HealthSherpa Announces Year-Round Support Services From Consumer Advocates Representing Diverse Population

May 17, 2017, 6:38 am

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Premier health insurance enrollment company offers health coverage to part-time and temporary employees year-round

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 17, 2017

HealthSherpa, the premier health insurance enrollment company, announced ongoing support for individuals and corporate partners to provide health insurance coverage for part-time, temporary, seasonal, 1099 and other non-benefits eligible employees. Focused on year-round support, the company selects consumer advocates who are knowledgeable and caring as they help individuals find and enroll in healthcare plans. HealthSherpa has an established commitment to diversity and inclusion to ensure team members are representative of the people being served, to better understand, connect with and support them.

“Our focus on diversity and inclusion truly sets us apart from other organizations,” said Catherine “Cat” Perez, co-founder and chief product officer of HealthSherpa. “Our team of consumer advocates, who act as customer support helping individuals find the best health plans for their needs, have walked in the same shoes as many of our enrollees. They empathize and can efficiently offer helpful tips. In addition to setting high standards for diversity and inclusion, HealthSherpa is committed to investing in tools and resources to help mitigate bias in recruiting, hiring, and employment.”

A vocal advocate of diversity – especially women in technology – Perez has been featured on several panels, including Leap Tech Talent plus the upcoming Comcast Diversity in Tech Summit and Y-Combinator’s Startup School discussion on diversity and inclusion.

Perez partners with Alysia Angel, director of support, who champions diversity and inclusion efforts at HealthSherpa. They manage HealthSherpa’s consumer advocates, ensuring the majority come from nonprofit and social work backgrounds. Consumer advocates are trained to help all populations, including part-time and seasonal employees, independent contractors who file 1099 forms, those in career transition and qualify for COBRA, early retirees under 65 years old or those eligible for retirement. Available five days a week, the consumer advocates can connect them to the federal healthcare marketplace, Medicare, Medicaid or CHIP (Children’s Medicaid).

“We are honored to have Cat as a member of our executive team and serving as a change agent in the industry,” said George Kalogeropoulos, founder and CEO of HealthSherpa. “With diversity as a priority, we’ve seen increases in our net promoter score, our customers’ willingness to recommend our services. We believe our team members are happier with a company culture of inclusion and dedication to customers. This company vision and value benefits health plan enrollees, employees and our sales growth.”

HealthSherpa continues to focus on building avenues into the community it serves, in part through a storefront in downtown Sacramento, Calif. This allows people to schedule in-person meetings with consumer advocates to enroll in health insurance. The office is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call (855) 772-2663, email customer_support(at)healthsherpa.com, or visit http://www.HealthSherpa.com and click the Schedule Appointment link under Contact.

About HealthSherpa
HealthSherpa is the best way to get individual health coverage, with experience enrolling over 800,000 people. HealthSherpa partners with large employers, insurers and more than 18,000 insurance agents to support consumers searching for, enrolling in, and utilizing high quality, affordable health insurance coverage. Backed by leading investors including Core Innovation Capital and Mitch Kapor (founder and CEO of Lotus, Kapor Center for Social Impact), HealthSherpa's mission is to help every American feel the comfort and security of having health coverage. The company delivers innovation, technology, and customer service by real people to make coverage easier to understand, faster to sign up for, and simpler to use. Learn more at http://www.HealthSherpa.com. Reported by PRWeb 20 hours ago.

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WSJ: Drug-Price Battles Shift to States as Lobbyists Fight Caps

May 17, 2017, 10:35 am

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Lawmakers this year have introduced bills in about 30 states that would regulate drug prices, and pharmaceutical makers are fighting back."State lawmakers say high drug prices are hurting consumers and straining state budgets for Medicaid, public-employee health insurance,... Reported by Newsmax 16 hours ago.

HelloSign Announces HIPAA and SOC 2 Compliance

May 17, 2017, 10:06 am

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Companies Requiring a BAA Can Now Utilize the HelloSign Platform to Turn Process Into Revenue

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 17, 2017

HelloSign, the company powering the future of intelligent business, today announces compliance with the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) in addition to an independent SOC 2 attestation in Security, Availability, and Confidentiality Trust Principles and Criteria. HelloSign’s successful completion of an external HIPAA compliance evaluation and SOC 2 Type 1 attestation illustrates our ongoing commitment to create and maintain the most stringent controls for the protection and security of customer information passed through HelloSign. HelloSign now offers customers the rate of innovation and agility that makes a startup attractive, paired with the security and privacy controls that the enterprises demand.

To learn more about security and compliance at HelloSign, visit: blog.hellosign.com/hellosign-is-soc2-hipaa-compliant/

HelloSign’s HIPAA compliance ensures both current and potential customers that operations surrounding core business processes such as access provisioning, change and release management, incident response and more meet strict security standards, and that individually identifiable health information is kept private and secure. In order to attain HIPAA compliance, HelloSign underwent a rigorous third party audit and implemented various controls such as employee background checks, security trainings, onboarding/offboarding procedures and more to safeguard endpoint security, physical security and encryption of customer data.

