legislature 2013: 10 hot issues to watch in the upcoming session.

AL.COM  - GOP touts reforms halfway through first term as majority in Alabama State House.

AL.COM  - Legislative preview #6:  Phil Williams to create more Huntsville entertainment zones.

AL.COM  - Legislative Preview #5: Jim Patterson targets unkempt lawns of Madison County.

AL.COM  - Legislative preview #4:  Bill Holtzclaw wants to restore authority to local school boards.

AL.COM  - Legislative preview #3:  Laura Hall, Huntsville's last Democrat, backs teacher pay raises.

AL.COM  - Legislative preview #2:  Wayne Johnson focuses on fighting the rock quarry.

AL.COM  - U.S. Supreme Court will hear Shelby County's voting rights case on Feb. 27.

AL.COM  - Legislative preview #1: Shadrack McGill puts priority on protecting "the unborn."

WSFA  - Columnist Ken Hare’s In Depth:  Funding, crowding, staffing plague state prisons.

LAS VEGAS SUN  - Harry Reid weighs in on Alabama voting rights case.

DECATUR DAILY  – The Decatur Daily:  The myth of low taxes.

(FLORENCE) TIMES DAILY  - Capital Concerns:  2013 legislative session starts Tuesday.  A variety of issues await lawmakers.

(FLORENCE) TIMES DAILY  – Reporter Mary Sell’s Capital Notebook:  Lawmakers contemplate privatizing parks’ hotels.

TUSCALOOSA NEWS  – Columnist Tommy Stevenson’s At Large:  ‘Gerrymander’ was not always a bad word.

GADSDEN TIMES  - Etowah County legislators preview upcoming session.

ANNISTON STAR  - Critics say more expensive regulations are intended to drive Alabama abortion clinics out of existence.

ANNISTON STAR  – Publisher H. Brandt Ayers: Obama isn’t LBJ or FDR.

ANNISTON STAR  – Contributor Jim Phillips:  Immigrant labor in the U.S.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER  - 2013 Legislative Preview:  Session to focus on rights, raises:  Struggle over budget provides turbulent backdrop as state lawmakers return.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER  - Columnist Josh Moon:  Conservatives lack reason in gun debate.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER  - Tough budget decisions ahead for legislators: Session to focus on tightening General Fund, increasing dollars for education.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER  - 'Significant' changes ahead for Medicaid: Cuts expected as higher enrollment pushes costs up.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER  - School flexibility, gun laws also on 2013 agenda: Plans afoot to consolidate state law enforcement efforts.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER  - The Montgomery Advertiser:  Local businesses at a disadvantage because online stores not paying Alabama sales tax.

DOTHAN EAGLE - Alabama Legislature to tackle gun rights, Medicaid.

DOTHAN EAGLE  - The Dothan Eagle:  Unarmed and unnecessary.

WASHINGTON POST  - In immigration debate, same-sex marriage comes to the fore.

WASHINGTON POST  - Contributor Elizabeth Cohen:  Should illegal immigrants become citizens?  Let’s ask the founding fathers.

WASHINGTON POST  - Columnist E. J. Dionne:  A Catholic victory on birth control coverage.

WASHINGTON POST  - The Washington Post:  The case for a national ID card.

WASHINGTON POST  - As standoff drags on in Alabama, nearby town grieves for bus driver who was shot to death.

NEW YORK TIMES  – The New York Times:  Will Justice Kennedy Vote for Voting Rights?

NEW YORK TIMES  - Hope and Fear Mix as a Hostage Situation Drags On

NEW YORK TIMES  - In Hard Economy for All Ages, Older Isn’t Better ... It’s Brutal

NEW YORK TIMES  - Drowned in a Stream of Prescriptions

NEW YORK TIMES  - A Bipartisan House Group Works to Present Its Own Immigration Proposal

NEW YORK TIMES  – Columnist Frank Bruni:  My Grandfather the Outlaw

NEW YORK TIMES  – Columnist Thomas Friedman:  The Virtual Middle Class Rises

NEW YORK TIMES  – The New York Times:  Dangerous Gun Myths

NEW YORK TIMES  – The New York Times:  A Cruel Blow to American Families

Bad finance leads to bad romance!

Join us for a National Day of Action!

Hundreds from across the Birmingham region will gather on Valentine's Day to call for changes to predatory loans that victimize working Alabamians. Connect with like-minded advocates at the YWCA Central Alabama on Feb. 14th at 11:30 a.m. to hear more about the devastation these loans have caused for our neighbors in Birmingham and lend your voice in the fight against abusive lending practices.

YWCA Gymnasium

309 23rd St. N., Birmingham

Thurs., Feb. 14, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Lunch provided -- Walk-ins are welcome, but RSVPs will help us plan:

RSVP by Feb. 11 to Jacob Smith -- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (205) 322-9922 x 306

Alabama's Medicaid reform should put patients first

ACPP appreciates the opportunity to represent consumer interests on the Alabama Medicaid Advisory Commission. Toward that end, we have assembled a coalition of advocacy organizations to provide consumer input on the reform process. The coalition has identified eight core principles of consumer-centered Medicaid reform.

Read principles here.

Medicaid Commission recommends community approach over commercial managed care

The Alabama Medicaid Advisory Commission overwhelmingly voted this afternoon to recommend the state go with a community care approach -- instead of statewide commercial managed care -- to try to control spending in the healthcare program for the poor.

The commission, with only one dissenting vote, voted to recommend a primary care case management approach in which care providers are responsible for monitoring and approving the care of people on Medicaid. State Health Officer Don Williamson said it would take statewide a model that is already used to some degree in Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, Opelika and Mobile.

ACPP communications director Jim Carnes praised the commission's decision saying he thought a community care model would be more patient-centered than a statewide commercial managed care approach.

Read article here.