URAC, the Leader in Promoting Healthcare Quality Through Accreditation, Education, and Measurement Programs, Appoints Director of Pharmacy Programs

January 22, 2015, 12:03 am

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Dr. Heather Bonome To Lead URAC's Pharmacy Suite of Programs

Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) January 22, 2015

URAC today announced that Dr. Heather Bonome has joined URAC as director of pharmacy programs. Dr. Bonome will manage the development, implementation, maintenance, and enhancement for the nationally-recognized URAC pharmacy suite of programs.

“URAC is privileged to have Heather guide and administer our industry-leading pharmacy accreditation program,” said Kylanne Green, chief executive officer of URAC. “The role of pharmacy is evolving with the advent of new models of healthcare delivery. URAC’s programs reflect and support this rapidly changing environment and Heather’s experience and industry connections will guarantee that our programs maintain the highest standards in the industry.”

Dr. Bonome comes to URAC from the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) industry where she worked with all major client segments including federal and state government, health plans, Medicare, Managed Medicaid, Health Insurance Marketplaces, labor unions, and both large and small employers. She has managed the clinical pharmacy strategy for several customers including a $3 billion mail service pharmacy program. She successfully built a Medicare Part D pharmacy benefit during the 2006 launch of the program in compliance with the Medicare Modernization Act and launched a Health Insurance Marketplace benefit in 2014 in compliance with the Affordable Care Act.

Dr. Bonome is an active member of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP). She has been a speaker at national AMCP meetings and recently completed her service as chair of the Professional Practice Committee. She has served on the Legislative Committee where she developed policy positions and was an advocate on Capitol Hill on behalf of the Academy. She is currently the Academy’s Diplomat to Howard University in Washington D.C.

Dr. Bonome received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Pharmacy and completed a one-year post-graduate pharmacy residency in managed care. She is a registered pharmacist in the state of New Jersey.

ABOUT URAC
URAC is a national accreditation leader, offering over 30 highly regarded accreditation programs that span the healthcare spectrum. URAC programs are created and updated by independent industry-spanning experts to address the latest market trends and needs, offering a wide range of accreditation and benchmarking programs and providing a symbol of excellence for organizations to validate their commitment to quality and accountability. URAC’s accreditation programs are formally recognized by six federal agencies, as well as 48 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit http://www.urac.org, follow us on Twitter, friend us on Facebook, or visit our page on LinkedIn. Reported by PRWeb 16 hours ago.

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Solo Attorney Bennett M. Cohen Takes On CA Department of Insurance and Wins

January 22, 2015, 1:03 am

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On December 17, 2014, in a case of first impression in California and possibly nationwide, the California Supreme Court allowed to stand a California Court of Appeal decision, entitled Ellena v. Department of Insurance, that requires the Department of Insurance (DOI) to proactively oversee the sale of new disability insurance policies in California. The victorious plaintiff, Cassaundra Ellena, was represented by San Francisco solo practitioner, Bennett M. Cohen, throughout the case (bennettmcohen.com).

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) January 22, 2015

Now garnering statewide attention, the unanimous California Court of Appeal decision reversed the trial court’s ruling and held that the DOI, represented by the California Attorney General, has a duty under California law to screen all new disability insurance policies for deceptive or illegal provisions before they may be sold in California.

According to an article in the Sonoma Press Democrat, in 2011, Ellena sued her disability insurer, Standard Insurance Company, alleging that she was disabled due to lupus and Standard had denied her claim in bad faith. Ellena also sued the DOI alleging that it should never have approved the unlawful definition of disability in the Standard Insurance Company policy and asked the Court to order the DOI to review it. Both Standard Insurance Company and the DOI asserted, as they had asserted in previous cases, that the DOI had no duty to review or approve disability policies. According to the court documents, after the trial court dismissed Ellena’s claim against the DOI and Ellena appealed that dismissal, Ellena’s case against Standard Insurance Company proceeded separately to trial. Ellena won a jury verdict against Standard Insurance Company of $873,622 for bad faith denial of her claim.

According to court documents, while Ellena’s case against the DOI was on appeal, the Association Of California Life And Health Insurance Companies, an insurance industry group that was not a party to the case, attempted to file a legal brief, but was denied that right by the court. Cohen said, “The insurance industry lobby no doubt liked that the DOI was not screening insurance policies and wanted to keep it that way."

This decision of the California Court of Appeal (Case No: A137268) and the ruling of the California Supreme Court (Case No. S222452), denying the DOI’s request for review or depublishing of the Court of Appeal decision, are being hailed as a significant victory for California consumers. Attorney Cohen is the first attorney to pursue this hotly contested issue, which the appellate court described as “of great public interest,” to the appellate level.

In a recent blog on the website of United Policyholders, the leading non-profit advocacy group for insurance policyholders in the nation, UPH Director Amy Bach writes, “But let's hope the Ellena decision, a very important victory for consumers, will help the Commissioner get the resources from the Legislature to comply with the Court decision and step up to the task of better protecting consumers by routinely reviewing, (approving and disapproving where needed), the wording in insurance policies sold to California residents. Not just disability. Home and business policies as well. We need and are entitled to that protection...”