HelloSign does not collect or store electronic protected health information (ePHI) as part of normal business operations, however HIPAA compliance makes it possible for any HIPAA compliant company that would like to use HelloSign for documents or workflow containing ePHI to enter into a business associate agreement (BAA) which ensures both parties agree to fully comply with the requirements of the HIPAA Rules.

In addition to HIPAA compliance, HelloSign also announces its successful completion of a SOC 2 Type 1 audit in accordance with the Security, Confidentiality and Availability Trust Principles and Criteria. This audit examined the controls and processes involved in storing, handling and transmitting data securely through HelloSign. The success of the audit results in SOC 2 Type 1 attestation report and serves as trusted third party validation that HelloSign’s security practices meet industry standards as deemed necessary by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

“At HelloSign, we’ve always made the security and privacy of our customers’ documents a priority, and becoming both SOC 2 and HIPAA compliant is a reflection of our ongoing commitment,” said Joseph Walla, CEO and Co-founder of HelloSign. “There’s been a lot of pent up demand for HIPAA and SOC 2 compliance so the most exciting take-away here is that this opens the door for any potential customers that require these compliances to utilize the HelloSign platform to turn outdated, costly processes into revenue.”

At HelloSign, stringent security practices are exercised and legality is kept top of mind throughout development and maintenance of the HelloSign platform. In order to be sure the person signing documents is who they say they are, HelloSign authenticates document signers through email and also offers two-factor authentication. To protect HelloSign user accounts, all user information transferred is 256-bit SSL encrypted, including usernames and passwords. Using hashing technology, HelloSign can provide evidence of tampering (or lack thereof) between pre- and post- signed documents. Additionally, HelloSign encrypts all statically-stored user files and signature information in Amazon's S3 servers, which are housed in ISO 27001 certified data centers.

About HelloSign
HelloSign is powering the future of intelligent business. The company’s software platform — which includes eSignature, digital workflow and electronic fax solutions — converts process to revenue for over 50,000 companies around the world with HelloSign, HelloFax and HelloWorks. For more information visit http://www.hellosign.com.

Media Contact
Jasmine Castro-Torres
press(at)hellosign(dot)com Reported by PRWeb 16 hours ago.

Montana GOP Candidate Owns Stake In Company Accused Of Paying Off ISIS

May 17, 2017, 10:39 am

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A Republican congressional candidate owns a stake in a French-Swiss cement company accused of making payments to the Islamic State militant group in Syria, according to financial disclosures HuffPost reviewed.

Greg Gianforte, the millionaire GOP contender for Montana’s open seat in the House, reported owning $47,066 worth of shares in LaFargeHolcim as recently as December in an individual retirement account at TWP, a brokerage firm and private wealth manager. He and his wife, Susan Gianforte, are listed as trustees on the account.

LaFargeHolcim operated a factory in the north Syrian town of Kobane for three years after civil war broke out and most foreign companies fled. The company evacuated foreign employees in 2012, but kept the business going with local workers until ISIS fighters seized the factory two years later. Payments made to local armed groups to secure the factory may have unwittingly ended up in ISIS coffers, the French newspaper Le Monde reported last year. CEO Eric Olsen resigned from the firm last month.The revelation of Gianforte’s interest comes months after Republicans attacked 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for accepting a donation from the company to the Clinton Foundation worth between $50,000 and $100,000. In August, the campaign of then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump hammered its Democratic rival for her ties to the firm. Breitbart News, the conservative news site that Steve Bannon led until he became White House chief strategist, criticized Clinton for sitting on the board of directors for LaForgeHolcim’s North American division 25 years ago.

“More than any major presidential nominee in modern history, Hillary Clinton is tied to brutal theocratic and Islamist regimes,” said Stephen Miller, a senior Trump policy adviser, at the time. “Now we learn she has accepted money from a company linked to ISIS.”

Neither Shane Scanlon, a spokesman for Gianforte, nor the White House responded responded to requests for comment on Wednesday morning.

The asset makes up a small segment of Gianforte’s diversified TWP account, which includes similar-sized stakes in eyeglass maker Luxottica, automaker Mitsubishi and various electrical utilities. Gianforte, who sold a software company to tech giant Oracle in 2011 for $1.5 billion, is worth between $65 million and $315 million.The tech mogul invested about $250,000 in index funds with holdings in Gazprom and Rosneft, oil and gas firms sanctioned by the U.S. after the Russian invasion of Crimea, the Guardian reported last month. At the time, Scanlon defended Gianforte, telling the newspaper the candidate does not oversee his portfolio on a day-to-day basis.

Gianforte, who narrowly lost a bid for the Montana governor’s mansion last November, has been polling ahead of Democratic rival Rob Quist. But internal GOP polling shifted against Gianforte last weekend amid ballooning scandals in the Trump administration, conservative blogger and radio host Erick Erickson reported Tuesday night. The special election is slated for May 25.

Quist, a popular state bluegrass singer and son of ranchers running on a populist platform that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has endorsed, has painted Gianforte as an out-of-touch wealthy transplant from outside the Treasure State.Gianforte, 56, was born in San Diego and spent years living in New Jersey before moving to Bozeman, Montana, in 1995. 

