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MAP and Lief Therapeutics Partner to Track Anxiety Real-time in Substance Use Disorder Populations

April 24, 2017, 3:08 am
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MAP announces a strategic partnership with Lief Therapeutics' biosensing wearable device to recognize elevated anxiety levels in people with addiction

Austin, Tx (PRWEB) April 24, 2017

MAP Health Management announced today a strategic partnership with Lief Therapeutics designed to recognize elevated anxiety levels in people with addiction who are served by MAP’s patient engagement ecosystem. Lief Therapeutics is the creator of the Lief Smart Patch, a biosensing wearable device that monitors heart and breath rates to identify anxiety levels and can provide biofeedback exercises to aid in reducing anxiety.

The strategic partnership will launch with a pilot program in May of this year wherein 50 individuals currently engaged with MAP and who have a history of anxiety issues will begin using the Lief Smart Patch. MAP will migrate data collected by the patch into its data store, where it will be leveraged to support early relapse identification and care coordination.

The goal of the pilot is to understand how identifying early-onset and elevated anxiety in individuals with Substance Use Disorder can help improve clinical outcomes through enabling better access to care precisely when it is needed. MAP and Lief will present population level findings to various national insurance carriers and health systems to demonstrate how identifying and treating active anxiety within the Substance Use Disorder population has a significant impact on improving clinical outcomes and reducing costs over time.

The patch is worn during the waking hours on the ribcage and syncs with a mobile app for a bi-directional data transfer. Anxiety levels, or even panic attacks, are identified through monitoring various biofeedback indicators such as heart rate variability and breathing patterns. MAP’s alerting technology will allow pre-assigned case managers to reach out to the individual as they are experiencing symptoms of anxiety.

“About 40% of individuals served by MAP have a history of anxiety issues. What’s very clear in our data is that people in recovery from addiction but with untreated anxiety issues tend to have poor outcomes. We believe that elevated anxiety is a leading indicator of a potential return to substance use. The Lief Smart Patch is going to enable us to get actionable data in real-time to change the trajectory and affect a better outcome,” said Jacob Levenson, CEO of MAP Health Management, LLC.

“Anxiety and stress affect every aspect of a patient's life and care cycle. We're excited to provide patients and doctors with a tool that tracks and improves symptoms of stress in-the-moment, helping intervene with patients when they need it most. This initiative with MAP is a big step in the right direction – empowering patients with data-driven, cost-effective preventative measures,” said Rohan Dixit, CEO of Lief Therapeutics.

The Lief Therapeutics strategic partnership is the fourth announced by MAP in recent months as MAP continues to expand its robust ecosystem of patients, providers, insurance companies, and technology products, all of which are integrated into MAP’s population health platform. MAP is generally recognized as having the most robust risk identification and data reporting environment related to addiction in the country.

About MAP Health Management, LLC
MAP delivers technology-enabled solutions, including telehealth and other remote engagement devices and applications, that improve clinical and financial outcomes for chronic behavioral health disorders such as Substance Use Disorder. MAP’s robust ecosystem of solutions empowers treatment providers, health insurance companies, health systems, and patients with the right data at the right time to improve clinical and financial outcomes. For more information, visit https://www.thisismap.com.

About Lief Therapeutics
Lief Therapeutics offers a break-through wearable sensor for stress and anxiety management to consumers, patients, healthcare providers and health systems. Lief is accompanied by an 8-week digital anxiety intervention course designed in collaboration with Stanford and UCSF clinicians, and integrates with a variety of common EMR and health record systems. To learn more about Lief Therapeutics, please visit https://www.getlief.com. Reported by PRWeb 12 hours ago.
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Congress Returns To Work As Deadline Looms To Avert Government Shutdown

April 24, 2017, 7:38 am
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By Julia Edwards Ainsley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With a deadline looming this week to avert a U.S. government shutdown, Congress returns to work on Monday as President Donald Trump leans on Democrats to include funding for his promised border wall with Mexico in spending legislation.

The Republican president took to Twitter on Sunday to warn Democrats that the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, could soon lose essential funding without Democratic support for a congressional spending plan to keep the government running.

Should talks fail, the government would shut down on Saturday, Trump’s 100th day in office. Trump, whose national approval rating hovered around 43 percent in the latest Reuters/Ipsos polling, is seeking his first big legislative victory.

“Obamacare is in serious trouble. The Dems need big money to keep it going - otherwise it dies far sooner than anyone would have thought,” Trump said in a Twitter post.

The healthcare law was former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement, which Republicans are trying to repeal and replace.

The White House says it has offered to include $7 billion in Obamacare subsidies that allow low-income people to pay for health insurance in exchange for Democratic backing for $1.5 billion in funding to start construction of the barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump made the wall a major element of his presidential campaign, touting its ability to help curb the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the United States.

The federal government’s funding is set to expire at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. A spending resolution would need 60 votes to clear the 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 52 seats.

Asked if Trump would sign a spending bill that does not include money for the wall, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney told Fox News on Sunday: “We don’t know yet.”

Internal estimates from the Department of Homeland Security have placed the total cost of a border barrier at about $21.6 billion.

Trump has said Mexico will repay the United States for the wall if Congress funds it first. But he has not laid out his plan to compel the Mexicans to pay, which Mexico’s government has insisted it will not do.

 

‘FLY IN THE OINTMENT’

A Republican congressional aide said Democrats may agree to some aspects of the border wall, including new surveillance equipment and access roads, estimated to cost around $380 million.

“But Democrats want the narrative that they dealt him a loss on the wall,” the aide said, adding it would be difficult to bring any Democrats on board with new construction on the southwest border.

Democrats showed no sign of softening their opposition to wall funding on Sunday and sought to place responsibility for any shutdown squarely on Trump and Republicans who control the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer warned Trump to stay out of the way if he wanted lawmakers to reach a deal before the deadline.

Schumer told a news conference on Sunday that aid negotiations between Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate were going well.

“The only fly in the ointment is that the president is being a little heavy handed, and mixing in and asking for things such as the wall,” Schumer said.

 

(Reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu, Steve Holland and David Morgan; Editing by Peter Cooney)

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 8 hours ago.
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Border Wall Showdown: Team Trump Threatens Government Shut Down Over 'Beautiful' Wall

April 24, 2017, 6:15 am
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Border Wall Showdown: Team Trump Threatens Government Shut Down Over 'Beautiful' Wall President Trump and Congress have until this Saturday to strike a budget deal or face a government shut down.  Not surprisingly, Trump decided to kick off what will undoubtedly be a week of tense negotiations with some opening shots across the bow via Twitter:



ObamaCare is in serious trouble. The Dems need big money to keep it going - otherwise it dies far sooner than anyone would have thought.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2017





The Democrats don't want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang members.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2017





Eventually, but at a later date so we can get started early, Mexico will be paying, in some form, for the badly needed border wall.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2017





The Wall is a very important tool in stopping drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth (and many others)! If

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2017



 

Throughout his campaign Trump touted several policies which would require massive increases in government spending including his infrastructure plan, new military funding and the border wall.  That said, at least in this round of Congressional bickering, it looks like the border wall will be key issue which could leave 1,000s of federal government employees with a little extra paid vacation time in 2017.

As negotiations continue, the* White House says it has offered to include $7 billion in Obamacare subsidies that allow low-income people to pay for health insurance in exchange for Democratic backing for $1.5 billion in funding to start construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall.* Congressional negotiators have also offered to cut back Trump's proposed $30 billion increase in defense spending.



*“The question is, how much of our stuff do we have to get? How much of their stuff are they willing to take?”* budget director Mick Mulvaney said on Bloomberg Television. *“We’d offer them one dollar” of Obamacare payments, he added, “for one dollar of wall payments right now.”*

 

Democrats called Mulvaney’s Obamacare offer a non-starter, saying they refuse to include any funds for a wall in the spending bill that would finance the government through September, the end of the fiscal year.



While Republicans control Congress, any budget deal will have to be passed on a bipartisan basis as members of the Freedom Caucus typically refuse to support unbalanced budgets in the House and Senate approval will require 60 votes while Republicans hold only 52 seats. 



It’s a rare moment when the Democrats have leverage in the Republican-controlled House, since it’s likely that Republican leaders would need at least some Democratic votes to offset Republican defections on the budget -- as has been the case for a series of budget fights in recent years.

 

One thing is certain: any spending deal must be a bipartisan one. Even though Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan know they’ll both need Democratic votes to pass a government funding measure.

 

The Senate needs 60 votes to advance legislation, meaning the 52 Republicans will need help from at least eight Democrats. In the House, conservatives led by the Freedom Caucus and other fiscal hawks have regularly bolted on spending bills and Democrats have provided enough votes for passage.



Not surprisingly, Chuck Schumer described Trump's border wall is the only *"fly in the ointment" *to getting a budget deal done.



Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s spokesman, Matt House, complained that the White House in recent days brought a “heavy hand” into what he said were smooth-going talks between congressional Republicans and Democrats.

 

*“If the administration would drop their 11th-hour demand for a wall that Democrats, and a good number of Republicans, oppose, congressional leaders could quickly reach a deal,”* House said in a statement Friday.

 

*"The only fly in the ointment is that the president is being a little heavy handed, and mixing in and asking for things such as the wall,"* Schumer said.



Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi went on Chuck Todd's “Meet the Press” over the weekend to start playing the "blame game" over who's responsible for a government shut down that hasn't yet occurred.



*“The democrats do not support the wall. * And I think the Republicans in the border states do not support the wall.  The Republicans have the votes in the House and the Senate and the White House to keep government open. The burden to keep it open is on the Republicans.”

 

*"The wall, in my view, is immoral, expensive and unwise...."*



 

And here is Budget Director Mick Mulvaney speaking with Bloomberg:

 

Of course, the budget showdown comes just as Trump continues to pressure Congress to vote on a new healthcare deal this week and has promised to release his tax plan on Wednesday...both of which would be a poke in the eye of Democrats just as he's trying to win their support on a budget deal.  Should be a fun week with lots of flip flops. Reported by Zero Hedge 9 hours ago.
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1000+ Health Insurance, Hospital, Policy, Life Sciences and Employer Executives Convene in DC to Discuss Innovation, Policy, and Market Forces Impacting the Future of U.S. Health Care

April 24, 2017, 6:46 am
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1000+ Health Insurance, Hospital, Policy, Life Sciences and Employer Executives Convene in DC to Discuss Innovation, Policy, and Market Forces Impacting the Future of U.S. Health Care WASHINGTON & WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#ACA--Join 1000+ Health Insurance, Hospital, Policy, Life Sciences and Employer Executives in Washington, DC to Discuss Innovation, Policy, and Market Forces Impacting the Future of U.S. Health Care. Reported by Business Wire 8 hours ago.
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Healthy Hispanic Living Launches New Online Resource for Hispanic Women and Men Struggling with Infertility, for National Infertility Awareness Week

April 24, 2017, 7:02 am
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Being the only Latina in your family without children makes you feel ashamed and isolated. Now there’s a place for connection and understanding.

