#Nursing Management Congress 2023

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57th World Congress on Nursing and Health Care (Nursing Conferences) on June 12-13, 2023 Amsterdam, Netherlands under the theme "Integrating Milestones nursing and health”.

The World Nursing Congress 2023 will offer cutting-edge approach experiences and expert advancements to support exceptional patient outcomes and improved care transfer over nurses. Participants will receive notification from key specialists and experts to support nurse enrollment and retention, improve patient standards and well-being, and formulate practical responses to generate interes

[innonurse]

Travel nursing's implications on healthcare cybersecurity

- By InnoNurse Staff -

Healthcare organizations continue to rely heavily on travel nurses. Health IT infrastructures are exposed to cyberthreats if suitable security mechanisms are not in place.

Read more via HealthTech Magazine

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Other recent news and insights

U.S. Congress is enthusiastic about health-care technology (Politico)

What health tech trends are CIOs looking forward to in 2023? (Becker’s Health IT)

Abbott has been awarded three CES 2023 Innovation Awards for advances in health technology (Yahoo! Finance/Accesswire)

How to Improve data security to support healthcare access (MedCityNews)

Epic intends to revamp its app market and has launched a new Connection Hub for developers (Fierce Healthcare)

A new sensor employs MRI to detect light deep within the brain (MIT News)

[mydaddywiki]

Glenn Thompson

Physique: Husky Build Height: 5′ 10½″ (1.79 m)

Glenn William "GT" Thompson Jr. (born July 27, 1959) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected to Congress in 2008 for the state's 5th congressional district; Thompson was redistricted to the 15th congressional district in the 2018 election by an order of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Since 2023, he has chaired the House Agriculture Committee.

Nice and manly, this guy definitely falls into the ‘fuckable daddy’ category. Plus… he looks like he would be a champion in bed.

Born in Bellefonte, PA, Thompson grew up in Howard, PA, and holds a bachelor's degree in therapeutic recreation from Pennsylvania State University and dual master's degrees in therapeutic recreation and health science from Temple University. Prior to being elected to Pennsylvania’s largest congressional district, GT spent 28 years as a therapist, rehabilitation services manager, and a licensed nursing home administrator.

Now what else is there… he has spent 25 years as a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician. An Eagle Scout, he and his wife, Penny Ammerman-Thompson, have three adult sons, and two grandsons.

Oh wait, there is one thing I know. He is a big, hot, burly, fucking daddy.

[docmerry]

Health is on the ballot in November

I’ve seen the gurney from both sides now (with apologies to Joni Mitchell)

In the early eighties, I studied Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University. A beloved teacher of mine often joked, "If you ever get diagnosed with cancer, don't call your doctor, call your travel agent." That line always got a laugh. Then, I was diagnosed with cancer.

Thirty years later, as I was being wheeled into the operating room, my wonderful surgeon, Joanie Hope, leaned over the gurney and reassured me, "I'm going to take good care of you."

"I know you will," I replied.

That’s what medicine is supposed to be about. A trusting relationship between patient and provider. At no point should the grinding stress of financial ruin be layered on top of the hard work of not dying.

In my practice, I've often told patients, "I can't dictate what you can afford, but this is what you need." When I was a student, I didn't realize the significant impact cost would have on deciding which tests and procedures, even routine ones, to order. Like many in the medical field, my primary desire was to assist people in line with my training.

If nothing else, COVID-19 has shown that our healthcare providers are exceptional, with nurses donning garbage bags, refrigerator trucks filled with bodies, and a sense of building the plane while flying it. They have indeed risen to the occasion.

It also revealed a couple of glaring flaws. Not everyone has access to care, despite the Affordable Care Act, and it is unbelievably expensive when compared to the rest of the world

The United States held the unfortunate record for the highest number of Covid cases and deaths globally.       

May 2021

COVID hit us hard. But did it hit hard enough to convince us to take some strong medicine?

Even though the US spends more, a lot more, on healthcare than any other country, we are not a nation of healthy people.

I cannot go through the whole "Medicine according to Marx " lecture here. For now, I will borrow the words of Yashaswini Singh, a Healthcare economist at Johns Hopkins University.

"There has been a longstanding tension between medicine as a profession and healthcare as a business. The key concern has always been that business obligations to shareholders might not align with physicians' obligations to patients"

Healthcare expenditures, measured as a percentage of GDP (the total value of goods and services produced annually), have risen from 5% in 1960 to 17.3% in 2022, according to Vankar. While I am not an economist, this represents a significant sum of money, predominantly managed by private equity funds, hedge fund managers, and pharmacy benefit managers. One might wonder, what could possibly go wrong?

Financial crisis of 2008-2009

HEALTH CARE ACCESS

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, also known as the ACA or Obamacare, has made strides in addressing the issue of access to health insurance for those who cannot afford it. The strategy includes expanding Medicaid—a move adopted by most but not all states—establishing a marketplace for individual health insurance, and offering subsidies to reduce the cost of policies. The uninsured rate decreased from 17.8% in 2010 to 8% in 2022, according to Tolbert, marking a significant benefit for the insurance industry.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, enacted during the Trump administration, mandated continuous Medicaid enrollment throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency. Upon its expiration at the end of March 2023, an estimated 25 million individuals, including a significant number of children, were disenrolled from health coverage, according to KFF.

Under the Biden administration, the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act have extended ACA subsidies until 2025, offering an average annual saving of $800 to 13 million people. (Dept. of Health and Social Services)

MAGA and Republican members of congress

Currently, the campaign is light on details, but it's known that in the summer of 2017, Congressional Republicans attempted unsuccessfully to dismantle Obamacare. This time around, Trump isn't focusing on repeal and replace rhetoric, but he claims to know how to fix our healthcare problems-because of course he does.

Project 2025 is an initiative developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation, aimed at influencing a new, like-minded President. Despite Trump's denial of any knowledge of this play book, many of the over 400 scholars and experts involved in Project 2025 have ties to his administration. The healthcare aspects focus predominantly on contentious cultural issues such as abortion, gender-affirming care, and fetal tissue research. It also proposes extensive changes to agencies like Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Further details will be covered in my upcoming issue on reproductive health.

In March of this year, the budget proposed by the Republican Study Committee in the House of Representatives, if enacted, would have cut $4.5 trillion from the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Additionally, it would have removed certain protections for consumers, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities. (White House briefing 3/26/2024)

Biden/Harris

The Biden administration has primarily concentrated on managing the costs of prescription drugs such as insulin for Medicare recipients. While this approach may be beneficial in the short term and on a superficial level, it does not address the core issue. To effectively tackle the problem, the administration might need to heed the counsel of Republican Teddy Roosevelt to "speak softly and carry a big stick." The negative impact of banks being "too big to fail" is well-known, but the consequences are far more severe when hospital chains reach such a magnitude. This principle also extends to medical appliance manufacturers, Big Pharma, and hospitals that claim non-profit status.

During her tenure as California's Attorney General, Harris was an active opponent of healthcare consolidation for seven years. It is anticipated that she will seek methods to restrict private equity ownership of healthcare facilities, prioritizing public health over shareholder interests.

During her 2020 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Harris endorsed a "Medicare for all" plan among several proposals. Subsequently, she has aligned with the Biden Administration's strategy to expand upon Affordable Care Act. The progressive members of the caucus are expected to persist in their strong advocacy for a single-payer option.

My Take:

It has been seven years, six months and twenty-one days since I was wheeled into that operating room and had that exchange with my doctor/friend Joanie Hope, and to date I have no evidence of disease. I am lucky. I know that.

I believe everyone deserves equal access to quality care and expertise. That's why I pay attention to what political candidates promise, but I place greater importance on their actions. Health is on the ballot.

Bibliography

DHHS, Inflation Reduction Act Toolkit. retrieved 9/2/2024

KFF.otg, Medicaid Enrollment and unwinding tracker, (8/24/2024) retrieved 9/2/2025

Tolbert J, Sing R, Drake P, (5/28/2024), The uninsured population and health coverage. KFF.org retrieved 9/2/2024

Vankar, Preet (2/16/2023), US Health expenditures as percent of GDP 1960-1922, statista. retrieved 9/1/2024.

Whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statement-releases/2024/03/26/fact-sheet-us-house-republicans-release budget-to-increase-health-care-costs. retrieved 9/2/2024

[myweddingsandevents]

It made sense in theory. Manufacturing workers would “re-skill” for the Information Age economy—perhaps moving from the factory floor to an exciting career in, say, computer science—and impoverished moms would get a hand up instead of a handout. In practice, it was a failure. A 2017 study by Mathematica Research compared people who had received job training under the 1998 law, now known as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, with a randomly selected control group. Thirty months later, the training had zero effect on earnings.

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor published a comprehensive study of the WIOA and a host of similarly structured federal job-training initiatives. The programs did manage to put a lot of people through training, the researchers found. And many of those people were then hired in so-called in-demand jobs. But in the first three years after training, their wages increased only 6 percent compared with those of similar workers who didn’t receive training—from an average of about $16,300 to $17,300 a year—and the effect didn’t last. In the long term, their relative wages didn’t increase at all.  

This poor track record is often attributed to ever-growing skill requirements for jobs in the fast-paced global economy. In fact, the programs fail because they’re designed with potential employers rather than employees in mind. In the case of the WIOA, the local workforce boards that decide which jobs qualify as “in-demand,” and therefore which are eligible for federal funding, are dominated by business interests—and what business wants is a steady stream of low-wage workers trained by someone else.

The most common WIOA training program, by far, is truck driving. From 2022 to 2023, more people completed trucker training through the WIOA than for the next nine job categories combined. Although the trucking industry has argued for decades that it faces a shortage of drivers, its hiring difficulties are arguably a function of brutal working conditions that make it difficult for trucking companies to retain their workers, resulting in annual turnover within the industry above 90 percent. Trucking firms operate this way because it’s more profitable to just keep hiring new drivers. WIOA training programs—many of which are measured in weeks, not months—provide a steady stream of workers to churn through.