Gianforte waffled on his support for the health care bill that the House passed this month, telling wealthy donors he backed the deeply-unpopular bill, then backtracking to voters who could lose their health insurance or be forced to pay higher premiums. Quist hammered Gianforte for flip-flopping and raised more than $550,000 from donors contributing on average $25 each over the course of just four days.

In an attempt to stave off a loss that Democrats say would be a referendum on the commander-in-chief, Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, campaigned alongside Gianforte in Montana.

The Quist campaign declined to comment for this story.type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related... + articlesList=59131f97e4b05e1ca203a873,58e3fcc5e4b03a26a3670c30,590e5af2e4b0d5d9049cf76e,5919c48ce4b0031e737f5a64,5915eda0e4b0fe039b346f3e

-- 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 16 hours ago.

Pioneer Experts Offer Contrasting Prescriptions For MA Healthcare

May 17, 2017, 11:08 am

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Reports offer opposing views on how Massachusetts should move forward after changes to the Affordable Care Act

Boston, MA (PRWEB) May 17, 2017

New policy briefs from Josh Archambault and Barbara Anthony, two senior fellows in healthcare at Pioneer Institute, offer differing prescriptions for how Massachusetts should navigate uncertainty in the healthcare market, as Congress debates the fate of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA).

In "What Massachusetts Should Do in an Uncertain Healthcare World,” Josh Archambault argues that the Commonwealth should focus on providing access to care rather than just insurance coverage, and should adopt successful reforms from other states. With the potential that at least some provisions of the Affordable Care Act may be repealed, he contends that Massachusetts leaders should not simply default to what we had prior to the ACA.

“All options should be on the table and state policy makers should look to successful reforms in other states,” Archambault said. “Massachusetts cannot afford the status quo and we need to be bold and open to new ideas for both the commercial and Medicaid markets.”

Archambault argues that MassHealth, the Commonwealth’s Medicaid program, has expanded so much that nearly two million of 6.8 million state residents are now enrolled in a taxpayer-funded safety net program. “We now almost have the same percentage of our population enrolled in Medicaid as much less wealthy West Virginia does,” Archambault said. “At over $16 billion annually, MassHealth accounts for more than 40 percent of the state budget, and is starting to crowd out spending on education, public safety and infrastructure.”

Archambault proposes a renewed focus to move more residents into private commercial insurance.

To make the commercial market affordable to those on Medicaid, Archambault offers numerous free-market solutions that should be considered in a post-ACA world. He discusses changing insurance regulations and rules that govern medical providers, taking a hard look at the Connector’s mission and reason for existence, looking at invisible risk-sharing to help those with pre-existing conditions, and enhancing transparency by giving rebates to patients who choose high-value providers.

Barbara Anthony offers a different perspective in “What Massachusetts Should Do as Uncertainty Engulfs the U.S. Healthcare System.” Anthony argues that America has a “mixed economy” with both free market principles and social welfare programs that “lift all boats,” and this hybrid should infuse the current healthcare debate. According to Anthony, “it is in our national self interest to find solutions that preserve both free market principles and the interdependence of our common welfare.”

Anthony argues that the Commonwealth should keep laws guaranteeing that no one is denied insurance due to pre-existing conditions, and that Massachusetts continue the individual mandate. Anthony asserts that health insurance works best when everyone – healthy, sick, young and old – is insured under the biggest umbrella. “Lack of access to healthcare leads to poor public health outcomes, and ultimately we all pay for that.” She added, “In this country, your ticket to healthcare is called insurance coverage.”

Anthony offers a 10-point program to Massachusetts policymakers that includes increasing individual penalties for those who do not purchase affordable insurance, government action to bring prices of entities with entrenched market power more in line with what a competitive market might produce, an assessment on employers whose low-wage employees have swelled the Medicaid programs, more open disclosure from MassHealth/Medicaid about cost savings resulting from the managed care directives that MassHealth was required to adopt, and more vigorous state Division of Insurance review of carrier rate requests.

More on Medicaid

Archambault argues that despite the $16 billion a year the state spends on Medicaid, recipients often struggle to gain access to healthcare providers. He points to surveys conducted by the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) that have found that even though Massachusetts has the most doctors per capita of any state, at times just 50-60 percent of internal medicine and 60-70 percent of family medicine offices accept Medicaid patients. Archambault says the problem is even worse in some parts of the Commonwealth and for specialists. For those not on Medicaid, the percentage of offices accepting new patients was 85-to-more-than-90 percent.

In terms of reining in Medicaid spending, Anthony argues specifically companies that either don’t offer coverage or don’t attract substantial numbers of employees to the plans they do offer should play a role in solving the Medicaid funding problem. She says a recent proposal by Partners CEO and President David Torchiana merits consideration.

Dr. Torchiana recommended that employers above a certain size that have low-income workers on Medicaid should be required to pay the Commonwealth a per-employee fee in place of the premium contribution they would have made toward employee health insurance. The contribution would be less than the cost of employer-sponsored insurance, so employers would still benefit but the concept of employer responsibility would be maintained.

Anthony sees three options when it comes to Medicaid spending. Anthony argues that the state must treat program integrity as a matter of ongoing review, removing ineligible program participants on a regular basis. Beyond that, the Commonwealth’s options are limited to either tightening eligibility requirements (thereby limiting access) or opting out of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion; these latter two options would have undesirable public health consequences and would cause major policy upheavals.

