bclark18ahsgov-blog

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Infographic

                                                   Works Cited

“Affordable Care Act.” Medicaid.gov, www.medicaid.gov/affordable-care-act/index.html.

Desaulnier, Mark. “Response to Your Recent Inquiry.” Response to Your Recent Inquiry, 16 May 2018.

Harris, Kamala. “Responding to Your Message.” Responding to Your Message, 18 May 2018.

“Health Information Privacy.” HHS.gov, HHS.gov, 18 Dec. 2015, www.hhs.gov/hipaa/index.html.

“ObamaCare vs. TrumpCare in 10 Charts.” The Century Foundation, 28 Mar. 2017, tcf.org/content/commentary/obamacare-vs-trumpcare-10-charts/. 

Snell, Elizabeth. “41% Of Health Data Breaches Stem from Unintended Disclosure.”HealthITSecurity, HealthITSecurity, 17 Oct. 2017, healthitsecurity.com/news/41-of-health-data-breaches-stem-from-unintended-disclosure.

“Will HIMSS 18 Address the Disruption of the Traditional Office Visit?” Healthcare Technology, 20 Feb. 2018, www.healthtechzone.com/topics/healthcare/articles/2018/02/20/437069-will-himss-18-address-disruption-the-traditional-office.htm.

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Senator Kamala Harris’ Response

May 18, 2018

Dear Ms. Clark,

Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts on the state of our health care system and the well-being of the American people. I always appreciate hearing from Californians, and I welcome the opportunity to respond on an issue that so deeply affects every individual in our state.

When children and families are healthy, our communities thrive and our economy flourishes. As a senator representing the largest and one of the most diverse states in our nation, I believe every person—regardless of income, gender, sexual orientation, or race—has the right to health care. To that end, I am committed to working toward solutions that increase access, improve quality, and reduce costs of health care for all Californians, especially for those most in need.

In the Senate, I will continue to fight to protect and improve the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The law has helped millions of Californians obtain health insurance coverage, protected patients from discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, and prohibited insurance companies from imposing annual or lifetime limits on coverage. I have partnered with Senator Feinstein to introduce the Affordable Health Insurance for the Middle Class Act, legislation that would make health insurance more affordable for many middle class families – to show the type of improvements to the ACA that everyone should be able to get behind.

Beyond protecting the vital coverage provisions in the ACA, we must continue to find ways to improve our health care system for all patients. In the Senate, I have supported measures to lower the often prohibitive prices of prescription drugs and to increase funding for community health centers. I’ll also continue to fight for robust federal funding of scientific research to cure our rarest and most complex diseases. Together, we can ensure the dream of equal, accessible, affordable health care is realized for all Americans.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3553.

Sincerely,

Kamala D. Harris United States Senator

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Congressman Mark Desaulnier’s Response

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May 15, 2018

Miss Brooke Clark 4080 Happy Valley Road Lafayette, CA 94549

Dear Brooke:

Thank you for contacting me regarding medical and genetic privacy. I appreciate you taking the time to engage with your government.

Please know I hear your concerns. Ensuring that patients’ medical and genetic records remain private is vital. While a business has the right to know why an employee is missing work, they do not have the right to access an employee’s medical and genetic records. This is highly sensitive and personal information that should remain between a patient and their physician.

There are a variety of federal laws that protect a person’s right to keep their medical information quiet. These laws exist to protect patients and ensure that they do not face discrimination or reprisal for illness. As Congress continues its work, please be assured that I will keep your views in mind.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Good luck with school.

Sincerely, Mark DeSaulnier Member of Congress

Walnut Creek Office 3100 Oak Road Suite #110 Walnut Creek, CA 94597 p: (925) 933-2660 f: (925) 933-2677

Richmond Office 440 Civic Center Plaza 2nd Floor Richmond, CA 94804 p: (510) 620-1000 f: (510) 620-1005

Washington D.C. Office 115 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 p: (202) 225-2095 f: (202) 225-5609

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Civic Action Assessment of Issue

1) If the people of the United States take action on issues we as individuals are passionate about, then we can create change. Let’s say, there is a group of individuals demanding that we have more reform on medical and genetic privacy. These people can come together to make their voices be heard throughout the nation. They have one common goal and that is fr reform to happen at the federal level. I know that we as a country are taking a stand against gun violence due to the insane amount of not just school shootings but other shootings in locations such as nightclubs. Thousands of people are protesting for gun reform. By these voices taking art in a bg issue we could see some reform in the future. Although, it could take years for that to happen. I feel that my role as a citizen is to take part in city council meetings to advocate for those unable to protect their civil right to privacy.

