Phil Hanson: Honoring those who shape our communities – Neosho Daily News

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Each year, your Community Foundation has the privilege of recognizing individuals and organizations who have made a significant philanthropic impact in Eastern Jackson County at our Toast to Our Towns Gala.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the event and on Sept. 26 we will host a gala like no other in our organizations history. This years Toast to Our Towns Gala will be delivered live through a dynamic online celebration. The one-hour celebration of philanthropy will start at 7 p.m. and be broadcast to more than 40 different watch parties throughout the region. During the event, we will recognize Brent Schondelmeyer and Lee Williams as our Heartland Humanitarians of the Year and Speaks Chapels as our Heartland Corporate Citizen of the Year. The Junior Service League of Independence will receive our Heartland Service Award, and Adam Kliethermes will receive the Dr. Paul M. Thomson Professional Advisor of the Year Award.

Our 2020 Heartland Humanitarians of the Year, Brent Schondelmeyer and Lee Williams have worked across sectors to drive community initiatives in Independence and across the region for more than 30 years. Brent, a journalist and well-known local historian, is the deputy director of Local Investment Commission and oversees programs that help strengthen older and low-income neighborhoods throughout Eastern Jackson County. Lee retired as library director at Graceland University and is an advocate for public health initiatives.

Together, Brent and Lee advocate for historic preservation and civic improvements and contribute to the community by working behind the scenes with several nonprofits and on local initiatives. Lee is a past president of the Health Sciences Library Network of Kansas City and has led local efforts for the 2006 Clean Indoor Air Act. Brent is a leader at First Christian Church of Independence and a current trustee and past president of the board of Mid-Continent Public Library.

Speaks Chapels is our 2020 Heartland Corporate Citizen of the Year. A third-generation, family-owned funeral provider, Speaks Chapels has been serving the Eastern Jackson County community for more than 80 years. Under the leadership of President and CEO Brad Speaks, it supports the community during times of grief, and through their commitment to philanthropy. Speaks Chapels employees are active volunteers, many serving on the boards of area nonprofits. Additionally, the company lends financial support to nonprofits throughout the region and to community projects, such as the Independence Uptown Market and Harry S. Truman Library and Museum renovations.

Celebrating 75 years of continuous service to the community in 2020, the Junior Service League of Independence is receiving our Heartland Service Award. An organization of dedicated women who have a passion for community leadership, service to others and personal growth, JSL has been connecting and empowering women to positively impact the community through service since 1945. From advocating for arts education and womens healthcare to leading volunteer programs and historic preservation projects, the women of JSL have provided countless volunteer hours and significant financial contributions that have shaped the fabric of Independence and the greater Eastern Jackson County community.

Adam Kliethermes is our Dr. Paul M. Thomson Professional Advisor of the Year. A second-generation investment adviser for Edward Jones, Adam brings a unique perspective for financial planning. Adam earned a masters of accountancy and J.D. from the University of Missouri and joined Edward Jones in 2011. Having grown up in the business and community he serves, Adam has a distinct ability to develop strategies that serve his clients and the community. The past chair of Truman Heartlands Independence/Sugar Creek Advisory Board, Adam played an important role in expanding the Community Foundations Professional Advisor network.

These four honorees embody the spirit of giving in Eastern Jackson County and are a special example of what a community can achieve when people work together for a greater cause.

You can find more information about this years honorees, plans for the online event and how you can sponsor a watch party and join in the celebration on Saturday, Sept. 26 at http://www.thcf.org/Gala.

Phil Hanson is the president and CEO of Truman Heartland Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity committed to improving the communities in and around Eastern Jackson County. For more information on charitable giving, visit http://www.thcf.org or call Truman Heartland at 816.836.8189.

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Phil Hanson: Honoring those who shape our communities - Neosho Daily News

Trump says he’s working on health insurance executive order on pre-existing conditions – Reuters

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., August 7, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

BEDMINSTER, N.J. (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday he would be working over the next couple of weeks on an executive order to require health insurers to cover pre-existing conditions.

Insurance companies were prohibited from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions under the Affordable Care Act passed under former President Barack Obama, known as Obamacare, which the Trump administration has tried to scrap.

Over the next two weeks Ill be pursuing a major executive order requiring health insurance companies to cover all pre-existing conditions for all customers, Trump said at a news conference at his golf property in Bedminster, New Jersey.

The Republican president, who is trailing Democratic candidate Joe Biden ahead of the Nov. 3, gave no details about his plan.

Trump has criticized the cost and coverage under Obamacare and has been promising since his 2016 campaign to replace it with a better plan.

His administration asked the Supreme Court in June to invalidate the Obamacare law.

Biden has condemned Trump for fighting to gut Obamacare, accusing him of threatening healthcare protections for millions of Americans in the midst of a raging pandemic.

Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sandra Maler

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Trump says he's working on health insurance executive order on pre-existing conditions - Reuters

Trump signs executive order to expand telehealth, boost rural health care – FierceHealthcare

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President Donald Trump issuedan executive order Monday to support healthcare in rural areas bypermanently expanding some telehealth services beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) officials said they plan to issue a proposed Physician Fee Schedule rule that will cement some regulatory flexibilities enacted during the public health emergency to reimburse for telehealth visits. Examples include emergency room visits, nurse consultations, and speech and occupational therapy, they said.

CMS' annual Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program updates Medicare payment rates.

These telehealth expansions would build on the work CMS has done during the public health emergency to more than double allowable telehealth services, greatly expanding access to high quality care, officials said.

RELATED:CMS: Upcoming Medicare payment rule to include permanent telehealth expansions

There has been a surge in the number of Medicare patients getting telemedicine services. Before the public health emergency, approximately 13,000 beneficiaries in fee-for-service Medicare received telemedicine in a week. In the last week of April, nearly 1.7 million beneficiaries received telehealth services, CMS reported.

"Today Im taking action to ensure telehealth is here to stay," President Trump said during a press conference Monday evening. "I signed executive order to make some of our regulatory reforms permanent

During the pandemic, CMS has enabled Medicare to cover more than 135 services through telehealth.

A more sweeping extension of pandemic telehealth policies, including enabling patients to get telehealth visits at home, would requireCongressional action, CMS officials said.

To support rural health care, Trump also signed anexecutive order Mondayto directthe Department of Health and Human Services to set up a new voluntarypilot payment model through CMS' Centers forMedicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).

That payment model would provide hospitals in rural communities a more consistent stream of Medicare payments based on delivering high-quality care, Trump said during a press conference Tuesday evening.

"Revenue for rural providers varies significantly month to month, making it difficult to stay in business.Many are having a difficult time," Trump said.

The order also directs the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services and the Federal Communications Commission to form a task force to focus on improving broadband infrastructure in rural communities to support telehealth.

During a briefing on Monday night, Trump also said he would release a new healthcare plan before the end of the month.

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Trump signs executive order to expand telehealth, boost rural health care - FierceHealthcare

Guest Column: The untold story of health care during the pandemic – Longview News-Journal

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Over the past several months, COVID-19 has become a central focus in all our lives. We anxiously await the news each evening with hopes that the numbers of cases and hospitalizations are decreasing.

However, in Tyler, cases rose by sixty just last weekend. And as of early this week, 152 East Texas patients were receiving treatment for the coronavirus at Tyler hospitals. As we work together to flatten the curve, it seems the virus is affecting every decision we make.

But there is a bit of an untold story here, one that we, emergency healthcare providers, have been watching unfold since the pandemic began. Its a situation everyone must be aware of.

While our community has worked together to social distance and stay home, it has caused many to inadvertently avoid getting critical emergency health care. In fact, a recent national survey found nearly half of Americans have delayed medical care because of COVID-19 and 11% of those who delayed care saw worsened health conditions as a result. Similarly, emergency room volumes across the country decreased 21% in June 2020 compared to June 2019, which is better than April and May, when volumes were down 48% and 42% compared to levels a year earlier. In Tyler, we have seen a similar trend of emergency room visits and EMS requests decreasing significantly. As a result, people are literally dying at home simply because they are afraid to go to an emergency room.

In many cases, these consequences are entirely avoidable with proper, timely medical care. For example, if not addressed immediately, a treatable heart attack can turn into life-long heart disease, or worse death. Following the initial COVID-19 outbreak, New York City reported an 800% increase in at-home deaths due to fear of contracting the virus in hospitals. The thought of loss of life is troubling enough imagine knowing that loss could have been prevented with a short drive to the emergency room.

The most common, and life-threatening, delays in care are from patients with heart disease, stroke and sepsis. Any delay in seeking care for these conditions places the patients life at risk and can have massive ramifications for their future health. Stroke victims in particular have shown a dangerous trend of delaying care during the pandemic. New research shows patients are arriving to hospitals and treatment centers an average of 160 minutes later during COVID-19. When every second counts, this is a matter of life and death.

COVID-19 may have changed daily lives in many ways, but emergency rooms have stood, and remain, a constant pillar for communities to rely on. With patient safety always the top priority, emergency care providers are going above and beyond in new health protocols. Just some of the steps being taken include: rigorous sanitation protocols; stringent screening processes; mobile units for patient care and procedures; and separate areas for those suspected of having COVID-19. Nothing is more important than protecting patients lives. Emergency medicine physicians will continue to go the extra mile, taking every precaution possible to ensure a safe, reliable space for every patient who needs it.

Let me be clear: Despite what you may be hearing about overcrowding or high transmission risks in hospitals, there is absolutely no reason to delay care under any circumstances. If you are experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness, tingling or blurred vision or any other symptom you feel is an emergency, please seek immediate care.

A health emergency is just that an emergency. It requires urgent, specialized care and there should be no question, hesitation or delay in getting that care. As much as we work together to battle the pandemic, we must also work together to ensure proper health care is not neglected.