Anthony does not find Archambault’s proposals to make private insurance more affordable (thereby allowing more Medicaid enrollees to afford commercial coverage) realistic. She thinks premiums would have to fall far below what even subsidized plans currently cost before large numbers of people at or near the federal poverty line would be able to afford private insurance.

Transparency

Archambault urges Massachusetts to look at programs from two other New England states. New Hampshire saved $12 million and patients received $1.2 million in incentive payments for choosing lower-cost, high-value providers. In Massachusetts, the Group Insurance Commission is piloting a similar program. This approach reduces costs and rewards innovative providers, and should be expanded to more individuals in the state.

This is an area where Anthony and Archambault agree. Both support incentive-based transparency programs. She urges that the Commonwealth become more aggressive in promoting healthcare price transparency and calls for greater leadership by the executive branch, the attorney general’s office and the business community.

Helping Those with Pre-Existing Conditions

Archambault wants more than transparency and advocates strongly for a risk-sharing plan that was implemented in Maine before it was superseded by the ACA. Maine had an invisible risk-sharing/risk-pool program that didn’t segment individuals with pre-existing conditions out of the “regular” individual insurance market or charge them a higher premium. Instead, insurers determine who to designate for the program based on health information. The end result was lower premiums for all age groups and coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions and those with very high medical costs.

This approach causes carriers to price coverage as if all policy holders are healthy rather than all sick. Premiums of Maine’s largest issuer fell by about 70 percent for the young and by about half for older residents, making it more likely that young, healthy individuals would sign up for insurance.

Anthony counters that the Maine program resulted in some benefit cuts, including maternity care, additional cost-sharing and higher out-of-pocket costs. While she recognizes that the Maine program did not stigmatize those with pre-existing conditions or charge them higher premiums, she is very concerned about high-risk pools in general, now that the House of Representatives has passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA).

Anthony points out that under the AHCA, which would effectively repeal the Obamacare mandate to purchase insurance, states would be allowed to permit insurers to charge people with pre-existing conditions more for coverage than those without such conditions. States would be able to do this if they set up high-risk insurance pools or other mechanisms to mitigate risks to insurers with high-cost patients. According to Anthony, “the poor history of high-risk pools is resurfacing thanks to the AHCA.”

Recent articles in the New York Times and CNN Money stated that there were 35 pools around prior to the ACA. According to Anthony, these reports highlight that the main problem with high-risk pools is that they were underfunded, typically charged higher prices, often contained annual and/or lifetime caps on coverage, and covered only a fraction of those who were potentially eligible.

About the Authors:

Barbara Anthony, lawyer, and well-known consumer advocate, is a Senior Fellow at Pioneer Institute focusing on healthcare price and quality transparency. She is also an associate at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Business and Government. She served as Massachusetts Undersecretary for Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation from 2009 to 2015. She has been quoted and cited in The Washington Post, Becker’s Healthcare, The Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, The Boston Business Journal, State House News Service, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, the Springfield Republican, and CommonWealth magazine, and has been interviewed on WBUR, WBZ, and television news programs in Greater Boston and across the country.

Josh Archambault is a Senior Fellow at Pioneer Institute. Prior to joining Pioneer, Josh worked at the Heritage Foundation, as a Legislative Director in the Massachusetts State Senate, and as Senior Legislative Aide in the Governor’s Office of Legislative Affairs. His analysis has appeared in news outlets such as USA Today, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fox News, NPR, Boston Herald and The Boston Globe. Josh holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School and a BA in Political Studies and Economics from Gordon College.

Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, privately funded research organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts through civic discourse and intellectually rigorous, data-driven public policy solutions based on free market principles, individual liberty and responsibility, and the ideal of effective, limited and accountable government. Reported by PRWeb 15 hours ago.

UnitedHealth will close Harken Health, its gamble on primary care

May 17, 2017, 12:59 pm

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Harken Health, a insurance startup launched by UnitedHealth Group Inc. that offered patients care with almost no co-pays, is closing its doors in Chicago and Atlanta, its two core markets. The Chicago Tribune reports on the shutdown of Harken, which follows moves by the insurer to scale back operations and a loss of $64 million last year. Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) quietly launched Harken in late 2015 as an experiment in a new model of health coverage for individuals. It offered… Reported by bizjournals 13 hours ago.

Insurance startup Oscar lowers losses after raising premiums

May 17, 2017, 1:38 pm

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The health insurance company Oscar reported losses of $25.8 million in the first quarter, down from $48.5 million during the  -More-  Reported by SmartBrief 13 hours ago.

'Fat and frail' seniors benefit from right exercise combo

May 17, 2017, 3:03 pm

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Experts have worried about recommending weight loss to older, obese people because it speeds up bone and muscle loss, increasing the danger of falls and broken bones. Losing weight plus aerobic activity and strength training improved their health more than dieting plus either type of exercise alone. Medicare, the U.S. health insurance program for people 65 and older, now covers behavioral therapy for weight loss and some plans offer gym memberships. Obesity can make the elderly vulnerable to medical problems, but losing weight can worsen frailty by hastening muscle and bone loss. The study excluded people with severe heart disease and other serious health problems, so the results apply only to people well enough to start an exercise program. Reported by SeattlePI.com 11 hours ago.