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (PRWEB) April 24, 2017

Healthy Hispanic Living (HHL), the first preventive care online educational platform for U.S. Hispanics, today launched a new microsite dedicated to providing practical information and emotional connection for women and men struggling with infertility.

The launch is timed with the start of National Infertility Awareness Week® (NIAW), April 23-29. NIAW is a movement founded in 1989 by Resolve, the National Infertility Association.

Healthy Hispanic Living’s new site fits well with this year’s theme — “Listen Up!” The site includes personal stories of couples struggling to build their families, and a new online community for people to connect directly with each other to seek advice or support, and to learn from each other’s experiences. Visit the Facebook community here.

One in eight couples struggle to build a family, according to Resolve.

“As a Latina, the inability to get pregnant is the most overwhelming sense of failure,” said Annette Prieto Llopis, VP Client Relations, Center for Hispanic Leadership. Her personal story is featured on the HHL Infertility site. “The perception is that something is wrong with you as a woman. In a culture that prides itself on the importance of family, I felt like I was underperforming.”

Llopis shares the story of her 15-year struggle with infertility, and with the difficulty in facing her Cuban immigrant mother’s expectations for her to become a mother. Additional stories touch on a variety of infertility topics:·     finding a gestational surrogate in India;
·     coping with secondary infertility;
·     a moment-in-time of learning a last try has failed.

According to this 2009 Harvard Mental Health Letter: In a study of 200 couples, half of the women said that infertility was the most upsetting experience of their lives; while another study of 488 American women concluded that women with infertility felt as anxious or depressed as those diagnosed with cancer, hypertension, or recovering from a heart attack.

Infertility is more common for Hispanic women than for non-Hispanic white women (according to this 2006 study in Fertility & Sterility, which analyzed National Survey of Family Growth data). Yet Hispanic women receive medical assistance in getting pregnant at nearly half the rate of white women (according to this 2015 study in Health Psychology). The authors said that accounting for income and health insurance disparities did not fully explain these differences.

“There’s too much silence in the Hispanic community around infertility,” said Llopis. “It’s hard to talk about it when you’re in the middle of it—but that’s when you need other people the most. We just want to create a safe place where people can find the encouragement and support they need at the moment they need it.”

About Healthy Hispanic Living
As the first preventive care online educational platform targeted to U.S. Hispanics, HHL aims to guide
Hispanics to live healthier lives and to ensure preventive care engagement, accountability and self-advocacy by
providing solutions and changing the conversation about health from illness to wellness. For more information,
visit http://www.healthyhispanicliving.com. Reported by PRWeb 8 hours ago.
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ShopRite Joins Aetna's Preferred Medicare Pharmacy Network

April 24, 2017, 7:17 am
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Aetna Medicare members with drug coverage can fill prescriptions at preferred copay levels at any ShopRite pharmacy.

Edison, New Jersey (PRWEB) April 24, 2017

ShopRite and Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced ShopRite has joined Aetna’s national network of preferred pharmacies. Effective immediately, Aetna Medicare members with drug coverage can fill their prescriptions at preferred copay levels at any ShopRite pharmacy. That means Aetna Medicare customers can get their prescriptions at low, preferred cost shares while they shop at ShopRite pharmacies.

“ShopRite is excited to become a preferred provider for Aetna with the ability to offer Aetna Medicare Part D members prescription copays as low as $1 on some medications. We know affordable prescriptions and the convenience of one-stop shopping for groceries and pharmacy needs is important to our customers,” said Karen Meleta, a spokeswoman for ShopRite.

“We want our members to take the medications their doctors prescribe. Our goal is to make that as easy and convenient as possible,” said Nancy Cocozza, president of Aetna’s Medicare business. “Whether our members participate in a stand-alone prescription drug plan or a Medicare Advantage plan, they can save money and time by filling their prescriptions while they shop.”

A total of 222 ShopRite stores in six states offer in-store pharmacies. And the ShopRite Pharmacy App allows customers to request refills and manage prescriptions online. These stores also provide customers with immunizations, prescription diabetes medication at no extra cost, and specialty pharmacy services to help patients manage complex medication regimens. Many ShopRite stores also offer customers consultations and counseling with registered retail dietitians at no extra cost.

About ShopRite
ShopRite is the registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative based in Keasbey, NJ, and the largest supermarket cooperative in the United States. With more than 270 ShopRite supermarkets located throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland, ShopRite serves more than six million customers each week. Through its Partners In Caring program, ShopRite is dedicated to fighting hunger in the communities it serves, and has donated $43 million to 2,100 worthy charities and food banks since the program began in 1999. As a title sponsor of the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer, ShopRite has raised nearly $30 million for local organizations, hospitals and community groups. For more information, please visit http://www.shoprite.com.

About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 46.7 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers’ compensation administrative services and health information technology products and services. Aetna’s customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see http://www.aetna.com and learn about how Aetna is helping to build a healthier world. @AetnaNews

Aetna Medicare is a PDP, HMO, PPO plan with a Medicare contract. Our SNPs also have contracts with State Medicaid programs. Enrollment in our plans depends on contract renewal. This information is not a complete description of benefits. Contact the plan for more information. Limitations, copayments, and restrictions may apply. Benefits and/or co-payments/co-insurance may change on January 1 of each year. Other pharmacies are available in our network. Members who get “Extra Help” are not required to fill prescriptions at preferred network pharmacies in order to get Low Income Subsidy (LIS) copays. The formulary and/or pharmacy network may change at any time. You will receive notice when necessary. Aetna Medicare’s pharmacy network offers limited access to pharmacies with preferred cost sharing in: Suburban NY and Rural UT, AR and NY The lower costs advertised in our plan materials for these pharmacies may not be available at the pharmacy you use. For up-to-date information about our network pharmacies, including pharmacies with preferred cost sharing, members please call the number on your ID card, non-members please call 1-855-338-7027 (TTY: 711) or consult the online pharmacy directory at http://www.aetnamedicare.com/pharmacyhelp. See Evidence of Coverage for a complete description of plan benefits, exclusions, limitations and conditions of coverage. Plan features and availability may vary by service area.

©2017 Aetna Inc.
Y0001_4002_9571 Accepted 04/2017

Aetna Media Contact:
Anjie Coplin
214-200-8056
Coplina(at)aetna(dot)com

Wakefern Media Contact:
Karen O’Shea
Office: 732-906-5932
karen.o’shea(at)wakefern(dot)com Reported by PRWeb 8 hours ago.
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Pet Parents will take Centre Stage at NAPHIA Leadership Forum 23-25 May, 2017

April 24, 2017, 7:28 am
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Experts from pet insurance technologist Aquarium Software Inc. will deliver a major speech in Phoenix, Arizona on 24 May, at the 2017 North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) Leadership Forum.

(PRWEB) April 24, 2017

Experts from pet insurance technologist Aquarium Software Inc. will deliver a major speech in Phoenix, Arizona on 24 May, at the 2017 North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) Leadership Forum. Focusing on the emotional connection between pet and pet parent and its impact on the customer journey, the presentation is set to touch on themes of critical importance to UK-US pet insurance sectors.

On the morning of day two, Mark Colonnese, Aquarium’s VP Sales and Marketing and Managing Director Ed Shropshire, will offer attendees a unique insight into the contrast between US and UK pet parents and what that means for the market, both sides of the pond - following on from new research to be revealed by Aquarium on the day.

“As an Associate member of NAPHIA, we are delighted to be developing the relationship further by delivering a speech on Wednesday morning at the Leadership Forum,” said Mark Colonnese, commenting on the forthcoming event. “While sharing our own expertise, we will also be looking to learn more about the relationship between US and Canadian operators in the pet insurance sector, and how we might help facilitate this growth.”

Many NAPHIA members do business both sides of the US-Canadian border and the 2016 NAPHIA State of the Industry Report revealed Gross Written Premium (GWP) in both territories was significantly up on the previous year. The US saw an increase of 17.1 per cent from 2014 and Canada and increase of 15 per cent.

“We are happy to have Aquarium on board for the 2017 Leadership Forum,” said Rob Jackson, CEO of HealthyPaws Pet Insurance and Foundation, Chair of this year’s NAPHIA Leadership Forum. “Aquarium’s global experience means they have deep insights to share with this audience, in terms of what factors unite (and separate) pet parents in the US and the UK and how this may impact on a more profitable pet insurance business model.”

Aquarium has a strong relationship with NAPHIA. Sponsoring the summit in 2014 was followed by lead sponsor status in 2015 and Associate membership in 2016; all part of cementing Aquarium’s place as a key player in the insurance technology sector. A gathering of North American leaders, from NAPHIA members, insurance companies, partner organisations and industry followers, the Leadership Forum is a networking event with opportunities to explore best practices and new initiatives in the pet health insurance industry; the perfect platform for Aquarium, as NAPHIA marks ten years of helping the industry become top dog.

“Aquarium’s experience of the impact technologies have on the customer journey undertaken by pet parents will be beneficial to attendees,” explained Mark. “The industry must treat pet insurance with the same intellectual rigour as any other General Insurance line and Aquarium is leading the pack of those providing the industry with the technical solutions to do that.”

Aquarium Software’s specialist pet insurance solution spanning premiums rating, policy admin, billing and claims has been implemented by a number of insurers around the globe. For further information contact Aquarium Software on +44 (0)161 927 5620 or visit http://www.aquarium-software.com Reported by PRWeb 8 hours ago.
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One of the biggest middlemen in the drug industry is losing their largest customer — and the stock is tanking

April 24, 2017, 2:37 pm
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One of the biggest middlemen in the drug industry is losing their largest customer — and the stock is tanking Express Scripts, on of the largest pharmacy benefit manager's (PBM) in the drug industry, announced on Monday that its largest customer will not renew its contract with the company.

Anthem, owner of a variety of Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance firms, said it will not renew its deal with Express Scripts according to an earnings release from the PBM.

As a health insurer, Anthem contracts with pharmacy benefit managers like Express Scripts to help negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs in the form of a rebate from the pharmaceutical company.

Anthem accused Express Scripts of not passing along those savings, claiming Express Scripts overcharged the insurer by billions of dollars.

"Although conversations have been ongoing, the Company was recently told by Anthem management that Anthem intends to move its business when the Company's current contract with Anthem expires on December 31, 2019, and that Anthem is not interested in continuing discussions regarding pricing concessions for 2017-2019 or in receiving the Company's proposed pricing for the period beyond 2019," said the release from Express Scripts.

According to the release, the Anthem contract was responsible for roughly 18% of Express Scripts' first quarter 2017 revenue.

Following the news, Express Scripts stock dived more than 10% as of 5:05 p.m. ET.

Pharmacy benefit managers including Express Scripts have come into the spotlight in recent months as the drug industry faces increased scrutiny over the price of prescription drugs. Drug companies, which bear the brunt of the heat over this, have been trying to convince people that they're not the problem. Sure, they've been increasing list prices for existing drugs, and setting high prices for newly approved medications, but they say they also offer rebates to offset all this and minimize what patients actually pay which drug companies negotiate with PBMs.