We all want to be safe and do what is necessary to keep our fellow community members safe. However, that does not mean putting your life or a loved ones life at risk. You must trust we are here to provide the right care at the right time at the right place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Dr. Evans Smith is an emergency physician in Tyler and a member of the Texas College of Emergency Physicians.

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Guest Column: The untold story of health care during the pandemic - Longview News-Journal

Congressman Chris Jacobs Wants to Take Away Your Healthcare – Artvoice

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by William Fine

On July 30 of this year Lauren Underwood, (D-IL), introduced an amendment that would prevent the Department of Justice from using tax payer money appropriated for other purposes to pay to litigate against the Affordable Care Act. Congressman Chris Jacobs voted against this amendment. Mr. Jacobs wants to throw 23 million Americans off their health care during a pandemic. Mr. Jacobs wants millions more to lose their insurance for pre-existing conditions of which contracting Covid-19 infection is now one of them. Mr. Jacobs is just plain cruel.

Over 4.9 million citizens have contracted the infection and over 160,000 have died. One of our fellow citizens dies every 80 seconds. Refrigerator trucks are lining up outside of morgues to hold the overflow of our dead citizens. Our families and friends are hallowing the cemeteries across the land. The New York Times reported 7/14/20, The coronavirus pandemic stripped an estimated 5.4 million American worker of their health insurance between February and May. It is estimated that over 130 million more citizens with pre-existing conditions would lose there health care if Mr. Jacobs gets his way. Mr. Jacobs is just plain cruel.

Its time for a change. We need a new direction a new way. We need a rebirth of compassion and a clarity of purpose to benefit society. We need to roll away the stone of fear of helping our neighbors; roll away the stone of anger and wrathful health care. Roll away the stone of divisive and politicized health care. We need a new Congressman. Thank you

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Congressman Chris Jacobs Wants to Take Away Your Healthcare - Artvoice

Covid-19 ‘Has Laid Bare’ the Crisis of Healthcare in America – Common Dreams

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Time flies. Hard to believe that it was twelve years ago that healthcare reform activist Wendell Potter left his job as head of corporate communications at Cigna and shortly after, loudly blew the whistle on the gross malpractices of the health insurance industry that had employed him.

Ever since, Potter has devoted virtually every minute to telling the story of his time as a top executive in a business dedicated to raking in massive profits at the expense of those suffering in medical need or just trying to stay healthy. He preaches the gospel of Medicare for All, single payer medical insurance for everyone at little or no cost. To that end, he has lectured around the country, written countless op-eds, authored two books, started the investigative journalism website Tarbell and various healthcare advocacy organizations, including Business Leaders for Healthcare Transformation.

"The advocacy community has made great strides over the past few years, but there's more that can be done to push back against the corporate propaganda that I used to be a part of." Wendell Potter, Center for Health & DemocracyNow he's the founder of a new non-profit group, the Center for Health and Democracy, because, he says, there's "not nearly enough awareness of the problems associated with money in politics and why money in politics is a real barrier for this country to move forward on meaningful healthcare reform. We will be drawing attention to how big corporations and associations are spending enormous sums of money to influence campaigns and public policy, both legislation and regulations, and help explain why that is blocking progressive reforms."

Potter has a strategy: "One of the things that is very important for us is to do a better job of winning the messaging battle. The advocacy community has made great strides over the past few years, but there's more that can be done to push back against the corporate propaganda that I used to be a part of

"There is a front group that is funded by industry money called the Partnership for America's Healthcare Future. The money comes from the insurance industry, but also from the pharmaceutical industry and big hospital chains. At one point they were spending more money in Iowa than the candidates were spending to try to scare people away from reform. And they were attacking not only Medicare for All, but any kind of meaningful reforms, including the public option. So we have our work cut out for us. We will probably never have the same amount of money that they have But I think we can make a difference."

Even though the special interest cash has been pouring in, Potter continued, "There is legislation in Congress that would create a Medicare for All system in this country And we saw during the primaries, despite all the spending that was done by the insurance industry and their front group, a majority of people who voted in the Democratic primary in every single state, including my home state of Tennessee and other southern states, said that they supported Medicare for All. And this was after they were told that Medicare for All would replace Medicare, would replace private insurance companies."

Potter's new Center for Health and Democracy comes at a time when the nation is ravaged by COVID-19, a crashed economy, vast unemployment and the prospect of a November election that already is the most contentious of modern times, one in which healthcare reform is a critical issue to all Americans.

"The COVID pandemic has really laid bare so many of the problems that we have in this country when it comes to our healthcare system," he said. "It also has shown just how greedy the insurance industry is and how it's able to profiteer. Over the first six months of this year, the six largest, for-profit health insurance companies have reported profits that exceeded Wall Street's expectations.

"United Healthcare, for example, reported second quarter earnings that were the most they've ever made over three months in their history. So they've been making enormous profits. And one of the reasons is because they've spent far less on medical claims. That's because so many elective procedures were canceled. So they've been taking in money. Their membership has been declining, but even with those declines in membership, they've still been able to take in record revenues and convert those revenues to record profits.

"We've also seen laid bare the absurdity of our employer-based healthcare system. A lot of the candidates during the primary talked a great deal about how much Americans valued the employer-based healthcare system Well, what we've seen made abundantly clear in the pandemic is that Americans have been losing their jobs by the millions, more than 40 million people have applied for unemployment compensation. And a lot of those people have also lost their health insurance. So we've lost a great deal of ground that we gained when the Affordable Care Act was passed.

"People are dying unnecessarily in this country."

Potter said that he's "waiting with bated breath" for the healthcare reform Donald Trump keeps promising but never delivers. We spoke just before Trump announced that he would issue an executive order requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions something that already exists under Obamacare. As for Joe Biden, "He has not embraced Medicare for All, which is regrettable. But I do think that there will be enormous pressure, if there is a Biden administration, on the president and Congress to move forward with reforms that go far beyond the Affordable Care Act

"I think there is absolutely evidence that his thinking is evolving and has shifted some. His first indication of that was his willingness to at least begin by lowering the age of eligibility for Medicare to age 60, which is a step in the right direction. I think there are other things that will be proposed that will put us on a path toward Medicare for All And I think we'll continue to see Joe Biden shifting more, maybe not during the campaign, because I think he's going to be very cautious about what he says out of fear of maybe alienating some perspective voters. But I do think that after the election, that there will be even greater pressure on him and his transition team and his administration to move forward much more rapidly than he probably would have imagined he would have."

But, Wendell Potter added, if Trump gets reelected, "Lord The one thing that we know about Trump is that he is the biggest friend of the plutocrats, and that would include the people who run the insurance companies and who invest in them. So I think that our chances of having anything meaningful in a second Trump administration are not very great. And I hope people will understand that as they're voting, that if you continue to have Trump in the White House nothing meaningful is going to happen. And they very possibly could make things worse. Much worse."

***

A transcript of our conversation follows, edited for length and clarity. There's more about the Center for Health and Democracy, Trump, Biden, profiteering and the power of the health insurance lobby, how the insurance industry uses "choice" as a word "to bamboozle the public into thinking that what we value most is having a choice of health insurer," COVID and Canadian healthcare, plus whether the healthcare business will seek even more ways to make money when a COVID vaccine becomes available. Full disclosure: I first met Wendell Potter when I was part of the team at Bill Moyers Journal that in 2009 presented his accusations and secret documents revealing healthcare industry attempts to denigrate and intimidate reform activists.

Wendell, you've launched a new organization, the Center for Health and Democracy. Congratulations. What is the purpose of this group?

This group brings together the work that I've done over the past 12 years after I left my job at Cigna and became a very vocal critic of the health insurance industry. I've also written a great deal, and spoken a great deal, about the problems of money in politics. We've talked about this, Michael, in the past, you know that I coauthored with Nick Penniman of Issue One, Nation on the Take: How Big Money Corrupts Our Democracy and What We Can Do About It. And this center, the Center for Health and Democracy, brings all that work together.

One of the things that I've observed in working with a lot of advocates for healthcare reform, is that there's not nearly enough awareness of the problems associated with money in politics and why money in politics is a real barrier for this country to move forward on meaningful healthcare reform. We will be drawing attention to how big corporations and associations are spending enormous sums of money to influence campaigns and public policy, both legislation and regulations, and help explain why that is blocking progressive reforms.

What's the plan in terms of getting your message across?

We'll be using a lot of tools and messaging techniques, certainly social media. I have a pretty robust Twitter following, and we'll be using that platform as well as Facebook and other social media platforms. We have a very robust mailing list as well. Grass roots email list with more than 100,000 names, and that's growing. And working with traditional media, of course. As you probably know, I spent many years myself in the media. I'm a former newspaper reporter, but also in my corporate jobs worked with the media and know, certainly, the importance of working with traditional media, helping reporters to understand the issues in ways they really haven't considered before, just informing them. So we'll be using multiple media to do this work or to get our messaging across. One of the things that is very important for us is to do a better job of winning the messaging battle. The advocacy community has made great strides over the past few years, but there's more that can be done to push back against the corporate propaganda that I used to be a part of.

It's hard to believe that it's been 12 years.

It is hard to believe. I left Cigna in May of 2008. I took time off to decide what I wanted to do. It was actually in June of 2009 that I testified before Congress, after working behind the scenes for several months with advocates to help advocates understand how the insurance industry really works and how their propaganda machine works. And, as you recall, the Bill Moyers Journal sent a crew to Washington to cover my first testimony on June 24th, 2009. And soon after that was the first major report based on that and the work that I had started doing. So I owe a great deal of debt to Bill Moyers and you all who were a part of that.

I gathered from reading your prospectus that one of the things you really want to talk about, as you have in the past, is the role of the health insurance special interests working behind the scenes of American politics, especially this year.

