Greetings from Washington and happy New Year!  This will be a short update, to announce only one item of news - funding for Family-to-Family Health Information Centers (F2Fs) was extended for one more year!

Federal funding for F2Fs will continue through Federal FY 2013 at the previous level of $5 million. 

As we had hoped, this extension was included in a package of one-year "health extenders"* that was incorporated into the legislation addressing the "fiscal cliff."  The President signed the law on January 2.

We owe a big debt of thanks to Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) for sponsoring bills to extend the F2F funding.  We also owe thanks to the cosponsors of these bills (listed below), as well as Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the F2F program.  If you are from the state of any of these Members, please thank them for their support.

As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions.  With best wishes to you and yours for good health, happiness, and peace in the New Year and beyond, 

Janis & Brooke

Brooke Lehmann, MSW, Esq.

202-333-2770

blehmann@familyvoices.org

Janis Guerney, Esq.

202-546-0558

jguerney@familyvoices.org

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*  Health extenders are provisions to extend some specific programs or policies in Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and some other federal health programs, including the "doc fix" to avert cuts in Medicare reimbursement to physicians.

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To reach your Members of Congress, go to http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/index.htm.  You can submit a message through their contact forms, and/or call their offices. 

Cosponsors of Representative Pallone's bill (H.R. 4083):

Rep Carson, Andre [IN-7] - 4/26/2012
Rep Cicilline, David N. [RI-1] - 2/17/2012
Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17] - 2/17/2012
Rep Green, Gene [TX-29] - 3/5/2012
Rep Hanabusa, Colleen W. [HI-1] - 7/18/2012
Rep Langevin, James R. [RI-2] - 2/17/2012
Rep Michaud, Michael H. [ME-2] - 2/17/2012
Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] - 2/17/2012
Rep Pingree, Chellie [ME-1] - 2/17/2012
Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15] - 3/8/2012
Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [CA-34] - 3/20/2012
Rep Waxman, Henry A. [CA-30] - 7/9/2012
Rep Welch, Peter [VT] - 11/16/2012

Cosponsors of Senator Menendez's bill (S. 2123):

Sen Akaka, Daniel K. [HI] - 6/4/2012 
Sen Bingaman, Jeff [NM] - 2/17/2012 
Sen Conrad, Kent [ND] - 2/17/2012 
Sen Franken, Al [MN] - 6/5/2012 
Sen Inouye, Daniel K. [HI] - 8/2/2012 
Sen Kerry, John F. [MA] - 3/13/2012 
Sen Klobuchar, Amy [MN] - 5/8/2012 
Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] - 2/17/2012 
Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] - 9/21/2012 
Sen Snowe, Olympia J. [ME] - 2/17/2012 
Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] - 2/17/2012 
Sen Wyden, Ron [OR] - 9/19/2012