Those rebates are meant to be passed on to patients, but a recent report from the drug companies' lobby found that that's not the case for 20% of prescriptions filled. Instead, the implication here is that the companies meant to pass along the rebates are keeping all of the money for themselves, in those cases. It's led to finger-pointing from both PBMs and drugmakers over where those rebates are going. 

*SEE ALSO: Everyone wants a piece of the drug industry and it's one reason prices are rising so fast*

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 6 things the Samsung Galaxy S8 can do that the iPhone can’t Reported by Business Insider 37 minutes ago.
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100 Days Of President Trump’s Corporate Government

April 25, 2017, 10:19 am
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We’re 100 days into Corporate Government.

While giant corporations have for decades and on a bipartisan basis exerted far too much influence over government decision-making, we’ve never seen anything like the Trump administration.

The key officials in the federal government, starting with the president himself, come from Big Business; the administration openly seeks guidance and direction from giant corporations and corporate CEOs on policymaking; and the Trump administration is rushing to deliver subsidies, tax breaks and deregulatory gifts to the giant corporations to which the administration apparently owes its primary allegiance.

A day-by-day review of the administration’s first 100 days in office shows that virtually every day there has been a new, extraordinary grant of power to corporate interests and/or another development in Donald Trump’s get-rich-quick-scheme known as the American presidency.

America has never seen anything like this.

The corporate capture began at the same moment as the Trump presidency. Corporations that have pending business before the president ― AT&T, Bank of America, Boeing, Chevron, Deloitte, JPMorgan Chase and United Parcel Service – were among the top funders of the inauguration and surrounding festivities. Giant companies and billionaires heaped more than $100 million on the festivities.

New President Trump immediately signaled his intent to deliver on the corporate wish list by signing two executive orders, one designed to start the process of destroying the Affordable Care Act and another freezing all regulatory activity for 90 days.

It’s been downhill since then.

President Trump has assembled what is probably the least qualified and certainly most corporate cabinet of all time. By way of reminder, this list includes: the former CEO of Exxon Mobil (Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State); a slew of former Goldman Sachs executives, so much so that the factions fighting for control of the administration each hail from Goldman Sachs (chief strategist Steve Bannon and top economic advisor Gary Cohn); a banker known as the Foreclosure King to run the Department of Treasury (Steven Mnuchin), an Amway heiress and Republican megadonor (Betsy DeVos); and a former state attorney general who allowed the fossil fuel industry to draft letters on attorney general letterhead on multiple occasions (Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency).

Having a corporate cabinet has apparently not satisfied Trump’s yen to hang out with the corporate elite. Trump started his first full weekday in office with a breakfast meeting with CEOs of a dozen corporations, and the meetings continue at a staggering pace. Trump is meeting with more than two CEOS every day, on average. These extraordinary gatherings, which have the explicit purpose of providing a way for Big Business to shape the administration’s policies, are supplemented by the president’s more casual interactions with corporate leaders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., where the membership fee is now $200,000.

Many of the gatherings reflect the administration’s interest in giving special consideration to the views of specific corporate sectors, such as airlines, health insurance corporations, pharmaceutical corporations, and the automotive industry. One of every five of the corporate executives who met with the Trump administration within the first 100 days represented the banking or financial sector.

It’s not just meetings and personnel. The Trump administration is off to a roaring start on delivering the goodies to Big Business.


One of every five of the corporate executives who met with the Trump administration within the first 100 days represented the banking or financial sector.

It has taken care of its Dirty Energy friends. By executive order, Trump overturned Obama measures to block the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines. A few days later, the Army Corps of Engineers granted Energy Transfer Partners the final permit it needs to complete the Dakota Access Pipeline. It has also put in place measures to speed approval of other pipelines and fossil fuel projects, and is expected in the coming days to announce measures to upend the Environmental Protection Agency.

In March, Trump announced a review – plainly aimed to be a roll back – of auto fuel efficiency standards. Just a few years ago, a U.S. government bailout saved the Big Three automakers from utter collapse. The modest reciprocity the government demanded was industry agreement to higher fuel efficiency standards – its most important move to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses. Now the auto industry and the Trump administration are colluding to abrogate the deal. Consumers will be swindled in the process; the fuel economy rules that Trump is reversing were projected to save Americans up to $5,700 for every car they purchase, and $8,200 for every truck.

Trump has issued an executive order aimed at undoing President Obama’s Clean Power Plan – his signature effort to reduce climate pollution from coal powered plants; the administration is debating pulling the United States out of the Paris climate agreement; and administration officials have banned the use of the term “climate change.” EPA Chief Scott Pruitt and his minions are delivering a host of other gifts to polluters, such as inaugural $1 million donor Dow, notably including a refusal to ban a brain-damaging pesticide.

The administration is taking care of its Wall Street friends (meaning those who remain outside the administration). Trump has signed executive orders aimed at unraveling the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law (“We expect to be cutting a lot out of Dodd-Frank,” the president told JPMorgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon and other CEOs in January) and repealing an Obama administration Labor Department rule requiring financial advisors to give advice based on their customers’ best interests. The Labor Department rule, if adopted, will save consumers $17 billion a year in rip-off fees and bad advice. Contemplated changes in Dodd-Frank rules, the Wall Street Journal reports, will enable the six biggest banks to return $100 billion of reserves to shareholders. A staggering gift to the shareholders – at the cost of making the financial system far, far more unstable, insecure and prone to another 2008-style meltdown.Although its prospects are dim, Trump proposed a cruel, sadistic and military-industrial-complex-fawning budget, featuring $54 billion in increased spending on weapons and war, with gouging cuts to spending on everything from environmental protection to Meals on Wheels.

Trump strongly backed the American Health Care Act (Obamacare repeal), and is now angling for it to be revived with slight modifications – which would make it still worse. To pay for a $350 billion tax cut for the super rich and large corporations, the bill would deny health care coverage to 24 million people by 2026. In addition to mass financial hardship, that denial of coverage would have meant that every year millions would suffer needlessly from treatable ailments and tens of thousands would die from preventable illness. Cutting off Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood would have denied provision of care to millions of low-income women. And the bill’s financing structure would have weakened Medicare’s finances, imperiling still more Americans. Happily, bombast aside, odds appear slim of successfully bringing this proposal back from the dead.

Perhaps most consequentially, the administration has commenced its full-fledged assault on health, safety, environmental, worker, consumer, financial security, civil rights and other regulatory protections.

Deregulatory measures may well be Trump’s signature achievement – both of the first 100 days and the entire presidency. What does it mean to deregulate? It means lifting restraints on corporate misconduct, and signaling to big companies that in pursuit of profit they are free to rip off, price gouge, poison and endanger Americans and our planet.

In February, Trump signed a deregulatory executive order that directs federal agencies to repeal two federal regulations for every new rule they issue, and requires that any cost to industry of new rules be offset by savings from repealed rules. In this crazy scheme, regulators are not permitted to consider the benefits of rules. No one thinking sensibly about how to set rules for health, safety, the environment and the economy would ever adopt this approach – unless their only goal was to confer enormous benefits on Big Business. That is indeed the goal here.

(With the Natural Resources Defense Council and Communication Workers of America, Public Citizen has sued President Trump and the administration to have this executive order overturned.)


What are the chances that policy making will be advanced in the interest of Americans rather than giant corporations?

Trump has eagerly signed into law a series of deregulatory measures to undo Obama administration achievements, using an obscure legislative vehicle known as the Congressional Review Act. Industries that have collectively spent more than $1 billion on lobbying and campaign contributions have seen their investments pay off many times over. Trump has gleefully signed measures making it easier for coal companies to pollute streams and rivers; authorizing Big Oil to hide payments to developing country governments; erasing obligations for government contractors to ensure the safety and health of their employees; and making it possible for cable and Internet providers to collect and sell our most personal information. It’s hard to imagine there’s anyone in the United States, not connected to Comcast, Verizon or another telecom company, who favors giving the telecoms the right to traffic in our personal data.

Leaving aside confirmations, these Congressional Review Act regulatory repeals are, by far, the most significant legislative action during Trump’s term.

The corporate cronies heading or nominated to lead key regulatory agencies guarantee that deregulation will be a consistent and overriding theme of the administration. Trump’s pick for Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, if confirmed will assume office with unprecedented conflicts and zero demonstrated commitment to protecting investors. Scott Gottlieb, the nominee for Food and Drug Administration commissioner, has deep ties to the pharmaceutical industry and aims to roll back drug and device safety standards. President Trump and his new Federal Communication Commission Chair Ajit Pai are intent on repealing the agency’s Net Neutrality rule, which is designed to protect a free and open Internet by preventing broadband providers from favoring their own or discriminating against others’ content. The rule protects consumers from excessive tolls that could significantly impact their pocketbook, a diminished Internet that would degrade their user experience and, most importantly, from broadband provider censorship or undue influence over what they can see and access.

Meanwhile, Trump’s top regulatory advisor, the financial mogul Carl Icahn, is leveraging his role to push for very specific regulatory changes that would advantage his companies. The value of his oil refining companies has jumped by more than half a billion dollars in anticipation that Trump will deliver a revision to ethanol rules that Icahn is seeking.

Icahn’s conflicts are jaw-dropping, but it all comes from the top.

President Trump has resisted calls to divest himself of his business empire, giving him unprecedented conflicts of interest and ensuring that this administration will go down as the most corrupt in history. Foreign policy conflicts are already manifest: Does Trump congratulate Turkish President Erdogan on his consolidation of authoritarian power because of Trump’s business interests in Turkey? Does Rex Tillerson’s refusal to condemn human rights violations in the Philippines follow from Trump’s real estate ventures in that country? What’s the correlation between warming relations with China and China’s approval of trademark requests from Trump and Ivanka Trump? So too are domestic priorities distorted: Trump has ordered a repeal of an important Clean Water Rule opposed by golf courses. Policies at the Labor Department and National Labor Relations Board will directly impact his companies. The Chamber of Commerce is clamoring for legislation to destroy class actions – the kind of lawsuits filed by the ripped off students at “Trump University.”

And, as we look forward past the first hundred days, the dominant legislative debate will focus on tax policy. Donald Trump is an admitted exploiter of tax loopholes; and although he refused to make his tax returns public, he has bragged that he pays the lowest rate possible. What are the chances that he is going to support tax reform measures that would hurt his personal business empire?

What are the chances this administration’s conflicts will be resolved?

What are the chances that policy making will be advanced in the interest of Americans rather than giant corporations?