The published decision, Ellena v. Department of Insurance, Case No: A137268 (arising out of Ellena v. Standard Insurance Company) can be downloaded at: http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/A137268.PDF

The Law Offices of Bennett M. Cohen have been handling bad faith disability cases for more than twenty years in San Francisco and surrounding areas. For questions or more information, please call 800-704-3077.

About Bennett M. Cohen, Attorney At Law
Mr. Cohen is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of San Francisco School of Law. Mr. Cohen trained with a nationally renowned attorney who once had the highest jury verdict in U.S. history. Mr. Cohen has worked with two of the top plaintiff's law firms in California. He was one of the youngest attorneys ever to personally appear and argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. See bennettmcohen.com

About NALA™
The NALA is a full-service marketing agency providing custom personalized service for small and medium businesses throughout the United States.

PR Contact: Tiffani Tendell
ttendell(at)thenala(dot)com,
805.650.6121, ext. 361 Reported by PRWeb 15 hours ago.

Ted Cruz, Rand Paul Stretched Facts In Obama Criticism

January 22, 2015, 1:15 am

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The following post first appeared on FactCheck.org.
There were multiple official and unofficial Republican responses to President Obama’s State of the Union address, but only a few instances of the president’s critics stretching the facts:
· Sen. Ted Cruz falsely claimed that “not a word was said about radical Islamic terrorism.” In fact, Obama vowed to combat “violent extremism” and asked for congressional authority to use force against the Islamic State.· Cruz also said Obama “could not bring himself even to bring” up the president’s executive action on immigration. But he did. Obama said he would veto legislation that attempt to undo it.· Sen. Rand Paul said “liberal elites” wanted to regulate “what light bulbs we can use.” Actually, GOP President George W. Bush signed a bill that phased out traditional incandescent bulbs, in favor of more energy efficient ones.
*Cruz: ‘What I Saw’*

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst gave the official GOP response. But “rather than respond to a speech,” as she put it, the freshman senator focused much of her short speech on her personal background and general statements of support for “your priorities.”

Two likely presidential candidates — Cruz and Paul — gave more forceful speeches attacking the president’s leadership.

Cruz gave what his aides called an “impromptu video response” to the State of the Union address that was posted on the senator’s Facebook page. It was one of five videotaped GOP responses (six if you count the first aborted attempt by Cruz).

In his video, Cruz criticized Obama’s speech for failing to address terrorism and immigration — except that the president did discuss both.

Cruz claimed “not a word was said about radical Islamic terrorism.” That’s false.



*Cruz, Jan. 20*: Tonight not a word was said about radical Islamic terrorism. Those words did not come out of the president’s mouth. We cannot win a war on radical Islamic terrorism with a president unwilling to even say the words “radical Islamic terrorism.”



While it is true that Obama did not utter the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism,” the president did use the phrase “violent extremism” and asked for congressional authority to use force against the Islamic State, a radical Islamic terrorist group that the president referred to in his speech as ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant).



*Obama, Jan. 20*: In Iraq and Syria, American leadership — including our military power — is stopping ISIL’s advance. Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group. (Applause.) We’re also supporting a moderate opposition in Syria that can help us in this effort, and assisting people everywhere who stand up to the bankrupt ideology of violent extremism.

Now, this effort will take time. It will require focus. But we will succeed. And tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL. We need that authority.



Obama’s critics, including Cruz, have frequently chided the president for not using certain phrases, such as “war against terror” and “radical Islamic terrorism.” The president broadly addressed that in an interview early in his administration with Hisham Melhem of Al Arabiya, a news agency that covers the Middle East.



*Melhem, Jan. 26, 2009*: President Bush framed the war on terror conceptually in a way that was very broad, “war on terror,” and used sometimes certain terminology that the many people — Islamic fascism. You’ve always framed it in a different way, specifically against one group called al Qaeda and their collaborators. And is this one way of –

*Obama*: I think that you’re making a very important point. And that is that the language we use matters. And what we need to understand is, is that there are extremist organizations — whether Muslim or any other faith in the past — that will use faith as a justification for violence. We cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith’s name.



Regardless of what language he did or didn’t use, the president directly addressed what Cruz calls “radical Islamic terrorism.”

On immigration, Cruz said the president “could not bring himself even to bring” up the executive action that he took on immigration. The president’s actions, as we have written, provide a three-year reprieve from deportation for parents who are in the country illegally but who have children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.



*Cruz, Jan. 20*: Tonight it was also striking the president did not mention his illegal and unconstitutional executive amnesty. He issued that in defiance of the voters, in defiance of the constitution and in defiance of the law, and yet when he stood in the state of the union he could not bring himself even to bring it up. It underscores the obligation of Republicans in Congress to honor the promises we made.



But Obama did bring it up. It’s just that Obama didn’t say what Cruz would have liked. Obama said he would veto any legislation that attempts to undo his actions on immigration, health care and financial regulations.



*Obama, Jan. 20*: We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got to fix a broken system. And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it. It will have earned my veto.