A better way to think about certified nursing aides is as a cheaper alternative to actual nurses, who command high salaries. Many CNAs work in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, a growing share of which are owned by private-equity firms focused on generating short-term profits by slashing costs. Elder-care investors can maintain large profit margins by keeping facility staffing levels and salaries low, but that leads to burnout and turnover. It is very much in their interest to have a steady supply of new CNAs for these “in-demand” jobs.  

Unfortunately, Congress is currently considering a pair of bipartisan updates to federal job-training that would double down on the WIOA’s shortcomings. In April, the House of Representatives passed a new version of the law by a 378–26 vote, giving a bipartisan stamp of approval to the failed status quo. Meanwhile, a Senate bill introduced by Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Braun, with dozens of co-sponsors, would allow federal Pell grants for low-income students to be spent on short, WIOA-style training programs instead of on traditional college degrees. Taken together, the bills, if they become law, seem poised to expand the federal government’s investment in funneling unemployed workers into low-wage, high-turnover jobs.  

[Read: Why is the US so bad at worker retraining?]

If Congress wanted to actually fix the broken system, it would make sure that federal training programs prepare workers for jobs with living wages, benefits, and the opportunity for career advancement. Some models exist at the state level. California’s state-funded High Road Training Partnerships initiative, for example, matches workers with employers who meet standards for wages and job quality, and who commit to collaborating with workers in the design of their training programs. Many of the jobs are unionized. The UC Berkeley Labor Center studied one High Road program developed in collaboration with major health-care providers and the statewide health-care workers’ union. It found that workers who came through the program were 40 percent more likely to get promoted, with an average wage increase of 36 percent.

Labor unions are the one force that might be able to persuade Congress to reform the WIOA system instead of doubling down on it. Last month, the AFL-CIO sent a letter to Bernie Sanders in his capacity as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, demanding changes to the House bill. Jody Calemine, the union’s director of advocacy, told me that the legislation should give workers equal power with businesses in running local workforce boards, and ensure that the WIOA trains people for authentically high-quality jobs. Whether union advocacy succeeds at changing the bill will shed light on just how reinvigorated the American labor movement is.

The 1990s approach failed to achieve its stated goal because its focus on short-term training for “in-demand jobs” was always designed to benefit employers, not workers. The Biden administration has pushed an expansive agenda to support unions, expand antitrust enforcement, and give workers more power to demand better wages and benefits. A newer, better WIOA could bring job training in line with those ideals.

The Problem With ‘In Demand’ Jobs (msn.com)

[fadinggardenergarden]

Integrative Medicine Stanford Medication

Integrative medicine, on the various other hand, supplies numerous effective, evidence-based strategies to dealing with stress that do not include medication. Several otherwise healthy and balanced people are finding out to manage the tension in their lives efficiently by utilizing corresponding techniques such as yoga, meditation, massage therapy and guided images. The unification of different therapies in patient monitoring, such as ayurvedic medicine, bodywork, Chinese medication, homeopathy, mind/body medication and naturopathy. And keep away from 'alternate. medicine' carriers who motivate you not to seek conventional medical care along with complementary treatments. Integrative medication unites practices once thought of as "alternative" medication. Incorporating those with the current research and clinical modern technology, cultivates the connection between the mind, body and spirit that is typically missing in traditional medicine.

Entire person health and wellness refers to helping people, families, areas, and populaces improve and recover their health and wellness in multiple interconnected domain names-- organic, behavior, social, environmental-- as opposed to simply treating disease.

Rather, it enhances existing treatments suggested by your health care and specialized service providers.

The objective of IM is to treat the entire individual, not simply a health problem.

( See graph.) The most frequently used nonvitamin, nonmineral nutritional supplement was fish oil.

Signals to examine DDIs may arise from a variety of sources.

According to the 2017 NHIS, the appeal of yoga has actually grown dramatically in recent times, from 9.5 percent of U.S. grownups exercising yoga in 2012 to 14.3 percent in 2017. The 2017 NHIS additionally showed that using meditation raised greater than threefold from 4.1 percent in 2012 to 14.2 percent in 2017. If you have an interest in obtaining integrated treatment, contact your insurance policy provider to identify which expenses will certainly be covered.

Ask Your Healthcare Team About Integrative Medication And Health

Mayo Facility's integrative medicine professionals are concentrated on your needs. They collaborate with you and your various other members of your care team to offer an all natural approach to urge healing and health. Some benefits of IM include decreasing distress and assisting people process living with a tough ailment.

Integrative medicine nurse earns honor as 'Guardian Angel' - Sanford Health News

Integrative medicine nurse earns honor as 'Guardian Angel'.

Posted: Tue, 09 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

However "natural medicine" now has an extremely specific suggesting that does not relate to the majority of people-- and isn't supported by research-driven, science-believing healthcare providers. Integrative Medicine specialists usually take a holistic/total person strategy to their people. They recognize that general health and wellness is a combination of numerous variables, consisting of genes, physiology, the setting, individual connections, health beliefs, and the power of a positive clinical interaction. In some scenarios, Integrative Medicine methods may accomplish comparable outcomes to standard medication with less side effects, and may create a higher sense of specific self-efficacy.

Most Current In Integrative Medicine

While there are indicators that some may be useful, much more requires to be found out about the effects of these items in the body, and regarding theirsafetyand potentialinteractions with medicinesand various other all-natural products. People turn to integrative medicine to treat their wellness problems for a range of reasons. Some experts extra officially embraced integrative medicine in the very early 1990s.

World Integrative Medicine Congress putting person at centre - Vatican News

World Integrative Medicine Congress putting person at centre.

Posted: Wed, 20 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The evidence-based methods suggested by your treatment group have been examined for performance and security. Our experts research and enhance techniques that assist people and work well with conventional medical therapies. Talk with your healthcare provider regarding scientific trials of integrative medicine methods that might benefit you. Integrative medication utilizes a mix of treatments and way of life modifications to treat and recover the whole individual.

Healthcare

A 2nd reason for the broader acceptance of integrative treatments is the influence of the child boomer generation. This generation is open to a variety of treatments as it discovers means to age well. On top of that, baby boomers are frequently taking care of numerous clinical problems, from weight control to joint discomfort, integrative medicine hypertension and raised cholesterol. Not everyone wants to start with medication; several prefer to try corresponding approaches first. Some complementary methods may not neatly suit either of these groups-- for instance, the methods of traditional healers, Ayurvedic medicine, conventional Chinese medication, homeopathy, naturopathy, and useful medicine. The amount of study on emotional and physical strategies differs extensively relying on the method.

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Treasury’s Yellen says US could default as soon as June 1 (AP) Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congress on Monday that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1, if legislators do not raise or suspend the nation’s borrowing authority before then and avert what could potentially become a global financial crisis. In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Yellen urged congressional leaders “to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible” to address the $31.4 trillion limit on its legal borrowing authority. She added that it is impossible to predict with certainty the exact date of when the U.S. will run out of cash. Democrats and the White House are pushing for Congress to increase the federal debt limit. President Joe Biden wants the cap raised without negotiation. The House Republican majority has most recently passed a bill to secure spending cuts in exchange for a debt limit increase.

Loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking: surgeon general (AP/Washington Post) Widespread loneliness in the U.S. poses health risks as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily, costing the health industry billions of dollars annually, the U.S. surgeon general said Tuesday in declaring the latest public health epidemic. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy said half of U.S. adults experience loneliness, which has consequences for mental and physical health, including a greater risk of depression, anxiety—and perhaps more surprisingly, heart disease, stroke and dementia. His advisory calls for a collective effort to “mend the social fabric of our nation,” including teaching children how to build healthy relationships; talking more to relatives, friends and co-workers; and spending less time online and on social media if it comes at the expense of in-person interactions. Research shows that Americans, who have become less engaged with worship houses, community organizations and even their own family members in recent decades, have steadily reported an increase in feelings of loneliness. The number of single households has also doubled over the last 60 years.

One-third of US nurses plan to quit profession: report (Reuters) Almost a third of the nurses in the United States are considering leaving their profession after the COVID-19 pandemic left them overwhelmed and fatigued, according to a survey. The survey of over 18,000 nurses, conducted by AMN Healthcare Services in January, showed on Monday that 30% of the participants are looking to quit their career, up 7 percentage points over 2021, when the pandemic-triggered wave of resignations began. The survey also showed that 36% of the nurses plan to continue working in the sector but may change workplaces. The survey showed there are various changes needed, with 69% of nurses seeking increased salaries and 63% of them seeking a safer working environment to reduce their stress.

Ukrainian farmer comes up with novel way to demine his fields (Reuters) A Ukrainian farmer has come up with a novel way to remove mines left in his fields after Russia’s invasion—he’s kitted out his tractor with protective panels stripped from Russian tanks and operates it by remote control. Oleksandr Kryvtsov, a general manager at his agricultural company, decided he couldn’t wait for help from overworked official deminers to clear his field. Instead, he designed a remote-controlled tractor that could withstand blasts. Using armour from damaged Russian military vehicles to protect the body of his tractor, he bought a system that would enable one of his team to operate the tractor remotely from a digger’s bucket suspended in the air nearby. “We ran over an anti-tank mine. The protection got blown out (but) the tractor is safe,” he said. “The equipment was restored and repaired.” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said last week about 30% of Ukrainian territory had been mined by Russians and that the government was focused on de-mining agricultural land as quickly as possible.

Ukraine Wants to Push Forward. Not So Fast, Says Its Black Soupy Mud. (NYT) The troops of Ukraine’s 43rd Separate Artillery Brigade have just about everything they need to begin the expected spring counteroffensive. They are well rested, have plenty of ammunition and are now in possession of several advanced German-made self-propelled howitzers, which have replaced their old Soviet artillery pieces. But for the moment, they are barely moving forward, stalled not by ferocious Russian attacks, but by an enemy no less tenacious: the viscous central Ukrainian mud. “Until the weather improves, there will be no counteroffensive,” said a lieutenant with the brigade named Serhii. “The vehicles will get stuck and then what will we do if the shooting starts?” Deep and black, with a consistency similar to a mixture of cookie dough and wet cement, the spring mud is one obstacle that the Ukrainian military, for all its ingenuity, finds difficult to overcome. It jams weapons and steals the boots from soldiers’ feet. Wheels and treads spin and spin, only digging military vehicles deeper into the mire. Ukraine is counting on the heat of late spring and summer to dry the ground into firm pavement—ideal for the heavy tanks and artillery pieces that will be central to the counteroffensive. But when that will happen is anyone’s guess.