None, none and none – unless We the People mobilize in sufficient numbers to force a change.type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related... + articlesList=584f3777e4b0e05aded57793,5849a199e4b04002fa804550,58404827e4b0c68e047f323c

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 5 hours ago.
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Bethesda's Nannies Brace For Government Shutdown

April 24, 2017, 3:29 pm
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*Like what you read below? **Sign up for HUFFPOST HILL** and get a cheeky dose of political news every evening!*

U.S. embassies are promoting President Trump’s properties — though without a “Plenipotentiary For You and the Kids!” slogan, alas. A Republican Senate campaign confused Washington with Hangzhou, China, so if the campaign doesn’t work out, the candidate probably has a future in Trump’s diplomatic corps. And the president has completed only 30 percent of his 100-day promises, though if you don’t count California, the number is much higher. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Monday, April 24th, 2017:

*GOVERNMENT SET TO SHUT DOWN SATURDAY MORNING - *As if this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner weren’t already strange enough. Julia Edwards Ainsley: “Should talks fail, the government would shut down on Saturday, Trump’s 100th day in office. Trump, whose national approval rating hovered around 43 percent in the latest Reuters/Ipsos polling, is seeking his first big legislative victory…. *The White House says it has offered to include $7 billion in Obamacare subsidies that allow low-income people to pay for health insurance in exchange for Democratic backing for $1.5 billion in funding to start construction of the barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border*…. A Republican congressional aide said Democrats may agree to some aspects of the border wall, including new surveillance equipment and access roads, estimated to cost around $380 million. ‘But Democrats want the narrative that they dealt him a loss on the wall,’ the aide said, adding it would be difficult to bring any Democrats on board with new construction on the southwest border.” [Reuters]

*HONESTLY, WE THOUGHT IT’D BE LOWER -* Congrats to the president! Jill Colvin and Calvin Woodward: “*Of 38 specific promises Trump made in his 100-day ‘contract’ with voters — ‘This is my pledge to you’ — he’s accomplished 10*, mostly through executive orders that don’t require legislation, such as withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. He’s abandoned several and failed to deliver quickly on others, stymied at times by a divided Republican Party and resistant federal judges. Of 10 promises that require Congress to act, none has been achieved and most have not been introduced. ‘I’ve done more than any other president in the first 100 days,’ the president bragged in a recent interview with AP, even as he criticized the marker as an ‘artificial barrier.’ In truth, his 100-day plan remains mostly a to-do list that will spill over well beyond Saturday, his 100th day.” [AP]

*Like HuffPost Hill? Then order Eliot’s book*, The Beltway Bible: A Totally Serious A-Z Guide To Our No-Good, Corrupt, Incompetent, Terrible, Depressing, and Sometimes Hilarious Government

Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It’s free! Sign up here.  Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to eliot@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill

*U.S. EMBASSIES PROMOTE TRUMP PROPERTIES - *This makes a certain amount of sense as the United Kingdom is the only country in the world with worse tourists than the United States. Darren Samuelsohn “President Donald Trump isn’t the only one promoting his private Mar-a-Lago club as the ‘winter White House.’ His foreign policy team is doing it too. *The State Department and at least two U.S. embassies — the United Kingdom and Albania — earlier this month circulated a 400-word blog post detailing the long history of the president’s private South Florida club*, which has been open to dues-paying members since the mid-1990s and is now used by Trump for frequent weekend getaways. He has hosted foreign leaders there twice…. Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also slammed Trump’s administration, linking to an April 5 tweet from the State Department’s Economic & Business Affairs office that promoted the president’s club by asking: ‘Curious about the President’s winter White House also known as Mar-a-Lago?’” [Politico]

*ADMINISTRATION LEVELS NEW SYRIA SANCTIONS - *Julie Hirschfeld Davis: “The Trump administration on Monday said it was* imposing sanctions on 271 employees of the Syrian government agency that produces chemical weapons and ballistic missiles, blacklisting them from travel and financial transactions in the wake of a sarin attack on civilians this month.* The sanctions on members of President Bashar al-Assad’s Scientific Studies and Research Center more than doubles the number of Syrian individuals and entities whose property has been blocked by the United States and who are barred from financial transactions with American people or companies. It seeks to punish those behind this month’s chemical weapons attacks and previous ones carried out by Mr. Assad’s government, senior administration officials said, and to deter others who are contemplating similar actions.” [NYT]

Trump crapped on the United Nations today — and his own ambassador (sort of).

*TRUMP FORCING ENTIRE SENATE TO COME TO HIS HOUSE -* As power moves go, this one’s a little odd. David Nakamura and Ed O’Keefe: “The White House announced Monday it would host an unusual private briefing on North Korea for the entire U.S. Senate, prompting questions from lawmakers over whether the Trump administration intends to use the event as a photo op ahead of his 100-day mark….* [T]he location at the White House perplexed lawmakers who have grown accustomed to such briefings taking place in a secure location on Capitol Hill, where there is more room to handle such a large group.* Past administrations have often held briefings for smaller groups of about two dozen or fewer lawmakers in the White House Situation Room. But they have traditionally sent high-level aides to Capitol Hill to hold discussions with larger groups in secure, underground locations. A senior Trump administration official said the meeting with senators will take place in the auditorium at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the building next to the White House.” [WaPo]

*REPUBLICAN LAUNCHES SENATE BID, PROMISES TO REFORM OUR CHINESE CAPITAL -* Real estate executive and Republican bundler Jeff Bartos announced today he’s running for Bob Casey’s Senate seat. “Bob Casey’s Washington is booming,” Bartos said in his announcement video, which features scenes of economic decline from Bartos’ hometown of Reading.* However one of images that flashes on the screen as Bartos discusses “Bob Casey’s Washington” (at the 29 second mark) is actually a stock image of a construction site in Hangzhou,* *China*, according to this Getty Images page. We welcome our new Chinese overlords and hope to see them at the next Communist Party meeting at Ryan Grim’s house.

*SO GLAD WE’RE MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN* *-* But thank God Ivanka and Jared are moderating influences. Michael McLaughlin: “*Harassment, vandalism and other hostile acts against Jewish people and sites in the U.S. increased by 34 percent last year and are up 86 percent through the first three months of 2017*, according to data released on Monday. A spate of bomb threats against Jewish community centers and schools, and vandalism at Jewish cemeteries in the U.S. this year have contributed to the surge, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s report. There have been more than 100 bomb threats against 75 Jewish community centers and eight Jewish day schools around the country this year through early March.” [HuffPost]

*Congratulations to the anti-globalists*: “Why Paul Wolfowitz Is Optimistic About Trump” [Politico] * *

*BEGUN, THE GREAT GOP FLOP SWEAT HAS - *Alex Isenstadt: “Republicans say President Donald Trump needs to turn things around fast — or the GOP could pay dearly in 2018. *With the party preparing to defend its congressional majorities in next year’s midterms, senior Republicans are expressing early concern about Trump’s lack of legislative accomplishments, his record-low approval ratings, and the overall dysfunction that’s gripped his administration. *The stumbles have drawn the attention of everyone from GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson, who funneled tens of millions of dollars into Trump’s election and is relied on to help bankroll the party’s House and Senate campaigns, to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Adelson hasn’t contributed to pro-Trump outside groups since the inauguration, a move that’s drawn notice within the party, and McConnell is warning associates that Trump’s unpopularity could weigh down the GOP in the election.” [Politico]

*LOBBYISTS PRETTY AMPED FOR YOU TO BREATHE SMOG - *What’s the over/under on industry groups paying prominent fashion designers to include air masks in their next collection?  Alexander Kaufman: “A utility lobbyist called on regulators to do less work monitoring greenhouse gas emissions. *An oil and gas lobbyist praised the Trump administration’s retreat from safeguards and urged federal rulemakers to limit regulations on carbon emissions and smog. A lobbyist for wood-product manufacturers complained about the ‘ever-tightening’ public health standards for ozone pollution and asked regulators to change the permitting process. *Those were just some of the requests made by industry advocates during a conference call Monday, when the Environmental Protection Agency held the first of several sessions to ask the public which rules should be eliminated under President Donald Trump’s executive order instructing agencies to slash regulations. The three-hour call, held by the Office of Air and Radiation, focused on clean air and ozone pollution rules.” [HuffPost]

*IMPORTANT LABOR DEVELOPMENT* *- *Man, the unreleased alternative ending to “Norma Rae” sure got weird. Cora Lewis: “Back in October, 2011, Hernan Perez got chewed out by his boss. We’ve all been there. But Perez, whose workplace was in the midst of a tense unionization campaign, escalated things during his next break by publishing a Facebook post dedicated to his boss: ‘Bob is such a NASTY MOTHER FUCKER don’t know how to talk to people!!!!!! Fuck his mother and his entire fucking family!!!! What a LOSER!!!! Vote YES for the UNION!!!!!!!,’ the post read. Three days later, after the post came to management’s attention, Perez took it down. A little over a week later, following an investigation, he was fired. He’d worked at the company for 13 years. *But on Friday, a federal appeals court ruled Perez, like all workers, has the right to call his boss a nasty motherfucker — at least when such speech is part of legally protected statements involving union activity*.” [BuzzFeed]

*WILL THERE BE HEARINGS NOW? - *Lesley Wroughton and Yeganeh Torbati: “*Former Fox News anchor and correspondent Heather Nauert will be the new U.S. State Department spokeswoman*, the State Department said in a statement on Monday. Nauert was most recently an anchor for Fox News’ morning news show ‘Fox and Friends,’ and previously was a correspondent at ABC News. ‘Heather’s media experience and long interest in international affairs will be invaluable as she conveys the administration’s foreign policy priorities to the American people and the world,’ the statement said.” [Reuters]

*OBAMA RETURNS, THANKS YOU FOR YOUR ‘STILL MY PRESIDENT’ FACEBOOK POST -* No, he didn’t. He doesn’t care. Marina Fang: “Former President Barack Obama returned to the spotlight on Monday, moderating a civic engagement panel featuring Chicago-area high school and college students and young leaders. ‘*So, uh, what’s been going on while I’ve been gone?’ he joked at the start of the event, held at the University of Chicago. *The panel discussion was Obama’s first formal public appearance since leaving office in January. It was also a homecoming, as Obama began his political career in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the university for 12 years. He is building his presidential library just south of the campus, in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood, with the involvement of the university and community organizations.” [HuffPost]

*BECAUSE YOU’VE READ THIS FAR *- Here’s a baby elephant frolicking on the beach.

*STUPID RESTAURANT HAS STUPID NAME - *It’s a real shame that the cultural mecca of Friendship Heights — the Paris of neighborhoods that abut AU Park — is taking such a hit. Dan Steinberg: “From the moment Tony Kornheiser announced in January that his high-powered group of friends would buy classic Friendship Heights restaurant Chad’s, it was clear that the name would eventually be changed…. Kornheiser announced on his podcast last week that the former Chad’s (formerly Chadwick’s) has been renamed Chatter, effective immediately. *The name is both a reference to the restaurant’s new podcasting studio — which he said should be open by May 1 — and to a famous quote about newspapers…. As it turns out, though, I work at a newspaper, and I had never heard of this precise line*. So I Googled it to try to source the origins correctly, and I was unable to find the reference. Then I put the beginning of that phrase — ‘Cut the chatter, sweetheart’ — into Nexis. I found six references. All six were Washington Post columns by Tony Kornheiser.” [WaPo]

*COMFORT FOOD*

- We can’t stop reading the Flat Earth Society’s FAQ page.

