Rally At MP Norlock’s Office Looking For New Health Care Accord – Video

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Rally At MP Norlock #39;s Office Looking For New Health Care Accord
About 25 people attended a rally in front of MP Rick Norlock #39;s Cobourg Constituency Office on Friday, December 5th. The rally was designed to support defiance against the actions taken by the...

By: NorthumberlandView.ca

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Rally At MP Norlock's Office Looking For New Health Care Accord - Video

Health care torch passed to nobody

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Henry Waxman and George Miller spent their congressional careers advocating for reforms. | Getty

Henry Waxman and George Miller spent nearly 40 years pushing universal health care. John Dingell who helped pass the Medicare law in 1965 fought for a vision of health care coverage for all Americans as far back as the Kennedy administration.

Theyre all leaving Congress at the end of this month.

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Who will be the new health care leaders for Democrats? Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Ben Cardin of Maryland want more delivery system reforms. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington wants better contraceptive coverage and more doctors. All three want to beef up mental health coverage. And Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey arent even saying whats on their agenda they want the Republicans to go first. Its all smaller bore stuff a real comedown from the visions of the past.

The generational upheaval leaves the national health care debate in flux as a new Republican Congress takes control in January. There are no clear grand plans that can break the cycle of Obamacare fights, but the lack of big Democratic ideas and defenders leaves the health care law open to change. In fact, one of the most eagerly awaited proposals is actually coming from Republicans a replacement for Obamacare thats being developed by two possible GOP presidential candidates: Paul Ryan, whos about to become the new House Ways and Means Committee chairman, and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Rubio has described it, but neither one will say when its going to be released.

(Also on POLITICO: Massive spending bill kicks off 113th Congress final chapter)

Some Democrats hope that the changing of the guard occurring as the health care law is starting to run more smoothly means there will be more chances to move on, and even focus on health care issues that dont automatically put both parties at each others throats.

Health care has been in lockdown for the last four years, said Murphy, who took a leading role in pro-Obamacare messaging this year and may become a more prominent health care voice in the next Congress. My hope is that the health care debate will loosen up as the ACA settles in.

The Republicans, meanwhile, are losing Dave Camp, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman from Michigan who played a major role in the GOPs pushback against Obamacare. And Montana Democrat Max Baucus, the former Senate Finance Committee chairman who had a big hand in the writing of the law, left earlier this year to become ambassador to China.

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Health care torch passed to nobody

Small-business Q&A: Explore your health care options

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Q: What options in health care benefits do small business owners have to attract good employees?

A: As competition for talented employees intensifies in the coming years, small businesses will have to find ways to lure and keep good workers. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), less than half of U.S. businesses with fewer than 10 employees offer health insurance. Only 15 percent of companies with 25 to 100 workers do. So, health coverage may well be an important bargaining chip.

One solution is to take advantage of a high-deductible health insurance plan - an HDHP - with a health savings account, or an HSA.

Less costly than conventional plans, HDHPs cover major health and medical expenses for those who can afford some up-front medical costs. Participants have the option to open and make pre-tax contributions to an HSA. Withdrawals are tax-free when spent on qualified medical expenses. Unspent HSA funds carry over, so you can accumulate significant balances over time.

What's more, employer contributions to a tax-favored HSA are exempt from payroll taxes. As a result, premiums can be 40 percent lower in a high-deductible HSA-qualified health insurance plan than those in a conventional co-pay plan. The National Association of Health Underwriters site, http://www.nahu.org, has helpful information on HSAs.

Also, the Affordable Care Act, the ACA, offers incentives to small businesses that want to provide insurance for their employees. Businesses with 50 or fewer full-time employees can shop for health care with the federal Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplaces for comparing insurance companies and plans. Currently, small businesses pay on average 18 percent more than larger businesses for health insurance.

The SHOP Marketplace offers small employers increased purchasing because small employers can pool their risks and reduce costs. If you have fewer than 25 employees and you supply health insurance for all of your full-time employees via SHOP, you can get tax credits of up to 50 percent of the cost.

Businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees that provide health insurance could be eligible for full tax crediting. For more information on the ACA provisions for small businesses, visit sba.com and go to the tab on managing a business.

There's much more to learn about the ACA at the SCORE workshop 'Understanding the Affordable Healthcare Act' presented by Khoa Ho of Agility Insurance Services. It's open enrollment time, so learn about health care reform, what you can buy, when and how. To register, visit http://www.scorehouston.org.

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Small-business Q&A: Explore your health care options

Q&A: Acting El Paso VA director Pete Dancy discusses plans to improve patient care

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Acting VA director Pete Dancy talks with Korean War veteran Javier Diaz in the waiting room at the Veteran's Affairs clinic. (MARK LAMBIEEL PASO TIMES)

The immediate goals for the new acting director of the El Paso Veterans Affairs Health Care System are simple: improve healthcare, increase staff and rebuild the trust between patients and the VA.