China’s exit bans multiply as political control tightens under Xi (Reuters) China is increasingly barring people from leaving the country, including foreign executives, a jarring message as the authorities say the country is open for business after three years of tight COVID-19 restrictions. Scores of Chinese and foreigners have been ensnared by exit bans, according to a new report by the rights group Safeguard Defenders, while a Reuters analysis has found an apparent surge of court cases involving such bans in recent years. “Between 2018 and July of this year, no less than five new or amended (Chinese) laws provide for the use of exit bans, for a total today of 15 laws,” said Laura Harth of Safeguard Defenders. The group estimates “tens of thousands” of Chinese are banned from exit at any one time. It also cites a 2022 academic paper by Chris Carr and Jack Wroldsen that found 128 cases of foreigners being exit-banned between 1995 and 2019, including 29 Americans and 44 Canadians.

Hong Kong to slash elected seats in setback to democracy (AP) Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday stepped up a campaign to shut down further democratic challenges by unveiling plans to eliminate most directly elected seats on local district councils, the last major political representative bodies chosen by the public. Chief Executive John Lee said the proposed overhaul will reduce the proportion of directly elected seats in the municipal-level organization to about 20%—from some 90% currently. That is even lower than the level when these bodies were first set up in the 1980s, when Hong Kong was ruled by Britain. He said the rest of the 470 seats will be filled by government appointees, rural committee chairpersons and others elected by local committees that are staffed by many pro-establishment figures.

Australia cracks down on vaping, accuses Big Tobacco of targeting youths (Washington Post) Australia announced a crackdown on e-cigarette sales in an effort to reduce the growing number of youth vapers and reclaim its role as a world leader in the fight against tobacco. The nation, which a decade ago became the first in the world to introduce plain packaging of tobacco products, now plans to eliminate recreational vaping products, including those that don’t contain nicotine. “Vaping was sold to governments and communities around the world as a therapeutic product to help long-term smokers quit,” Health Minister Mark Butler said Tuesday. “It was not sold as a recreational product—especially not one for our kids.” Research suggests that Australian children can buy nicotine-based vape products relatively easily from convenience stores and gas stations without producing proof of age.

Hunger Strike Death (Foreign Policy) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Gaza militants exchanged fire on Tuesday following the death of a high-profile Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody. Khader Adnan, a political leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, died early Tuesday after an 87-day hunger strike to protest his arrest and indictment on charges of incitement and membership in a terrorist organization. Adnan is the first Palestinian prisoner to die from a hunger strike since 1992. Hunger strikes have become an increasingly common tactic used by Palestinian prisoners to protest their arrests and detentions, and Israeli officials in the past have released prisoners undergoing hunger strikes when their health conditions became life-threatening—including Adnan himself. Since 2004, Israeli officials had detained Adnan 12 times. Following news of Adnan’s death, militants in Gaza launched three rockets and several mortar rounds into Israeli territory. The IDF immediately responded with retaliatory tank fire. Gaza militants then fired 22 rockets into Israel. Violence between Israelis and Palestinians has surged this year. In the first three months of 2023 alone, more than 80 Palestinians died in clashes; around 14 Israelis were killed in that time period. According to Tariq Kenney-Shawa, a Middle East expert, Israel is laying the groundwork for a third intifada by continuing to expand illegal settlements throughout the West Bank. And IDF forces have stepped up raids in the West Bank.

Sudan nears ‘breaking point’ as foreigners flee (Washington Post) Despite repeated declarations of cease-fires, the fighting in Sudan won’t stop. Battles between forces loyal to two prominent generals have convulsed the country of 46 million people, paralyzing its teeming capital city Khartoum and prompting a panicked flow of refugees along an arduous journey to Sudan’s borders. Conservative estimates suggest more than 500 people have been killed, with more than 4,000 wounded. The numbers arriving at crossings in neighboring Chad and Egypt are in the tens of thousands, but Filippo Grandi, head of the U.N. refugee agency, said his operation and its partners were anticipating an influx of some 800,000 people should the conflict continue. Among the many trying to leave the country are refugees from other war zones, including Syria, Yemen and neighboring South Sudan, who had earlier found sanctuary in Sudan. Before hostilities flared last month, a third of Sudan’s 46 million people required humanitarian assistance. Now, conditions are even more grave. Across the country’s major urban centers countless residents are trapped in vulnerable, desperate conditions. Many report being without electricity, running water and food. Access to urgent health care has, in many places, become virtually impossible. In the western Darfur region, the warehouses of various aid groups and international organizations have been looted. With battles raging and Sudan sliding toward state collapse, the outlook is bleak. Martin Griffiths, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official, warned in a statement Sunday that “the humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point.”

Banana artwork eaten by Seoul museum visitor (BBC) A South Korean art student ate a banana that was part of an installation by artist Maurizio Cattelan, saying he was hungry after skipping breakfast. The artwork called “Comedian”, part of Cattelan’s exhibition “WE”, consisted of a ripe banana duct-taped to a wall at Seoul’s Leeum Musuem of Art. After eating the banana, the student, Noh Huyn-soo, taped the peel to the wall. The museum later placed a new banana at the same spot, reported local media. This is not the first time bananas used for Mr Cattelan’s work have been eaten by a visitor. In 2019, performance artist David Datuna pulled the banana from the wall after the artwork was sold for $120,000 (£91,000) at Art Basel in Miami.

[phgq]

Year in review: Go’s people-centered legislative accomplishments

#PHnews: Year in review: Go’s people-centered legislative accomplishments

MANILA – Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and other crises faced by the country this year, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go continues to deliver on his promise to serve Filipinos through his legislative work in the Senate, and through his initiatives to help those in need wherever they are inside and outside the Philippines.

“Ginagawa ng gobyerno ang lahat para maiahon ang ating mga kababayan mula sa hirap na ating dinaranas. Magtiwala po tayo dahil kapakanan ninyo ang inuuna naming (The government is doing its best to help our countrymen get out of the hardships they are experiencing. Trust us that we will prioritize your welfare),” Go said.

“Ako naman po, patuloy lang ang aking serbisyo sa bawat Pilipino. Wala na akong hihingin pang iba, ibinigay na po ng Diyos sa akin ang pagkakataon na manilbihan sa bayan. Kaya ibabalik ko sa inyo ang serbisyo na dapat niyong makuha mula sa gobyernong palaging nagmamalasakit sa inyo (I will continue serving every Filipino. I could not ask for more, God gave a chance to serve the nation. So, I will give the services you deserve to get from the government that cares for you),” he added.

As Go explained, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the government and the people to adapt to new ways in accomplishing things. But on top of these, numerous Filipinos have been adversely affected also by various calamities that hit the country this year.

“Marahil sinusubok ng taong ito ang ating pananampalataya at katatagan (Perhaps this year tests our faith and resilience). Now, more than ever, unity and cooperation are necessary for us to overcome these challenges. Kaya patuloy lang po dapat tayong magtulungan at magbayanihan (We should continue helping each other),” Go said.

Throughout the year, Go and his team continues to provide aid to Filipinos in crisis situations on top of and in support of what government agencies have been providing.

“As I have said numerous times, I will not limit myself to serving as a Senator only. Bilang public servant, magseserbisyo po ako sa inyo kahit saan man kayo sa mundo para tugunan ang inyong mga suliranin, pakinggan ang inyong mga hinaing, at mag-iwan ng ngiti sa oras ng inyong pagdadalamhati (As public servant, I will continue to serve you wherever you are to help solve your problems, listen to your needs, and give you inspiration),” Go reiterated.

“Kahit anumang problema ang inyong hinaharap — nasunugan, tinamaan ng lindol, apektado ng pagputok ng bulkan, nabahaan, lahat ng klaseng krisis — handa akong tumulong at maserbisyo sa inyo sa abot ng aking makakaya (Whatever problems we face – fire, earthquakes, volcano eruption, floods, all kind of crises, I’m ready to serve you as long as I can),” he added.

Legislative works

On the legislative side, Go highlighted the results of his continuing work which included improving the quality of and access to healthcare services, and addressing the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn.

He authored or sponsored nine out of 14 Senate bills which were passed into law in the present 18th Congress.

One of his biggest legislative accomplishments is the passage of Republic Act No. 11463, otherwise known as the ‘Malasakit Centers Act’ that he authored in the Senate. The law directs the mandatory establishment of a Malasakit Center, a one-stop shop for medical assistance, in the Philippine General Hospital in Manila City and every hospital managed and administered by the Department of Health throughout the country.

Go also principally authored and pushed for the passage of RA 11462 which postpones the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections from May 2020 to December 2022. The postponement gave village officials more time to finish their programs and projects while saving valuable public funds.

Another priority measure he filed was RA 11466 or the ‘Salary Standardization Law 5’ which raises the salaries of all government employees, including public nurses and teachers, for 2020 to 2023. 

Following the emergency declaration in the wake of the pandemic, Go co-authored and co-sponsored RA 11469 or the ‘Bayanihan to Heal as One Act’. This allowed the Executive Department to respond to the threat of Covid-19 with greater flexibility, effectiveness, resources and haste.

To ensure it can undertake all necessary actions, Go helped see to the passage of RA 11494 or the ‘Bayanihan to Recover as One Act’ as one of the Senate bicameral conferees on the measure.

The law gives government the response fund needed so it can carry out stimulus packages and recovery plans for struggling sectors, such as micro, small, and medium enterprises, tourism, transport and agriculture sectors, in order to help them cope with the impacts of the pandemic.