- Bowling a perfect game in 90 seconds.

- Don’t mess with the Utah Jazz’s mascot.

*TWITTERAMA*

@AdamSerwer: What if Mark Halperin was replaced by a bowtied dog named Bark Halperin

@alanalevinson: Folks, can we all settle on one platform for posting our video “stories”? I am exhausted by watching your brunch boomerang three times

@pourmecoffee: @realDonaldTrump Maybe the Saturday rally will fill the hundred-day-hole in your heart.

Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com)

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 1 day ago.
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SecondOpinionExpert and Biotex Solutions Form Strategic Partnership

April 25, 2017, 12:12 am
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State-of-the-Art Technology Platform to Partner with Cutting-edge Precision Phlebotomy and Specimen Collection Company.

Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) April 25, 2017

SecondOpinionExpert,Inc. and Biotex Solutions, Inc. , announced today that they are partnering to deliver expert medical second opinions and cutting-edge precision phlebotomy and specimen collection services to patients, physicians and clinical and diagnostic laboratories.

Biotex Solutions, Inc. is a phlebotomy service company that provides access to any and all laboratories. Biotex’s mission is to become recognized as the national leader in clinical diagnostic blood drawing services.

SecondOpinionExpert, Inc. based out of California, has more than 300+ top US medical experts across 20+ medical and surgical specialties. SecondOpinionExpert with their innovative technology platform, enables patients to receive expert medical second opinions from physician specialist that are quick, easy and affordable. They also provide healthcare solutions to hospitals, physicians and related healthcare parties across the globe.

The partnership will combine SecondOpinionExpert’s innovative technology platform, with Biotex’s committed team of experts who understand the medical and testing industries. Together, they intend to bring a cross-disciplinary unified platform for doctor-directed medical diagnostic and clinical testing, patient and health insurance billing, and specimen collection and phlebotomy services, all designed to ensure doctors and patients the highest quality testing and result reporting with reduced timelines and universal access.

Due to their unmatched position in the field, Biotex also provides patients and their ordering physician’s access to an expansive list of diagnostic laboratories who provide every type of clinical and diagnostic medical testing available. By leveraging SecondOpinionExpert’s cutting edge information technology and network of top medical experts and Biotex’s world-class access and service platform, the partnership will make precision phlebotomy services accessible, affordable and personalized for patients across the nation.

“By combining Biotex’s diverse clinical and diagnostic laboratory access offerings, with SecondOpinionExpert’s unique technology platform, we will be able to make phlebotomy service available for patients who have not had access in the past,” said Dr. Mohan Ananda, SecondOpinionExpert’s Chief Executive Officer.

The strategic partnership will allow patients already benefiting from Biotex’s platform to seamlessly access the SecondOpinionExpert platform and vice versa.

“We are excited about leveraging the power of the SecondOpinionExpert technology platform and Biotex’s national footprint to reach more patients. We translate state-of-the-art precision phlebotomy service expertise to patients and the overall blood drawing community, which significantly improves patient outcomes across the US and beyond while minimizing the high cost of health care, improving access to clinicians and laboratories” said Christine Barnard, CEO Biotex.

Additional information is available at http://www.secondopinionexpert.com and http://www.biotexblooddraw.com

Contacts

SecondOpinionExpert, Inc.
Mohan Ananda, Ph.D., J.D.,
mohan.ananda(at)secondopinionexpert(dot)com
+1 800 638 4716 Ext 801

Biotex Solutions, Inc.
Christine Barnard, NCPT, CPT1, M.A.
President/CEO
cbarnard(at)biotexsolutions(dot)org
+1 805 494 4600 Reported by PRWeb 16 hours ago.
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Bellevue lauded with a total of six Lipper Awards

April 25, 2017, 2:40 am
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EQS Group-News: Bellevue Asset Management AG / Key word(s): Funds

25.04.2017 / 11:20 --------------------

Press release April 25, 2017

*Bellevue lauded with a total of six Lipper Awards*

*Bellevue Asset Management has won awards for best fund in the Equity Europe Small and Mid Caps, Swiss Equities and Healthcare Equities categories. StarCapital claimed three awards for its mixed-asset strategies.*

Bravely going against the grain reaps its rewards in asset management, an area in which Bellevue Group specializes. The Group comprises Bellevue Asset Management and StarCapital and its strong performance has been rewarded with a total of six Thomson Reuters Lipper awards.

The Entrepreneur investment strategies also received two awards. The BB Entrepreneur Europe Small fund (ISIN LU0631859229) saw off competition from 66 other funds in the Equity Europe Small and Mid Caps over 3 years category. The BB Entrepreneur Switzerland fund (ISIN CH0023244368) won the Lipper Award for best fund over 10 years in the Equity Switzerland category. Bottom-up stock picking forms the cornerstone of the high-conviction approach pursued as part of the Entrepreneur investment philosophy, whereby the team focuses exclusively on listed owner-run businesses and family businesses. Bellevue recognized the advantages offered by these businesses at an early stage, and are pioneers in this niche market. "As has now been proven in multiple empirical studies, owner-run businesses are more profitable as shown by above-average returns in the long term," explains Entrepreneur strategy Lead Portfolio Manager, Birgitte Olsen.

This year's Lipper Fund Award in the Equity Sector Health Care over 3 years category went to the
BB Adamant Global Medtech & Services fund (ISIN CH0034334737). The high proportion of net assets allocated to the area of health care services, comprising the health insurance, hospitals and health care IT sectors, is one of the reasons that the fund outperformed the competition. Combined with innovative, large-cap medical device manufacturers, this area gave the portfolio stability in a volatile environment, in which drug manufacturers in particular were caught at a disadvantage.

The company-level Lipper Award in the "Mixed Assets Small" category went to StarCapital, which Bellevue Group acquired in 2016. Investment companies in this asset category with at least three different mixed-asset portfolios were eligible for selection. StarCapital's consistent performance in this asset category over the last 3 years helped it see off 71 competitors. Speaking about its most recent accolade, StarCapital CEO Alexander Gerstadt explains that, "For us, the award is proof positive that our anti-cyclical multi-asset strategy based on opportunism and not being tied down to benchmarks, a strategy reinforced by our in-house capital market research, is on the up and up". The two mixed-fund strategies StarCapital Windbonds plus (ISIN LU0256567925) over 10 years and StarCapital Huber Strategy 1 (LU0350239504) over 5 years managed to win out over the comparative group at product level, too.
 

*For further information please contact:*

Bellevue Asset Management AG, Seestrasse 16 / P.O. Box, CH-8700 Küsnacht/Zurich

Tanja Chicherio, Tel. +41 44 267 67 09, tch@bellevue.ch
www.bellevue.ch
 

*Bellevue Asset Management*

Bellevue Asset Management and its sister company StarCapital based in Oberursel outside Frankfurt, Germany are part of Bellevue Group, an independent, Swiss financial group with a registered office in Zurich and a listing on the Swiss Exchange SIX. Bellevue was established in 1993 and has since become a leading investment boutique with a focus on healthcare, regional strategies, multi-asset solutions and global equity and bond funds. Assets under management amount to CHF 9.4 billion.

 

*Disclaimer: *This document is neither directed to, nor intended for distribution or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of or located in any locality, state, country or jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, availability or use would be contrary to law or regulation. The information and data presented in this document are not to be considered as an offer or solicitation to buy, sell or subscribe to any securities or financial instruments. The information, opinions and estimates contained in this document reflect a judgment at the original date of release and are subject to change without notice. No liability is assumed for its correctness and accuracy. This information pays no regard to the specific or future investment objectives, financial or tax situation or particular needs of any specific recipient and in particular tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change. This document is not to be relied upon in substitution for the exercise of independent judgment. Before making any investment decision, investors are recommended to ascertain if this investment is suitable for them in the light of their financial knowledge and experience, investment goals and financial situation, or to obtain specific advice from an industry professional. The details and opinions contained in this document are provided without any guarantee or warranty and are for the recipient's personal use and information purpose only. Every investment involves risk, especially with regard to fluctuations in value and return, and investors' capital may be at risk. If the currency of a financial product is different from your reference currency, the return can increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations. Past performance is no indicator for the current or future performance. The performance data are calculated without taking account of commissions and costs that result from subscriptions and redemptions. Commissions and costs have a negative impact on performance. This document does not reflect any risks related to investments into the mentioned securities and financial instruments. Financial transactions should only be undertaken after having carefully studied the current valid prospectus and are only valid on the basis of the latest version of the prospectus and available annual and semi-annual reports. As the funds are recognised (ie. registered) but not authorised in the UK, the UK Financial Services Authority's financial services compensation scheme does not apply to investments in the fund but the Financial Services Authority regulated firm approving this document for the purposes of UK regulation has taken reasonable steps to satisfy itself that Bellevue will deal in an honest and reliable way and is so satisfied. The Bellevue Funds (Lux) SICAV is admitted for public offering and distribution in Switzerland. Representative agent in Switzerland: Acolin Fund Services AG, Affolternstrasse 56, CH-8050 Zürich and paying agent in Switzerland: Bank am Bellevue AG, Seestrasse 16, P.O. Box, CH-8700 Kusnacht. The Bellevue Funds (Lux) SICAV is admitted for public distribution in Austria. Paying and information agent: Erste Bank der oesterreichischen Sparkassen AG, Graben 21, A-1010 Vienna. The Bellevue Funds (Lux) SICAV is admitted for public distribution in Germany. Paying and information agent: Bank Julius Bär Europe AG, An der Welle 1, P.O. Box, D-60062 Frankfurt a. M. The Bellevue Funds (Lux) SICAV is recognised for public offering and distribution in the United Kingdom. Facilities agent: Global Funds Registration Limited, 1st Floor, 10 New Street, London EC2M 4TP.The Bellevue Funds (Lux) SICAV is registered with the CNMV under the number 938. Prospectus, Key Investor Information Document ("KIID"), the articles of association as well as the annual and semi-annual reports of the Bellevue Funds under Luxembourg law are available free of charge from the above mentioned representative, paying, facilities and information agents as well as from Bellevue Asset Management AG, Seestrasse 16, CH-8700 Kusnacht. Prospectus, Key Investor Information Document ("KIID"), fund contract as well as the annual and semi-annual reports of the BB Adamant Global Medtech and Services fund established under Swiss law in the category "Other Funds for Traditional Investments" are available free of charge from: Switzerland: Swisscanto Fondsleitung AG, Bahnhofstrasse 9, CH-8001 Zürich or Bellevue Asset Management AG, Seestrasse 16, CH-8700 Kusnacht. Regarding the StarCapital funds the complete prospectus, the Key Investor Information Document (KIID), the articles of association as well as the annual and semi-annual reports hold in German are available free of charge from StarCapital AG, your adviser, paying, facilities and information agents as well as from the management company IPConcept (Luxemburg) S.A., 4, rue Thomas Edison, L-1455 Strassen, Luxembourg.

