Wilmington, DE – Governor Markell issued the following statement in reaction to President Obama’s State of the Union address:

“The President delivered the messages needed for our country to meet the challenges of the 21st century, recognizing that the new economy offers incredible possibilities for all of us if we tap into the talents of all of our people, embrace the promise of new technology, and ensure everyone has the opportunity to reach his or her potential.

“He recognized that this means providing access to high quality education and training from pre-K students through workers who are retooling for new industries. It means engaging with economies around the world, while working together to address the impacts of climate change, and it means removing the barriers to our citizen’s success, including political gridlock. I was pleased to hear he hopes to work with Congress to address the substance abuse epidemic and inequities in our criminal justice system. And I was inspired by his call for the Vice President to lead our country’s efforts to cure cancer. Joe Biden has been fighting for people for four decades, and this mission may be his greatest and most lasting gift to our country.

“While our prosperity certainly requires effectively fighting national security threats from foreign enemies, it also demands that we hold true to our values, as the President said tonight. There is no reason why leaders at the national, state, and local levels cannot rally together around these missions.”

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Delaware is featured participant at launch of national initiative to achieve better care and smarter spending in health care system

Wilmington, DE – Joined by President Obama, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, as well as representatives from health care providers, insurers, consumer groups, and the business community at the White House today, Governor Markell addressed Delaware’s commitment to transform delivery of health care and to provide a model for the country to pay for quality, rather than quantity, of services.

The Governor spoke at a kick off for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network, which aims to accelerate the transformation of the nation’s health care delivery system to one that achieves better care, smarter spending, and healthier people by supporting the adoption of alternative payments models. According to HHS, more than 2,800 individual payers, providers, employers, patients, states, consumer groups, consumers and other partners have registered to participate in the Network.

“Current payment models incentivize hospitalizations and quality of treatment, not initiatives like care management programs designed to keep people out of the hospital,” said Markell. “I believe that is the crux of what we are all trying to change. In Delaware, we have brought together all parts of our health care community to develop a plan to become one of the healthiest states while reducing the growth of health care spending.”

At today’s event, HHS highlighted Delaware’s commitment to shift at least 80 percent of health care spending to payment models that reward quality and efficient care. In addition, as part of the Delaware’s Health Care Innovation Plan, the state is working to ensure every Delawarean has a primary care provider, and give providers the tools and training to thrive under new payment models. The state aims to reduce the growth of healthcare spending by 1-2 percentage points, bringing it more closely in line with growth of the state’s economy.

“Thousands of Delawareans are already benefiting from increased access to quality, affordable health care through the Health Insurance Marketplace and our state’s expanded Medicaid program,” said Secretary Rita Landgraf of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. “But access to care is just one step on the path to healthier communities. Better care and lower costs are other critical components, which is why we’ve embarked on an effort to transform our health care system through the Delaware Health Care Innovation Plan — and why we are excited to participate in the Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network.”

— Key elements of the Health Care Learning and Action Network:

The Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network (“Network”) is being established to provide a forum for public-private partnerships to help the U.S. health care payment system (both private and public) meet or exceed recently established Medicare goals for value-based payments and alternative payment models.

To help drive the health care system towards greater value-based purchasing — rather than continuing to reward volume regardless of quality of care delivered, HHS has set a goal of moving 30 percent of Medicare payments into alternative payment models by the end of 2016 and 50 percent into alternative payment models by the end of 2018. Alternative payment models include models such as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), bundled payments, and advanced primary care medical homes. Overall, HHS seeks to have 85 percent of Medicare payments tied to quality or value by 2016 and 90 percent by 2018.

The Network will serve as a forum where payers, providers, employers, purchasers, state partners, consumer groups, individual consumers, and others can discuss how to transition towards alternative payment models that emphasize value.

The Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network will perform the following functions:

• Serve as a convening body to facilitate joint implementation of new models of payment and care delivery;
• Identify areas of agreement around movement toward alternative payment models and define how best to report on these new payment models;
• Collaborate to generate evidence, share approaches, and remove barriers;
• Develop common approaches to core issues such as beneficiary attribution, financial models, benchmarking, quality and performance measurement, risk adjustment, and other topics raised for discussion; and
• Create implementation guides for payers, purchasers, providers, and consumers.