At the end of his video response, Cruz said: “That’s what I saw tonight.” We don’t know what Cruz saw, but we can say what Obama said in his speech.

*Paul: ‘Liberal’ Light Bulbs*

In his YouTube video response to Obama’s State of the Union, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said “liberal elites” wanted to regulate “what light bulbs we can use.” Actually, it was a 2007 energy bill, signed by President George W. Bush, that phased out traditional incandescent bulbs, in favor of more energy efficient ones.

Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act on Dec. 18, 2007, and Bush signed it the following day. It passed with widespread support — the final vote in the Senate was 86 to 8, and 314 to 100 in the House — but Republicans have fought implementation of the law as its requirements were taking effect in recent years. Obama first signed a spending bill in December 2011 that delayed enforcement of the new efficiency standards.

We explained in May 2011 that instead of traditional incandescent bulbs, consumers would have to buy LEDS, halogen incandescent or compact fluorescent bulbs. Products that manufacturers, who support the 2007 standards, have been producing. Incandescent light bulbs aren’t banned but now must be between 25 percent and 30 percent more efficient.

While spending bills have continued to include riders blocking the Department of Energy from using funding to enforce the 2007 regulations on light bulbs, those provisions haven’t repealed the efficiency standards themselves. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association said in a 2011 press release that manufacturers had “invested millions of dollars in transitioning to energy efficient lighting” because of the 2007 law, and the group opposes the spending bill provisions to prohibit enforcement. “Delay in enforcement undermines those investments and creates regulatory uncertainty,” NEMA said.

The Obama administration certainly supports the energy efficiency standards for light bulbs. Way back in 2007, when he was on the campaign trail, Obama said he wanted to “phase out all incandescent light bulbs,” a promise our colleagues at Politifact have rated a “compromise” due to the 2007 legislation before he took office and Obama’s efforts to make florescent tube lamps and incandescent reflector lamps more efficient. But Paul, and other Republicans, have continued to blame Obama for regulating light bulbs, when the legislation affecting the common incandescent bulb was signed by Bush.

In his 2012 response to the State of the Union, then-Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels made a similar misleading remark about Obama and light bulbs, and the same year then-Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney wrongly claimed “Obama’s regulators” had “banned” the incandescent bulb. He earned three Pinocchios for that one from the Washington Post‘s Fact Checker. Reported by Huffington Post 15 hours ago.

CO-OP Operators Remain Optimistic in the Face of Iowa CoOportunity’s Woes, AIS Newsletter Reports

January 22, 2015, 3:04 am

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After Iowa’s CoOportunity Health was taken over by the state, CO-OP operators in other states tell Atlantic Information Services’s Inside Health Insurance Exchanges that they don’t face the same risk and contend that CoOportunity’s problems are not representative of the whole group.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 22, 2015

In the wake of Iowa and Nebraska Community Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) CoOportunity Health’s takeover by the Iowa Insurance Department in late December, Atlantic Information Services, Inc.’s (AIS) Inside Health Insurance Exchanges (HEX) asked other CO-OP leaders how their companies are doing. As the newsletter reports in its January issue, CO-OP operators in other states tell HEX that they don’t face the same risk and contend that CoOportunity’s problems are not representative of the whole group.

“CoOportunity is an unfortunate occurrence,” says Peter Beilenson, M.D., CEO of Maryland CO-OP Evergreen Health. “It’s very clear from working with the other CO-OPs that each one is in such a different situation. Our markets are all completely different.”

One mistake CoOportunity seems to have made, HEX reports, was reliance on a $125.6 million infusion from CMS through the Affordable Care Act’s risk-corridors program, which was designed to shield carriers that wind up with a disproportionate share of high-cost enrollees. Reimbursements, however, won’t be distributed until August, and the expected amount could be slashed in half due to a provision in a recently enacted spending bill that requires the risk-corridors program to be budget neutral. When Iowa regulators forced the insurer into rehabilitation, HEX found, CoOportunity had just $17.2 million in cash and assets, or about $143 per member.

Of the ten CO-OP executives HEX interviewed, several executives say they aren’t relying on risk-corridor payments; others say they have countered high-risk individual enrollees by promoting coverage to the off-exchange group markets, which tend to be younger and have lower risk than the individual market. Evergreen’s Beilenson — who admits that his CO-OP got off to a slow start last year with just 450 individual policies — says his firm isn’t expecting much from the risk-corridors program, which is aimed only at individual qualified health plans (QHPs). Moreover, Evergeen’s individual exchange enrollment for 2015 hit 2,000 six weeks after the open-enrollment period began, and another 500 individuals signed up outside of the exchange. Beilenson expects individual enrollment will double by the end of the open-enrollment period next month, and small-group enrollment to double by the end of the year.

Visit http://aishealth.com/archive/nhex0115-01 to read the article in its entirety, including full commentary from the nine other plan executives interviewed by HEX.

To view the rehabilitation order placed against CoOportunity, visit http://www.iid.state.ia.us/node/9885312.