 

 

--------------------
Additional features:

Document: http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=DERIMSLYMU
Document title: Media release --------------------

End of Corporate News -------------------- Reported by EQS Group 13 hours ago.
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Medix survey uncovers apparent disconnect between Hong Kong people’s serious health concerns and behaviour

April 25, 2017, 4:44 am
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· Most Hong Kong respondents are not confident about their health status, with worries about cancer (79%), stroke (67%), heart attack (46%), brain disease (44%) and diabetes (37%), but very few (37%) undertake regular preventive and early diagnostic tests for these diseases.
· There is widespread dissatisfaction with health system in Hong Kong, most people want shorter waiting times for specialist consultations and treatment in the public healthcare system (37%) and lower prices in the private sector (22%).
· Most Hong Kong respondents (51%) choose medical specialists recommended by friends and family, but are not fully comfortable asking questions or raising doubts with the specialist they see.

 

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 25 April 2017 - Nearly all Hong Kong people are worried about their health, with only 20% seeing themselves as "very healthy", a new study has found. The majority of those interviewed in the Medix Medical Monitor study also admitted to being reluctant to question specialists and to relying on friends and family for advice on where to seek a medical investigation or treatment.

Ms. Sigal Atzmon, President (LEFT), and Professor David Zeltser, Global Medical Director (RIGHT) from Medix Medical Services Group attended the media briefing to share key survey resuls from Medix Medical Monitor Research.

 

Around half of respondents judged their health as "below average" or "just-above average". Cancer is the most worried about disease (79%), followed by stroke (67%), heart attack (46%), illnesses related to the brain (44%) and diabetes (37%).  Even so, 63% of respondents do not subject themselves to regular testing to detect and prevent the diseases they worry about. Furthermore, only 37% think the preventive information provided by general practitioners (GPs) is sufficient.

 

Ms. Sigal Atzmon, President of Medix Group said, "Health awareness and early diagnosis are key to the prevention and/or treatment of critical illnesses. According to the World Health Organization, more than 36 million people die annually from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes. In Hong Kong, cancer is the top killer, accounting for 30% of deaths in 2014, although other major preventable NCDs also take a heavy toll. Cardiovascular disease accounts for 21.2% of deaths in Hong Kong and chronic lower respiratory disease 3.8%[1]."

 

These diseases are closely linked to common risk factors, namely tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol, and are thus preventable, Ms. Atzmon explained.

 

"The good news is that we can all take steps to prevent the non-communicable diseases that we worry about. The Hong Kong government is leading the way with initiatives that raise awareness and encourage people to reduce their salt and sugar intake and stop smoking. Simple lifestyle changes and regular testing to allow early diagnosis of disease can greatly reduce health risks and improve peace of mind for everyone." she continued.

* *

*Call for timeliness and transparency*

There is widespread dissatisfaction with the health system in Hong Kong. Millennials in particular want to see improvements, with 47% of them being "quite unsatisfied" or "very unsatisfied" with the public health system, along with 37% of the older working generation. Overall, only 31% of the respondents said they are satisfied with public healthcare in Hong Kong. Shorter waiting time for specialist consultations and treatments was the top area of concern, identified by 37% of the respondents, 23% would like to see further strengthening and expanding of the public medical system, with 6% also wanting to be able to choose their treating doctor in the public system.

 

The private health system did not fare much better. Just over half (51%) of respondents are satisfied with the private health system in Hong Kong, although 14% are "quite unsatisfied" or "very unsatisfied". Respondents urged the private medical sector to lower costs (22%) and improve overall transparency (12%).

 

"Hong Kong's public healthcare system is on par with the best in the world. Public hospitals here adhere to international clinical guidelines and medical standards, with excellent results and the government subsidizing 95% of all medical costs," Ms. Atzmon continued. "However, we do see room for improvement in enhancing the transparency of the health system, especially in the private sector, where information about clinical outcomes, adverse events and treatment costs is lacking. We support the Hospital Authority and Department of Health to improve supervision and reporting for hospitals in Hong Kong for the well being of patients."

 

*Reliance on limited sources of information and reluctance to challenge expert opinion*

When people in Hong Kong choose a specialist consultant, most do not take great effort to actively research their options or seek independent advice. About half of the respondents (51%) in the study admitted to choosing a specialist based on word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family, with 44% seeking advice from their GPs. Women were more reliant on their social circle for advice (57%) while only 42% of male respondents said the same. Younger generation is less likely to seek recommendation from GPs with only 33% of the millennials (aged 26-35) said they would do so as compared with 51% of the older respondents (aged 36-50).

 

In general, online research is becoming more prevalent, with 28% of respondents looking for recommendations online. Younger people are more willing to use online sources of information, with 36% of the millennials engaging in online searches, compared to 23% aged 36-50. This is in contrast to the situation overseas. In the US, nearly 84%[2] of patients already consult and contribute to website reviews of physicians and hospitals. In China, the Guahao (WeDoctor) platform connects providers to patients and is linked to 2,400 major hospitals in 23 provinces with over 150 million registered users alongside to 260,000 medical experts. "We expect Hong Kong people to follow this trend", says Ms. Atzmon.

 

The Medix Medical Monitor study reveals that when consulting with a Specialist, about a quarter of respondents are not fully confident in the diagnosis and the treatment offered. Only half of the respondents feel comfortable asking their doctors any questions although women (58%) seem to be better placed in posing questions than men (50%). On the other hand, a vast majority (81%) of all respondents are interested in seeking a second opinion and medical case management services (76%).

 

"It is worrying that only half of the respondents in our study are comfortable with directly asking questions or raising doubts on health issues with their medical specialist. This could have important implications for the quality and effectiveness of the care they receive, and the outcome for them and their family," said Ms. Atzmon. "We believe that Hong Kong could improve medical outcomes and help contain healthcare costs by implementing strategies to raise patients' health literacy and health awareness in the long-term. On a personal level, patients can benefit from seeking independent advice to help them make informed decisions throughout the investigation, diagnosis and treatment of serious medical conditions. While such services are well-established in other markets, they are relatively new to Hong Kong."

* *

*About Medix Medical Services 
*Medix is a global healthcare management company, with headquarters in London, Hong Kong and Tel Aviv, specialising in quality global medical management. With constant scientific development expanding different treatment alternatives and medical technologies, Medix serves as a mediator between its clients and today's complex medical world. Medix provides medical management services to a global customer base of over 1.8 million people, leveraging 300 in-house specialists, a global quality-accredited specialist network of over 3,000 leading specialists and 1,500 medical centres, and a dedicated global research department. Medix provides patients with access to quality healthcare in over 90 countries, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in over 20 languages, including Cantonese and Mandarin.

 

Medix also works with and supports government-related entities, health insurers and large corporations in developing their healthcare strategies, clinical strategies and healthcare reforms. Believing that accessibility and sustainability of quality medical care are fundamental social rights, Medix is very passionate about these issues and is fully dedicated to these activities.

 

Furthermore, Medix funds various public medical research and clinical programs to support patients with rare and complex medical conditions. Medix also offers pro bono services to people in need. In view of the next digital health disruption, Medix has launched a corporate venture capital fund, Medix Ventures. With a strong focus on Asia Pacific, it aims to drive innovation and take an active part in expanding opportunities within the digital health space. All Medix activities work around the sole purpose of providing accessibility and implementation of quality medical care to people around the world. For more information about Medix, please visit www.medix-global.com

 

*About Medix Medical Monitor Research *

The Medix Medical Monitor Research was structured to investigate Hong Kong consumers' awareness and behaviour towards medical procedures, so to understand their satisfaction levels and expectations of the private and public health systems in Hong Kong. The research data was collected through computer-assisted web interviews of 532 people, who are health insurance policy holders aged 26 to 50 with average or above personal income. The quotas on gender, age, personal income and geographical coverage applied reflect the representation of the target consumers in Hong Kong. The research was conducted between January and February 2017 by Kantar Millward Brown, a leading multinational market research firm.

 
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[1] Source: The Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/rc/sci_events/files/ IS_on_reduction_of_salt_and_sugar/ Burden_of_NCD_for_head_to_Head.pdf

[2] Source: http://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/how-patients-use-online-reviews/ Reported by Media OutReach 11 hours ago.
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Changes To Federal Insurance Plans Could Hurt Families Of Chronically Ill Kids

April 25, 2017, 7:53 am
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Some urge ending funding to the Children's Health Insurance Program, and moving those 8 million kids to marketplace plans. But research shows the out-of-pocket costs to many families would soar. Reported by NPR 8 hours ago.
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Corporate Feud Exposes Big Profits on Drug Sales

April 25, 2017, 8:04 am
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A dispute between the largest pharmacy benefit manager and a health insurance giant has shown how profitable some relationships have become—giving more ammunition to critics of the health-care system. Reported by Wall Street Journal 8 hours ago.
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APRIL : reports sales of €227.7m, up 9.2% at end March 2017

April 25, 2017, 8:59 am
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Lyon, 25 April 2017

*APRIL reports sales of €227.7m,*

*up 9.2% at end March 2017*

· Like-for-like sales growth of 8.5%
· Accelerated growth in brokerage commissions (up 8.6% on reported data)

The APRIL Group reported consolidated sales of €227.7m for the first quarter of 2017, up 9.2% compared with reported figures for Q1 2016.

APRIL CEO Emmanuel Morandini made the following comments: " This strong Q1 2017 performance further confirms the effectiveness of the steps we have taken to turn the group's performance around. We continued to innovate during this period by rolling out a new loan insurance offering that is simpler, more competitive and fully digital. We also consolidated our position in brokerage with APRIL ON, a services and customer relationship management platform now available to all of our broker partners after a successful pilot scheme.

APRIL is currently growing in most of its market segments in France and overseas. To strengthen these upward trends, we will continue to optimise our policy and claims handling while pursuing our initiatives to restore the profitability of loss-making operations, and we consider making acquisitions geared towards our priority growth levers. These developments confirm our expectations that current EBIT will stabilise in 2017 and then return to growth in due course." 

IFRS - €m *Q1 2017* *Q1 2016* *Change* * Change LFL ^1*
*Consolidated sales* *227.7* *208.4* *+9.2%* *+8.5%*
Brokerage commissions and fees 125.5 115.6 +8.6% +7.2%
Health & Personal Protection 78.8 73.5 +7.2% +6.4%
Property & Casualty 47.3 42.4 +11.4% +8.9%
Insurance premiums 102.1 92.8 +10.0% +10.0%

[1]Pro forma or like-for-like sales, at constant exchange rates and consolidation scope, adjusted for acquisitions, disposals and changes in consolidation method, as well as exchange rate fluctuations, calculated on the basis of the prior year financial statements converted using the exchange rate for the current year.

First quarter sales rose 8.5% like-for-like compared to Q1 2016. Growth in brokerage commissions accelerated, with commissions up 7.2% to €125.5m (up €8.4m over the quarter, compared to an €8.5m rise for the whole year 2016 on a like-for-like basis), while insurance premiums posted solid growth, up 10.0% to €102.1m.

Like-for-like figures include sales of newly consolidated companies amounting to €0.8m, mainly generated by the acquisition of Bamado in June 2016.