As the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Go sponsored the passage of 11 bills which increased the bed capacity or upgraded the services of the following local hospitals: Bicol Medical Center in Naga City; Bicol Women's and Children's Hospital in Pamplona, Camarines Sur; the Cagayan Valley Medical Center in Tuguegarao City; Caraga Regional Hospital in Surigao City; Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center in Las Piñas City; Malita District Hospital in Malita, Davao Occidental; Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City; Siargao District Hospital in Dapa, Surigao del Norte; Maria L. Eleazar District Hospital in Tagkawayan, Quezon; Talisay District Hospital in Talisay City, Cebu; and Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City.

Go also authored RA 11470 or the ‘National Academy of Sports (NAS) Act’, seeking the establishment of the NAS in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac. The academy shall offer the student-athletes a quality education with an integrated special curriculum on sports.

He also co-authored RA 11476 which institutionalized Good Manners and Right Conduct and Values Education as core subjects in the K-12 curriculum in both public and private schools to improve the delivery of education in the years ahead.

In addition, Go co-authored or co-sponsored six other bills which were passed by both houses of Congress. These are Senate Bill No. 1318 or the ‘Organic Agriculture Act’ which promotes the practice of organic farming; SBN 1365 or the ‘Alternative Learning System Act’ which addresses the basic learning needs of out-of-school youth, adults and children in special extreme cases; and the SBN 1520 or ‘Doktor Para sa Bayan Act’ which institutionalizes a medical scholarship program for deserving and qualified medical students.

He also co-authored or co-sponsored SBN 1844 that gives the President the authority to expedite the processing and issuance of national and local licenses, permits, and certifications; SBN 1807 designating the month of October as ‘National Cooperative Month’; and SBN 1396 expediting the delivery of benefits to coconut farmers through the creation of a trust fund.

On top of these, Go continues to push for bills that would streamline functions and enhance the capabilities of government to respond to the needs of Filipinos especially amid the changing times.

Go filed SBN 1738 institutionalizing the transition of the government to e-governance, SBN 1949 establishing the Department of Overseas Filipinos, and SBN 205 establishing the Department of Disaster Resilience, among others.

“Sa pagpasok ng bagong taon, magkaisa po tayo para sa ikabubuti ng ating bansa at para maibigay sa bawat Pilipino ang mas komportableng buhay tulad ng naipangako ng ating mahal na Pangulo (As we enter new year, let’s unite for the good of our country and so that we can give to every Filipino a comfortable life as promised by our President),” Go said. (PR)

***

References:

* Philippine News Agency. "Year in review: Go’s people-centered legislative accomplishments." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1125955 (accessed December 30, 2020 at 05:27AM UTC+14).

* Philippine News Agency. "Year in review: Go’s people-centered legislative accomplishments." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1125955 (archived).

[stephenmccull]

In Legislative Shuffle, California Prioritizes Safety Gear and Sick Leave During Crisis

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers convened this year with big plans to tackle soaring health care costs, expand health insurance coverage and improve treatment for mental health and addiction.

But the pandemic abruptly reoriented their priorities, forcing them to grasp for legislative solutions to the virus ripping through the state.

Legislative deliberations this year were defined by quarantined lawmakers, emergency recesses and chaotic video voting — plus a late-night partisan dust-up that led to the death of dozens of bills by the time lawmakers gaveled out early Tuesday morning. Nonetheless, legislators managed to send Gov. Gavin Newsom nearly 430 bills, roughly 40% of the number they’d send in a typical year, according to Sacramento lobbyist Chris Micheli.

Among them were about two dozen COVID-related bills that addressed a range of challenges, including dire shortages of protective gear, sick leave for workers and the administration of a hoped-for COVID-19 vaccine. The measures broadly fit into three categories: dealing with the current crisis, protecting workers and consumers, and preparing for future pandemics.

Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign the bills into law or veto them.

“In a year that couldn’t be business as usual, this session we were still able to get important business done for the people of California who are facing so many challenges,” said Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins. “This year’s session may be over, but this pandemic is not, and neither is our work.”

Just as important as the measures that made it to Newsom’s desk were the ones that didn’t. For instance, bills that would have limited the use of sensitive personal information in contact tracing investigations died, as did a proposal to help rebuild and fund public health infrastructure across California.

“It leaves us with the status quo,” said Michelle Gibbons, executive director of the County Health Executives Association of California, which lobbies on behalf of the state’s county health directors. “If we had sufficient staffing of public health all along, and stronger resources, it would have helped.”

Immediate Action

Narrowly focused bills that targeted real-time COVID-related problems — and avoided big price tags — were among those easily winning approval.

AB-685, by Assembly member Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino), would require employers to notify their workers of COVID-19 infections at work — and would mandate the reporting of infection data to state and local public health authorities.

A different measure, AB-2164, would require Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, to cover more telehealth visits in underserved areas by eliminating an existing requirement for patients and providers to establish an in-person relationship first.

But this wouldn’t be a permanent change: If signed, the law would sunset 180 days after the official COVID-19 state of emergency is over. Rivas said he had to scale back the cost of the measure by applying it only to the pandemic to get it passed.

“Had we not done that, it was very likely this bill would have been held in the Senate Appropriations Committee,” said Assembly member Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), who introduced the bill.

Another bill written with near missile-guided precision is AB-1710, which would allow pharmacists to administer a COVID vaccine once one is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

“We want to make sure we can gear up as quickly as possible,” said Assembly member Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa), who authored the bill.

Wood also authored AB-2644, which would require nursing homes to have a full-time “infection preventionist,” and to report deaths from communicable diseases to the state during an emergency. Wood said the bill was written after he “watched with horror” as COVID-19 killed thousands of nursing home residents in the spring.

Consumer and Worker Protections

Lawmakers took on powerful business interests to boost protections for essential workers.

A bill introduced by Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) would make it easier for some employees infected with COVID-19 to file a workers’ compensation insurance claim until January 2023.

Should Newsom sign SB-1159, for instance, state law would presume that certain front-line workers — from health care workers in hospitals to firefighters who go into people’s homes — were infected on the job unless their employers prove otherwise.

The California Chamber of Commerce, which opposed the measure, questioned whether an employee’s illness could be traced to their job when the virus is so widespread. By varying degrees, at least 14 states have extended workers’ compensation to include COVID-related scenarios, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Frustrated with outbreaks at meatpacking plants, lawmakers also advanced legislation calling on food-processing companies with at least 500 workers to provide two weeks of paid sick leave to those exposed to COVID-19 or advised to quarantine.

The measure, AB-1867, spearheaded by Assembly member Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), also would close a loophole in the federal emergency paid sick leave benefit that Congress authorized this spring, which excluded health care workers and emergency responders. If Newsom signs the bill, they too would qualify for two weeks of paid sick time.

And in what would be the biggest expansion to the state’s family leave program since it began in 2004, lawmakers voted to extend job protections to more workers who wish to take time off to care for a new baby or a sick relative.

California’s family leave program currently exempts small-business workers from the job protections, leaving millions of workers without the benefit. For example, an employee who works for a company with 20 or fewer employees does not qualify for job protection to bond with an infant. Employers with 50 or fewer workers aren’t required to guarantee someone’s job if they leave to care for a sick parent or other family member.

In both cases, that would change to employers with five or more workers if the governor signs SB-1383, introduced by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara).

“In the time of COVID, we are relying on families, grandparents, children to take care of each other when they get sick,” Jackson said. “We should be able to protect ourselves, to take responsibility for ourselves, to be able to protect ourselves without fear of losing our jobs.”

Lessons Learned

Inadequate personal protective gear emerged early on as one of the biggest impediments to California’s coronavirus response — and measures advanced by the legislature could prepare the state for future threats.

“We can be more prepared to protect our state in the next health crisis,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon.

California lawmakers approved a pair of high-profile bills to address protective equipment shortages. The more ambitious proposal, authored by Assembly member Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona), would require hospitals to stockpile a three-month supply by April 2021.

“We’ve already lost far too many members to COVID-19,” said Stephanie Roberson, lead lobbyist for the California Nurses Association, which sponsored AB-2537.

“It’s something that could have been prevented,” Roberson said, adding that “it’s the responsibility of employers to protect their workers.”

Newsom also must decide whether the state government should maintain a supply of protective gear for essential workers. SB-275, from Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) and sponsored by the Service Employees International Union California, would mandate the California Department of Public Health within one year to establish a PPE stockpile for health and other essential workers to last 90 days during a pandemic.

It also would require major employers of health care workers — such as dialysis clinics, nursing homes and hospitals — to establish by 2023 or later an additional 45-day stockpile of PPE.

An August report from the University of California-Berkeley found that at least 20,860 California cases of COVID-19 among essential workers could have been avoided, as well as dozens of deaths, if the state had had a sufficient supply of protective gear.

The powerful California Hospital Association fought both measures, saying the goals are laudable yet unworkable. “We agree that bolstering the supply and reliability of PPE for health care and other essential workers is a top priority,” said spokesperson Jan Emerson-Shea.

“It is critically important to remember, however, that we are still in the midst of a pandemic and there are still significant challenges with the global supply chain of PPE.”

This KHN story first published on California Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

In Legislative Shuffle, California Prioritizes Safety Gear and Sick Leave During Crisis published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

[dinafbrownil]

In Legislative Shuffle, California Prioritizes Safety Gear and Sick Leave During Crisis

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers convened this year with big plans to tackle soaring health care costs, expand health insurance coverage and improve treatment for mental health and addiction.

But the pandemic abruptly reoriented their priorities, forcing them to grasp for legislative solutions to the virus ripping through the state.

Legislative deliberations this year were defined by quarantined lawmakers, emergency recesses and chaotic video voting — plus a late-night partisan dust-up that led to the death of dozens of bills by the time lawmakers gaveled out early Tuesday morning. Nonetheless, legislators managed to send Gov. Gavin Newsom nearly 430 bills, roughly 40% of the number they’d send in a typical year, according to Sacramento lobbyist Chris Micheli.

Among them were about two dozen COVID-related bills that addressed a range of challenges, including dire shortages of protective gear, sick leave for workers and the administration of a hoped-for COVID-19 vaccine. The measures broadly fit into three categories: dealing with the current crisis, protecting workers and consumers, and preparing for future pandemics.

Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign the bills into law or veto them.