About Inside Health Insurance Exchanges
Inside Health Insurance Exchanges provides hard-hitting news and strategies on public and private health insurance exchanges, written for business leaders with health plans, pharma companies, hospitals and health systems, brokers and agents, and exchange managers and vendors. The newsletter delivers reliable intelligence on this critical cornerstone of health reform — the players and their partners, product designs and enrollment results, employer perspectives and much more. Visit http://aishealth.com/marketplace/inside-health-insurance-exchanges for more information.

About AIS
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is a publishing and information company that has been serving the health care industry for more than 25 years. It develops highly targeted news, data and strategic information for managers in hospitals, health plans, medical group practices, pharmaceutical companies and other health care organizations. AIS products include print and electronic newsletters, websites, looseleafs, books, strategic reports, databases, webinars and conferences. Learn more at http://AISHealth.com. Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.

Flat Iron Technologies Announces Release of all New HIPAA Policies and Procedures Toolkit for Download for North American Covered Entities and Business Associates

January 22, 2015, 3:04 am

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Flat Iron Technologies, LLC has just announced the release of their all-new 2015 HIPAA policies and procedures toolkits for North American Covered Entities (CE) and Business Associates (BA). Developed by professional healthcare experts with years of HIPAA expertise, the HIPAA Security & Privacy Compliance Toolkits (HSPCT) contain all the documentation needed for ensuring rapid, swift, and complete compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996.

Denver, CO (PRWEB) January 22, 2015

Flat Iron Technologies, LLC has just announced the release of their all-new 2015 HIPAA policies and procedures toolkits for North American Covered Entities (CE) and Business Associates (BA). Developed by professional healthcare experts with years of HIPAA expertise, the HIPAA Security & Privacy Compliance Toolkits (HSPCT) contain all the documentation needed for ensuring rapid, swift, and complete compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. Healthcare organizations can now save hundreds of crucial operational man-hours and thousands of dollars by downloading the industry leading HIPAA compliance toolkits.

Available for instant download, the HIPAA Security & Privacy Compliance Toolkits (HSPCT) include the following high-quality material:·     HIPAA Information Security Policies and Procedures Manual
·     HIPAA Information Systems Hardening Checklists
·     HIPAA Disaster Recovery Plan
·     HIPAA Handbook & Reference Manual
·     HIPAA Security Awareness Training PowerPoint (PPT) Presentation
·     HIPAA Security Awareness Training Manual & Employee Quiz
·     HIPAA Security Rule & Privacy Rule Checklist & Readiness Assessment
·     HIPAA Risk Assessment Template
·     Essential HIPAA Forms
·     Additional HIPAA Policies and Procedures
·     And much more!

Save time and money while become HIPAA complaint by utilizing the services of one of North America’s most trusted healthcare experts, that’s Flat Iron Technologies, LLC. With a new wave of compliance audits soon on their way from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS), now’s the time to download the very best HIPAA & HITECH Security Rule policies and procedures at hipaapoliciesandprocedures.com. Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.

Newly Revised 2015 HIPAA Security Policies and Procedures Toolkits Now Available for Download from the Healthcare Experts at hipaapoliciesandprocedures.com

January 22, 2015, 3:04 am

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Covered Entities and Business Associates can now instantly download HIPAA security policies and procedures toolkits containing all essential documentation for ensuring compliance with the federally mandated Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. With years of experience developing healthcare compliance materials, the experts at hipaapoliciesandprocedures.com can help businesses become HIPAA compliant quickly and cost-effectively.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) January 22, 2015

Covered Entities and Business Associates can now instantly download HIPAA security policies and procedures toolkits containing all essential documentation for ensuring compliance with the federally mandated Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. With years of experience developing healthcare compliance materials, the experts at hipaapoliciesandprocedures.com can help businesses become HIPAA compliant quickly and cost-effectively.

The solution is to download the industry leading HIPAA Security policies and procedures toolkits which come complete with the following documentation:· HIPAA Information Security Policies and Procedures Manual
· HIPAA Information Systems Hardening Checklists
· HIPAA Disaster Recovery Plan
· HIPAA Handbook & Reference Manual
· HIPAA Security Awareness Training PowerPoint (PPT) Presentation
· HIPAA Security Awareness Training Manual & Employee Quiz
· HIPAA Security Rule Checklist & Readiness Assessment
· HIPAA Risk Assessment Template
· Essential HIPAA Forms
· Additional HIPAA Policies and Procedures
· And much more!

The HIPAA Security Rule Toolkit is highly essential for ensuring that Covered Entities (CE) and Business Associates (BA) have all necessary information security, operational, and security awareness training documentation in place for compliance. Stiff penalties and large fines can be levied for non-compliance, so now’s the time to invest in the high-quality HIPAA Security Rule Toolkit. Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.

More than 1.27M Floridians sign up for health coverage during open enrollment

January 22, 2015, 3:54 am

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More than 1.27 million Floridians selected a 2015 health insurance marketplace plan in the first two months of open enrollment for 2015 health care coverage, according to a Wednesday news release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. " With just four weeks before the Feb. 15 deadline and the end of open enrollment, 1,270,995 Florida consumers are counting on the Marketplace for affordable health coverage ," said Sylvia M. Burwell, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary,… Reported by bizjournals 13 hours ago.