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The 'I’m Really Smart' President Faces Crises Of Ignorance

May 17, 2017, 4:41 pm

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WASHINGTON – Just months after Donald Trump’s repeated campaign boasts about how smart he is, his White House and defenders now seem to be arguing exactly the opposite: that he shouldn’t be held accountable for his lapses because he doesn’t really understand what he is doing.

When Trump’s national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, defended the president’s sharing of sensitive intelligence information with Russian diplomats during an Oval Office visit last week, McMaster’s eventual explanation was that Trump could not have known the possible consequences of what he had done.

“The president wasn’t even aware, you know, where this information came from,” McMaster said.

The White House had to scramble after the Russians departed to let the CIA and the National Security Agency know what Trump had just said, presumably to inform Israel. The information in question reportedly came from Israeli intelligence ― and Russia is allied with Syria and Iran in the Syrian civil war, possibly risking the life of the Israeli agent who obtained the material.

“He doesn’t have a lot of experience with classified information,” said Republican consultant Matt Mackowiak. “There’s a little bit of a learning curve there.”

The White House did not respond to a HuffPost query for this article, but that “learning curve” argument has become common among Trump defenders, who argue that an “outsider” businessman should not be expected to understand the intricacies of government policy.

Trump critics, particularly those who are Republicans, say they find that rationale offensive, and see the latest episodes as proof that their warnings were correct all along.

“His erratic and dangerous behavior is just not sustainable,” said John Weaver, who managed Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s campaign for the GOP presidential nomination last year. “Six months ago, people were beating the hell out of us. … Not so much anymore.”The latest examples of Trump’s lack of knowledge and lack of interest in acquiring it fit into a pattern stretching back to the start of his presidency, on issues both large and small.

In February, at an event commemorating Black History Month, Trump expounded on the virtues of Frederick Douglass, the Civil War-era abolitionist, as if he were an obscure figure, and in a manner that suggested Trump didn’t realize he has been long dead. “Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice,” he said.

During the crafting of the House bill to partially repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, Trump explained that he only just learned that making one change in the health care system has multiple effects in other areas. “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated,” he said.

Similarly, after numerous claims that China could easily deal with North Korea’s nuclear militancy, Trump said that a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping brought him new insight into the centuries-long history of the two nations. “After listening for 10 minutes, I realized it’s not so easy,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal.

Trump could have informed himself on both topics as a private citizen, as a candidate running for the highest office in the country, or even as president ― by taking advantage of the expertise in his own Health and Human Services and State departments. Instead, he entered into discussions requiring background knowledge largely uninformed ― and then described his newfound information as if it were a major discovery.

(Even with a health care bill now passed out of the House, it is still not clear Trump understands how the system works. In a May 4 interview with The Economist, he described it this way: “Insurance is, you’re 20 years old, you just graduated from college, and you start paying $15 a month for the rest of your life and by the time you’re 70, and you really need it, you’re still paying the same amount and that’s really insurance” ― an explanation that does not at all reflect how health insurance actually works in this country.)

All of this has presented a challenge for White House staffers, who each day try to brief a president who is not terribly interested in being briefed and loses attention quickly.

HuffPost reported not long after he took office that Trump did not like briefing books, and preferred memos no longer than a single page that used bullet points, and contained no more than nine bullet points on that page.

And Reuters reported Wednesday that National Security Council aides prepping Trump for his upcoming foreign trip, the first of his tenure, have made sure to include his name frequently in the briefing material because “he keeps reading if he’s mentioned.”

Trump’s lack of knowledge about national and world affairs was abundantly clear during the 18-month presidential campaign, when he frequently and repeatedly made incorrect statements on topics including illegal immigration, crime rates, trade policy and terrorism.

Trump himself, though, sold himself as a man of great intellect, often pointing out that his uncle had taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Good genes, very good genes. Okay? Very smart,” he said at a South Carolina rally.

Many of his supporters appeared ready to accept Trump’s version of himself, often offering the explanation that as a successful businessman, he was obviously smart enough to learn what he needed to become a successful president.

In reality, Trump’s business record has been mixed, at best. He took over his father’s real estate company at the age of 28 in 1974. Its value in today’s dollars was close to $1 billion. Despite that start, Trump underperformed both the stock market and, even more dramatically, the real estate market over the decades, leaving him with a net worth billions lower than if he had simply liquidated his assets and invested in those funds.

He ran his family business much as he runs the White House now ― based on whims with little research. This resulted in his ownership of a money-losing airline, and put him on the brink of personal bankruptcy after his purchases of several Atlantic City casinos.

Trump’s main business in recent years has been licensing his name to hotel and condominium buildings that he does not own ― thanks to the success of his TV show, “The Apprentice,” in which he played a savvy and decisive businessman.

“He’s clearly a great salesman,” Mackowiak said. “He’s developed a brand a long time. And a lot of voters found that appealing.”

Republican National Committee members and donors also bought into the Trump “brand” last year, after it became clear that Trump, and not one of the favored “establishment” candidates, would win the GOP nomination. Only now, with Trump’s ignorance manifesting itself almost daily, are some of them coming to appreciate what happened.