“In a year that couldn’t be business as usual, this session we were still able to get important business done for the people of California who are facing so many challenges,” said Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins. “This year’s session may be over, but this pandemic is not, and neither is our work.”

Just as important as the measures that made it to Newsom’s desk were the ones that didn’t. For instance, bills that would have limited the use of sensitive personal information in contact tracing investigations died, as did a proposal to help rebuild and fund public health infrastructure across California.

“It leaves us with the status quo,” said Michelle Gibbons, executive director of the County Health Executives Association of California, which lobbies on behalf of the state’s county health directors. “If we had sufficient staffing of public health all along, and stronger resources, it would have helped.”

Immediate Action

Narrowly focused bills that targeted real-time COVID-related problems — and avoided big price tags — were among those easily winning approval.

AB-685, by Assembly member Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino), would require employers to notify their workers of COVID-19 infections at work — and would mandate the reporting of infection data to state and local public health authorities.

A different measure, AB-2164, would require Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, to cover more telehealth visits in underserved areas by eliminating an existing requirement for patients and providers to establish an in-person relationship first.

But this wouldn’t be a permanent change: If signed, the law would sunset 180 days after the official COVID-19 state of emergency is over. Rivas said he had to scale back the cost of the measure by applying it only to the pandemic to get it passed.

“Had we not done that, it was very likely this bill would have been held in the Senate Appropriations Committee,” said Assembly member Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), who introduced the bill.

Another bill written with near missile-guided precision is AB-1710, which would allow pharmacists to administer a COVID vaccine once one is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

“We want to make sure we can gear up as quickly as possible,” said Assembly member Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa), who authored the bill.

Wood also authored AB-2644, which would require nursing homes to have a full-time “infection preventionist,” and to report deaths from communicable diseases to the state during an emergency. Wood said the bill was written after he “watched with horror” as COVID-19 killed thousands of nursing home residents in the spring.

Consumer and Worker Protections

Lawmakers took on powerful business interests to boost protections for essential workers.

A bill introduced by Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) would make it easier for some employees infected with COVID-19 to file a workers’ compensation insurance claim until January 2023.

Should Newsom sign SB-1159, for instance, state law would presume that certain front-line workers — from health care workers in hospitals to firefighters who go into people’s homes — were infected on the job unless their employers prove otherwise.

The California Chamber of Commerce, which opposed the measure, questioned whether an employee’s illness could be traced to their job when the virus is so widespread. By varying degrees, at least 14 states have extended workers’ compensation to include COVID-related scenarios, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Frustrated with outbreaks at meatpacking plants, lawmakers also advanced legislation calling on food-processing companies with at least 500 workers to provide two weeks of paid sick leave to those exposed to COVID-19 or advised to quarantine.

The measure, AB-1867, spearheaded by Assembly member Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), also would close a loophole in the federal emergency paid sick leave benefit that Congress authorized this spring, which excluded health care workers and emergency responders. If Newsom signs the bill, they too would qualify for two weeks of paid sick time.

And in what would be the biggest expansion to the state’s family leave program since it began in 2004, lawmakers voted to extend job protections to more workers who wish to take time off to care for a new baby or a sick relative.

California’s family leave program currently exempts small-business workers from the job protections, leaving millions of workers without the benefit. For example, an employee who works for a company with 20 or fewer employees does not qualify for job protection to bond with an infant. Employers with 50 or fewer workers aren’t required to guarantee someone’s job if they leave to care for a sick parent or other family member.

In both cases, that would change to employers with five or more workers if the governor signs SB-1383, introduced by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara).

“In the time of COVID, we are relying on families, grandparents, children to take care of each other when they get sick,” Jackson said. “We should be able to protect ourselves, to take responsibility for ourselves, to be able to protect ourselves without fear of losing our jobs.”

Lessons Learned

Inadequate personal protective gear emerged early on as one of the biggest impediments to California’s coronavirus response — and measures advanced by the legislature could prepare the state for future threats.

“We can be more prepared to protect our state in the next health crisis,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon.

California lawmakers approved a pair of high-profile bills to address protective equipment shortages. The more ambitious proposal, authored by Assembly member Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona), would require hospitals to stockpile a three-month supply by April 2021.

“We’ve already lost far too many members to COVID-19,” said Stephanie Roberson, lead lobbyist for the California Nurses Association, which sponsored AB-2537.

“It’s something that could have been prevented,” Roberson said, adding that “it’s the responsibility of employers to protect their workers.”

Newsom also must decide whether the state government should maintain a supply of protective gear for essential workers. SB-275, from Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) and sponsored by the Service Employees International Union California, would mandate the California Department of Public Health within one year to establish a PPE stockpile for health and other essential workers to last 90 days during a pandemic.

It also would require major employers of health care workers — such as dialysis clinics, nursing homes and hospitals — to establish by 2023 or later an additional 45-day stockpile of PPE.

An August report from the University of California-Berkeley found that at least 20,860 California cases of COVID-19 among essential workers could have been avoided, as well as dozens of deaths, if the state had had a sufficient supply of protective gear.

The powerful California Hospital Association fought both measures, saying the goals are laudable yet unworkable. “We agree that bolstering the supply and reliability of PPE for health care and other essential workers is a top priority,” said spokesperson Jan Emerson-Shea.

“It is critically important to remember, however, that we are still in the midst of a pandemic and there are still significant challenges with the global supply chain of PPE.”

This KHN story first published on California Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

from Updates By Dina https://khn.org/news/in-legislative-shuffle-california-prioritizes-safety-gear-and-sick-leave-during-crisis/

[gordonwilliamsweb]

In Legislative Shuffle, California Prioritizes Safety Gear and Sick Leave During Crisis

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers convened this year with big plans to tackle soaring health care costs, expand health insurance coverage and improve treatment for mental health and addiction.

But the pandemic abruptly reoriented their priorities, forcing them to grasp for legislative solutions to the virus ripping through the state.

Legislative deliberations this year were defined by quarantined lawmakers, emergency recesses and chaotic video voting — plus a late-night partisan dust-up that led to the death of dozens of bills by the time lawmakers gaveled out early Tuesday morning. Nonetheless, legislators managed to send Gov. Gavin Newsom nearly 430 bills, roughly 40% of the number they’d send in a typical year, according to Sacramento lobbyist Chris Micheli.

Among them were about two dozen COVID-related bills that addressed a range of challenges, including dire shortages of protective gear, sick leave for workers and the administration of a hoped-for COVID-19 vaccine. The measures broadly fit into three categories: dealing with the current crisis, protecting workers and consumers, and preparing for future pandemics.

Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign the bills into law or veto them.

“In a year that couldn’t be business as usual, this session we were still able to get important business done for the people of California who are facing so many challenges,” said Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins. “This year’s session may be over, but this pandemic is not, and neither is our work.”

Just as important as the measures that made it to Newsom’s desk were the ones that didn’t. For instance, bills that would have limited the use of sensitive personal information in contact tracing investigations died, as did a proposal to help rebuild and fund public health infrastructure across California.

“It leaves us with the status quo,” said Michelle Gibbons, executive director of the County Health Executives Association of California, which lobbies on behalf of the state’s county health directors. “If we had sufficient staffing of public health all along, and stronger resources, it would have helped.”

Immediate Action

Narrowly focused bills that targeted real-time COVID-related problems — and avoided big price tags — were among those easily winning approval.

AB-685, by Assembly member Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino), would require employers to notify their workers of COVID-19 infections at work — and would mandate the reporting of infection data to state and local public health authorities.

A different measure, AB-2164, would require Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, to cover more telehealth visits in underserved areas by eliminating an existing requirement for patients and providers to establish an in-person relationship first.

But this wouldn’t be a permanent change: If signed, the law would sunset 180 days after the official COVID-19 state of emergency is over. Rivas said he had to scale back the cost of the measure by applying it only to the pandemic to get it passed.

“Had we not done that, it was very likely this bill would have been held in the Senate Appropriations Committee,” said Assembly member Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), who introduced the bill.

Another bill written with near missile-guided precision is AB-1710, which would allow pharmacists to administer a COVID vaccine once one is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

“We want to make sure we can gear up as quickly as possible,” said Assembly member Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa), who authored the bill.

Wood also authored AB-2644, which would require nursing homes to have a full-time “infection preventionist,” and to report deaths from communicable diseases to the state during an emergency. Wood said the bill was written after he “watched with horror” as COVID-19 killed thousands of nursing home residents in the spring.

Consumer and Worker Protections

Lawmakers took on powerful business interests to boost protections for essential workers.

A bill introduced by Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) would make it easier for some employees infected with COVID-19 to file a workers’ compensation insurance claim until January 2023.

Should Newsom sign SB-1159, for instance, state law would presume that certain front-line workers — from health care workers in hospitals to firefighters who go into people’s homes — were infected on the job unless their employers prove otherwise.

The California Chamber of Commerce, which opposed the measure, questioned whether an employee’s illness could be traced to their job when the virus is so widespread. By varying degrees, at least 14 states have extended workers’ compensation to include COVID-related scenarios, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Frustrated with outbreaks at meatpacking plants, lawmakers also advanced legislation calling on food-processing companies with at least 500 workers to provide two weeks of paid sick leave to those exposed to COVID-19 or advised to quarantine.

The measure, AB-1867, spearheaded by Assembly member Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), also would close a loophole in the federal emergency paid sick leave benefit that Congress authorized this spring, which excluded health care workers and emergency responders. If Newsom signs the bill, they too would qualify for two weeks of paid sick time.

And in what would be the biggest expansion to the state’s family leave program since it began in 2004, lawmakers voted to extend job protections to more workers who wish to take time off to care for a new baby or a sick relative.

California’s family leave program currently exempts small-business workers from the job protections, leaving millions of workers without the benefit. For example, an employee who works for a company with 20 or fewer employees does not qualify for job protection to bond with an infant. Employers with 50 or fewer workers aren’t required to guarantee someone’s job if they leave to care for a sick parent or other family member.

In both cases, that would change to employers with five or more workers if the governor signs SB-1383, introduced by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara).

“In the time of COVID, we are relying on families, grandparents, children to take care of each other when they get sick,” Jackson said. “We should be able to protect ourselves, to take responsibility for ourselves, to be able to protect ourselves without fear of losing our jobs.”