United States: Pros And Cons Of The For-Profit Subsidiary - Ostrow Reisin Berk & Abrams

January 22, 2015, 4:57 am

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In one part of the country, a not-for-profit health maintenance organization creates a for-profit subsidiary to offer health insurance unavailable through HMOs. Reported by Mondaq 11 hours ago.

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With hats and scarves weather, head lice cases increase; make the right choice for lice removal

January 22, 2015, 5:01 am

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Winter time is when kids share hats, coats and scarves, giving lice an easy vehicle for spreading throughout classrooms and schools. Lice Troopers all-natural lice removal, now with three local clinics, steps in to handle the increased demand.

Miami, FL (PRWEB) January 22, 2015

As kids share hats, scarves and coats, head lice spreads through classrooms and schools, with local lice removal companies expecting the typical rise in cases this time of year. Head lice, a parasite that confines itself to the human head, is most commonly spread by head-to-head contact, but can use coats, scarves and hats as a vehicle. In the winter months, children and teens often share these items, sharing head lice at the same time.

Lice Troopers, a local all-natural lice removal service has recently opened a third clinic, located at 2100 Ponce de Leon Blvd,Suite 1178, Coral Gables, Florida, 33134, to meet the demand. In addition to this clinic location, they will continue to service families at their location in Bay Harbor Islands (1005 Kane Concourse, Suite 212, Bay Harbor Islands, FL 33154) or by house call.

According to Lice Troopers owner and operator, Arie Harel: “We see cases rise this time of year which is why we were so excited to open the new Coral Gables lice treatment center to accommodate the need.” Harel adds that families can help prevent the spread of head lice by making sure kids don’t share hats, scarves or coats with other kids, or other personal belongings such as hairbrushes.”

While many families will seek an over-the-counter treatment or other removal method, few are actually effective in eradicating the problem completely. And since even if one bug or nit is left behind it will start a new infestation, this is something to be concerned about. Lice Troopers estimates that about 60% of their clients have tried other treatments before finally making an appointment for their all-natural, guaranteed treatment.

Lice Troopers provides full spectrum head lice screening and treatment services to families and schools in the South Florida area, with the new Coral Gables clinic serving Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Kendall, Pinecrest and South Miami.

Lice Troopers is the all-natural, guaranteed Head Lice Removal Service™ that manually removes the head lice and nit parasites safely and discreetly in child-friendly salon settings, or other chosen location. Providing safe solutions for frantic families, the Lice Troopers team has successfully treated thousands of families nationwide, with services widely recommended by pediatricians and reimbursed by many major health insurance carriers, flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts. Lice Troopers is also affiliated with Miami Lice Removal.

For more information, contact:
Jennie Harel, President
licetroopers(at)gmail(dot)com Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.

Obamacare Is Close To Achieving Goal Of 9.1 Million Signups

January 22, 2015, 6:51 am

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is moving closer to its goal of 9.1 million people signed up for private coverage under the president's health care law.

The Health and Human Services Department says at least 400,000 people signed up last week. That brought total enrollment in the 37 states served by HealthCare.gov to more than 7.1 million. National figures should be significantly higher because the federal count doesn't include major states such as California and New York that are running their own markets.

Florida leads the federal marketplace states, with more than 1.2 million people enrolled. Texas has nearly 920,000.

The administration is expecting a surge near the Feb. 15 sign-up deadline.

The law offers subsidized private coverage to people who don't have health insurance on the job. Reported by Huffington Post 10 hours ago.

McMorris-Rodgers and Anti-Choice Marchers All For 'Life' Until It's Born

January 22, 2015, 7:23 am

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Every January 22, anti-choice activists travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in the March for Life. It’s their way of marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal in all 50 states. The signs carried by the marchers always declare their love of babies and their desire to protect families. Their end goal, however, is to eliminate abortion nationwide; the organizers have also recently taken on the false and scientifically incorrect idea that oral contraceptives are actually abortifacients. Science be damned, the march is usually attended by hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country—including a congressional delegation.

This year, U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, a Republican from Washington State, together with Representatives Dan Lipinski, Democrat of Illinois; and Chris Smith, the New Jersey Republican. will be represent Congress at the march. U.S. Senator Tim Scott, Republican of South Carolina, will also be on hand. Like most anti-choice politicians,  McMorris-Rodgers likes to tout her so-called pro-family beliefs, but a closer examiation reveals that, at least for McMorris-Rodgers, being pro-family doesn’t have anything to do with supporting policies that can help families everywhere thrive.

At the beginning of President Barack Obama’s first term, McMorris-Rodgers voted no on the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. This renewal included increased funding for the program, which benefitted low-income children and pregnant women—the very people who March for Life participants claim to be marching for. The act passed both the House and the Senate and became law.