2) I have learned that getting involved in politics will possibly help get things done in the government. It will take time but you have to be willing to sacrifice your time for others. It is similar to volunteering with a charity league. If you strongly believe in an issue, you should get involved in things relating that issue.

3) I do feel a need to address some of the problems my civic action issue brings up in society. As an employee and a citizen I feel that it is an injustice to ask about the medical and genetic privacy of another individual. If you are a doctor, please keep your patients’ medical and genetic information private. As an employer, you may ask why you are unable to work but you should not be allowed to ask the details of the medical issue.

4) I did not volunteer my tie for this issue specifically however I went on the RBG field trip on Tuesday, May 15. I had a really good time. The movie was empowering and interesting to me.

5) I was not civically engaged with my issue unless you count going to see the RBG movie. I would be willing to take polls and sign petitions to respond to my issue in the future.

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The 3P’s Assessment: Parties, Political Interest Groups and PACs

My issue is medical and genetic privacy.

1) Position of political parties

a. Republicans do not have an opinion on my issue. They may not believe in the issue or it may not be a big issue due to the fact that there are bigger problems that need to be addressed. Democrats don’t have an opinion. It must not be on their minds. Not even the Libertarians have my issue. Green and Peace of the Freedom do not have an opinion on my issue.

b. I am unable to provide my position on the parties opinions because I was unable to find them.

c. I do not know which one I identify the most.

2) National Interest Group

a. Citizens for Health

b. They are a group that want to discuss common round issues.

c. choices are given to those who can’t afford to pay medical bills, protect children from GMO’s and toxic chemicals, health for all citizens, affordable health care and access to alternative and complimentary medicines

d. Citizens for Health is watching a piece of legislation that is in the hands of the FDA to improve it’s NDI Guidance.

e. This interest group is located in Washington DC. There are no nearby meetings.

f. There are no volunteer opportunities.

g. I find it interesting that they are lobbying for vaccinations because there has been debate over the years as to whether or not they work.

3) State Interest Group

a. Service Employees International Union

b. They focus on the healthcare of all individuals especially people who are working.

c. They want Dreamers to be able to stay in the country and not have to worry about being deported. They would like to end racism. SEIU would like seniors and individuals with disabilities to receive the care necessary. Another thing the Union strives for is to end companies’ possession of personal health information. Last but not least, preventing people from obtaining personal information through technology such as GPS trackers and applications on your phone.

d. The 21st Century Cure Act is an act that allows the use of EVV equipment but doesn’t necessarily protect patient care.

e. They are located in Sacramento. There is a branch in Oakland. I am not sure about when the meetings take place.

f. I was unable to find if there were volunteer opportunities.

g. I do find it interesting that they are interested in the topic of immigration.

4) Compare the two interest groups: The state interest group is has more information about my issue than the national interest group.

5) PAC or SuperPAC

a. Health Information Technology/Interoperability PAC

b. They are lobbying to protect access to healthcare and keep medical information private.

c. They were unable to provide me with the financial information.

d. I was unable to see the amount of their budget that was spent on Democrats and Republicans.

e. They supported Democrats when Obama was in office.

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Executive Action Assessment of Issue

1) President Trump views medical privacy as a good thing. He believes in interoperability which is the ability of different computers and systems to communicate with each other quickly and effectively. Along with this, he wants it with complete reliability and privacy protection. He wants medical privacy to happen.

2) I agree with this because ti could save lives. One question I have about this is: If he wants patient’s medical information to stay private, who is accessing the information from these computer systems?

3) Office of Science and Technology Policy

4) The Cabinet is to advise the President on any issues that relate to the duties of each Cabinet member’s office. This Executive Office must advise the President on any policies relating to scientific, engineering and technological topics.