“People in the process don’t understand how little people outside the process know about either the process or the substance of the issues in government,” said a senior RNC member on the condition of anonymity. “I think the assumption is that subject knowledge can be handled by appointees. Get good people with knowledge and they will fill in the gaps. The problem comes when you don’t have knowledge and try to do it yourself, instead of deferring to those with knowledge.”

Other Republicans see a much less charitable explanation for their party’s continued support for Trump: an expectation that Trump would be so malleable and so uninterested in policy details that he would sign whatever legislation they put on his desk.

“They would let Donald Trump kill and eat their children if they can get their business tax cut,” said Rick Wilson, a Florida consultant who supported Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in the primary, and has remained a vocal Trump critic all along.

Wilson said some in his party may have seen Trump’s behavior as showmanship ― an act to win the presidency. The events and revelations of recent days, Wilson said, should help clear that up.

“The mania and lunacy wasn’t an act,” he said. “It’s a true, honest-to-God political train wreck.”

-- 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 10 hours ago.

More health insurance woes looming: blame Trump or Obama?

May 18, 2017, 1:11 am

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WASHINGTON (AP) " Another year of big premium increases and dwindling choice is looking like a distinct possibility for many consumers who buy their own health insurance " but why, and who's to blame?President Donald Trump has seized... Reported by New Zealand Herald 1 hour ago.

More than 1,100 small businesses in Texas may have to change how they offer health insurance in 2018

May 18, 2017, 3:02 am

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Reported by DallasNews 12 hours ago.

CO.DON AG: CO.DON: decisive step towards European expansion

May 18, 2017, 3:36 am

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DGAP-News: CO.DON AG / Key word(s): Regulatory Admission

18.05.2017 / 12:25
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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*CO.DON: decisive step towards European expansion *

*- *Positive opinion from relevant committee for EU approval of articular cartilage product

Berlin / Teltow, 18 May 2017 - In the course of the ongoing application for EU marketing authorisation, CO.DON AG received today the official positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for its articular cartilage product. The recommended indication is the repair of symptomatic articular cartilage defects on the femoral condyle and the knee patella; defects of up to 10 cm² for adults. The CHMP assessment forms the basis for a decision by the European Commission on EU-wide marketing authorisation for the product. In the past the European Commission has followed the recommendations of CHMP for the great majority of applications.

Dr Bernd Wegener, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of CO.DON AG. "Obtaining EU marketing authorisation for the articular cartilage product is CO.DON AG's most important strategic goal and it is now within reach. This great success is the result of the work carried out by all the employees of CO.DON AG and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them most sincerely."

Dirk Hessel, CEO of co.don AG: "This positive opinion represents another decisive step towards EU-wide approval. The CHMP recommendation covers all the indications in the application. Our preparations for market entry mean we can start with the practical implementation as soon as marketing authorisation is granted. If the European Commission follows the recommendation, we are ready to treat the first patients outside Germany. We soon hope to be able to meet the high demand for our advanced methods across the EU, especially since no comparable product is currently available in our target markets."

*About CO.DON AG:* CO.DON AG develops, produces and markets in Germany autologous cell therapies for the minimally invasive repair of cartilage damage in joints following traumatic or degenerative defects. CO.DON condrosphere(R) is a cell therapy product that uses only the patient's own cartilage cells ("autologous chondrocytes"). CO.DON condrosphere(R) has been approved by the German federal agency PEI in accordance with Section 4b of the German Pharmaceuticals Act (AMG) and is currently undergoing Phase II and III clinical trials to obtain European marketing authorisation. CO.DON condrosphere(R) has been used for more than 10 years in over 150 clinics to treat more than 11,000 patients. In Germany the statutory health insurance companies have paid for the treatment of knee and hip joints since 2007 and for the treatment of vertebral joints since 2008. The shares in CO.DON AG are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE000A1K0227). Executive Board: Dirk Hessel (CEO), Ralf M. Jakobs (CFO).

More information can be found at www.ihre-zellzuechter.de and www.codon.de

*Investor Relations and Press Contact:*
Matthias Meißner, M.A.
Corporate communications / IR / PR
Tel. +49 (0)30 240352330
Fax +49 (0)30 240352309
Email: ir@codon.de
--------------------

18.05.2017 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.dgap.de --------------------

Language: English
Company: CO.DON AG
Warthestraße 21
14513 Teltow
Germany
Phone: 03328 43460
Fax: 03328 434643
E-mail: info@codon.de
Internet: www.codon.de
ISIN: DE000A1K0227
WKN: A1K022
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (General Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
 
End of News DGAP News Service Reported by EQS Group 12 hours ago.

More cancers diagnosed at early stage following increase in health insurance coverage

May 18, 2017, 8:24 am

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Cancer is most curable when it’s detected at its earliest stages. An analysis of nearly 273,000 patients showed that between 2013 and 2014 there was a 1% increase in the percentage of breast, lung, and colorectal cancers diagnosed at the earliest, most treatable stage. Following full implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this study is the first to explore changes in the proportion of cancers – those that can be detected through screening – diagnosed at stage I. Reported by Science Daily 7 hours ago.