In June 2009, Rep. Carolyn Maloney introduced the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, which would allow federal employees to be paid for four of the twelve weeks allotted for parental leave. (Current law allows only unpaid parental leave for federal workers.) That time could be used for the birth of a child or the placement of a child with the employee for either adoption or foster care. The Congressional Budget office scored the bill as “PAYGO-neutral”—meaning that it wouldn’t affect direct spending. The 2009 act introduced by Maloney did not go far enough, but it would have been a step in the right direction. A law like this would allow mothers and fathers with federal jobs to take care of their children better by lessening the financial burden of doing so—something someone who claims to support families should be able to get behind. McMorris-Rodgers voted no. The act passed the House but died in the Senate. (A 2013 version has languished in committee.) Currently, 43 million American workers have no paid sick leave. For them, an illness or the illness of a loved one comes with the risk of losing wages, or worse, their jobs. One would think that Obama’s renewed vigor on paid family leave should be extremely attractive to anti-choice activists, with their love of large families. Why should policies that support families be a top priority for anti-choice activists? Having a child in this country is remarkably pricey—and this is why a majority of women who choose to terminate a pregnancy do so. According to a 2004 Guttmacher Institute survey, 73 percent of women who have an abortion say they made that choice because they could not afford to raise a child. Of those women, 28 percent said that they could not afford childcare, with another 23 percent of respondents saying that they could not afford to provide a child the basic needs of life. The average cost of raising one child is now $245,000 dollars.  In 31 states, daycare alone costs more than college. Essentially, proponents for the March for Life, and others who don’t believe in the right to choose, have forced women between a rock and a hard place: demonized for having a perfectly safe and legal procedure, but given absolutely no aid if she chooses to carry to term. Implementing policies that value families—like paid family leave—would be the true pro-family thing to do. Restricting a woman’s right to abortion while opposing the ways that would allow her take care of herself and her child proves that anti-choicers don’t care about families, they care about control over women’s bodies—and women’s lives. Reported by The American Prospect 9 hours ago.

March for Life: 42 Years After Roe v. Wade, Half of Americans Say Abortion Is Morally Wrong

January 22, 2015, 7:41 am

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Hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates are in Washington Thursday to peacefully protest against the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade 42 years ago that made abortion legal in the United States. This year, as protesters walk along Constitution Avenue in the 42nd annual March for Life rally, members of the House had planend to be voting on a bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but due to objections among some Republican members to a rape reporting provision in the bill that vote has been delayed. Instead members will be voting on a bill sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., that would block federal funds from being used to pay for abortion services under health insurance plans purchased on the federal exchange. Reported by Christian Post 9 hours ago.

Tennessee Manufacturer Prepares For Investors

January 22, 2015, 9:05 am

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AXR, Inc. has positioned itself to be a strong investment for 2015. The TN manufacturing company specializes in innovative safety products being sold by retailers, wholesalers, distributors, online, coop and box stores during a growing safety market.

Maryville, TN (PRWEB) January 23, 2015

AXR, Inc. has positioned itself to be a strong investment for 2015. The TN manufacturing company specializes in innovative safety products being sold by retailers, wholesalers, distributors, online, coop and box stores during a growing safety market.

Safety products yield big dollars from modern day industrial companies. According to OSHA, 4,405 workers died on the job in 2013. On the job injuries are the real disruption to employers' efficiency and their bottom line. The average cost to an employer for an on the job back injury is $70,000. With steadily increasing costs in health insurance, workers compensation insurance and costs for injured employees it is no wonder American Companies are spending so heavily on safety products.

Top 10 most frequently cited standards by Federal OSHA in fiscal year 2014 (October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014):
1.    Fall protection, construction
2.    Hazard communication standard, general
3.    Scaffolding, general requirements, construction
4.    Respiratory protection, general
5.    Powered industrial trucks, general
6.    Control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), general industry
7.    Ladders, construction
8.    Electrical, wiring methods, components and equipment, general industry
9.    Machinery and Machine Guarding, general requirements
10.    Electrical systems design, general requirements, general industry

AXR, Inc. has a combined 35 years experience manufacturing and consulting for big box stores. Retailers, wholesalers, distributors, online, coop and box stores are becoming leaders in the sale of construction related safety products. AXR's products are finding their way into these businesses.

The future is sweet for AXR. They are in the right market at the right time. AXR has secured a lucrative manufacturing agreement and are currently mulling over two more, all are exclusive manufacturing agreements. The cherry on the top is the prospect of having their company and products showcased on national television by an intellectually respected program.

Investors wanting a conservative investment need inquire now. The company is preparing to raise capital to satisfy the needs from their recent opportunities. Those interested in learning more about opportunities should send inquiries to investorrelations(at)axrinc(dot)com

Contact:
Jarret Hendrickson
President , AXR, Inc.
949-205-4042
JarretHendrickson(at)AXRInc(dot)com Reported by PRWeb 7 hours ago.

Elizabeth Warren Explains How Anti-Obamacare Bill Is Corporate Welfare

January 22, 2015, 10:12 am

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WASHINGTON -- A bill that would redefine a full-time work week under the Affordable Care Act as 40 hours instead of 30 actually amounts to a break for corporations, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) argued in a hearing Thursday.