5) I was unable to find any programs and services suitable for responding to my issue.

6) I am not completely satisfied with his action because Trump has not taken very much action into ensuring the medical privacy of the people of America. I do not Trump will cut funding to this department though. If he were to decrease funding to this department, he would not be saving as many lives as possible. He would be destroying lives.

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Legislative Action

1) Congressman Mark Desaulnier, Senator Kamala Harris and Senator Dianne Feinstein

a. 

The Honorable Mark DeSaulnier, The issue I am concerned about is medical and genetic privacy. I am concerned about this issue because businesses need proof that their employees are sick with a disease that leaves them unable to work. I am currently a senior at Acalanes High School and I am researching this issue for my senior Government class. Please clarify your stance on this issue. Thank you so much for your time. Sincerely, Brooke Clark 4080 Happy Valley Rd Lafayette, CA 94549 brooke.clark18@auhsdschools.org

The Honorable Kamala Harris, The issue I am concerned about is medical and genetic privacy. I am concerned about this issue because businesses need proof that their employees are sick with a disease that leaves them unable to work. I am currently a senior at Acalanes High School and I am researching this issue for my senior Government class. Please clarify your stance on this issue. Thank you so much for your time. Sincerely, Brooke Clark 4080 Happy Valley Rd Lafayette, CA 94549 brooke.clark18@auhsdschools.org

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, The issue I am concerned about is medical and genetic privacy. I am concerned about this issue because businesses need proof that their employees are sick with a disease that leaves them unable to work. I am currently a senior at Acalanes High School and I am researching this issue for my senior Government class. Please clarify your stance on this issue. Thank you so much for your time. Sincerely, Brooke Clark 4080 Happy Valley Rd Lafayette, CA 94549 brooke.clark18@auhsdschools.org

b. I was not able to find any bills that are sponsored by the three lawmakers.

2) Civic Action Issues

a. There are nine bills that pertain to my issue.

b. I will analyze bill #1769.

c. This bill will establish that the Patient Protection, Affordable Health Care Act, other healthcare related parts of healthcare acts such as Medicare and Medicaid should not be interpreted to prevent any state or law governing medical malpractice or medical product liability actions or claims.

d. The impact f this bill will be big because it means that medical practices will be liable for any malpractice. This would increase the likelihood of being able to sue if there is for example a breach in doctor-patient confidentiality.

e. I vote yea because medical practices would be able to be held accountable for any malpractice and a breach of privacy is an example of malpractice. Privacy is very important to Americans as the right to privacy is our Fourth Amendment right.

f. This bill originated in the Senate. The Senate Judiciary committee is currently reviewing this bill. It has not been voted on yet.

g. Our current Federal legislation is good but we need a bill that will set precedent that medical practices can face malpractice lawsuits. 

3) CNN posted an article about the Golden State killer and our genetic privacy. The author is Susan Scutti. The context is how genetics was used in catching the Golden State killer and what it means for other Americans. The intended audience is the people of the United States. The bias and perspective of the author is that our genetic privacy needs to be protected from others. The significance is that laws are not quite caught up with today’s society and more needs to be done at the Federal level. I agree because some people are in fear of what could happen to them if their identity and everything known to them through DNA is discovered in this day in age. It is getting to be a scary world that we live in today.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/27/health/golden-state-killer-genetic-privacy/index.html 

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State Action

1) Research the positions of lawmakers

a. Unfortunately, I was unable to find each lawmakers’ position on medical and genetic privacy but I did email them.

The Honorable Steve Glazer, The issue I am concerned about is medical and genetic privacy. I am concerned about this issue because businesses need proof that their employees are sick with a disease that leaves them unable to work. I am currently a senior at Acalanes High School and I am researching this issue for my senior Government class. Please clarify your stance on this issue. Thank you so much for your time. Sincerely, Brooke Clark 4080 Happy Valley Rd Lafayette, CA 94549 brooke.clark18@auhsdschools.org

The Honorable Catharine Baker, The issue I am concerned about is medical and genetic privacy. I am concerned about this issue because businesses need proof that their employees are sick with a disease that leaves them unable to work. I am currently a senior at Acalanes High School and I am researching this issue for my senior Government class. Please clarify your stance on this issue. Thank you so much for your time. Sincerely, Brooke Clark 4080 Happy Valley Rd Lafayette, CA 94549 brooke.clark18@auhsdschools.org

2) Research current California bills pertaining to my issue

a. AB- 569

b. This bill was introduced on February 14, 2017.

c. The last major action of the bill was on September 1, 2017.

d. I feel very strongly in support of this bill because this protects employees from discrimination from their employers. I encourage my representatives to support this bill because protecting employees is important for our businesses.

