Your involvement counts!  Thank you to all of our volunteers who signed the petition to save President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s, founder of the March of Dimes, profile on the dime currency.  More than 3,400 signatures were collected during WalkAmerica events held statewide and these petitions were sent to the March of Dimes Office of Government Affairs in Washington, D.C. to share with members of Congress. In addition, the March of Dimes State Public Affairs Committee is proud to unveil our new public affairs brochure with 2005 advocacy initiatives.  This brochure is one of our strongest educational tools for both legislators and volunteers, and outlines our public affairs priorities related to newborn screening, the Texas Birth Defects Registry, Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, immunization and smoking cessation.  If you do not have access to a physical copy of the brochure, you can find this same information in the “advocacy” section of the new Texas Chapter’s web site at www.marchofdimes.com/texas. And don’t forget about the March of Dimes license plate, available for purchase now! Meganne Walsh, M.D. Chair, State Public Affairs Committee

Texas Chapter web site launched
The Texas Chapter launched its new web site in May 2004!  Visit www.marchofdimes.com/texas and click on “advocacy” to learn more about the Texas Chapter’s advocacy initiatives for the upcoming legislative session, sign up for the Advocacy Network and more.  Visit other sections of the web site for information on our prematurity campaign, to find a March of Dimes office near you and for links to our national web site.

March of Dimes supports increased Medicaid coverage for pregnant women
The March of Dimes urged members of the Legislative Budget Board and Senate Finance Committee to restore Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women back to 185% of the Federal Poverty Level for FY 2005, as recommended by Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkins of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission in his presentation to the Senate Finance Committee on May 24-25, 2004.  This proposal would allow approximately 8,100 additional pregnant women per month to receive pregnancy-related care, women who were previously eligible before funding cuts during the 78th Regular Session but who are now no longer eligible as of September 1, 2004.

Premature births have been escalating at an alarming rate in the past 20 years, nationally and in Texas.  Although nearly half of all premature births have no known cause, we do know some risk factors—including maternal age, a history of preterm birth, chronic disease in the mother, and smoking—increase the likelihood of preterm birth.  Women who receive prenatal care are more likely to have access to services that identify problems early and may help improve the health of mothers and infants.  Lack of prenatal care is associated with poor birth outcomes. Low birthweight (a baby born weighing less than 5.5 lbs.) is just one illustration.  According to studies by the Institute of Medicine, uninsured women receive fewer prenatal services and report greater difficulty in obtaining needed care than women with insurance, and their babies, when born without insurance, are more likely to be sick and less likely to receive needed hospital services than insured infants.  The most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau reports that in 2002, more than 1 million Texas women of childbearing age were without health insurance.

March of Dimes holds successful Prematurity Summit in Austin
To raise awareness of the problem of premature births in Texas and to elevate the issue of prematurity to a higher priority among state and community leaders, the March of Dimes Texas Chapter will host 14 Prematurity Summits in Texas in 2004.  The statewide, kick-off Summit was held in Austin on May 20, 2004.  The additional 13 summits will occur in Amarillo, Lubbock, San Angelo, Dallas, Fort Worth, Beaumont, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Laredo, Brownsville and McAllen at various times between May and November 2004.

The target audiences for the Summits are business leaders, community leaders, policy makers, health professionals and elected officials.  Texas families who have experienced a premature birth will also be in attendance.  A minimum of 1,000 Texas leaders are expected to attend a Texas Prematurity Summit this year. Both the emotional and financial impact of the rising number of premature births in Texas will be highlighted with a “Call to Action” for business leaders, legislators, health professionals, and the general public.