Under the legislation, businesses would be obligated to provide health care only to employees who work 40 hours a week or more, rather than 30. Republicans and some Democrats have backed the bill, saying the current 30-hour standard offers an incentive to cut workers' hours to get around Obamacare's requirement that full-time employees receive insurance. Supporters have pointed to numerous instances of employers -- from public schools to restaurant businesses -- doing exactly that.

Yet those backers have downplayed broader economic indicators suggesting that businesses have not, in fact, shifted workers to part-time in order to avoid the Obamacare rule. In fact, part-time work has fallen since the law was passed.

And a Congressional Budget Office report released earlier this month found that if the standard were shifted from 30 hours a week to 40, many more workers would be at risk of having their hours cut. This is because a much larger portion of the workforce -- about half -- works around 40 hours per week. By contrast, fewer than one in 10 employees work around 30 hours per week.

According to the CBO, the proposed legislation would increase the incentive to cut workers' hours from 40 a week to just below. As a result, up to 1 million workers could lose their employer-backed insurance -- and many of those people would need to shift to tax-subsidized Obamacare. All told, the move would add $53.8 billion to the deficit, CBO said.

Warren said that the bill effectively shifts the burden away from companies and onto taxpayers.

"This bill is corporate welfare," Warren said at a hearing held by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions. "Big corporations would get to cut health benefits for millions of workers, and push people out of their employer insurance plans. Some of those people will lose their health insurance all together. Others would be pushed onto federal programs, expanding the reach of Obamacare, and taxpayers would get stuck with the tab."

"I'm against adding $53 billion to the deficit so that corporations can push their costs and responsibilities onto the government," Warren added.

Doug Holtz-Eakin, an economist who testified at Thursday's hearing for Republicans and once led the CBO, said his former agency's numbers were crafted "in good faith." But he disputed CBO's findings, suggesting that companies already providing health insurance would not have incentive to cut hours from 40 to 39.

"We've come down on different places, I think it's open to question," Holtz-Eakin said.

But Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) noted that Holtz-Eakin is now the president of an organization called the American Action Forum, which is part of a coalition of groups dedicated to repealing Obamacare.

"I'm not sure that when you're aligned with a group that has a banner that says 'Help us stop Obamacare,' that your estimates are necessarily in good faith," Franken said. Reported by Huffington Post 6 hours ago.

Cover Missouri Coalition Steps Up Health Insurance Marketplace Education Campaign in Advance of Feb. 15 Enrollment Deadline

January 22, 2015, 10:00 am

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ST. LOUIS, Jan. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- With the Feb. 15 deadline for enrolling in 2015 Health Insurance Marketplace plans just weeks away, the Cover Missouri Coalition is ramping up efforts to educate Missourians about their coverage options. Although 209,336 Missourians have already... Reported by PR Newswire 6 hours ago.

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President Obama, at the University of Kansas: 'We can't put the security of families at risk by getting rid of health insurance' - broadcast

January 22, 2015, 9:51 am

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Reported by Breaking News 7 hours ago.

A.M. Best Affirms Ratings for W.R. Berkley Corporation and its Subsidiaries

January 22, 2015, 10:05 am

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OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “aa-” of Berkley Insurance Company (BIC) (Wilmington, DE) and 25 of its reinsured subsidiaries and affiliates, collectively referred to as W.R. Berkley Insurance Group. A.M. Best also has affirmed the FSR of A+ (Superior) and ICR of “aa-” of Berkley Life and Health Insurance Company (Berkley Life and Health) (Urbandale, IA). Concurrently, A.M. Best h Reported by Business Wire 6 hours ago.

Christian Leaders Matt Chandler, Russell Moore Fed Up With GOP Decision to Hold Off on Mid-Term Abortion Ban

January 22, 2015, 10:50 am

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Church and ministry leaders join forces with conservative political groups the morning of the 42nd annual March for Life to publicly rebuke House Republicans for its last-minute decision to delay the vote on a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks. Church leaders, unlike policy groups, are seemly not appeased by GOP's decision to switch support to another pro-life bill that would ensure taxpayer dollars aren't going to abortion providers under health insurance plans offered on the federal exchange. Reported by Christian Post 6 hours ago.

House Passes Anti-Abortion Bill On Anniversary Of Roe v. Wade

January 22, 2015, 11:42 am

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On the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark abortion rights decision in Roe v. Wade, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 242-179 to pass a bill that would codify a ban on federal funding for abortions.

The bill would prevent women from having their abortions covered by Medicaid; restrict a woman's ability to buy private insurance plans that include abortion coverage; and deny small businesses a tax credit, which they currently receive through the Affordable Care Act, if they include abortion care in their health insurance plans. It would also prevent the District of Columbia from using its own local funds to subsidize abortion care.

Democrats tried to use a procedural move Thursday to sink the bill or send it back to committee. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) submitted a motion to recommit the bill, asking that it be amended to "prohibit any violation of the medical privacy of a woman regarding her personal choice of health insurance coverage, including victims of rape and incest." But Republicans rejected the motion and passed the bill.