Lessons Learned

Inadequate personal protective gear emerged early on as one of the biggest impediments to California’s coronavirus response — and measures advanced by the legislature could prepare the state for future threats.

“We can be more prepared to protect our state in the next health crisis,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon.

California lawmakers approved a pair of high-profile bills to address protective equipment shortages. The more ambitious proposal, authored by Assembly member Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona), would require hospitals to stockpile a three-month supply by April 2021.

“We’ve already lost far too many members to COVID-19,” said Stephanie Roberson, lead lobbyist for the California Nurses Association, which sponsored AB-2537.

“It’s something that could have been prevented,” Roberson said, adding that “it’s the responsibility of employers to protect their workers.”

Newsom also must decide whether the state government should maintain a supply of protective gear for essential workers. SB-275, from Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) and sponsored by the Service Employees International Union California, would mandate the California Department of Public Health within one year to establish a PPE stockpile for health and other essential workers to last 90 days during a pandemic.

It also would require major employers of health care workers — such as dialysis clinics, nursing homes and hospitals — to establish by 2023 or later an additional 45-day stockpile of PPE.

An August report from the University of California-Berkeley found that at least 20,860 California cases of COVID-19 among essential workers could have been avoided, as well as dozens of deaths, if the state had had a sufficient supply of protective gear.

The powerful California Hospital Association fought both measures, saying the goals are laudable yet unworkable. “We agree that bolstering the supply and reliability of PPE for health care and other essential workers is a top priority,” said spokesperson Jan Emerson-Shea.

“It is critically important to remember, however, that we are still in the midst of a pandemic and there are still significant challenges with the global supply chain of PPE.”

This KHN story first published on California Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

In Legislative Shuffle, California Prioritizes Safety Gear and Sick Leave During Crisis published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[qliqsoft]

What is EVV?

EVV, also known as electronic visit verification is a technology system that provides digital proof of caregiver presence and service(s). EVV communication is not a brand new idea, as many individual states and agencies have been actively using the technology for years. However, EVV has come into the spotlight over the past several years due to the legislative passage of the 21st Century Cures Act in 2016. 

Passed by bi-partisan efforts in Congress and signed into law by former President Barack Obama, the legislation is designed to help fast-forward medical development and innovations in order to be delivered to patients at an accelerated rate. The bill also puts focus on the expansion of treatments for rare diseases, behavioral health, and opioid addiction. 

In an effort to help fund the $6.3 billion bill, the government is seeking ways to help reduce medical fraud costs and unwarranted monetary waste. The EVV plays a critical role in helping reduce errors and save money. Improper Medicare payments cost taxpayers about $52 billion in 2017, and by helping to prevent false claims, EVV could save the federal government $290 million over a 10 year period.   

The 21st Century Cures Act requires states to implement the use of EVV but allows individuals states to create their own EVV systems, processes, and compliance rules. However, each EVV system must satisfy the federal mandate which includes the verification of: 

Type of service provided 

Patient receiving care 

Date of service 

Location of service 

Individual providing the care 

Time service begins and ends 

If a state’s EVV system doesn’t meet the federal mandate or the implementation deadline, they could lose up to 1 percent of their Federal Medical Assistance Percentage. 

Personal Care Services (Implementation Deadline) – January 1, 2020 

Home Health Services (Implementation Deadline) – January 1, 2023 

EVV implementation is mandatory by federal mandate if an agency provides personal care or healthcare service in a private home, and if Medicaid or Medicare [RS1] is footing the bill. EVV does not apply to hospital inpatients or nursing home residents.  

How Does it Work? 

EVV offers the ability to capture data in three ways: 

GPS/Mobile Device 

Caregivers use mobile/web applications via a smart device to report data

Telephony

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) allows caregivers to call a toll-free 1-800 number from the client’s landline to report necessary data 

Fixed Verification Device

The agency or state installs a device in the client’s home that either leverages biometrics or generates a code for caregivers to use on their paperwork (least common option). 

Not only does EVV technology ensure patient care, but it provides healthcare services with a variety of time-saving and cost-reducing measures — making the adoption of this technology a benefit to all parties involved. 

EVV agency benefits include: 

Less Paperwork 

Faster Reimbursement

Reduced Audit Probability 

Fewer Missed/Late Visits 

Improved Patient Care & Satisfaction 

Easier Management & Monitoring of the Delivery of Care and Services 

Reduced Human Error and Fraud 

Improved Overall Efficiency

Request a Free Demo of QliqSOFT 

As the world leader in HIPAA compliant text messaging and EVV technology, we can help ensure your organization meets all mandate requirements. Contact us today at (866) 295-0451 about a free demo, or how to start implementing our technology at your health company!

The post What is EVV? appeared first on QliqSOFT.

from QliqSOFT https://ift.tt/2XCLAum

[olaluwe]

File photo: president Buhari and Tinubu. Source: The Punch

The incumbent president of the federal republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, who is also waiting to be sworn in for his second and the last term in office must be praised for his doggedness pursuant to his ambition of becoming the president of Nigeria.

For the emphasis, he didn’t get it on the platter of gold unlike his democratic predecessors since independence, who at the most, were products of nothing but incidental politicking. To be certain, what we’re saying here is that four times he tried before succeeding.

And that’s the stuff you’d describe as the ‘Audacity of Hope’, apologies to Barak Obama, the former president of the United State of America.

But I want to repeat here like I’ve said over and over again that his overwhelming popularity especially in the North hinged on a mix of on his revered integrity, ascetic lifestyle and being a Muslim faithful wouldn’t have been enough to power him to the seat of the president.

Yes, he repeatedly gets a certain number of votes from his core loyalists in the North in his three attempts but elsewhere he fell terribly short because he was perceived essentially in the negatives. To many, he’s an unrepentant tyrant, ethnic jingoist and a radical Muslim. To turn the tides, a couple of things were needed urgently.

In addition to rebranding him to remove, especially, the perceptual toga of an Islamic fundamentalist, a new political platform was also needed for him to run on.

This is not a slight on everything he stands for as a person, phenomenal as they were, he just wouldn’t have won, even in 2015. Remember also that before then he almost got discouraged by the whole thing and had allegedly even gone ahead to indicate that he was no longer interested in the coveted office.

Another thing that helped his cause was that the Nigerian people to a very large extent got tired in a way with the government of the then president Goodluck Jonathan and by extension the people democratic party (PDP) which has held sway for sixteen uninterrupted years.

What is Tinubu’s role in the creation of the new political platform, the All Progressives Congress (APC) upon which the president was able to triumph?

Not taken anything away from his co-laborers, who undoubtedly were and are eminent in their political statures, in the onerous task of creating a new and truly national political party that’s capable of dislodging the incumbent political party then, the people’s democratic party, arguably populated by some of the most rapacious politicians ever to grace the stage; Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the arrowhead, the master strategist that gave shape, direction, and momentum to the experimental conception and its priceless baby. The rest like they use to say is now history. 

While others wilfully played the dynamite, he has continued to play the role of the glue, and the oil for the party in difficult times. 

During this period, some who were today accusing others of pretension pretentiously played along for what they could get. And sooner than the government was sworn in, they manifested their true identity that was full of wiles.

In spite of his contributions to building the now formidable ruling party called the All Progressives Congress (APC), let’s not also forget that Tinubu was at some point the centerpiece of thick shenanigan and plots by a motley crowd of jealous co-traveling politicians’ working day and night to detract from his rightful claim to being the party’s first among equals’ strategic thinkers.

The media then was awash with twisted stories spun to suit the selfish agenda of these disloyal elements. As a consequence temporarily though, it appears he was sidelined but he didn’t make any fuzz about it. It is not in his political manners to be fuzzy. However, nobody knows if it had persisted, he could have taken a walk from the party. And that would’ve been a big loss to the party.

But at the end, the president who you could say isn’t politically shrewd as you’d expect a leader by the standard of an average Nigerian politician did see the indispensability of Tinubu as a political co-conspirator and there was a predictable realignment, I think, at a Tinubu’s colloquium sometimes in 2018.

There, political expediency somehow managed to take precedence over and above the petty calls to political plots by Tinubu to dominate or control if you like the president being peddled by his adversaries.

Like I hinted earlier, we all can still remember how Tinubu’s accusers hijack the leadership of the national assembly contrary to the visionary, fair and equitable arrangements proposed by him as the national leader of the ruling party.

Today, the rampant talk is about Tinubu’s pretentious politics and support for the president. And guess who the people behind the pretension narratives are?

They’re the same people who once flouted the party’s order because of their pathological selfish ambition and went on to generate needless distractions for the government.

The regular visits of one of them to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to face his trial for nondisclosure of some of his properties in the assets declaration form is a good pointer to this.

Before long, they had returned as many had predicted to their former home, the People Democratic Party (PDP), citing what and what they didn’t get in the present government as if the party is for them alone.

However, now that they have lost out of what many analysts would love to liken to Buhari’s legacy term, it seems all that remains for them is to attempt to drag Tinubu down with them into the sinking hole of their electoral misfortunes.

What’s pretentious about Tinubu supporting Mr. President to winning another four year’s term in office?  

Tinubu, more than these rabble-rousing and disgruntled losers, have done what’s expected of him as a loyal party man and the national leader of the party. Don’t forget he led the president campaign train and had literally delivered.

What also is pretentious about Tinubu nursing a presidential ambition and even plotting to succeed the incumbent come 2023?

Tinubu as a loyal and dedicated party man has every right to be ambitious and more than deserve to lead the country. Those who are averse to this definitely need to get their politics right.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is educated, experienced, relevant, beloved, accessible, detribalized, shrewd and inclusive in his political orientation and gamesmanship. Tinubu, above all, is a born democrat. He doesn’t need to cross carpet like some of them to realize his political relevance.

He has taught all who try to double-cross him one political lesson or the other that they will never forget in their life.

If you’re in doubt, go and ask former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who tried to undermine his government by not releasing the state’s allocation from the federation account for many years on the ground that he created thirty-seven Local Council Areas.