That's right. The special interests have spent enormous sums of money to influence the primary elections earlier this year. There is a front group that is funded by industry money called the Partnership for America's Healthcare Future. The money comes from the insurance industry, but also from the pharmaceutical industry and big hospital chains. At one point they were spending more money in Iowa than the candidates were spending to try to scare people away from reform. And they were attacking not only Medicare for All, but any kind of meaningful reforms, including the public option. So we have our work cut out for us. We will probably never have the same amount of money that they have. And in fact, I'm pretty certain of that. But I think we can make a difference.

The work we will do will be to pull the curtains back, to expose on an ongoing basis how insurers in particular are spending our money, the money that we pay in premium, a significant part of it is skimmed off to pay for their propaganda campaigns and to pay for lobbyists in Washington and in state capitals all across the country.

Are these interests the reason why some of the candidates have seemed to be so far behind [the curve of] the public desire for single payer, for Medicare for All?

I think it absolutely is the reason why we haven't seen even Democrats in Congress and presidential candidates reflect the same point of view that the American public has on healthcare reform. The insurance industry that I know so well and the way they spend money to influence campaigns In my old job, my team was responsible for doling out money from the Cigna Political Action Committee, and we would send money to Democrats as well as to Republicans. And some cases, the Democrats got more money than Republicans, depends on which way the political winds were blowing.

But we've seen, for example, in the House of Representatives and the Senate, but certainly the House, which is now been under Democratic control for some time, there is legislation that would create a Medicare for All system in this country. More than half of the Democratic Caucus has signed on as co-sponsors, there had been some hearings, but the legislation has not advanced out of committee for a floor vote. So that's telling.

And we saw during the primaries, despite all the spending that was done by the insurance industry and their front group, a majority of people who voted in the Democratic primary in every single state, including my home state of Tennessee and other southern states, said that they supported Medicare for All. And this was after they were told that Medicare for All would replace Medicare, would replace private insurance companies. So in every single state, a majority of those who were participating in the entrance and exit polls said they supported Medicare for All. Yet we saw that a lot of the Democratic candidates for president, they just weren't paying attention. And one of the reasons they weren't paying attention, in my view, is because of all the money that these special interests give to candidates at all levels.

You know, when I read your prospectus, one of the goals that's in that document is to expose how the current system harms Americans by overcharging them. And I think one of the insurance industry fallacies that has caused a lot of this harm is the notion of consumer choice.

That's right.

That we don't want to disturb the freedom of Americans to choose their own insurance plan or their doctors.

That's exactly right. In fact, I wrote an op-ed for The New York Times earlier this year on that very thing, about how the insurance industry and its allies have used that word "choice" to bamboozle the public into thinking that what we value most is having a choice of health insurer. It's bamboozling the public in many different ways. One, most of us, if you think about this, certainly those of us who get coverage through the workplace, we don't have a choice of health insurance company. That choice is made by our employer. Even if you get coverage through the Obamacare exchanges, in many cases there's a very limited choice depending on where you live. So we don't have as much choice as they would like you to think we have. But the choice that really matters most to Americans is not choice of health insurance companies. It is choice of healthcare providers, doctors, and hospitals, and other providers.

And increasingly, insurance companies have been taking those choices away from us through their limited networks. And those networks are getting skinnier and skinnier every year. And also insurance companies in the middle of a year, a policy year for someone, can and often will remove doctors and hospitals from their provider networks. So we don't have the choice that they would like us to believe. And they're trying to obscure the choice that matters most to us, which is a choice of healthcare providers. And by the way, the Medicare program doesn't have these limited networks. If you are enrolled in Medicare, you have unlimited choice of providers who participate in the Medicare program. And that is the vast majority of all doctors and hospitals in this country.

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What further has the COVID pandemic shown you about the state of healthcare and health insurance in the country?

The COVID pandemic has really laid bare so many of the problems that we have in this country when it comes to our healthcare system. It also has shown just how greedy the insurance industry is and how it's able to profiteer. Over the first six months of this year, the six largest, for-profit health insurance companies, and they are Anthem, Aetna, Cigna, Centene, United Healthcare, and Humana, have reported profits that exceeded Wall Street's expectations.

United, for example, reported second quarter earnings that were the most they've ever made over three months in their history. So they've been making enormous profits. And one of the reasons is because they've spent far less on medical claims. That's because so many elective procedures were canceled. So they've been taking in money. Their membership has been declining, but even with those declines in membership, they've still been able to take in record revenues and convert those revenues to record profits.

We've also seen laid bare the absurdity of our employer-based healthcare system. A lot of the candidates during the primary talked a great deal about how much Americans valued the employer-based healthcare system. And how many times did we hear that 150 or 160 million Americans get their coverage through their workplace? -- they didn't want to lose that. Well, what we've seen made abundantly clear in the pandemic is that Americans have been losing their jobs by the millions, more than 40 million people have applied for unemployment compensation. And a lot of those people who've lost their jobs, millions have also lost their health insurance. So we've lost ground, a great deal of ground that we gained when the Affordable Care Act was passed.

So why should we continue on with a healthcare system in which our healthcare access is tied to having a job and an employer that offers benefits? And increasingly over the years, employers have been throwing in the towel. They can't continue to offer benefits. So that's one thing.

We're seeing some of the other problems caused by the insurance industry in particular. They also are able to make money through very aggressive prior authorization requirements, which make it necessary for doctors to ask for permission or approval before they can proceed with a treatment or prescribe certain medication. So increasingly, Americans are not getting the care that they need because someone in the insurance company is saying no. Even if it's a covered benefit, it's their legal right to say, "We're not going to cover that" for whatever reason.

You may recall that during the debate on what became the Affordable Care Act, Sarah Palin and some others said that we should worry because the government would be setting up "death panels." Well, there was never anything in the legislation that would have done that. But that obscured something else that I talked about then, but it's also becomes very apparent, insurance companies operate death panels, and they do this in one way through these prior authorization requirements. In many cases, people are not getting the care that could save their lives. And that's just because the insurance industry says no to a doctor who, in many cases, is pleading for approval for coverage, for something the patient urgently needs.

So you're saying that despite the enormity of this current crisis, and despite the press releases that have gone out from the insurers about how beneficial they're being and how much they're trying to help people, that there's still a lot of predatory behavior taking place?

Oh, there's enormous predatory behavior. And it's interesting, if you look at the press releases that these companies have put out for their quarterly earnings this year, they always spend paragraph after paragraph, bullet point after bullet point at the top of their press releases, talking about how good they are, how they are spending money or accelerating payments to doctors and hospitals. It's just, again, an effort to hide their embarrassment of riches, or at least bury it under many paragraphs of patting themselves on the back.

And when you really look at what they're doing, the money that they presumably are spending or contributing to nonprofit organizations throughout the country is minuscule, when you look at it as a percentage of the profits they're making, and certainly as a percentage of the revenues they're hauling in.

So you caused a little bit of a stir on Twitter earlier when you said that Canada's response has been better than ours because of the differences in our healthcare systems. Are people dying unnecessarily?

People are dying unnecessarily in this country. And I also have an op-ed in theWashington Post now along those same lines, pointing out just how badly we've done in this pandemic, how poorly prepared we were and how, because of our multi-payer system in particular, we've done such a poor job and far worse than Canada has done in so many different ways, in anticipating and getting ready for the pandemic, making sure that... In Canada, for example, you don't have to worry at all about the cost of the test or treatment. There are no out of pocket requirements for the care that you need in Canada.

One deterrent in this country is the fact that people know that they're going to be on the hook for sometimes thousands of dollars if they get the care that they need. So we've done such a poor job, not only compared to Canada, but to every other developed country in the world when it comes to being ready to handle this pandemic. And our numbers continue to be worse than any other country in the world. Other countries have seen a flattening and actually a decline in the number of cases and deaths, when we're seeing an acceleration of it, certainly in a few states in this country.

So are you eagerly awaiting Donald Trump's healthcare plan at the end of the month?

Oh, I just can't believe that we haven't seen it yet. Weren't we already supposed to have it? It was two weeks that he was going to be unveiling it and that was about a month ago when he said that, or at least more than two weeks.

Yeah. I'm waiting with bated breath and I'm sure it's going to be beautiful as we've been promised. And we were promised that when he was a candidate in 2016. And the Republicans kept talking about how great their plan was going to be that would replace the Affordable Care Act, and we just haven't seen it materialize. With the exception of a bill that almost got passed that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act and would have just been catastrophic for the country. So thank goodness that John McCain stepped up and kept that from being enacted. But the thing is, Republicans, including Donald Trump, cannot come up with a healthcare plan that does what they say, which is to protect people with preexisting conditions and bring down the cost of health insurance and healthcare. They just don't have a plan. Yeah, I can't wait to see the president's plan.

What do you think happens after the election? I mean, we know the Republicans haven't really made it much of a priority other than, as you say, to repeal Obamacare. But what do you think? Do you have any confidence that Biden will be able to get anything taken care of?

I think Biden will really make a push to move forward. He talks about improving the ACA and there's merit to that. He has not embraced Medicare for All, which is regrettable. But I do think that if there is a Biden administration there will be enormous pressure on the president and Congress to move forward with reforms that go far beyond the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act for all the good that it's done, it has done good, it's brought a lot of people into coverage, but again, we're seeing a lot of those people go back into the ranks of the uninsured, but it left the insurance industry largely in control of the system and they've been able to profiteer. Their profits have been enormous since the Affordable Care Act was passed. So we need to do a lot to reduce the power and influence or the ability of the insurance industry to profiteer if they hang around.

He has supported a public option. We, as an organization, will be watching that very closely and weighing in, it has to be a very good public option that doesn't mimic just the private plans that are available. There will be great pressure on the next president, certainly if it's Joe Biden, to do something about out of pocket costs and about some of these other things that we've been talking about that people are just fed up with. And there will be, I think, a renewed interest in Medicare for All, because people are aware of the profiteering of the insurance industry, and they're seeing they, more than ever, are disadvantaged financially and in ways that harm their health, because of the current system we have. And that's largely because we have private insurance companies running our healthcare system.