The Group posted a €1.0m positive impact of exchange rates fluctuation for the period, mainly generated by Brazil and Canada, which further sustained growth in Property & Casualty commissions. 

2016 to 2017 sales progression - €m * *  
*Q1 2016 consolidated sales* *208.4*  
Impact of exchange rates fluctuation +1.0  
Acquisitions +0.8  
Deconsolidation -0.2  
*Q1 2016 like-for-like sales* *209.9*  
Growth in brokerage commissions and fees +8.4  
Growth in insurance premiums +9.3  
*Q1 2017 consolidated sales* *227.7*  

  *   *

* Sales by division *

Changes by type of revenues are as follows:

· *Brokerage commissions in Health & Personal Protection* amounted to €78.8m, up 7.2% as reported compared to Q1 2016 (up 6.4% like-for-like). This growth, driven by strong performances in group health, loan, personal protection and individual health (seniors and self-employed) insurance, reflects the acceleration of the upward trends observed since late 2016.
 
· *Property & Casualty commissions* came to €47.3m, up 11.4% compared with reported figures for Q1 2016. Excluding the impact of changes in consolidation scope and exchange rate fluctuations, this division posted organic growth of 8.9%. Wholesale brokerage continued to grow, specifically in substandard car insurance, two-wheeled vehicle insurance and the professional range. The travel insurance and assistance business posted steady growth for the period, driven by strong sales momentum.
 
· The 8.9% increase in *Health & Personal Protection insurance premiums* reflects strong business driven by the development of the individual (seniors and self-employed) Health & Personal Protection and group health insurance portfolios.
 
· *Property & Casualty insurance premiums* continue to rise (up 11.4%), driven by the expansion of corporate and affinity member operations backed by highly reinsured P&C portfolios.IFRS - €m *Q1 2017* *Q1 2016* *Change* *Q1 2016 LFL* *Change*
*Health & Personal Protection* *137.4* *127.3* *+7.9%* *127.9* *+7.4 %*
 Commissions and fees 78.8 73.5 +7.2% 74.1 +6.4%
 Insurance premiums 58.5 53.8 +8.9% 53.8 +8.9%
*Property & Casualty* *91.0* 81.7 *+11.4%* *82.7* *+10.1%*
 Commissions and fees 47.3 42.4 +11.4% 43.4 +8.9%
 Insurance premiums 43.8 39.3 +11.4% 39.3 +11.4%
*Intra-group eliminations* *(0.7)* (0.6) *-18.5%* *(0.6)* *-18.4%*

* Outlook *

The healthy sales momentum seen in the first quarter is in line with our expectations of a stabilised current EBIT in 2017.

Emmanuel Maillet, Group CFO, will be holding a conference call for financial analysts, investors and the press this evening at 6.00 pm (French time), during which these matters will be discussed in greater detail.

Dial-in details: France - +33 (0)1 76 74 24 28 / United Kingdom - +44 (0)145 2555 566 

Please dial in a few minutes beforehand, in order to register, and give the following reference number: 800 2495.

Upcoming releases:

· Shareholders' Annual General Meeting: 4 May 2017, in Lyon
· 2017 Half-year results: 7 September 2017, after market close
· Q3 2017 sales: 24 October 2017, after market close

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assessments or assumptions that were reasonable at the date of the release, and which may change or be altered due to, in particular, random events or uncertainties and risks relating to the economic, financial, regulatory and competitive environment, the risks set out in the 2016 Registration Document, and any risks that are unknown or non-material to date that may subsequently occur. The Company undertakes to publish or disclose any adjustments or updates to this information as part of the periodical and permanent information obligation to which all listed companies are subject.

* Contacts: *

*Analysts and investors*
Guillaume Cerezo: +33 (0)4 72 36 49 31 / +33 (0)6 20 26 06 24 - guillaume.cerezo@april.com

*Press*
Samantha Druon: +33(0)4 72 00 46 56 - samantha.druon@insign.fr

About APRIL

Established in 1988, APRIL is an international insurance services group with operations in 31 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and the leading wholesale broker in France. Listed on Euronext Paris (Compartment B), the group produced a turnover of €861.2 million in 2016. Its 3,800 staff members design, manage and distribute specialised insurance solutions (health and personal protection, property and casualty, mobility and legal protection) as well as assistance services for private individuals, professionals and businesses, while pursuing APRIL's ambition: to make insurance easier and more accessible to everyone. Driven by a strong enterprising ethos, the group aims to offer its customers an insurance experience which is easier, by means of tailored products and services and customised care.

Full regulated information is available on our website at www.april.com (Investors section).

PDF Version
--------------------This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: April via GlobeNewswire

HUG#2098670 Reported by GlobeNewswire 7 hours ago.
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Trump administration will continue defending HHS mandate in court

April 25, 2017, 11:53 am
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Washington D.C., Apr 25, 2017 / 12:21 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- With President Donald Trump’s administration signaling that it is not dropping the HHS mandate cases against religious non-profits, plaintiffs are concerned that the action does not reflect promises made during the presidential campaign.

“The government has a chance to do the right thing here. It got it wrong for five years in these cases, almost six years,” said Eric Rassbach, deputy general counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents many non-profits in HHS mandate cases.

“And they can do the right thing by dropping their appeals that are in favor of the mandate, and admitting that they were wrong on the issue of the contraceptive mandate, as applied to religious non-profits,” Rassbach told CNA Tuesday.

During his presidential campaign, Trump had promised Catholics relief from the HHS mandate, which requires employers to offer health insurance plans covering contraception, sterilization and some early abortion drugs. In a letter to the Catholic Leadership Conference last October, he pointed to his opponent Hillary Clinton’s support for the mandate, and said “that is a hostility to religious liberty you will never see in a Trump Administration.”

After Trump’s election, the plaintiffs challenging the mandate widely expected that the new administration would drop the government’s appeal of the lawsuits, which federal circuit courts may re-examine in the coming months.

Instead of dropping the cases, however, the administration indicated that it intends to take the next step in the litigation process. On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that the Justice Department had asked a federal appeals court for 60 extra days to negotiate an agreement with East Texas Baptist University and several other plaintiffs challenging the mandate. The Supreme Court last year had instructed the Obama administration to negotiate with the plaintiffs as the next step in the litigation process.

The Becket Fund said that the same lawyers that litigated the cases on behalf of the Obama administration are still on the mandate cases now under the Trump administration.

The HHS mandate was formed under the Affordable Care Act, which required preventive coverage in employer health plans. Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services interpreted this to include coverage for contraceptives, sterilizations, and drugs that can cause abortions.

After a wave of criticism from religious employers to the original mandate, the Obama administration announced an “accommodation” whereby objecting non-profits would tell the government of their opposition, and their insurer or the third party administrator for the plans would be notified separately to include the coverage.

Many non-profits – including Catholic dioceses and the Little Sisters of the Poor – said that the process still forced them to cooperate in immoral behavior against their consciences. Some critics voiced concern that the cost of coverage would still end up getting passed along to the objecting employers in the form of higher premiums.

Hundreds of non-profits and other plaintiffs filed lawsuits over the mandate, even with the accommodation. Among these plaintiffs is EWTN Global Catholic Network. CNA is part of the EWTN family.

A number of those cases made their way to the Supreme Court in Zubik v. Burwell. Plaintiffs in the case include East Texas Baptist University, the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Archdiocese of Washington, and other dioceses, schools, and charities.

In March of 2016, the Court asked both the plaintiffs and the government to submit briefs explaining whether a compromise could be reached that provided for cost-free contraceptive coverage for employees and yet still respected the religious freedom of the objecting non-profits.

That request, which came after oral arguments and in the middle of the case, was almost unprecedented in its timing.

After both parties outlined ways where they believed both goals could be achieved, the Supreme Court last May sent the cases back to the federal circuit court level, vacated the previous decisions of those courts, ordered the government not to enforce the fines against plaintiffs for not complying with their demands, and instructed the courts to give the parties time to find a solution they could agree on.

“Given the gravity of the dispute and the substantial clarification and refinement in the positions of the parties, the parties on remand should be afforded an opportunity to arrive at an approach going forward that accommodates petitioners’ religious exercise while at the same time ensuring that women covered by petitioners’ health plans ‘receive full and equal health coverage, including contraceptive coverage’,” the Court stated.

“We anticipate that the Courts of Appeals will allow the parties sufficient time to resolve any outstanding issues between them.”

Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh, one of the plaintiffs in the cases, said in August that the federal government had “an extremely aggressive interpretation” of the Supreme Court’s instructions and was “apparently trying to take over” the diocese’s health plans.

  Reported by CNA 4 hours ago.
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Brussels pushes on social protection for gig economy

April 26, 2017, 2:30 am
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Move to ensure all workers have health insurance and unemployment benefits Reported by FT.com 13 hours ago.
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New Version Of Obamacare Repeal Would Gut Pre-Existing Condition Guarantee

April 25, 2017, 10:03 pm
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Apparently yanking away the funds that allow millions of people to get health insurance isn’t enough for some House Republicans.

Now they also want to gut the Affordable Care Act’s protection for people with pre-existing conditions.

Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) on Tuesday formally unveiled an amendment to the American Health Care Act, the bill to repeal Obamacare that Republicans tried to get through the House last month. The amendment, which HuffPost’s Matt Fuller first reported last week, is the product of negotiations among key Republicans, including Vice President Mike Pence.

A main goal of the proposal is to win over conservative House members who last month opposed the GOP repeal bill because, in their view, it still left too much of the 2010 health care law in place. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-S.C.), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, helped to craft the amendment. And although he has not yet declared support for it publicly, a few other conservatives have signaled they may be ready to switch from no to yes.

It’s easy enough to see why. If enacted, it would allow states to re-create the conditions that existed before the Affordable Care Act took effect ― a time when insurance premiums were cheaper, chiefly because insurers didn’t have to pay the big medical bills of people with serious conditions.

At the same time, the new proposal leaves intact most of the initial bill’s big financial changes. Those include shifting the law’s health insurance subsidies, which would offer less help to poor people, and dramatically cutting funds for Medicaid, which would free up money for tax cuts for the wealthy.

But conservative dissension wasn’t the only obstacle to passage last time around.

Moderate Republicans also objected to the bill, citing, among other things, the huge loss of insurance coverage it would cause. The Congressional Budget Office predicted that the number of uninsured Americans would climb by 24 million if the law took effect ― partly because people would lose financial assistance they need to pay for health insurance, and partly because people depending on Medicaid would no longer be eligible for it.

Instead of addressing those concerns ― say, by pulling back on the huge Medicaid cut ― this proposal seems to make repeal even less palatable to moderates. By gutting the protection for people with pre-existing conditions, the proposal attacks a feature of the health care law that has been wildly popular, even with Republicans. It also violates a key promise that virtually every Republican, including President Donald Trump, has made repeatedly.