And when he brought his warped and tendentious political arrangement that Alliance for Democracy governors in the southwest should support him during his second term bid which backfired for those who naively followed him, only Tinubu survived such a carefully crafted political subterfuge because he was astute and has remain so.

How can two parallel lines meet? How can two political parties with different ideologies, so to say, come together holding rallies without any form of formal agreement? Who does that?

From his antecedents, therefore, from which a few have been highlighted above as a past governor, and governor of governors of the most economically viable state in Nigeria, Lagos, credence you’d agree had been sufficiently lent to his fame and managerial acumen.  He’s the political Jagaban.

So when the chips are down, Tinubu stands head and shoulder above others in the order of those who are likely to succeed the president come 2023 and there is nothing anybody can do about it.

While the likes of Dogara, Saraki and their cohorts may have a problem with it, they cannot stop it. Rather they should continue to lick the wounds of their politics losses. And if Tinubu’s presidency is an idea whose time has come, no one either naturally born of a woman or by a caesarian section can stop it.

[toomanysinks]

California moves toward healthcare for more, not yet healthcare for all

Elizabeth Aguilera Contributor

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Elizabeth Aguilera is an award-winning multi-media journalist who will cover health and social services for CALmatters. She joins CALmatters from Southern California Public Radio/KPCC 89.3, where she produced stories about community health.

It was way easier for candidate Gavin Newsom to endorse single-payer healthcare coverage for everyone than it is now for Gov. Newsom to deliver it.

Yet hardcore advocates say they’re pleased with the moves he’s made thus far — even if it may take years to come to fruition.

“This is a governor that is operating from a compass of action,” said Stephanie Roberson, government relations director for the politically powerful California Nurses Association, which hasn’t exactly been known for its patience on the issue.

Newsom has taken two tacks. He’s asking the Trump administration to let the state create its own single-payer system offering coverage to all Californians — a move almost everyone regards as a very longshot. And he’s also pushing specific ideas to expand healthcare coverage to hundreds of thousands of still-uninsured Californians — a move that seems much more do-able.

During his campaign, Newsom promised the nurses he would make it happen. But the state can’t do it alone. That’s why he sent a letter to the federal government right out of the gate, asking the administration and Congress to set up an “innovation waiver” to allow California to create its own single-payer system.

Experts say there is little chance the Trump administration will give the state the go-ahead on this.

“He’s making a statement and sometimes making statements is important — even if there’s little chance of making progress in the immediate future,” said Gerald Kominski, senior fellow at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. “It’s a way of drawing a line in the sand.”

It’s also a way to stave off criticism from advocates, said Jesus Ramirez-Valles, director of the Health Equity Institute at San Francisco State University. “He can say ‘I tried it’ and there is no risk on him. If he doesn’t do what he promised, then he is risking opposition.”

Federal permission would also require Congress to support a new waiver system — one that would allow the state to redirect funds that usually go to the federal government, such as Medicare income taxes, to a state funding authority that would manage and pay for a single-payer healthcare system, Kominski said. Current waiver systems do not allow for this type of financial management by the state. Other states have used existing waiver programs for permission to set prices or to implement additional requirements, but not to collect federal money.

“You have to ask for the money,” said Roberson of the nurses union. “We are not going to sit on our hands and hope something is going to happen. This strengthens the governor’s commitment to Medicare for all.”

Meantime, Newsom is tackling the block of 3 million uninsured California residents by chipping away at the edges — proposing spending to help struggling middle-income families buy health insurance, and providing state coverage to some undocumented young adults.

He’ll need approval from the Legislature, now a supermajority of Democrats, many of whom have supported similar ideas in recent years.

Two intertwined proposals in his budget would offer hundreds of thousands of middle-income families additional state subsidies to buy health insurance, and require every Californian to obtain health coverage or pay a tax penalty.

This “state mandate” would replace the controversial federal mandate — a central component of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare — that the Trump administration recently canceled. A few other blue states were quicker to create a replacement state mandate, but California’s progressive lawmakers were wary of penalizing people who failed to buy health insurance unless the state also cushioned the blow by offering people more subsidies to lower the costs.

Newsom also proposes to use $260 million in state funds to extend Medi-Cal, the government health program for people who can’t afford insurance, to low-income undocumented immigrants ages 18 to 26.

It’s a classic “Resistance State” action for Newsom, as California tries to counteract the Trump administration’s federal moves to undermine Obamacare. Last year a joint UCLA and UC Berkeley study found that the uninsured rate in California would rise to nearly 13 percent by 2023 if nothing is done at the state level to prevent it.

Since the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, was enacted, California’s uninsured rate has dropped from about 17 percent to roughly 7 percent. Roughly half of those 3 million remaining uninsured are undocumented immigrant adults who don’t qualify for assistance.

If Newsom’s plan is approved, California would offer additional subsidies to families that earn between 250 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level and already receive some federal help. The state would also start offering state-sponsored subsidies to households that earn between 400 and 600 percent of the federal poverty level, up to $150,600 for a family of four, who currently do not qualify for any assistance. Families that earn above 400 percent of the federal poverty level make up 23 percent of the state’s uninsured, according to data from the UCLA AskCHISprogram.

The federal poverty level for 2019 is set at earnings of $12,140 for one person and $25,100 for a family of four.

The budget does not include cost estimates for the additional subsidies, but Newsom intends to pay for the expansion by having the state collect penalties from Californians who forego insurance. His budget proposal estimates that the mandate penalty could raise about $500 million a year, similar to what about 600,000 Californians paid to the federal government when it had a mandate and collected its own penalties.

Peter Lee, who directs the state health insurance exchange Covered California, praised Newsom’s proposals during a recent board meeting.

“Not only does his initiative propose an individual penalty show courage,” he said, “it shows some thoughtfulness about the challenges that middle-class Americans face.”

Enrollment for Covered California, which recently ended, was down 15 percent over last year. Lee said the elimination of the federal penalty is partly to blame.

A draft affordability report Covered California is preparing for the Legislature concludes that if Newsom’s two proposals — expanded subsidies and a mandate — are adopted, enrollment could rise by nearly 650,000 people.

Funding the subsidies with penalties is, of course, a bit of a Catch 22: The more successful California is in getting people to obtain healthcare, the smaller the penalty fund to pay for the subsidies that help fund that care.

“You’re accomplishing your goal, but you’re taking away revenue,” Kominski said. “This is the kind of problem we should be happy to have.”

The conundrum is reminiscent of the state’s tobacco tax, which was intended to deter people from smoking. Success has meant a drop in the amount of money the tax brings in.

Despite what many see as dismal prospects for single-payer in California so long as the Trump administration can quash the state’s waiver request, the California Nurses Association is undaunted. They’re working on a soon-to-be-introduced single-payer bill, more detailed than the version that died in 2017. That one carried a $400 billion price tag, more than three times the state’s annual budget, but lacked support from then-Gov. Jerry Brown and was scant on details. The new version, nurses union rep Roberson said, will be specific about how single-payer would work and how it would be paid for.

“We’re not eradicating providers, we are not seeking to dismantle hospitals,” she said. “The fundamental structure of healthcare delivery will stay in place; what we are changing is how healthcare is financed.”

And if the Trump administration rejects the waiver request? Roberson sees other paths to a state single-payer system, including petitioning the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, or trying to set up a system under Affordable Care Act provisions.

If the nurses union and other single-payer advocates end up pursuing those other avenues, the question becomes whether Newsom will as well.

CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

source https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/28/california-moves-toward-healthcare-for-more-not-yet-healthcare-for-all/

[fmservers]

California moves toward healthcare for more, not yet healthcare for all

Elizabeth Aguilera Contributor

Share on Twitter

Elizabeth Aguilera is an award-winning multi-media journalist who will cover health and social services for CALmatters. She joins CALmatters from Southern California Public Radio/KPCC 89.3, where she produced stories about community health.

It was way easier for candidate Gavin Newsom to endorse single-payer healthcare coverage for everyone than it is now for Gov. Newsom to deliver it.

Yet hardcore advocates say they’re pleased with the moves he’s made thus far—even if it may take years to come to fruition.

“This is a governor that is operating from a compass of action,” said Stephanie Roberson, government relations director for the politically powerful California Nurses Association, which hasn’t exactly been known for its patienceon the issue.

Newsom has taken two tacts. He’s asking the Trump administration to let the state create its own single-payer system offering coverage to all Californians—a move almost everyone regards as a very long shot. And he’s also pushing specific ideas to expand health care coverage to hundreds of thousands of still-uninsured Californians—a move that seems much more do-able.

During his campaign, Newsom promised the nurses that he would make it happen. But the state can’t do it alone. That’s why he sent a letter to the federal government right out of the gate, asking the administration and Congress to set up an “innovation waiver” to allow California to create its own single-payer system.

Experts say there is little chance the Trump administration will give the state the go-ahead on this.

“He’s making a statement and sometimes making statements is important—even if there’s little chance of making progress in the immediate future,” said Gerald Kominski, senior fellow at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. “It’s a way of drawing a line in the sand.”

It’s also a way to stave off criticism from advocates, said Jesus Ramirez-Valles, director of the Health Equity Institute at San Francisco State University. “He can say ‘I tried it’ and there is no risk on him. If he doesn’t do what he promised, then he is risking opposition.”

Federal permission would also require Congress to support a new waiver system—one that would allow the state to redirect funds that usually go to the federal government, such as Medicare income taxes, to a state funding authority that would manage and pay for a single-payer health care system, Kominski said. Current waiver systems do not allow for this type of financial management by the state. Other states have used existing waiver programs for permission to set prices or to implement additional requirements, but not to collect federal money.

“You have to ask for the money,” said Roberson of the nurses union. “We are not going to sit on our hands and hope something is going to happen. This strengthens the governor’s commitment to Medicare for all.”

Meantime, Newsom is tackling the block of 3 million uninsured California residents by chipping away at the edges—proposing spending to help struggling middle-income families buy health insurance, and providing state coverage to some undocumented young adults.

He’ll need approval from the Legislature, now a supermajority of Democrats, many of whom have supported similar ideas in recent years.