Social conservatives celebrated the move. "This is another victory for taxpayers, women, and their unborn children," the Family Research Council said in a statement.

Republicans skipped the committee process and brought the bill to the floor as a substitute for the bill they were supposed to vote on Thursday, a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The latter bill was tabled after some Republicans took issue with the narrow rape exception, which would require women to have reported the rape to the police in order to qualify.

Before the taxpayer funding bill passed on Thursday, over a dozen Democratic lawmakers, one after the other, gave the same statement on the House floor in protest. "The House should vote for bigger paychecks and better infrastructure instead of attacking women's access to health care," they said.

The White House said Thursday that if the bill passes the Senate, President Barack Obama will veto it.

"The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 7," the Statement of Administration Policy reads. "The legislation would intrude on women's reproductive freedom and access to health care; increase the financial burden on many Americans; unnecessarily restrict the private insurance choices that consumers have today; and restrict the District of Columbia's use of local funds, which undermines home rule." Reported by Huffington Post 5 hours ago.

'Jane The Virgin' Pauses Mid-Episode To Drive Home The Need For Immigration Reform

January 22, 2015, 12:01 pm

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Much like its Golden Globe-winning star, “Jane The Virgin” isn't afraid to speak out on controversial issues.

The CW dramedy returned from its midseason break this week. In Monday's episode, the show took a stand on a hot-button topic: immigration reform.

WARNING: The following contains plot spoilers, if you haven’t watched “Chapter Ten,” do not read further.

In December, “Jane The Virgin” left fans in disbelief after Petra's mother threw Alba, Jane's grandmother and Xiomara's mother, down the stairs. In Monday's midseason premiere, the series reveals that Alba, who is residing in the U.S. without papers, is in a coma and her legal status in the U.S. could prove problematic once again.

As Alba lays comatose, a doctor informs Xiomara that her mother will be deported after waking up because she is undocumented and has no health insurance.

“She doesn’t have insurance and the hospital can’t afford to absorb the cost of her care,” the doctor tells Xiomara. “When the hurricane lifts, we will have to notify [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and they will deport her to Venezuela where she can continue to receive care if she needs it.”

Shocked by the doctor’s words, Xiomara yells back in disbelief, “That can’t be legal!” In case any viewers thought the Alba plot twist was an exaggeration (after all, the series is adapted from a Venezuelan telenovela), the screen freezes at that moment and the following reminder appears:

Indeed, incidents like this do occur in real life.

A report published in 2012 by the Center for Social Justice at Seton Hall Law School and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest documented 800 cases of so-called “medical repatriation” carried out or attempted by hospitals over the previous six years.

A 2009 Florida state court case was one of the first to test the legality of the practice. Luis Alberto Jiménez was an undocumented immigrant who suffered brain damage and was left in a wheelchair. After administrators privately arranged to send him back to Guatemala, Jiménez's guardian sued Martin Memorial Hospital in Stuart, Florida. The hospital had treated him for years, at a cost of $1.5 million.

The jury, which had no Hispanic members, eventually found in favor of the hospital. But Miami attorney John de Leon, who has represented people in similar cases, told The Huffington Post that the case nevertheless made hospitals wary of medical repatriation because “they’re subject to liability in a way they weren’t in the past.”

De Leon said these repatriations have generally been carried out by hospitals rather than U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He added that ICE is now less likely to target undocumented immigrants in hospitals because of the Obama administration's recent directives to focus deportation proceedings on border incidents and on people with criminal records or prior immigration offenses.

“Obviously the U.S. government at any point could try to do that, but there would be so many procedural obstacles to moving forward on it that the U.S. government, as far as I know, is not taking those cases on anymore,” de Leon said.

Ahead of the series' midseason premiere, actress Gina Rodriguez, who plays Jane, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about her thoughts on tackling the immigration issue within the show.

“I love the fact that we bring up immigration because it is an ever-present problem in our country,” Rodriguez told the site. “Why anyone isn't allowed to be anywhere in our country, obviously it has to do with tax reasons [too], but that's crazy ... that's disappointing.”

“Having an actress on our show, Diane Guerrero, who has spoken very openly about her situation with immigration and losing her family, I think it's important to have these social commentary episodes that you're not beating people over the head with it,” the actress continued. “Nobody likes to be beat over the head with anything. And I really like the fact that they integrated something so valuable and so important in our daily lives.”

Neither Rodriguez nor a CW representative for "Jane The Virgin" responded immediately to HuffPost's request for comment.

It seems fans were also quite happy with how the show went about addressing immigration reform:


I loved that #JaneTheVirgin took a stand on the last episode with immigration reform. Another reason why I adore this show!

— Georgina Blewett (@redbeanmilktea) January 21, 2015


Man that immigration reform bit in the newest episode of #JanetheVirgin was perfect!!!

— julianlytle (@julianlytle) January 21, 2015


#JaneTheVirgin going all in on immigration reform. Thank you for writing this story so beautifully @JaneWriters and @JennieUrman.

— Kate Forristall (@KateCForristall) January 20, 2015

H/T Remezcla Reported by PopEater 4 hours ago.