How The Proposal Guts Pre-Existing Condition Protections

The measure’s supporters insist that their proposal would not harm people with serious medical problems. In fact, a clause states explicitly: “Nothing in this Act shall be construed as permitting health insurance issuers to limit access to health coverage for individuals with preexisting conditions.”

But that is exactly what it would do.

By now, most people know that the Affordable Care Act protects people with pre-existing conditions. But not everybody realizes that the law accomplishes this through several mechanisms that interact.

The law doesn’t simply prohibit insurers from denying coverage outright to people with medical problems, it also prohibits insurers from charging those people more ― or from selling policies that skimp on or leave out key benefits, rendering insurance useless to people who depend on those benefits.

Under the new proposal, insurers still couldn’t reject people who have pre-existing conditions. But states could allow insurers to charge those people higher premiums ― and to sell policies without Obamacare’s essential benefits.


This approach provides access to people with pre-existing conditions in theory but not in practice.
Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Conservatives have long objected to these features of the Affordable Care Act, because they drive up premiums for younger and healthier people. What conservatives fail to mention is that, without these provisions, people with medical problems end up paying a great deal more for their health care, because they face much higher premiums or can’t find policies to cover their medical needs. Ultimately, many end up with no insurance at all.

A recent analysis by researchers at the liberal think tank Center for American Progress examined the likely effects of such a proposal on premiums for people with medical conditions. For conditions like asthma or diabetes without complications, the researchers predicted, insurers would seek premiums more than twice as high as the standard rates. For people with metastatic cancer, the researchers concluded, insurers would ask for premiums 35 times higher than usual ― pushing premiums well beyond $100,000 a year. Needless to say, that’s more than virtually anybody could or would pay for insurance.

“This approach provides access to people with pre-existing conditions in theory but not in practice, since they’d be charged astronomical premiums if states allow it,” Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, said Tuesday evening.

The proposal comes with plenty of caveats, like requiring states to seek waivers from the Department of Health and Human Services before eliminating those rules on insurance. These protections don’t appear to mean a whole lot, however, because the conditions for getting the waivers are broad and easy to satisfy.

“Essentially, any state that wanted a waiver would get one,” Timothy Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University, wrote in a blog posted Tuesday evening for the journal Health Affairs. And even states that wanted to keep the existing consumer protections in place could be under enormous pressure from insurers to change them.

Defenders of the Republican proposal are likely to insist, as they always do, that so-called high-risk pools can take of people with pre-existing conditions. But few experts familiar with the history of health policy take this vow seriously because such high-risk pools existed before and rarely worked well.

And, of course, the high-risk pools wouldn’t do much good for the millions who now depend on either Obamacare’s financial assistance or its expansions of Medicaid for coverage ― and would lose it once the money for those programs was taken away from them.

Curiously, the bill would leave the Affordable Care Act’s consumer protections in place for members of Congress and their staffs, as Sarah Kliff of Vox reported.

It’s Hard To Know How Serious This Is

Exactly how House Republicans will react to this proposal remains to be seen. In the last few weeks, moderates within the GOP caucus have become, if anything, more outspoken about their determination to keep some of the law’s consumer protections in place. And House leadership has been relatively quiet about the negotiations, which have apparently been driven by the White House.

Meanwhile, polling has detected a clear shift in public opinion away from repeal. According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll that came out Tuesday, 61 percent of Americans said they prefer Congress “keep and try to improve” the 2010 health care law, while 37 percent say they want Congress to “repeal and replace it.”

The same poll found that 70 percent of Americans favor requiring all states to prohibit higher premiums for people with pre-existing conditions, while 62 percent favor requiring all states to make plans cover essential benefits including “preventive services, maternity and pediatric care, hospitalization and prescription drugs.”

In other words, strong majorities oppose both of the key provisions in this new plan. That doesn’t mean it can’t pass. But it means that Republicans voting for it would be risking a pretty big political backlash ― while making insurance less accessible for some of the people who need it most.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 18 hours ago.
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Cigna 360 Well-being Score Survey Reveals: Hong Kong People's Overall Health Score Declines over Past Three Years; Financial, Work and Family Well-being are Inter-related Factors that Make an Impact

April 26, 2017, 3:32 am
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Mr. Austin Marsh (middle), CEO and Country Manager; Mr. Ramsy Yeung (right), Chief Marketing Officer; and Ms. Cherie Chan (left), Head of Marketing and Communications introduced the key features of the new Cigna HealthFirst Elite Medical Plan at the press event.Enhanced Cigna Health First Elite Medical Plan offers comprehensive and personalized solutions to meet customer needs throughout their life journeysHONG KONG, Apr 26, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Hong Kong's overall health score has continued in a declining trend over the past three years, dropping from 59.9 in 2015 to 58.6 in 2017, the latest Cigna 360 Well-being Score Survey reveals. The survey results show that Hong Kong people, regardless of their age, often don't see themselves as "old" and are not financially prepared. Only 12% of respondents think they are financially secure should they be unable to work and only 17% perform well on current financial situation.

In terms of medical expenses, Hong Kong people tend to rely on their group medical insurance, however there is a big gap between actual medical needs and the coverage provided by employers. As a consequence, they often find themselves in a difficult situation financially and also jeopardize their family well-being. The lack of awareness of the implications of aging, deficiencies in coverage from work and lack of adequate financial preparation are all inter-related factors that could impact one's overall health and well-being.

Conducted for the third year, the Cigna 360 Well-being Score Survey examines the health and well-being of people annually across five indices - physical, social, family, financial, and workplace health and well-being - in 13 Asian and international markets.

"As people don't see themselves as old, they keep delaying their preparation for the future, and many of them have fallen into the 'age trap'," said Mr. Austin Marsh, CEO and Country Manager, Cigna Hong Kong, "The lack of financial preparation resulted in a drop in financial well-being according to this year's survey. While medical costs keep inflating, healthcare and medical expenses also climb with age. It is crucial for people to get prepared for their old age before falling into the age trap."

The survey also found a big gap between people's actual needs and work health coverage they get. Less than half of respondents receive the benefits they need from their current group medical insurance coverage. More than half (54%) of the respondents have had to pay medical expenses themselves or their families in the past 12 months with middle-aged people in the 40s and 50s spent most.

Among the five well-being indices, family, financial and workplace well-being scores all declined this year with financial well-being performing the lowest, scoring 50.2. Only physical and social well-being improved over the last year. The majority of respondents rated themselves as having performed poorly across all financial well-being indicators. More than half of the respondents said they were unable to meet their family's medical needs (53%) and those of their parents' (57%).

The lack of money to take care of family needs in turn spurred respondents to give up family time for work, and that is reflected in the biggest year-on-year drop of the family well-being score. Only 38% thought they spend enough time with their families, and only 34% said they are able to take care of their children's well-being and 28% of that of their parents'.

"The survey results indicate that if one is unprepared financially, the well-being of other aspects of their lives will be adversely affected and suffer. It is essential that people start planning their finances as early as possible. A comprehensive medical insurance plan can help safeguard people's overall well-being by providing protection, support and care throughout their life journeys," said Mr. Marsh.

"As an active health and well-being partner, Cigna is there for our customers throughout their life journeys. This spirit of partnership goes deeper than paying claims, and is often life-changing - helping customers stay well, preventing sickness, obtaining access to health care, recovering from illness or injury, and returning to work," commented Mr. Marsh.

To better serve people's healthcare needs, Cigna has recently revamped its flagship healthcare solution - Cigna HealthFirst Elite Medical Plan1, which offers comprehensive worldwide coverage without a lifetime coverage limit. The maximum annual limit is HK$23,800,000 which includes a range of hospital and surgical benefits. It covers outpatient expenses for up to 120 pre-admission and post-hospitalization visits, the highest among similar insurance plans available in Hong Kong2.

To give customers additional financial flexibility during difficult times, the Cigna HealthFirst Elite Medical Plan provides a premium waiver for up to six months upon diagnosis of cancer, which is a new feature in the market2. It provides annual rehabilitation benefit of HK$300,000 and full coverage of professional nursing care, including private nurse fees during hospital confinement and home nursing expenses after discharge from hospital.

"Cigna has designed the Cigna HealthFirst Elite Medical Plan to take care of customers' entire 'health journey' should they fall ill, ensuring customers get all-round care from maintaining good health, diagnosis to recovery - from pre-admission clinic visits, full coverage of various medical expenses and six months premium waiver, to post-hospitalization, home nursing and healthcare concierge service," said Mr. Marsh.

"The new features of the Cigna HealthFirst Elite Medical Plan demonstrates Cigna's mission to help people improve their health, well-being and sense of security. These features are also highlighted in our latest brand campaign in Hong Kong, which designed to showcase that Cigna can provide more value than just helping pay medical bills through people's perception of what health insurance can bring. We are dedicated to developing products and services that provide customers with useful advice they need at each stage of their lives," concluded Mr. Marsh.

Note:
1. The above mentioned benefits are subject to terms and conditions. Please refer to the product brochure for more details.
2. The comparison is made for the same category of medical products among major insurance companies in Hong Kong in January 2017.

About Cigna 360 Well-being Score Survey
It was established in 2014 as an annual index that continues to identify and monitor the factors, motivations, perceptions and attitudes that impact an individual person's, as well as the region's, health and well-being. The survey covers five key well-being indices - physical, social, family, financial and workplace health and well-being. It is an independent study commissioned by Cigna and conducted by a research company in 13 countries and regions that covers the APAC and international markets of Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE and the UK.

About Cigna Corporation
Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI) is a global health service company dedicated to helping people improve their health, well-being and sense of security. All products and services are provided exclusively by or through operating subsidiaries of Cigna Corporation, including Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Life Insurance Company of North America and Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York. Such products and services include an integrated suite of health services, such as medical, dental, behavioural health, pharmacy, vision, supplemental benefits, and other related products including group life, accident and disability insurance. Cigna maintains sales capability in over 30 countries and jurisdictions, and has more than 94 million customer relationships throughout the world.

About Cigna
Since its presence in Hong Kong in 1933, Cigna has been offering insurance solutions at the right place and the right time, providing advice to customers throughout the different stages of their life journeys. Cigna delivers comprehensive health and wellness solutions to employers, employees and individual customers. Leveraging an extensive global healthcare network, Cigna provides group medical benefits that are suitable for international companies with a worldwide workforce, but also tailors cost-effective plans for local small and medium-sized enterprises that fit specific needs of the company and its employees. For individual customers, Cigna offers a full suite of health insurance products that caters for consumers' diverse needs.

For more details, please visit www.cigna.com.hk .

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Cigna Worldwide Life Insurance Co. Ltd. & Cigna Worldwide General Insurance Co. Ltd.
Brenda Ngo
Email: brenda.ngo@cigna.com
Tel: (+852) 2539 9138

Strategic Financial Relations Limited
Courtney Ngai / Rita Fong / James Fung
Email: courtney.ngai@sprg.com.hk
rita.fong@sprg.com.hk
james.fung@sprg.com.hk
Tel: (+852) 2114 4952 / (+852) 2114 4939 / (+852) 2114 4956
Copyright 2017 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com Reported by ACN Newswire 12 hours ago.
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