Ping An to set its founding day as "Charity Day"

May 18, 2017, 6:04 am

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*Calling on 1.5 million staff to join targeted poverty alleviation efforts*

HONG KONG, May 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the central government's call for "targeted poverty alleviation", and on the approach of its 29th birthday, Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter "Ping An" or the "Group", HKEx: 2318; SSE: 601318) designated the 27th of May, the group's founding day, as the first "Ping An Charity Day". The Group will also be promulgating the "June 1^st Charity-in-Action", calling upon 1.5 million Ping An staff to take part in a series of poverty-alleviation programs, and actively participate in all charity events organized by the group and its subsidiaries, which covers such businesses as property and casualty insurance, life insurance, banking, trusts, and Puhui Financial. On the same day, Dr. Peter Ma, Chairman and CEO of Ping An, visited the first Ping An Hope Primary School in Lu'an, Anhui Province, where the group first started its "Teaching Volunteers Program", to show support for this worthy cause. Taking the lead in responding to the clarion call of "June 1^st Charity-in-Action", he set a personal example by getting involved in efforts aimed at alleviating poverty.

In the "Teaching Volunteers Program", Dr. Peter Ma spent time reading to a class of Primary 6 students in a show of support. Sharing Hemingway's well-known story Old Man and the Sea, he encouraged the kids to meet difficulties and challenges in studies and life head on, and to never give up. Ping An also donated carefully-selected books and RMB100,000 for the purchase of teaching aids to Lu'an Hope Primary School.

Ping An's "Teaching Volunteers Program", which was implemented ten years ago, will be fully upgraded this year with innovative distance-learning platforms, so that village schools can enjoy high quality education resources to realize the goal of targeted poverty alleviation through education.

*Keeping the Original Aspiration. Designating the group's founding day as the Charity Day*

This year, Ping An "poverty alleviation through education" programs has undergone a comprehensive upgrade. At the beginning of the year, Ping An formally established the Educational Charity Council, with Dr. Peter Ma serving as the first president of the council. Dr Peter Ma is responsible for Ping An's education and charity efforts, his appointment has brought the education and charity development program to another level.

In order to allow more employees to participate in the "targeted poverty alleviation" programs, Ping An today issued a proposal to all employees to announce the designation of 27^th of May, the group's founding day, as the first "Ping An Charity Day", calling on all Ping An staff to show kindness to those in need, concern for public welfare and to give back to society.

The Proposal said that the duty of a corporation is to grow bigger and stronger, and with that, to nurture the community. Corporations should use its own abilities to contribute to the country and to help the nation to succeed. "Ping An Charity Day" was established with the hope that Ping An staff will always feel contentment in their daily lives, from pride in the company's development to their own personal growth experiences, as well as owning their "responsibility" towards society.

The upcoming launch of "June 1^st Charity-in-Action", calling on 1.5 million Ping An staff to participate in a series of educational charities program, includes a series of activities, such as, "Teaching Volunteers Program" for Hope Primary School students; Participation in the Ping An Insurance-organized interactive welfare "Poem-writing" courses for students of Hope Primary School; Participate or watch the "Growth Paradise" volunteer program for children organized by Ping An Property Insurance; Through the collection and donation of points, Ping An Bank accompanies children's growth by offering stories before bed and poems to students of Ping An Hope Primary School; while Ping An Puhui encourages farmers to return to their home towns to reunite with their children and families, and to start their own businesses, through donations; Participation in a walkathon to promote the care of disabled children, and Ping An Trust's donations for recovery courses for disabled children.

Ping An wishes to integrate a "little love" from each and every representative of Ping An, culminating into one "big love", and to use the concept of "Everyone can participate in welfare" as the basis of corporate culture, as well as the practice of corporate social responsibility.

*Back to Lu'an, Peter Ma joins "June 1**^st** Charity-in-Action"*

Lu'an in Anhui Province marks the entry point of Ping An public education welfare. In 1993, newly founded Ping An established the committee of "Hope Program" at the suggestion of Peter Ma. In September 1993, the committee sent an inspection team to Lu'an, which was heavily flooded by Huai River at the time. They were shocked by the consequences of the flooding and to see children who couldn't go to school. In 1994, Lu'an Shunhe Ping An Hope Primary School was constructed and commenced operation.

On the 18th of May, among the first to respond to the call of "June 1^st Charity-in-Action", Dr. Peter Ma returned to Lu'an, this time as a Volunteer of the "Teaching Volunteers Program", where he gave a lecture to the students about reading and sharing, and calling Group staff to action by actively joining charity activities. As Children's Day approached, Dr. Peter Ma also donated carefully-selected books and RMB100,000 for the purchase of teaching aids to Lu'an Hope Primary School's teachers and students.

Since the first Ping An public education welfare initiative in Lu'an, Ping An has built 114 Ping An Hope Primary Schools in 30 provinces across the country to help more than 300,000 children living in rural villages to realizing their "studying dream" over the past 23 years. The characteristics of education and poverty alleviation focus on "soft and hard combination". 