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Constitutional Issues

Haskell v. Harris

The case was decided in the term of 2014.

A law was put into place that for anyone arrested would have their DNA in a criminal database that is accessible to local, state, nation and international law enforcement agencies.

The judges had to decide on the constitutional issue of right to privacy and freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.

The Fourth Amendment is brought into question.

The decision was a 5-4 vote to uphold the law. 

This sets a precedent that all people in the US who are arrested must have their DNA in the criminal database.

I agree with this decision because it gives law enforcement a better chance of solving any cases put forth.

In 2012, California passed a bill to ensure that genetic privacy is in place. The author is the News Staff of Government Technology. The intended audience is the people in the state of California. The bias and perspective of the author is that they want genetic privacy in place. The significance of this article is that doctors would have to get consent before extracting DNA from anyone in California. I agree with this because for some genetic issues such as breast cancer, some people do not want to know if they carry the gene.

http://www.govtech.com/health/Genetics-Privacy-Bill-California.html 

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Economic Assessment of Issue

1. The ones affected by this issue are individuals and partially businesses. Businesses are partially affected because they would be able to see their employee’s medical and potentially their genetic information.

2. The issue of medical and genetic privacy is more of a need than a want. It i a need in the sense that an employer and the government do not need to know about any medical conditions one may have. It could be a want if the spouse would like to have kids but the other half of the relationship can not have any children. 

3.  In order to deal with this issue, the government would need to debate and deliberate the issue.

4. One factor of production that needs to be used is labor because we as people need to deal with this issue.

5. An incentive that can be used to encourage a resolution is more of an economic one because Congress working to solve this issue. This would be using tax money that should also go towards other important issues. The incentive would be to give them a deadline and if they continue past the deadline, each worker would be paid less.

6. One opportunity cost of tackling this issue is that time would be taken away from other issues that must be discussed. Another opportunity cost is that while debate and deliberations start between each member of Congress, more issues within the topic arise leading to a longer period of time without a decision.

7. Yes, the opportunity costs are worth resolving the issue.

8. Businesses would profit from this if people wanted to keep their medical and genetic information private. Individuals would need to pay a fine of up to $4000.

9. If the solution was to keep all medical and genetic information private than individuals and businesses would not profit. Individuals would be able to keep their money and not have to pay businesses.

10. The issue is not a result of an externality. It is simply about keeping medical and genetic information private.

11. There is no way to resolve this issue through government subsidies or transfer payments.

12. I could not find a graph that depicted the economic impact of medical and genetic privacy.

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Getting Started

I found a blog with a subject of attempting to stop Senate Bill 620 in order to preserve employee wellness programs. The user who posted it calls themselves fatbodypolitics. The person who wrote the article is Ali Thompson and she posted it to change.org. She wrote it to Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Lamar Alexander and Senator Patty Murray. The author would like to stop the passing of Senate bill 620 because she believes that we need to protect workers from employers. She believes that employers can not and should not force their employees to provide their private medical information. The significance is that people would have to pay a fine of up to $4000 to keep their medical information private. This would burden those in poverty. I agree with the author of the petition because should not have to give their private medical information to their employers. If the employer found out that one of their employees had a medical condition that could potentially lead to the termination of that employee then that would be biased. It would also be illegal. I would not follow this blog because they do not post any political issues. This was their only political issue they posted.

On Twitter, I followed five people that pertain to the health care world. The five are World Health Organization, Our Health California, Covered California, Department of Health and Human Services and Health Care.gov. I followed them because they all went to make health care better for everyone in the United States as as well as around the world. I have not seen any tweets that would help me with my topic yet but I will keep looking.