Acting El Paso VA director Pete Dancy has been here three weeks, taking over a center that had patient problems similar to most of the VA centers in the country.

In El Paso, veterans seeking a mental health appointment had to wait an average of 60 days, while initial specialty care appointments had an average wait time of 90 days, according to a report by the U.S. Office of Inspector General. The results of the report showed El Paso had some of the longest wait times in the nation for primary patient care, ranking it 123 out of 128 VA health care systems.

Dancy, who is replacing John Mendoza as the director and will hold the position for up to 120 days, met with the media last week to discuss the current state of the veteran health care system in El Paso, his plans to improve it and what veterans can expect in the coming months.

Q: When you took over, what was the state of the El Paso VA healthcare system?

A: I found that from a staff standpoint that we have 800 staff members that are committed to providing excellent care to our veterans. Forty percent of which are veterans themselves. So I think from the standpoint of the foundation, we got a great staff here. As the OIG (U.S. Office of Inspector General) report identified, there are some gaps in terms of access, staffing, etc. I think from the foundation that is what I found when I got here.

Q: What are some of the changes you have planned for the VA system in El Paso?

A: One of the things I did on the first day was identify four focus areas that I wanted the El Paso VA to concentrate on. Those focus areas are access to care, second is patient-centered care, the third area is strengthening veteran and stakeholder trust in the El Paso VA, and the fourth area is continuous readiness. What I have done specifically is I have reached out to our veterans. I just had a veteran focus group today (Friday) with four veterans and basically articulated what those areas were. Plus equally as important, I asked them what their thoughts on the El Paso VA are and they were able to provide that feedback, so I am using that as kind of a baseline to make some changes.

Q: What did they (the four veterans) tell you?

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Q&A: Acting El Paso VA director Pete Dancy discusses plans to improve patient care

New study identifies first gene associated with familial glioma

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PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

7-Dec-2014

Contact: Glenna Picton picton@bcm.edu 713-798-7973 Baylor College of Medicine @bcmhouston

HOUSTON - (Dec. 7, 2014) - An international consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine has identified for the first time a gene associated with familial glioma (brain tumors that appear in two or more members of the same family) providing new support that certain people may be genetically predisposed to the disease.

"It is widely thought amongst the clinical community that there is no association between family history and development of glioma. Because we know very little about the contributing genetic factors, when cases occur in two or more family members, it is viewed as coincidental," said Dr. Melissa Bondy, associate director of cancer prevention and population sciences at the NCI-designated Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine and lead author of the report that appears in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute today. "By understanding more about the genetic link, we hope that one day we can improve treatments and preventive strategies for those with a family history of glioma."

Bondy estimates that approximately five percent of brain tumors run in families.

The study was conducted through the Gliogene Consortium, a collaborative group of familial brain tumor researchers from around the world, which is primarily supported with funding from the National Cancer Institute.

"I have been researching familial glioma for nearly 30 years, and this study is really the first time we have had a hit when it comes to identifying a gene that is potentially associated with predisposition to the disease," said Bondy, principal investigator of the Gliogene Consortium.

The Gliogene Consortium recruited 435 families in which glioma occurred from 14 centers in the United States, Sweden, Denmark, The United Kingdom and Israel. The recruitment occurred between 2007 and 2011 while Bondy was on faculty at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She joined the Baylor faculty in September 2011.

Once at Baylor, Bondy collaborated with experts in the College's Human Genome Sequencing Center to advance research of the genetics of the disease.

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New study identifies first gene associated with familial glioma

Simple Ways to Improve Hotel Guest Experience – Futurist Speaker – Video

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Simple Ways to Improve Hotel Guest Experience - Futurist Speaker
Future of the Hotel Industry, and customer service focused industries. Quick tips to improve your product and stand out from your competitors, making your se...

By: Patrick Dixon Futurist Keynote Speaker for Industry Conference

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Simple Ways to Improve Hotel Guest Experience - Futurist Speaker - Video

Mitsubishi Outlander Police Car – Close look to Whelen Freedom lightbar – Video

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Mitsubishi Outlander Police Car - Close look to Whelen Freedom lightbar
A demo video of the Whelen Freedom LED lightbar monted on a Mitsubishi Outlander. This car belongs to the traffic division of the Iasi police department. Un videoclip in care vedem mai deaproape...

By: LucianVideoEEV

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Mitsubishi Outlander Police Car - Close look to Whelen Freedom lightbar - Video

Ukraine Internet Freedom Survey: Former President’s office accused of crackdown on bloggers – Video

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Ukraine Internet Freedom Survey: Former President #39;s office accused of crackdown on bloggers
According to a new report, Ukraine #39;s internet freedom fell to #39;partly free #39; between May 2013 and May 2014, largely down to repressions of social media users ...

By: UKRAINE TODAY

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Ukraine Internet Freedom Survey: Former President's office accused of crackdown on bloggers - Video