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Medical Rationing: Putting the Greatest Good to the Test?

Nov 11, 2020

Medical rationing is not something Americans are accustomed to, but COVID-19 may soon change that. As local hospitals become overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, they may reach the point where they have to make grim decisions over which patients receive limited medical supplies such as a ventilator or an intensive-care bed, and who does not. The Salt Lake Tribune reported on October 25, 2020 that, due to the number of new COVID-19...

USDA invests $871 million in rural community facilities in 43 states, Guam

Nov 10, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WIBW) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $871 million in rural community facilities in 43 states and Guam. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it is investing $871 million to improve critical community facilities that will benefit 3.5 million rural residents in 43 states and Guam. “Rural America needs safe, modern community infrastructure to help residents and businesses achieve greater...

HHS Releases $20B More in CARES Act Relief, But Warns: Don’t Wait to Apply

Oct 02, 2020

The federal government on Thursday announced an additional tranche of $20 billion in coronavirus relief funding for a wide swath of health care providers, with the caveat that interested parties should apply as soon as possible. Starting October 5, the Department of Health and Human Services will begin accepting applications for the Phase 3 General Distribution of COVID-19 relief, specifically targeting the following types of...

Trump to sign executive orders protecting preexisting conditions and seeking a way to prevent surprise medical bills

Sep 28, 2020

President Donald Trump will sign a series of executive orders aimed at protecting people with preexisting conditions and look for a way to prevent surprise medical bills, senior administration officials said Thursday. Trump discussed the executive orders, which are part of his “America First” health-care plan, during his visit to Charlotte, North Carolina later in the day. Health and Human Services...

‘I was looking for someone like me’ – Is peer counseling the answer?

Sep 11, 2020

Keris Jän Myrick keeps a photo on her desk of the woman who helped transform her life. As a Black woman living with schizophrenia, Myrick had spent years searching for a mentor. Someone who wouldn’t judge, wouldn’t pathologize, wouldn’t ask her to translate her reality into terms they could understand. “I was looking for someone like me,” she said. But when Myrick...

Q&A: ACA Architect Predicts The Future Of Healthcare

Sep 10, 2020

Dr. Jonathan Gruber is the Ford Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Director of the Healthcare Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Highly involved in healthcare public policy, he was a key architect of Massachusetts’ health reform efforts, “Romneycare” from 2003 to 2006. As a technical consultant to the Obama Administration from 2009 to 2010, he helped develop the...

Government announces distribution of $2.5B to nursing homes for COVID-19 relief funding

Sep 09, 2020

The Trump administration, through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recently announced it has distributed almost $2.5 billion of a planned $5 billion distribution to nursing homes to support increased testing, staffing and personal protective equipment (PPE) needs. This includes $135,903,600 to 951 facilities in Ohio. This funding allocation was made through the Health Resources and Services Administration...

RI Lawmakers Call For Increased Staffing, Pay In Nursing Homes

Jun 19, 2020

PROVIDENCE, RI — Several Rhode Island lawmakers and members of the health care industry are calling for changes in the state's nursing homes. The Nursing Home Staffing and Quality Care Act would create minimum standards for staffing and patient care hours. According to Adanjesus Marin, an activist with Raise The Bar, said Rhode Island ranks 42nd in the country in terms of the hours of care nursing homes residents receive and is...

A Health Care Way Forward

May 29, 2020

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and its activation in 2014, there has been a huge amount of debate about what form our health protection system should take. (I am deliberately avoiding the word health insurance.) For many, the answer has been very plain and simple: Do away with insurance companies’ involvement in providing protection for people’s health care needs, and have the “government”...

The COVID-19 outbreak has made universal healthcare into a national security issue

Mar 08, 2020

Now, with the Democratic presidential primary field winnowed down, the two candidates really need to demonstrate some agility for the significant challenges at hand. We have to hear stump speeches and debate exchanges that relate to the rapidly deteriorating facts on the ground in this country — and not get hung up on the histrionics of how we got here.The hour is too late, and the stakes get higher by the day. Joe Biden's...

How the Affordable Care Act transformed our health-care system

Jan 15, 2020

The Affordable Care Act has been the law of the land for close to a decade, and yet it can seem that we’ve barely settled into it. Headline after headline warns its existence is in jeopardy. Many states refuse to implement its core parts. President Donald Trump has wished for it to explode . A central provision has been declared unconstitutional . ...

Employment Law Changes For 2020: What American Workers Need To Know

Dec 31, 2019

While American workers ring in the new year by toasting champagne and making resolutions, their employers will be scrambling to ensure that they’re in compliance with the more than two dozen federal and state laws set to go into effect on January 1, 2020. Here are some of the most noteworthy. Fair Labor Standards Act Overtime Provisions By raising the standard salary level from $455 to $684 a week, this rule...

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