Two intertwined proposals in his budget would offer hundreds of thousands of middle-income families additional state subsidies to buy health insurance, and require every Californian to obtain health coverage or pay a tax penalty.

This “state mandate” would replace the controversial federal mandate—a central component of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare— that the Trump administration recently canceled. A few other blue states were quicker to create a replacement state mandate, but California’s progressive lawmakers were wary of penalizing people who failed to buy health insurance unless the state also cushioned the blow by offering people more subsidies to lower the costs.

Newsom also proposes to use $260 million in state funds to extend Medi-Cal, the government health program for people who can’t afford insurance, to low-income undocumented immigrants ages 18 to 26.

It’s a classic “Resistance State” action for Newsom, as California tries to counteract the Trump administration’s federal moves to undermine Obamacare. Last year a joint UCLA and UC Berkeley study found that the uninsured rate in California would rise to nearly 13 percent by 2023 if nothing is done at the state level to prevent it.

Since the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare was enacted, California’s uninsured rate has dropped from about 17 percent to roughly 7 percent. Roughly half of those 3 million remaining uninsured are undocumented immigrant adults who don’t qualify for assistance.

If Newsom’s plan is approved, California would offer additional subsidies to families that earn between 250 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level and already receive some federal help. The state would also start offering state-sponsored subsidies to households that earn between 400 and 600 percent of the federal poverty level, up to $150,600 for a family of four, who currently do not qualify for any assistance. Families that earn above 400 percent of the federal poverty level make up 23 percent of the state’s uninsured, according to data from the UCLA AskCHISprogram.

The federal poverty level for 2019 is set at earnings of $12,140 for one person and $25,100 for a family of four.

The budget does not include cost estimates for the additional subsidies but Newsom intends to pay for the expansion by having the state collect penalties from Californians who forego insurance.  His budget proposal estimates that the mandate penalty could raise about $500 million a year, similar to what about 600,000 Californians paid to the federal government when it had a mandate and collected its own penalties.

Peter Lee, who directs the state health insurance exchange Covered California, praised Newsom’s proposals during a recent board meeting.

“Not only does his initiative propose an individual penalty show courage,” he said, “it shows some thoughtfulness about the challenges that middle-class Americans face.”

Enrollment for Covered California, which recently ended, was down 15 percent over last year. Lee said the elimination of the federal penalty is partly to blame.

A draft affordability report Covered California is preparing for the Legislature concludes that if Newsom’s two proposals—expanded subsidies and a mandate—are adopted, enrollment could rise by nearly 650,000 people.

Funding the subsidies with penalties is, of course, a bit of a Catch-22: The more successful California is in getting people to obtain health care, the smaller the penalty fund to pay for the subsidies that help fund that care.

“You’re accomplishing your goal, but you’re taking away revenue,” Kominski said.  “This is the kind of problem we should be happy to have.”

The conundrum is reminiscent of the state’s tobacco tax, which was intended to deter people from smoking. Success has meant a drop in the amount of money the tax brings in.

Despite what many see as dismal prospects for single-payer in California so long as the Trump administration can quash the state’s waiver request, the California Nurses Association is undaunted. They’re working on a soon-to-be-introduced single-payer bill, more detailed than the version that died in 2017. That one carried a $400 billion price tag, more than three times the state’s annual budget, lacked support from then-Gov. Jerry Brown and was scant on details. The new version, nurses union rep Roberson said, will be specific about how single-payer would work and how it would be paid for.

“We’re not eradicating providers, we are not seeking to dismantle hospitals,” she said. “The fundamental structure of healthcare delivery will stay in place, what we are changing is how healthcare is financed.”

And if the Trump administration rejects the waiver request? Roberson sees other paths to a state single-payer system, including petitioning the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, or trying to set up a system under Affordable Care Act provisions.

If the nurses union and other single-payer advocates end up pursuing those other avenues, the question becomes whether Newsom will as well.

CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Via Jonathan Shieber https://techcrunch.com

[thisdaynews]

Buhari must not die on us

New Post has been published on https://www.thisdaynews.net/2018/05/10/buhari-must-not-die-on-us/

Buhari must not die on us

President Muhammadu Buhari is once again on medical tourism to the United Kingdom. According to media reports, the number of days Buhari has been absent from his duty post for medical reasons has now surpassed the record of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. Buhari has been in office for three years, but he has been on medical tourism for up to six months. From the time he stepped out in June 2016 to ostensibly treat an ear infection in Germany, Buhari has gradually abandoned pretences that he is a healthy man who is only dealing with minor human frailties. Now, we know the man is unwell. The tense question everybody seems to be avoiding – and understandably so too due to cultural reasons – is, what if he dies?

I know Buhari apologists reading this are already listing their rehearsed line of defences: life belongs to God; nobody can say whose turn it is; death is an inevitable biological reality; age, sickness, and death are not necessarily coterminous; it is immoral and irreverent to talk about the death of someone still living; Buhari was hospitalised for a prolonged time last year, and he recovered, etc. Some of his most zealous followers even add that nobody in this world is more qualified to be the President of Nigeria till 2023 than he is. They urge us to overlook his health issues and focus on whatever they think his administration has managed to achieve. While I do not personally wish anyone dead (partly because it is pointless), we should not avoid a deliberation of what is at stake if anything happens to Buhari.

We cannot ignore the fact that Buhari has one of the most fanatical sets of followers in the world. They are so enamoured of the Buhari mystique they take him to be a god. Like all gods, they do not think he can succumb to the vagaries of the flesh. They think the man is superhuman and their minds are the shrine where he is worshipped in a manner befitting a deity. Remember there was a time they invented stories of how his body language was healing all of Nigeria’s maladies, ranging from corruption to power failure? Even now that their grounded feet are yielding to the vertigo of reality, they still have not let go of the myths about Buhari’s abilities. They continue to imagine Buhari their god can indeed transcend human limitations. They believe that things fell apart in Nigeria, not because the hyped Buhari mystique is incompetent to fulfil its extravagant promises, but because corruption fought back. They are content to fashion simplistic and reductionistic answers to complex problems.

They are the reason Nigeria needs to be extra wary. If anything ever happens to Buhari, these people could raze Nigeria to ashes and needlessly sacrifice innocent lives over nothing. This is not mere conjecture; we saw it happen in 2011. When Buhari lost the presidential election, his followers did not think he deserved to lose, and they went on the rampage for days. They were aggrieved. They killed, they stole, they destroyed. They let loose their murderous maniac upon people who had nothing to do with Buhari’s electoral loss. They imagined the Presidency was a throne, and Buhari a divinely appointed monarch. The democratic rights of others, they surmised, should not prevent his reign. According to a human rights organisation, about 1,000 lives were killed during that conflict. While the killings were going on, Buhari himself retreated into his shell, sulky and adamant that they robbed him of the Presidency. He refused to caution his supporters and waited for a public outcry to be unleashed against him before he finally disowned the rioters. In his mind, Buhari probably thought the carnage was warranted. When he would later speak about the electoral crisis in Nigeria, it was to warn us about baboons and monkeys that would be soaked in blood. He sounded as unrepentant as ever. Those unfortunate lives were collateral damage and barely merited his empathy. For that man, ambition is everything even if it comes at the cost of human lives.

Since Buhari started going to the UK on medical holiday, he has hardly addressed the issue of his health. On one occasion though, he did admit that he was sicker than he had ever been in his life. And that admission must have been a slip because his aides had spent weeks fibbing about the man’s true health conditions. When he rushed home from a prolonged medical vacation in 2017 because he feared the pro-Biafran protesters would break up the country, he did not speak on what took him away for so long. He could have used the opportunity to inform people he was unwell and that his condition is natural but that would detract from his myth. If anything ever happens to him, his uninformed followers, and innumerable they are, will throw a fit because they will assume the southerners killed him. They will imagine they got rid of him because he is honest, and because he stopped corrupt people from turning Nigeria into a feeding trough.

Buhari’s popularity among his talakawa crowd is as strong as ever. At every rally he has had in recent times, they dutifully assemble in their mammoth numbers, their spectacular presence a major middle finger to critics of Buhari’s incompetence. No matter how simple-minded those followers might be, they can still read meanings into the Nigerian political drama. They are aware that without Buhari, the All Progressives Congress would never have smelt the Presidency. If he embarks on a gruelling re-election campaign schedule in 2019 and gets exhausted by the demands of his job, they will not let him take responsibility for his choices like an adult. They will blame the APC for using him and his huge following to win the election. They will suspect that the whole “Sai Baba” movement in the South-West was not borne out of sincerity but a mere ploy to return power to the South-West. Anyone who has seen the murderous rage of these people when their religion was supposedly desecrated will not toy with the death of someone they adore with relish. Buhari is aware of the following he has and the threat they constitute. The danger is unspoken but that does not make it unreal.

We should not assume that their rage will be confined to the northern region where Buhari is most popular. No. For daring to speak against Buhari in Wuse Market in the Federal Capital Territory, Charly Boy was nearly lynched by Buhari’s supporters. That should tell us these people have no sense of limits. They are too zealous in their affection for Buhari to be restrained by the tenets of democracy that grant all of us the equal right to speak against our leaders and the conditions in which they oppress us. Charly Boy did not go into their houses to complain about Buhari; his campaign was in a public square, and he was well within his rights as a Nigerian citizen. It is in this same country that a man, Joachim Iroko, was attacked by Buhari’s supporters because he named his dog “Buhari.” That one happened in Sango-Ota, Ogun State. Nobody should underestimate what his adorable followers are capable of, and that is why his health issue needs to be taken seriously. If the APC has not raised it with him till now, they should tell him that he cannot afford to be sneaky about his condition. He needs to be selfless and consider the possibility that the stress of governance and re-election, coupled with his old age will take its toll at some point. They should raise the possibility of him retiring and going home to nurse his dignity. If he genuinely loves Nigeria, he should not leave us with more problems than what we already battle. There is too much bloodshed in Nigeria as it is, and our security apparatus can barely contain them. If his followers could destroy so many lives in 2011 over an electoral loss, I shudder to think what they will do if anything happens to him.