Guest Column: MCCC Advocates Pell Grant Program
Montgomery County Community College student Patricia Banks, a resident of Schwenksville, has plans for the future. Her path may be dependent on the decision legislators in Washington make about trimming spending and reducing the budget deficit.
The Pell Grant program – which provides access to nearly 10 million students to enroll in and complete college each year – is threatened, despite the increase in demand for Pell grants.
The Pell program, named after the founder and late Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, started in 1972. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Pell grants make higher education accessible to students from low-income families by providing grant funds up to $5,550 per year. The increase in Pell demand has been triggered in part by non-traditional students, who lost their jobs during the recession, and are enrolling at community colleges to increase their skills and further their education.
Patricia, 42, is one of these non-traditional students. After her employer downsized, Patricia was unable to find employment because she lacked a college degree. Instead of giving up, Patricia enrolled in the Accounting program at Montgomery County Community College and is grateful for the support she received from the Pell grant program–the only way she could afford an education.
When asked what the Pell grant program meant to her, Patricia, an Honors student and a member of Phi Theta Kappa, replied, “Sometimes in order to succeed, people need a little help, and the Pell grant offers that.” She continued to say, “The Pell grant has given me an education, and with that, a new perspective on life, even at my age, and the ability to set academic goals and to achieve them. Without this funding, I will not be able to continue to get my baccalaureate degree.”
At Montgomery County Community College, the average family income for students receiving Pell funds is $13,532. Imagine how difficult it must be to support a family with this income—even the slightest reduction in funding could extinguish their hopes of completing college and pursuing their career dreams. Pell grants, by paying for tuition, books, transportation and other expenses, provide the opportunity for individuals to take the steps to get a college degree and earn a family-sustainable living.
The financial need for Pell grants at Montgomery County Community College reflects what is happening nationally as the number of Pell recipients grows at an unprecedented rate. In 2010-11 more than 4,300 Montgomery County Community College students received $14.8 million in Pell grants. Of these students, nearly 2,500 of them received the full funding. During this past year, 50 percent of our Pell recipients are 25 years old or older.
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When asked what the Pell grant program meant to her, Patricia, an Honors student and a member of Phi Theta Kappa, replied, “Sometimes in order to succeed, people need a little help, and the Pell grant offers that.” She continued to say, “The Pell grant
Employment records held by a covered entity (or by an employer) are excluded from the definition of PHI under 45 CFR § 164.103. (Note, however, that enrollment, treatment, payment and related records of an employer-sponsored health plan are deemed to
On December 17, 2008, Wellpoint Companies terminated the employment of one of its enrollment and billing department managers for a failure to report a suspected violation of the company's privacy policy for information protected under
Business Associate Status Under HIPAA, as modified by HITECH, business associates are, among other things, directly responsible for: (i) establishing administrative and technical safeguards applicable to PHI, including limiting access to facilities
HIPAA Question and Answer: When do I need an Authorization Form ...
Employers hire insurance agents to help them purchase and administer their employee benefits program. Many times that help can include handling protected health information (“PHI”) about employees and their dependents. As you represent your clients, it’s important to understand when an activity requires a signed authorization form from the insured.
Before we move forward, please note that this article explains BEST Life’s business practices to comply with the HIPAA Privacy Rule, and is not a source for legal information or advice. For more specific details on the HIPAA Privacy Rule, we recommend reading the Summary of the HIPAA Privacy Rule posted on the US Department of Health and Human Resources website , or consulting with your legal counsel.
Why would I need a signed authorization form?The US Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) is in charge of regulating violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) and has issued the Privacy Rule to establish the standards for the implementation of this act.
HIPAA violations are taken very seriously. Covered Entities (a health care provider or insurance carrier) that violate HIPAA can be penalized with fines; while individuals who knowingly violate HIPAA can be fined up to $250,000 or even be sentenced to prison, depending on the degree of violation.
The HHS is very specific about how an individual’s PHI cannot be released without consent, unless it is to provide treatment, pay a claim, or for the operations of a Covered Entity.
Group Health Plans may disclose the following PHI to the employer, and through the Business Associate Agreement, to you the insurance agent as well:
Enrollment or disenrollment Summary health information to obtain premium bids, or to modify, amend or terminate the group health plan Summary health information is defined as claims history, claims expenses, or types of claims experience of individuals and that is stripped of all individual identifiers other than five digit zip code PHI of the group health plan’s enrollees to perform plan administration functionsSituations outside of the above will require a signed authorization form from the insured. The HHS also states that while the employer may ask for PHI directly from the employee, no health care provider may release PHI without that employee’s authorization.
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