Participants will be expected to actively engage in the Network by contributing to workgroups, sharing best practices, and learning from peers. They will also:

• Support national alternative payment model goals for the U.S. health system that match or exceed the Medicare fee-for-service goals (30% alternative payment model penetration by 2016 and 50% by 2018);
• Agree that progress towards national goals should be measured; and
• Work with Network participants to establish standard definitions for alternative payment models

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(Wilmington) – Governor Jack Markell is one of eight Governors appointed today by President Obama to serve on a Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience that will advise the Administration on how the Federal Government can respond to the needs of communities dealing with impacts of climate change.    The President signed an Executive Order, Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change.   Below is the Governor’s statement and the White House news release follows.

“I am honored the President has appointed me to this new task force.  Climate change is not some far off problem; it is something we are experiencing now.   For a small state like Delaware, the lowest-lying state in the nation, we are staggeringly vulnerable. We need to have frank conversations about preparing for possible impacts from storms, droughts, and sea level rise.   Recent events have crystallized the importance of this work for a lot of states.   I believe we can strengthen the economy and improve the resiliency of the environment at the same time and I look forward to serving on this new task force.”   ~ Governor Jack Markell

 

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 1, 2013

 

FACT SHEET: Executive Order on Climate Preparedness

President Obama Establishes a Task Force on Climate

 “We’re going to need to get prepared.  And that’s why this plan will also protect critical sectors of our economy and prepare the United States for the impacts of climate change that we cannot avoid.  States and cities across the country are already taking it upon themselves to get ready… And we’ll partner with communities seeking help to prepare for droughts and floods, reduce the risk of wildfires, protect the dunes and wetlands that pull double duty as green space and as natural storm barriers.” – President Barack Obama, June 25, 2013

Today, President Obama established a Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience to advise the Administration on how the Federal Government can respond to the needs of communities nationwide that are dealing with the impacts of climate change. The Task Force members include state, local and tribal leaders from across the country who will use their first-hand experiences in building climate preparedness and resilience in their communities to inform their recommendations to the Administration.

The President signed an Executive Order that directs Federal agencies to take a series of steps to make it easier for American communities to strengthen their resilience to extreme weather and prepare for other impacts of climate change.

President Obama has said that we have a moral obligation to our children and future generations to leave them a planet that is not polluted or damaged. That is why in June, the President launched a Climate Action Plan to cut carbon pollution, prepare communities for the impacts of climate change, and lead international efforts to address this global challenge. The Climate Action Plan recognizes that even as we act to curb the carbon pollution that is driving climate change, we must also improve our ability to prepare for the climate impacts we are already seeing across the country. Across America, states, cities, and communities are taking steps to protect themselves from extreme weather and other climate impacts by updating building codes, adjusting the way they manage natural resources, investing in more resilient infrastructure, and planning for rapid recovery from damages that nonetheless occur.

The Federal Government has an important role to play in supporting community-based preparedness and resilience efforts by establishing policies and prioritizing investments that promote preparedness, protecting critical infrastructure and public resources, supporting science and research needed to prepare for climate impacts, and ensuring that Federal operations and facilities continue to protect and serve citizens in a changing climate.

State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience

State, local and tribal leaders across the country are already contending with more frequent or severe heat waves, droughts, wildfires, storms and floods, and other impacts of climate change. The Task Force will provide recommendations to the President on removing barriers to resilient investments, modernizing Federal grant and loan programs to better support local efforts, and developing the information and tools they need to prepare.