So you think that the pandemic has shifted Biden closer to single payer at this point?

I think there is absolutely evidence that his thinking is evolving and has shifted some. His first indication of that was his willingness to at least begin by lowering the age of eligibility for Medicare to age 60, which is a step in the right direction. I think there are other things that will be proposed that will put us on a path toward Medicare for All, if it's not done with a single piece of legislation, like Bernie Sanders has sponsored and Pramila Jayapal and Debbie Dingell have sponsored in the House. There are ways to get there other than through that one piece of legislation that just needs to be done sooner rather than later.

But I do think there will be enormous pressure. And I think we'll continue to see Joe Biden shifting more, maybe not during the campaign, because I think he's going to be very cautious about what he says out of fear of maybe alienating some perspective voters. But I do think that after the election, that there will be even greater pressure on him and his transition team and his administration to move forward much more rapidly than he probably would have imagined he would have.

And if Trump gets reelected?

If Trump gets reelected... Lord. I still think there will be an effort to try to move forward. The one thing that we know about Trump is that he is the biggest friend of the plutocrats, and that would include the people who run the insurance companies and who invest in them. So I think that our chances of having anything meaningful in a second Trump administration are not very great. And I hope people will understand that as they're voting, that if you continue to have Trump in the White House and Democrats in control of the Senate, nothing meaningful is going to happen. And they very possibly could make things way worse. Much worse.

What about in terms of a vaccine? There's obviously pressure for the vaccine to be made available free to everyone, but I get the feeling that the insurance companies are trying to figure out ways to get a piece of that action, which will be massive.

Yes. And the insurance industry will be more controlled than they should be it seems in who gets those vaccines and who gets them first. I guess the government, they have the ability to play some role. But I'll say it again, insurance companies have a lot of control over the access to healthcare that we have. And I don't trust them a minute to do the right thing. And they certainly will want to make sure that they will, at the very least, not lose money. And they will be trying to figure out how they can make money. The one thing I've said that these companies know how to do best is to make money. And we've certainly seen that over the years.

So who are some of the people you've got involved in this new Center for Health and Democracy?

I've got a good team of people. One of the things that we're going to be doing is our effort to win the messaging battle. We've got a small, but very capable, communications team of communications experts who are expert at both social media and traditional media. We are bringing in people who've had a good track record of establishing and operating nonprofits and bringing in the donations that are necessary for a nonprofit to succeed. We have substantial financial commitments already. And a lot of the money that we are getting is coming from small donations, mainly from the email program that we have, which has more than 100,000 names now, and that program is growing.

We also will be working in partnership with other organizations that are involved in one way or another with advancing healthcare reform and addressing the problems associated with money in politics, like Issue One, and represent some other organizations that are working and have been working to reform our current political system.

You have several different affiliations now that you've helped create. And is it sort of a synergistic thing where each of them is better because of the others?

Yeah, I think there is a synergistic relationship among the organizations that I've helped create and lead. Another organization that is ongoing and that I served as president of is called Business Leaders for Healthcare Transformation. And that is an organization that represents more than 3,000 businesses across the country of all sizes that support Medicare for All, or moving toward that, and that continues. Also, more than three years ago now, launched Tarbell, which is a nonprofit news organization that's ongoing, that does important investigative work. And that will continue to look at the intersection of healthcare and money and politics and do important investigative reporting on that.

Anything you want to add?

I guess I would add that I hope that people would visit our website, CenterforHealthandDemocracy.org, reach out and join our e-mail list to stay updated on the work that we do.

Wendell Potter, thank you.

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Covid-19 'Has Laid Bare' the Crisis of Healthcare in America - Common Dreams

Bernie Sanders wants to tax billionaires’ pandemic gains to fund health care – Yahoo Finance

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A new bill introduced by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Ed Markey (D-MA) would implement a one-time 60% tax on billionaires to cover the health care costs of every American for a year.

The Make Billionaires Pay Act would tax the $731 billion in wealth accumulated by the richest 0.001% of America between March 18 through August 5. This would apply towards 467 individuals.

"The legislation I am introducing today will tax the obscene wealth gains billionaires have made during this extraordinary crisis to guarantee healthcare as a right to all for an entire year, Sen. Sanders said in a statement. "At a time of enormous economic pain and suffering, we have a fundamental choice to make. We can continue to allow the very rich to get much richer while everyone else gets poorer and poorer. Or we can tax the winnings a handful of billionaires made during the pandemic to improve the health and well-being of tens of millions of Americans.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders arrives to speak at a rally at the Drake University Olmsted Center in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

The money generated from this 60% tax would go towards covering out-of-pocket expenses for the uninsured and underinsured for one year.

The top five richest Americans Amazon (AMZN) CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft (MSFT) Founder Bill Gates, Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK.B) CEO Warren Buffett, and Oracle (ORCL) Founder Larry Ellison would pay a combined $87.1 billion under the bill. In total, the tax would generate over $421.6 billion.

In my view, Sanders added, it is time for the Senate to act on behalf of the working class who are hurting like they have never hurt before, not the billionaire class who are doing phenomenally well and have never had it so good."

A health care worker gives a nasal swab to a person to do a self administered test at the new federally funded COVID-19 testing site at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium on July 23, 2020 in Miami. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The Make Billionaires Pay Act would cover all medical bills, including prescription drugs and coronavirus-related expenses, over the next 12 months with the tax staying in effect until January 1, 2021.

Instead of more tax breaks for the rich while more Americans die because they cannot afford to go to a doctor, let us expand Medicare and save lives by demanding that billionaires pay their fair share of taxes, Sanders said.

The popular senator also lambasted the fact that CEOs like Bezos and Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk saw their net worth surge during the pandemic Bezos wealth increased by 63% while Musks nearly tripled.

Jeff Bezos would pay over $42 billion. (Photo by Elif Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

In that same period of time, over 5 million Americans have lost their employer-sponsored health care. And although President Trump pledged to reimburse hospitals for any coronavirus-related expenses for the uninsured, that still leaves non-coronavirus expenditures that could add up.

Story continues

During this unprecedented economic and public health crisis, millions of Americans are out of work and struggling to put food on the table while billionaires are getting even wealthier, Gillibrand said in a statement. Requiring billionaires to pay their fair share will help support workers and families dealing with job losses, food insecurity, housing instability and health care. Not only is this a common-sense proposal, but its a moral one and Congress should be doing all we can to assist Americans struggling right now.

This isnt the first wealth tax thats been floated through Congress: Both Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) frequently targeted the ultra wealthy throughout their presidential campaigns and each proposed their own kind of wealth tax that would go towards funding Medicare for all.

Adriana is a reporter and editor covering politics and health care policy for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter@adrianambells.

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Bringing price relief and accountability to healthcare – The Durango Herald

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Its been a long, winding road since January 2018 when Local First received impassioned feedback at our annual meeting that the price of healthcare, and health insurance premiums in particular, were crippling the business community.

As we began to explore an issue for which we had a limited track record, the importance of the Look Local lens in the complex world of healthcare became obvious.

Much like the challenges facing our downtown retail shops, our healthcare system and its local practitioners are threatened by the national trend toward consolidation of providers, which research shows leads to higher prices without measurably improving the quality of care. The corporatization and consolidation of healthcare typically results in fewer independent local healthcare providers in an increasingly complex system that lacks transparency and equity. Decisions are made in far-away corporate headquarters, making it harder to understand how to have a voice in decision-making. To tackle this trend, Local First teamed up with the local, independent healthcare practitioners of The Durango Network to listen to the community and explore options to support local, independent healthcare in the La Plata County region including Montezuma, Dolores and San Juan counties.

Thanks to initial support from the Rocky Mountain Health Foundation, we received a grant that provided critical capacity to hold focus groups with the business community to tackle local healthcare. From these discussions in 2019 came a community needs assessment recommending that we: 1) increase health literacy in the La Plata County region, and 2) develop a cooperative, local healthcare solution that increases access to care while also reducing insurance premiums. This is when we found Peak Health Alliance and their innovative healthcare cooperative hailing from the mountains of Summit County, Colorado. Similar to an agricultural cooperative, Peak Health Alliance uses the power of community purchasing to bring down the cost of healthcare while bringing the voice of the community back into the healthcare system to support transparency. The ultimate goal of this cooperative, which is officially licensed by the Colorado Division of Insurance, is to provide affordable, high-quality and locally responsive health insurance products in the marketplace. Each dollar our community saves on health insurance is a dollar that can be placed back into the economy on local produce, mortgage payments, and the other costs that make the La Plata County region a great, but expensive place to reside.

Fast forward to 2020, and we are pleased to announce that our goal of offering this type of plan in the marketplace by January 2021 is on track and heading your way - whether you are a business owner or an individual looking for affordable, local healthcare. With the incredible support and expertise of Peak Health Alliance, we have chosen to work with Bright Health who already offers coverage to Peak members in the northern part of our state. Bright Health will be new to our region for 2021, and we are pleased that our efforts appear to have driven greater marketplace diversity and interest in this remote corner of Colorado.

As we prepare for health insurance plans being available in January 2021, with rates and plan designs available this fall, we are now talking with the community about the details of engaging with us. The Southwest Health Alliance is the local decision-making arm of the Peak Health Alliance. As such, we are communicating now with local brokers to ensure they are fully equipped with information regarding the Southwest Health Alliance and Bright Health. Brokers will continue to assist both individuals and employer groups with their healthcare decision-making. Simultaneously, we are reaching out to 5,000 individuals in the business community that expressed interest in the Southwest Health Alliance plan. We are also speaking to the public at large about unique offerings such as $0 co-pays for mental health visits.