Governor Rick Perry was the keynote speaker at Austin’s Summit and co-signed the invitation that was used for Austin’s Summit and which will also be used at the additional Summits later this year.  Also speaking at Austin’s Summit were Albert Hawkins, Executive Commissioner, Texas Health and Human Services Commission; Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, Commissioner of Health; John W. Jett, President, Bank of America, Austin; Gay Warren Gaddis, President & Founder, T3; The Blahuta Family, Austin Ambassador Family; and Dr. David Smith, Chair, March of Dimes Texas Prematurity Campaign and Chancellor, Texas Tech University System.  The event was hosted by University of Texas System Board of Regents Chairman James Huffines and his wife Patty.  Approximately 150 people were in attendance.

Recent Legislative/Regulatory Activity

• March of Dimes submitted written testimony to the Texas Board of Health concerning proposed changes to ImmTrac, the state’s immunization registry, as a result of House Bill 1921 on March 1st.
• March of Dimes testified before the Board of Health concerning proposed rules regarding vaccine requirements on March 11th.
• March of Dimes sent letters to the Legislative Budget Board urging them to use available funds to restore Medicaid coverage for pregnant women back to 185% of the Federal Poverty Level on March 17th.
• March of Dimes is participating on the CHIP and Medicaid eligibility policy subcommittee of the Texas CHIP Coalition.
• March of Dimes participated in a Center for Disease Control focus group on children’s health policy issues.
• March of Dimes is working with the Comptroller’s office to provide information about the risk of smoking and preterm birth to approximately 200 of their grantees who work with enforcing smoking laws for minors.
• March of Dimes sent letters to the Legislative Budget Board urging them to restore Medicaid coverage for pregnant women back to 185% of the Federal Poverty Level, as recommended by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission in May on June 10th.

Legislative Lookout
The Special Session on school finance reform ended without a resolution.  Rumors abound as to if and when another Special Session will be called on the subject prior to the Regular Session convening in January 2005. The March of Dimes monitors these Special Sessions in the event tax issues begin to include nonprofit organizations.  The March of Dimes sent letters to certain House members and the Texas Senate concerning proposals to institute a payroll tax that could have included nonprofit organizations.  Nonprofit organizations in Texas understand the need to reform how our state funds its schools. However, the downturn in the economy has resulted in a paradox of increased demand for services and decreased funds to provide assistance to children and families. Not only has the state been forced to cut funding, but charitable giving and foundation endowments have also decreased. All nonprofits, not just those providing health and human services, have felt the pinch as scarce dollars are focused on basic needs. While good news may be appearing about the economy, now is not the time to ask struggling nonprofits to do more.

Nonprofit organizations in Texas provide services at a bargain price. As the state consolidates its services for low-income children and families, private providers, including nonprofit organizations, will increasingly be called upon to assume duties once performed by the state. Success of this transfer from the public to the private sector depends upon the solvency of the nonprofit sector.  Texas nonprofits understand the difficult decisions legislators will be forced to make in order to reform our state’s school finance system and deal with future budget shortfalls.  Nonprofit organizations play a pivotal role in making our state a wonderful place to live and a productive place to do business.

Join the fight against birth defects – buy a March of Dimes license plate!
The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. When you purchase a March of Dimes license plate, $22 will go towards supporting the Texas Birth Defects Registry at the Texas Department of Health. The Registry exists to identify and describe patterns of birth defects in Texas and collaborate with others in finding causes of birth defects, working towards prevention and linking families with support services. For more information on ordering specialty license plates, visit the Texas Department of Transportation's website, contact TxDOT at (512) 374-5010, or contact your local county tax assessor-collector. You can purchase a license plate even if your vehicle registration is current!

Dates to Remember
August 25, 2004 - State Public Affairs Committee meeting
September 29, 2004 - State Public Affairs Committee meeting
November 2, 2004 - General Election for legislative and other offices held
November 8, 2004 - Prefiling of legislation for 79th Legislature begins
January 11, 2005 - 79th Legislature convenes
February 2005 - March of Dimes Lobby Day
March 11, 2005 - Bill Filing deadline
May 30, 2005 - 79th Legislature adjourns
June 19, 2005 - Governor’s Veto Proclamation deadline
August 29, 2005 - Effective date of bills without otherwise specified dates