Task Force members comprise governors, mayors, county officials and tribal leaders, representing a diverse range of communities. The members of the Task Force include:

State Officials:

Governor Neil Abercrombie (HI)

Governor Jerry Brown (CA)

Governor Eddie Calvo (GU)

Governor Jay Inslee (WA)

Governor Jack Markell (DE)

Governor Martin O’Malley (MD)

Governor Pat Quinn (IL)

Governor Peter Shumlin (VT)

Local Officials:

Mayor Ralph Becker (Salt Lake City, UT)

Mayor James Brainard (Carmel, IN)

Commissioner Paula Brooks (Franklin County, OH)

Supervisor Salud Carbajal (Santa Barbara County, CA)

Mayor Frank Cownie (Des Moines, IA)

Mayor Bob Dixson (Greensburg, KS)

Mayor Eric Garcetti (Los Angeles, CA)

Mayor George Heartwell (Grand Rapids, MI)

Mayor Kristin Jacobs (Broward County, FL)

Mayor Kevin Johnson (Sacramento, CA)

Mayor Michael Nutter (Philadelphia, PA)

Mayor Annise Parker (Houston, TX)

Mayor Patsy Parker (Perdido Beach, AL)

Mayor Madeline Rogero (Knoxville, TN)

Mayor Karen Weitkunat (Fort Collins, CO)

Mayor Dawn Zimmer (Hoboken, NJ)

Tribal Officials:

Karen Diver, Chairwoman, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (MN)

Reggie Joule, Mayor, Northwest Arctic Borough (AK)

An Executive Order to Protect Our Communities

The Obama Administration has taken significant steps to strengthen the climate resilience of America’s communities and economy.  More than 30 Federal agencies developed their first-ever Climate Change Adaptation Plans, outlining strategies to protect their operations, programs, and investments to better serve communities and safeguard our public resources in the face of climate change.  In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the Administration has provided resources to rebuild the affected area to be more resilient than before, including support for more climate-resilient roads and infrastructure, and projects that protect drinking water and buffer communities from flooding.  In addition, Federal agencies have partnered with states, cities, tribes, and the private sector to develop strategies to address the impacts of climate change on our freshwater resources, oceans and coasts, and wildlife. Agencies have also built new, data-driven tools to help decision makers and resource managers map and plan for future sea level rise. From Florida to Minnesota, and from Alaska to New York, Federal agencies have partnered with communities to provide funding and technical assistance to address local climate impacts such as sea level rise, flooding, and water scarcity.

To build on this progress, the Executive Order (E.O.) “Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change,” signed today directs Federal agencies to:

• Modernize Federal programs to support climate-resilient investments: Agencies will examine their policies and programs and find ways to make it easier for cities and towns to build smarter and stronger. Agencies will identify and remove any barriers to resilience-focused actions and investments– for example, policies that encourage communities to rebuild to past standards after disasters instead of to stronger standards – including through agency grants, technical assistance, and other programs in sectors from transportation and water management to conservation and disaster relief.

• Manage lands and waters for climate preparedness and resilience: America’s natural resources are critical to our Nation’s economy, health and quality of life.  The E.O. directs agencies to identify changes that must be made to land- and water-related policies, programs, and regulations to strengthen the climate resilience of our watersheds, natural resources, and ecosystems, and the communities and economies that depend on them. Federal agencies will also evaluate how to better promote natural storm barriers such as dunes and wetlands, as well as how to protect the carbon sequestration benefits of forests and lands to help reduce the carbon pollution that causes climate change.

• Provide information, data and tools for climate change preparedness and resilience: Scientific data and insights are essential to help communities and businesses better understand and manage the risks associated with extreme weather and other impacts of climate change.  The E.O. instructs Federal agencies to work together and with information users to develop new climate preparedness tools and information that state, local, and private-sector leaders need to make smart decisions.  In keeping with the President’s Open Data initiative, agencies will also make extensive Federal climate data accessible to the public through an easy-to-use online portal.

• Plan for climate change related risk: Recognizing the threat that climate change poses to Federal facilities, operations and programs, the E.O. builds on the first-ever set of Federal agency adaptation plans released earlier this year and directs Federal agencies to develop and implement strategies to evaluate and address their most significant climate change related risks.

To implement these actions, the E.O. establishes an interagency Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, chaired by the White House and composed of more than 25 agencies. To assist in achieving the goals of the E.O., these agencies are directed to consider the recommendations of the State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience.

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