Along the way, we all get to uphold our values of transparency, choice, local self-reliance, and evidence-based decision-making. We are pleased that the Southwest Health Alliance insurance product will offer a choice of local providers as well as enhanced primary care and mental health benefits, while delivering cost-savings through partnerships with Centura (owner of Mercy Regional Medical Center), Animas Surgical Hospital, and local healthcare providers. We are still hopeful that Southwest Health System in Cortez will agree to join the Bright Health network so that Montezuma County residents can enjoy unfettered access to local care in their community.

You can find out who sits on the Steering Committee of the Southwest Health Alliance, the incredible support we have received from local governments and corporate sponsors, and how you can engage by visiting the Local First Foundation website. Sign-up for our newsletter by emailing me so that you can attend one of our many webinars to learn more about the Southwest Health Alliance before it hits the marketplace in 2021.

Get involved. The power of a cooperative is in its numbers, so our community needs to rise to the occasion, become informed, and learn what the Southwest Health Alliance has to offer. That is not only a way to engage in local healthcare and drive decisions locally, but also a way to reduce your out-of-pocket expense for healthcare. With the Southwest Health Alliance, you can now look local first in healthcare for the first time-ever. We are pleased to be offering this unique product to the community and look forward to continuing the dialogue in the upcoming months.

Monique DiGiorgio is the director of Local First and the Local First Foundation in Durango. Contact her at director@local-first.org.

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Bringing price relief and accountability to healthcare - The Durango Herald

Health Care Hero from Middletown: COVID-19 intimidating because there are still so many unknowns – Hamilton Journal News

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ExploreCoronavirus: Face masks required for K-12 students in school buildings

What inspired you to get into health care? I was an state tested nursing assistant for 10 years, which allowed me to work side by side with the residents and nurses. I realized one day that I wanted to give more to the ones I was caring for. I decide with a good friend that we would attend nursing school together. As a team we applied for school and completed our 10-month program, then we sat for our LPN boards together. We successful completed. So, I inspired myself to get into health care along with a good friend.

Whats a memorable experience youve had in health care? The most memorable experience in my career is building strong relationships with the residents and families that I care for on a daily basis.

What do you want readers to know about your job right now: The things that make me extremely happy as a nurse are knowing I was able to help my residents, whether it was with giving them pain medication, helping them to the bathroom, or assist them to walk after a meal, or that I made the call to the doctor to inform him/her of a condition change, and to obtain new orders that would benefit my resident. I love leaving my residents better than he/she was when I entered the room. I always want to leave my residents with the feeling they are important, and that I heard them and responded with kindness and dignity.

COVID-19 is intimidating because there are still so many unknowns. I personally have not had to care for a patient with it; however, I know nurses who have and are still caring for those patients. We are all in this together, and together we will get through this rough time, and things will slowly get back to normal. Some call us heroes, but honestly, we are doing what nurses have always done: caring for those in need.

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Health Care Hero from Middletown: COVID-19 intimidating because there are still so many unknowns - Hamilton Journal News

Teachers, health care workers among many in Triangle updating wills amid COVID-19 – CBS17.com

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RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) With no end in sight, the coronavirus pandemic is causing people to plan for worst case scenarios causing people to think about the future more than ever before.

Estate planning businesses across the Triangle are seeing an increase in people wanting to write their wills, including essential workers like health care workers and teachers.

RELATED: Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

I have had a client or two that have been educators and administrators. I expect even more as time goes on and schools open back up, said Chad Thornton, the sole practitioner of the Thornton Law Firm in Raleigh.

Parents of college students who are headed to campuses filled with thousands of their peers are also looking to get their childrens affairs in order.

Next week, Im seeing three of my clients children for this purpose before they go to school. Having HIPPA authorizationsand healthcare power of attorney for their kids before we send them off has really, well theres been an uptick, saidShirley M. Diefenbach, attorney and partner with Walker Lambe Law firm in Durham.

Both attorneys say important things to consider when drafting a will include designating an executor or person to oversee an estate, deciding what happens with property and pets, and choosing beneficiaries.

You never know when you might catch COVID or might not be able to speak with people. Its important for peace of mind to know that you have someone to make those decisions. The sooner the better, said Thornton.

Thornton Law Firm in Raleigh offers house visits for appointments and consultations, they can be reached at thorntonlegal.com or 919-740-1264.

Walker Lambe Law Firm in Durham offers free consultations and virtual appointments, they can be reached at walkerlambe.com or 919-493-8411.

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Teachers, health care workers among many in Triangle updating wills amid COVID-19 - CBS17.com

MedWatch Today: Healthcare Hero, Cardiology Medical Imaging Team – YourCentralValley.com

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This week, we honor a team of Healthcare Heroes. The staff that makes up the Cardiac Medical Imaging Team have been put to the test during this Coronavirus pandemic. They help emergency doctors and nurses provide excellent care to COVID-19 positive patients every day.

The emergency department at Community Regional Medical Center is one of the busiest in the state, and has gotten even busier with the Coronavirus crisis. Alternative care sites have been set up to accommodate the influx of patients.

Cheryl Sutton is the manager of the Cardiac Medical Imaging Team, and said communication is key to the success of her teams work to expedite care. To make it easier on emergency staff, they now go directly to the patients, outside of the emergency room, to perform electrocardiograms and echocardiograms, essentially taking pictures of patients hearts to help physicians determine which direction a patient needs to go to for care.

Cheryl said, I talk to my staff everyday. We brief, and its anything that they can see make improvements and we talk about it and we can put it in place if its for everybody and not just one person. I think it has made things smoother for everybody because Im one of these people where if you know something is broken, try to fix it so you can work together, and the right hand has to know what the left hand is doing all the time.

Normally, they use four EKG machines at a time, but now with COVID-19, Cheryl said they have used eight in the department.

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MedWatch Today: Healthcare Hero, Cardiology Medical Imaging Team - YourCentralValley.com

COVID-19 Impacts: Offshore Patrol Vessel Market will Accelerate at a CAGR of almost 4% through 2020-2024|Increasing Need To Control Drug Trafficking…

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LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Technavio has been monitoring the offshore patrol vessel market and it is poised to grow by USD 4.91 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 4% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact

The market is concentrated, and the degree of concentration will accelerate during the forecast period. Austal Ltd., BAE Systems Plc, Damen Shipyards Group NV, Fincantieri Spa, Fr. Fassmer GmbH & Co. KG, Fr. Lrssen Werft GmbH & Co. KG, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Naval Group SA, NAVANTIA SA, and Saab AB are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments.

Increasing need to control drug trafficking has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Offshore Patrol Vessel Market 2020-2024 : Segmentation

Offshore Patrol Vessel Market is segmented as below:

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40418

Offshore Patrol Vessel Market 2020-2024 : Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our offshore patrol vessel market report covers the following areas:

This study identifies the increase in maritime activities as one of the prime reasons driving the offshore patrol vessel market growth during the next few years.

Offshore Patrol Vessel Market 2020-2024 : Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the offshore patrol vessel market, including some of the vendors such as Austal Ltd., BAE Systems Plc, Damen Shipyards Group NV, Fincantieri Spa, Fr. Fassmer GmbH & Co. KG, Fr. Lrssen Werft GmbH & Co. KG, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Naval Group SA, NAVANTIA SA, and Saab AB. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the Offshore Patrol Vessel Market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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Offshore Patrol Vessel Market 2020-2024 : Key Highlights

Table Of Contents :

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by Product

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor Analysis

Appendix

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Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavios report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavios comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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COVID-19 Impacts: Offshore Patrol Vessel Market will Accelerate at a CAGR of almost 4% through 2020-2024|Increasing Need To Control Drug Trafficking...

The Times, They Arent A-Changing: Offshore Sportsbooks Still Have Their Hooks In Mainstream Media – Sports Handle

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The year is 2020 and Americans have wagered over $22.7 billion at legal U.S. sportsbooks across more than 20 states including in New York since the federal ban on sports wagering outside Nevada fell two years ago. But if legal sports betting is so widespread across the U.S., why are offshore sportsbooks operating illegally in the U.S. still getting heaps of attention in mainstream media? And what exactly is wrong with that, if anything?

Perhaps you saw the most recent kerfuffle. Heres how I think it came about: A publicist for the offshore bookmaker(s) contacts, among others, a sportswriter for the New York Times. The idea is interesting and valid: How will the novel coronavirus pandemic impact sports betting, at a time when pro sports leagues are rebooting in fan-less bubbles, amid mass upheaval and uncertainty? The publicist has knowledgeable sources at the ready to address the questions, and they can deliver comments quickly. The sources are spokespeople or oddsmakers from these offshore sportsbooks, businesses that accept wagers from U.S. bettors in violation of federal law and also state law in many jurisdictions. A writer and editor for the Times, also known as the Newspaper of Record, publishes the story, using sources representing these offshore enterprises.

The writer of the recent Times story did not respond to Sports Handles email requests for comment.

But based on my own experiences, I am fairly certain that the chain above, leading to publication, closely represents how that story made it to print. And its publication in a paper with a massive worldwide reach drew the outrage of, among others, Joe Asher, CEO for William Hill US, a popular but derided-in-some-corners sportsbook operating legally in a growing number of states from Nevada to Indiana to New Jersey.

The Times article raises dozens of questions including questions of law, of publicity and public relations, business ethics, journalistic ethics, advertising practices, customer satisfaction, and consumer protection. Many of the questions dont have good answers yet, and there are far more questions than I could attempt to ask and answer in a readable article.

So here I wish to identify five questions, largely focusing on the media aspect. These questions warrant continued discussion and will arise again over and over (possibly in a court of law), as the post-PASPA legal U.S. sports betting industry moves through the terrible twos.

This is subjective. No doubt the COVID-19/sports betting impact is a valid and newsworthy topic and generated discussion in many other publications. But is the Times usage here endorsing these particular sportsbooks? Publication of comments/accounts from a source is not tantamount to endorsing that source, the sources organization, or even the truth of the sources comment or assertions. Indeed, a journalists job is to report the unbiased truth, and part of the truth is discussing half-truths and outright lies.

Theres also the issue of linking to the sportsbooks domains. Is that tantamount to advertising, and therefore illegal, as the American Gaming Associations Casey Clark insists?

Its not as clear-cut as he suggests. A link to another publication/comment most often is simply basic attribution, giving credit, or suggesting further, relevant reading. To link to the source website or original reporting is common practice. Now, if there were some sort of kickback arrangement here (very doubtful), or payment for the linking, that would be a different story; no one is alleging that here, to be clear.

How about legitimized? That one is tough, because legitimacy may also speak to a sportsbook operators functional business practices. When finding quality information sources, does it matter whether or not certain offshore sportsbooks do bookmaking better?

Has the Times whitewashed, implied the legality of, or suggested that the offshore sportsbooks referenced are actually operating legally in the U.S.? I think thats closer to the actual practical impact here. But even that is open to debate.

The First Amendment affords individuals and news media very broad free-speech protections for incisive reporting, nuanced opinion, blogging about nonsense, shouting and meme-ing on social media and beyond.

Some have argued that the quoting and linking to offshore sportsbooks is illegal: specifically, that it constitutes aiding and abetting a violation of the Federal Wire Act. Some legal cases such as United States vs. Edge Broadcasting Co., as well as the settlement between The Sporting News and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), have approached similar issues around casino and lottery advertising.

Of course, governmental entities including the DOJ and the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) have spoken to and warned of prosecution for certain acts.

Here are relevant sections from a 2003 letter to the National Association of Broadcasters, from John G. Malcolm, deputy assistant attorney general for the DOJ, written as a self-described public service:

Because of the possibility that some of your organizations members may be accepting money to place such advertisements, the Department of Justice, as a public service, would like you to be aware that the entities and individuals placing these advertisements may be violating various state and federal laws and that entities and individuals that accept and run such advertisements may be aiding and abetting these illegal activities.

Notwithstanding their frequent claims of legitimacy, Internet gambling and offshore sportsbook operations that accept bets from customers in the United States violate Sections 1084, 1952, and 1955 of Title 18 of the United States Code, each of which is a Class E felony. Additionally, pursuant to Title 18. United States Code. Section 2, any person Or entity who aids or abets in the commission of any of the above-listed offenses is punishable as a principal violator of those statutes. The Department of Justice is responsible for enforcing these statutes. and we reserve the right to prosecute violators of the law.

***

Broadcasters and other media outlets should know of the illegality of offshore sportsbook and Internet gambling operations since, presumably, they would not run advertisements for illegal narcotics sales, prostitution, child pornography or other prohibited activities. Wed appreciate it if you would forward this public service message to all of your member organizations which may be running such advertisements, so that they may consult with their counsel or take whatever actions they deem appropriate.

I think it is exceedingly unlikely that what appears in the Times story was anything but news reporting, i.e., not an advertisement for which any remuneration of any kind was involved. But however you define the usage in the article, and in the scores of similar instances across mainstream and local media, meeting the threshold for aiding and abetting of the Wire Act is a serious hurdle that would require establishing intent to facilitate a violation of the law.

This DOJ letter, from 15 years before a rapidly expanding legal sports betting market was born, was a warning shot. Clearly, the DOJ does not look fondly on the usage; however, theres a clear demarcation made between advertising and First Amendment speech.

Separately, consider the likelihood of the government prosecuting the party publishing an alleged advertisement, when prosecution of the actual sportsbooks operating illegally is practically non-existent.

More recently, here is an excerpt from a November 2019 letter written by New Jersey DGE Director David Rebuck, to inform news and media outlets and other entities that engage in sportsbook advertising in New Jersey about the importance of not endorsing or referencing internet sportsbook operators that are not authorized to accept wagers from customers located in New Jersey.

The dispatch is most akin to an admonishment from a consumer protection standpoint or a request for support of the states burgeoning legal sports betting market. The point is, its well-intentioned, but lacks teeth.

If the sources remarks and insight are accurate, valid, truthful, newsworthy, even reasonable, has the journalist not done his or her job, or met ethical expectations? Does a journalist have a responsibility to quote/source/link sportsbooks licensed in U.S. jurisdictions only?

Here is further advice from Rebucks November 2019 letter, directed to news and media outlets and other entities engaged in sportsbook advertising in New Jersey:

If an unauthorized site must be mentioned in a report, include a statement that the site is not licensed to provide sports wagering bets in New Jersey, and direct readers to the DGE website that contains the approved list of sports wagering entities and events.

Has the Times committed any wrongdoing by omitting a statement that neither of the two sportsbooks mentioned holds a license to operate in New York, New Jersey, or anywhere in the U.S.? Is the Times in any way responsible, if a reader in New York, Wisconsin, or anywhere the sportsbooks are not licensed, reads the story and then transacts business with those sportsbook sites? The Times is read literally worldwide, and these sportsbooks, for whatever they might do in the U.S., are licensed in non-U.S. jurisdictions; were not talking about The Newark Bugle here.

How proximate is the newspaper reference to someones depositing of funds? How much responsibility does Joe Q. Bettor bear in managing his own finances and transactions? These questions dont have clear answers.

Did the Times fail to vet the sources or those sportsbooks, realize that a .ag domain means Antigua, and wonder why, or explore? Was the information itself satisfactory, so in any case, the origin and licensure status of the sportsbook lack relevance?

The CEO of Smarkets and SBK (licensed Colorado sportsbook and a licensed betting exchange in the U.K.), Jason Trost, wrote on Twitter: IIllegal offshore books dont pay taxes, get software audited, follow responsible betting practice, undergo criminal background checks of staff, etc etc. While a lot of regulation is (very) poorly thought-out, to advocate illegal is better is irresponsible and uninformed.

But again, is quoting and linking the same as advocating? Have I just advocated for Jason Trosts Smarkets by quoting his remark on social media? Does taxation have any relevance here whatsoever?

And consider the source(s). At all times. As respected sports wagering industry observer and critic Captain Jack puts it well:

Time for the disclosure: Sports Handle is owned by Better Collective, a gambling industry affiliate marketing company headquartered in Denmark, with U.S. headquarters in Tennessee. It is monetized in large part by commissions for sending players to U.S.-based sportsbooks. So question my agenda and credibility, too, as Im sure you already have.

And heres one more question lacking a clear-cut answer: Does it matter that some U.S.-based legal bookmakers rely on offshore bookmakers to set and adjust their lines, and thus to operate in general? Never mind if they do or dont, or to what degree thats another question of honesty and ethics that exists separately from the law.

The journalist who reports on the subject? Her/his editor? The American Gaming Association? The Department of Justice? William Hill U.S.? The National Sports Media Association? The New Jersey DGE and a coalition of other regulatory agencies for states in which sports betting is legal?

How about stakeholders shouting foul on social media? Well, that happens often and may be cathartic or provide a dopamine rush of likes, but does it have any practical value?

Sometimes, public service/education campaigns come by force. In a 2006 case between the DOJ and The Sporting Newsregarding advertisement of illegally operating sportsbooks, The Sporting News was required by the settlement agreement to spend $3 million to inform and educate said audience that offshore/foreign gambling enterprises conducting, in whole or in part, online or telephonic sports bookmaking and casino-type gambling activities in the United States violate federal and state laws, as do United States-based gamblers using those wagering services.

Perhaps the lessons werent lasting or widespread.

As recently as 2019, FOX Sports betting program Lock It In was displaying odds/lines from one of the same offshore sportsbooks referenced in the Times article. In print, youll find such references frequently in prominent local, national and international publications such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Washington Post, Indianapolis Star, and far beyond.

And Barstool Sports as recently as 2018 was sponsor for/partner with an offshore sportsbook of generally ill repute, before Barstool President Dave Portnoy went scorched earth on it after a dispute. Now Penn National, which bought a $165 million stake in Barstool, is just weeks away from rolling out legal Barstool-branded sportsbooks in Pennsylvania and other U.S. markets.

The ubiquity of mainstream media quoting offshore sportsbooks, rather than Nevada bookmakers or those representing any sportsbook licensed in the U.S., is in large part a by-product of PASPAs 26-year run from 1992-2018.

The law created a vacuum that was filled by an enormous offshore and illegal bookmaking industry, through which U.S. residents wagered roughly $150 billion annually. During that time, offshore sportsbooks sought publicity and found it frequently all across U.S. media.

The sheer volume of illegal betting was accompanied by U.S.-based media articles rooted in betting interest, novelty prop bets (topic for another day), or very basic stories about which team is favored. It makes for good or at least well-read copy for a large audience. Long-standing relationships were made between publicity pros and writers/reporters, establishing two-way communications.

Do PR representatives for legal sportsbooks now need to do a better job engaging with and penetrating media? Well, they are certainly trying and many have been effective. But offshore competitors, which arent going away, got a 26-year head start on some of the national U.S. sportsbooks.

Overall, the questions are numerous, and the answers, well, it depends who you ask.

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The Times, They Arent A-Changing: Offshore Sportsbooks Still Have Their Hooks In Mainstream Media - Sports Handle

Permit filed for Connecticut port offshore wind upgrade – reNEWS

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The Connecticut Port Authority has filed a permit application with the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) in relation to works to upgrade State Pier as an offshore wind port.

The proposed two-phase State Pier infrastructure redevelopment project in the Thames River includes demolition activities, filling in between the two existing piers, onshore site work and in-water activities in the Thames River.

Phase one will consist of the onshore improvements and activities at the site, as well as select in-water demolition activities.

It will span demolition of buildings, excavation, grading and installation of a stormwater management system and utilities.

The site will be levelled and graded to accommodate future uses.

Phase two work will consist of activities like dredging, fill placement and marine structure construction for creation of the new Central Wharf area and heavy-lift pad.

Activity in phase two will include the demolition of approximately 400 linear feet of State Pier to facilitate construction of the heavy lift pile supported area and bulkhead at the State Piers east berth.

It will also include dredging of a vessel berthing area along the proposed north-east bulkhead heavy lift area and at the east berth heavy lift area.

At the east berth heavy lift area dredging work will also include seabed preparation for installation of crushed gravel areas to allow for berthing of vessels with jack-up legs, or similar, at both the north-east bulkhead and east berth heavy lift areas.

The Corps is soliciting comments from members of the public, federal, state, local agencies, Indian Tribes and other interested parties to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity.

Public comments on the proposed work by the Connecticut Port Authority should be forwarded no later than 3 September 2020 to the US Army Corps of Engineers, New England District.

The project will create infrastructure in Connecticut that will serve as a long-term, regional wind turbine port facility while at the same time continuing to support other existing long-term breakbulk operations for steel, coil steel, lumber, copper billets, as well as other cargo.

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Permit filed for Connecticut port offshore wind upgrade - reNEWS

RWE and Mitsubishi invest in US offshore floating wind project – Power Engineering International

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The University of Maine (UMaine) has announced that two industry heavyweights are investing in the development of a pioneer floating offshore wind technology project.

Diamond Offshore Wind, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi company, is joining with RWE Renewables to invest $100 million to build and deploy a full-scale, floating wind farm 14 miles off Maines coast.

They will collaborate through a new joint venture called New England Aqua Ventus, which will collaborate with the UMaine Advanced Structures and Composites Center that is designing, engineering, researching and monitoring the floating platform technology.

Read more about:Floating windNorth America

New England Aqua Ventus I is an up to 12MW floating offshore wind pilot project to develop a clean, renewable energy source off Maines shores.

This demonstration project is unique in that it will mount a 9.5-10MW wind turbine to a floating semisubmersible concrete hull called the VolturnUS, designed by the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the University of Maine.

The patented VolturnUS hull technology has been demonstrated in independent reports to reduce the cost of offshore wind. The turbine is held in position in the ocean by three marine mooring lines securely anchored to the seabed and connected by subsea cable to the Maine power grid by subsea cable.

The full-scale project is expected to be completed by 2023 and could create 350 jobs.

This will likely be the first project in the U.S. of commercial scale, if all goes according to schedule, said Habib Dagher, executive director of the UMaine Composites Center.

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RWE and Mitsubishi invest in US offshore floating wind project - Power Engineering International

Solstad Offshore’s Vessels Score Extensions with Total and Equinor – Offshore Engineer

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August 7, 2020

Credit: Solstad

Norwegian offshore supply vessel owner Solstad offshore has secured several contract extensions with oil companies Total and Equinor in Brazil.

France's Total has extended the contracts for the platform supply vessel Normand Swift and the AHTS vessel Far Sagaris until December 2020. Tge vessels will be used to support Totals activities in the Lapa field in Brazil.

During the charter period, Far Sagaris will be replaced by Far Scout, as Far Sagaris will start a 3-year contract with Petrobras.

Also, Equinor has extended the contracts for the PSVs Sea Brasil by one year until December 2021 and Far Scotsman by 6 months until May 2022.

Both vessels will continue to support Equinor on their operation and development activities in Brazil, Solstad Offshore said.

New of Solstad's Brazil extensions come just days after the Norwegian vessel owner said it had won work for three of its vessels with BP in Australia.

BP has awarded contracts for two anchor handling tug and supply vessels Normand Saracen and Far Senator, along with the platform supply vessel Normand Leader. The vessels will support the company's Ironbark drilling program.

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Solstad Offshore's Vessels Score Extensions with Total and Equinor - Offshore Engineer

What Can Blockchain Really Do for Advertising? A Perfect Use Case With SaTT – Yahoo Finance

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In a highly competitive and rapidly digitizing business ecosystem, advertising plays a major role in a brands success. So much so, that according to MarketingDive, global ad spending was expected to grow at 5%, reaching $600 billion by the end of 2019, nearly half of which was to come from digital ads.

Apart from the direct use of technology, the boom in social media has significantly contributed to this growth. After all, advertisement is all about getting a brand in front of people: the more targeted, the better. With an expected 3.43 billion global user base by 2023, social media platforms are some of the best resources to do so.

But despite rapid growth and rising importance, there are dark sides to traditional models of advertising.

The Pitfalls of Traditional Advertising

According to Juniper Research, by 2020marketers around the world could be losing around $44 billion to ad frauds by far, the biggest problem with traditional advertising. This is largely due to the fact that the industry is highly centralized and opaque.

Advertising agencies often act as intermediaries between advertisers and their audiences. Often, advertisers have to pay a hefty initial fee and a monthly subscription for running their advertisements. The advertiser has very little to no control over where their ads are placed or who clicks on them. Consequently, they bear the cost of the agencys ineffective placement, while the overall advertising cost also ends up being significantly high.

While social media is a major space for running ad campaigns, traditional methods do not encourage the platforms users to participate. The end-users of social media are seen merely as consumers and not contributors. To a great extent, this limits the scope of ad campaigns on platforms that mostly run on user-generated content.

The Promise of Decentralized Advertising

Most of the shortcomings of traditional advertising are due to the industrys centralized nature. In this context, Distributed Ledger Technology, especially blockchain, enables a more user-centric approach to advertising.

In blockchain advertising, advertisers can directly interact with end-users who, in turn, can contribute and monetize content and efforts towards an ad campaign. Before trying to understand this better with an example, lets briefly outline the main benefits of using blockchain for advertising.

First, the elimination of intermediaries results in reduced costs. Usually, a major share of ad spending pays for the fee and other charges of the intermediaries. By using blockchain, advertisers dont need to rank high on Google, alleviating thevicious cycle of having to consistently invest time and money into ranking high on Google search. In turn, this also significantly widens the scope as advertisers are no more dependent solely on certain agencies or oligarchies.

Second, with blockchains inherent transparency and security features (such as smart contracts), its possible to reinstate the consumers trust in advertising. Most importantly, this makes ad fraud virtually impossible, while making the industry more accountable as a whole.

Third, in blockchain advertising, consumers have complete control over the data that they share with advertisers. Further, blockchain technology ensures that advertisers cannot use this data in any other way than what has been previously agreed upon.

A Perfect Blockchain Advertising Case Study: The SaTT Platform

The SaTT solution was developed byAtayen, Inc and is an Ethereum-based platform that uses smart contracts and an ERC20 token to facilitate advertisements transactions. Apart from safe, instant, and automated transactions, the decentralized platform employs robust applications to transparently quantify campaign results.

Using this incentivized platform, advertisers can launch campaigns in which other users can participate by sharing related content on their social networks. In return, they are rewarded with pre-determined SaTT tokens, which are based on several KPIs such as views, likes, and shares.

All users on the application are eligible to apply to promote a product or service they like and get rewarded in SaTT tokens and play the role of an influencer.

Story continues

As companies are very attentive to their most engaged followers on social networks, SaTT is positioning itself as a revolutionary solution to reward them and considerably increase a company's exposure on social networks, without depending on a centralized entity.

Centralization, opacity, and high costs are some of the major problems with traditional advertising. Also, theres a serious lack of user participation. Using blockchain technology, innovative startups are coming up with innovative solutions to these problems, ultimately helping revolutionize advertising.

As any user with a substantial social network following can create and monetize content for ad campaigns, these blockchain-based platforms also enable a paradigm shift in influencer marketing.

Disclaimer: Please consult your financial advisor before investing in any cryptocurrencies as they are volatile and pose risks for the average investor. This post is informational in nature and does not constitute financial advice. The writer of this article does not hold and has never held any position in SaTT.

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2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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What Can Blockchain Really Do for Advertising? A Perfect Use Case With SaTT - Yahoo Finance

Massachusetts Explores Opportunities Around Blockchain – Business Wire

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BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, together with key thought leaders from the region, has launched a new training program on blockchain technology targeted at government innovators, demonstrating the Commonwealths commitment to supporting the blockchain revolution.

Blockchain technology has been recognized as one of the key emerging sectors to further strengthen the Massachusetts technology and innovation economy by the Baker-Polito Administration. Blockchain was included as a key sector in the states 2020 economic development bill, along with other emerging fields such as fintech, robotics, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing. While blockchain is best known as the technology behind bitcoin, it is increasingly being used in a variety of applications, from tracking the spread of Covid-19 to the creation of more efficient and transparent global supply chains.

Leading the development of new technologies is a fundamental part of growing the Massachusetts economy, and that includes blockchain, said Damon Cox, Assistant Secretary of Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, at the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. With our rich and diverse innovation ecosystem, we are well-positioned to become a leading destination for blockchain companies of all sizes.

As with any new transformational technology, education and building awareness are crucial steps to understanding the opportunities that blockchain provides. In this virtual education series, government leaders throughout the Commonwealth will learn the fundamentals of blockchain technology, real-life applications from other governments around the world, and specific applications that can be used during this time of rapid financial and political change. The first of three educational sessions were held in May, while a second session is scheduled for the end of July. The third session is in the early stages of planning and scheduling. During the sessions, participants learn how to identify new opportunities for blockchain to streamline government processes, create efficiencies, and ultimately generate new jobs in the Massachusetts economy.

A fundamental understanding and awareness of the capabilities and attributes of any new emerging technology are a conditioned precedent to any adoption strategy, said Pat Larkin, Director of the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. We are pleased with the opportunity to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology through this awareness and education campaign for enlightened municipal leaders being conducted by the local blockchain community.

Media Shower, a Boston-based media and communications company, was awarded a $31,500 grant from the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to run the training sessions. Media Shower works to connect local blockchain companies, investors, and enthusiasts. The companys flagship publication, Bitcoin Market Journal, is one of the major independent online news sources devoted exclusively to blockchain investors. The blockchain experts at Media Shower are actively engaged in the Boston Blockchain Association, a community of innovators, collaborators, and entrepreneurs with a mission to build an ecosystem that supports and educates on blockchain technology, and establishes Greater Boston as an international blockchain hub.

Blockchain sits at the intersection of finance and technology, just like Massachusetts, said John Hargrave, CEO of Media Shower. This partnership will power our next wave of financial growth and technology jobs.

State and municipal officials interested in participating in an education session should email the Innovation Institute at MassTech via engage@masstech.org or submit their interest online at https://innovation.masstech.org/contact. Please include Blockchain Education RSVP in the subject line.

About the Innovation Institute at MassTech

The Innovation Institute is the entity that advances a core mission of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative: improving the conditions for innovation and cluster growth across the Commonwealth. Created in 2003, the Innovation Institute intervenes in the economy in the following four ways:

For more information, visit https://innovation.masstech.org/.

About Boston Blockchain Association (BBA)

Boston Blockchain Association is a community of innovators, collaborators, and entrepreneurs excited about the promise of blockchain technology. Its mission is to build an ecosystem that supports, educates, promotes, and advances blockchain technology, establishes Greater Boston as an international hub for blockchain innovation, and supports and connects entrepreneurs with useful resources.

For more information visit: https://bostonblockchainassociation.com/

About Media Shower

Media Shower is the Massachusetts-based media and communication company that simplifies complex technologies, providing training and education to a wide audience. As award-winning specialists in blockchain technology, Media Shower works with a wide variety of financial and technology firms from State Street Global Advisors to Intuit.

For more information at http://www.mediashower.com/

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Massachusetts Explores Opportunities Around Blockchain - Business Wire

Blockchain This Week: Indias First Ever Covid-19 Tracking Blockchain Platform & More – Inc42 Media

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Covid-19 tracking blockchain platform BeiYo can be integrated with Aarogya Setu

The blockchain-powered platform can be used issue certificates for Covid-19 clinical records and immunisation certificates on blockchain at a cost price of INR 20

Coca Colas bottling supply chain company Coke One North America (CONA) services to leverage blockchain to enhance efficiency

In a bid to tackle Covid-19 pandemic in India, an IIITB-IMACX Studios incubated startup YoSync has partnered with Malaysia based global blockchain company BelfricsBT, where it has developed blockchain-powered Covid-19 tracking platform called BelYo in collaboration with Indian Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B) and funded by Mphasis F1 Foundation.

BeIYo uses the BelfricsBT Belrium blockchain platform to convert Covid-19 related clinical and vaccination data of citizens from the physical form into digital assets which can be retrieved by any contact tracing apps, including Aarogya Setu via APIs. The company in a press statement said that one can use these APIs to retrieve data.

For instance, users can scan and retrieve data (i.e colour coded results) through a QR code and the process is said to be 100% contactless and seamless at any point of entry during and post the Covid-19 crisis.

Further, the company said that the platform is currently being tested in a few clinics where it is enabling the authorities to track details of their Covid-19 tests that are being conducted. In the next couple of weeks, the platform aims to reach out to ICMR approved 730 government labs and 270 private labs.

The cofounders Praveen Kumar and Satish Shekar said that their platform could be tweaked to suit the vaccination plan of the government in the shortest time possible and they also feel that their API could be a great contribution to Aarogya Sethu during such a nationwide vaccination exercise. Most importantly, the platform is said to simplify the tracking of all the Covid-19 patients in India, from symptoms stage to vaccination certificate in a decentralised manner, without compromising the privacy of the data, shared Prof Sadagopan, Director-IIIT Bangalore and Chairman of IIITB-IMACX Studios.

Optimistic about BeIYo, Praveenkumar Vijayakumar, founder and CEO of Belfrics Group said that they are looking to onboard more testing centres, including hospitals and private labs by the end of 2020. Going forward, the platform looks at 5% market share by 2023 of the total 100K clinical labs in India, which would help us to reach a gross revenue target of $200 Mn by 2025, he added.

The cofounders said that its platform will issue certificates for Covid-19 clinical records and immunisation certificates on blockchain at a cost price of INR 20. The final documentation for Covid-19 would be the vaccination record of citizens. When we reach that stage, then recording and retrieving such data becomes vital for any economic activity, added BeIYo.

According to the PwC Global Blockchain Survey, new industry and territory leaders are emerging each passing day. The report projected that China will be leading the blockchain wave by 2023 at 30%, followed by the US (18%), Australia (8%) and India (6%) among others, compared to 2018, where the US was leading the blockchain race.

The beverage giant Coca Cola owned bottling supply chain company Coke One North America (CONA) services, recently announced that it will be trying out the Baseline Protocol, a public Ethereum blockchain technology targeted at enterprise use cases. With this, it plans to enhance efficiency across the beverage companys supply chain.

In its blog post, it stated that CONA Services has launched this project in collaboration with blockchain startups Provide and Unibright, where it will conduct the trials between the bottler and franchise to bridge the gap in the supply chain. The initial version of the project is expected to be released in Q4 2020.

The United Arab Emirates recently announced that it will be launching a blockchain-based know your customer (KYC) platform. This platform is said to become a nationwide system for exchanging verified customer data. Dubais department of economic development (DED) in partnership with state-run bank Emirates NBD will be rolling out this solution.

According to a press statement, Emirates NBD will be the first bank to go live on this platform. The bank, which already has more than 120 customers, will work with small and medium-sized businesses, where it will be enabling them to onboard digitally, and they will be able to instantly open bank accounts through Emirates NBDs E20 Digital Business Bank.

Texas-based agritech and data company HerdX recently announced its partnership with Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Cho and logistics company UPS to leverage blockchain technology for food traceability.

With this, the agritech firm will be providing its consumers with provenance data from its blockchain partner network using its open-source platform, data collection and analysis capabilities. UPS, on the other hand, which has already built a tool that connects to HerdXs blockchain technology will be providing authenticated data points throughout the supply chain journey. My children will have the ability to know where their food comes from, and how it was made, said Lauren Jones, chief business development officer at HerdX.

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Blockchain This Week: Indias First Ever Covid-19 Tracking Blockchain Platform & More - Inc42 Media

GUEST OPINION: Slavery was not the issue in Civil War – The News Herald

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By Norman Fowler, Guest Columnist| The News Herald

The current woke mania has reinforced the lie that politically correct historians,politicians, and pundits have foisted upon the American public, that the War for SouthernIndependence was all about slavery, that it was entirely the Souths fault for defending an evil institution against the benevolent agenda of the North.

The reasons for that tragedy were far more complex, with protective tariffs and states rights far more prominent thanslavery, an issue demagogued by the North and used to justify their illegal invasion. Inthe 1800s tariffs paid for most for most the government with the South paying about 75%of the tariffs but receiving only 25% of government expenditures.

In December 1860 the Chicago Daily Times foretold the disaster that Southern secession and free ports would bring to Northern commerce: "In one single blow our foreign commerce must be reduced to less than one-half what it now is. Our coastwise trade would pass into other hands. One-half of our shipping would lie idle at our wharves. We should lose our trade with the South, with all of its immense profits. Our manufactories would be in utter ruins. Let the South adopt the free-trade system … and these results would likely follow."

The Souths discontent over tariffs was summarized in the Jan. 15, 1861,address ofTexas Congressman John Reagan: "You are not content with the vast millions of tributewe pay you annually under the operation of our revenue law, our navigation laws, your fishing bounties, and by making your people our manufacturers, our merchants, our shippers. You are not satisfied with the vast tribute we pay you to build up your great cities, your railroads, your canals. You are not satisfied with the millions of tribute we have been paying you on account of the balance of exchange which you hold against us.

"You are not satisfied that we of the South are almost reduced to the condition of overseers of northern capitalists. You are not satisfied with all this; but you must wage a relentlesscrusade against our rights and institutions."

The South could see no future in remaining in a Union dominated by the tyranny of a Northern majority and seceded. Concerning the issue of slavery, consider (as M.Y. Griffith explains) that If the Southern states had not seceded, there would have been nowar and slavery would have continued.

If the Southern states had surrenderedwhenLincolnissued his call-up for an invasion force, there would have been no war andslavery would have continued.If Jefferson Daviss first announcement as Confederatepresident had been that the Confederacy was going to abolish slavery, Lincoln and theRadicals still would have invaded the South.

If the Confederacy had informedLincolnatany point during the war that it was going to start an emancipationprogram,Lincolnwould not have suddenly called off the federal invasion.The issue wasSouthern independence, not slavery. Emancipation was a consequence of the warunintended at the outset, and played no discernible role in the northern refusal to let thelower South go in peace.

The fact that the pogrom against the Plains Indians began just three months after Leessurrender also calls into question the notion that racial injustices in the South were the primary motivation for Northerners willingness to wage such a long and destructive war.

In the long history of mankind, there has never been a nation invade another for the sole purpose of freeing an oppressed minority. It is naive to believe that the North did so in 1861.

Finally, consider what award winning economist, well-known author and historical student Dr. Walter E. Williams of George Mason University says: THEPROBLEMS THAT LED TO THE CIVIL WAR are the same problems today big,intrusive government. The reason we dont face the specter of another Civil War isbecause todays Americans dont have yesteryears spirit of liberty and constitutionalrespect, and political statesmanship is in short supply.

The author, Norman Fowler, is a member Sons Of Confederate Veterans and a resident of Panama City.

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GUEST OPINION: Slavery was not the issue in Civil War - The News Herald