In addition to continuing to invest funds to improve rural education infrastructure, Ping An also tackled the problem of the lack of teachers in rural areas, as well as the lack of curriculum resources. In 2007, the "Teaching Volunteers Program" commenced operations, and has operated continuously for ten years. Each year, the "Teaching Volunteers Program" gathers close to a thousand volunteers to visit Hope Primary Schools across the country, holding music, painting, sports, English language, culture, psychology and other teaching activities. So far, more than 5,000 volunteers have joined the "Teaching Volunteers Program" with volunteer service time amounting to a total of 220,000 hours, helping more than 100,000 students.

To date, Ping An has invested more than RMB300 million in education poverty alleviation, disaster relief, environmental protection and community public welfare.

*Persist for Ten Years Ping An Education Targets on Poverty Alleviation *

The Ping An "Teaching Volunteers Program" has been ongoing for a decade, this year the program will undergo a full upgrade. Targeted at narrowing the urban and rural education gap, the program will employ three strategies: use of online and offline channels, teacher resources and technology, and innovation. The Ping An "Teaching Volunteers Program" will also provide four types of support to Hope primary school including hardware, technology, organizations, and awards, marking Ping An's "Teaching Volunteers Program" as the leader in "poverty alleviation through education" programs.

The Ping An distance-learning platform has been created, and will be activated in the near future. The platform will provide online courses, an online library, and distance-learning programs for 114 Ping An Hope Primary Schools. In response to the central government's call to promote universal reading and traditional cultural education, the first batch of online programs will soon be uploaded, featuring traditional humanities poetry courses. Ping An Life will continue to promote the National Book Donation Program, to help build book corners for rural classrooms. It will also donate books to village schools through The World's Largest Book Donation Charity Platform.

Dr. Peter Ma stated, "Poverty alleviation must first promote education. Ping An has contributed for more than two decades into areas of poverty alleviation through education, education enhancing strategies, and charity works, in order to reduce the urban and rural education gap, to help rural students out of poverty with the power of education."

In addition to contributing to the area of poverty alleviation through education for many years, Ping An initiated the "Committee on the Development of Financial Services in Rural Areas" in 2016, establishing a financial service network in rural villages covering  "Agriculture financing + grassroots servicing network + advanced O2O network", and through the four major business areas, namely "Insurance Go Rural", "Social Health Insurance Go Rural", "Banking Go Rural" and "Fintech Go Rural", efforts to reduce poverty through financial services have been greatly advanced. Since 2013, Ping An has completed 114 poverty alleviation programs with a total funding of RMB11.06 million made toward the effort. The group, together with other charity organizations, has become a major force in the fight against poverty.

*About Ping An*

As China's first joint stock insurance company, Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. ("Ping An") is dedicated to becoming a world-leading personal financial services provider. Today, it is an integrated, compact, multi-functional financial services group with services that include insurance, banking, and investment. As at 31 December 2016, the Group had over 1.4 million employees and agents and 130 million individual customers. As at the end of 2016, the Group's consolidated total assets reached RMB5.58 trillion while equity attributable to shareholders of the parent company stood at RMB383,449 million. Ping An Life and Ping An Property & Casualty are both ranked the second largest in China, Ping An Annuity ranked top in China in their respective areas by premium income. Its subsidiary Ping An Bank is China's first joint stock bank. The Company's key areas of business include investment, with subsidiaries such as Ping An Trust, Ping An Securities and Ping An Asset Management. Further, Ping An strives to develop internet finance, including Lufax, Ping An Good Doctor, Ping An Haofang, E-Wallet, Finance One Account. It has achieved significant growth in both the scale and user base of internet finance. As at 31 December 2016, the number of internet users of the Company reached 346 million.

Ping An ranked 20th in Forbes' 2016 Global 2000, it ranked 41^st in Fortune Magazine's 2016 Global 500 Leading Companies, being 1^ st among China's non-state-owned enterprises and the top-ranked China's insurance companies. Apart from these accolades, Ping An ranked 57^th in WPP Millward Brown's BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking.

For more information, please visit http://t.sina.com.cn/pingan, http://t.qq.com/pingan or www.pingan.com.cn. Reported by PR Newswire Asia 9 hours ago.

Aino Health AB (publ) signs letter of intent with German health insurance company BARMER

May 18, 2017, 6:07 am

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*Aino Health AB (publ) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) regarding a strategic partnership with the leading German health insurance company BARMER. BARMER has more than 400 offices in Germany and approximately 9.4 million insured persons.*

BARMER is well known among German companies for its work and co-ordination of sustainable Corporate Health Management solutions with the aim of improving the employee's health and wellbeing as well as preventing work-related health risks.

Initially, the agreement means that Aino Health and BARMER jointly conduct a pilot test of Aino Health's Corporate Health Management Solutions in three of BARMER's partner companies.

- This is a very good start for Aino Health in Germany. BARMER's goal is to use Aino Health's unique IT-based management system to help its customer to implement the digital conversion to be able to measure human capital and achieve sustainable results, says Jyrki Eklund, CEO of Aino Health.

This information is such information that Aino Health AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set below, at May 18, 2017 at 15:00 CET. * *

For more information, please contact:

Jyrki Eklund, CEO Aino Health
Phone: +358 40 042 4221, E-mail: jyrki.eklund@ainohealth.com 

www.ainohealth.com

*About Aino Health*

Aino Health is the leading solution provider in Corporate Health Management; we are for private and public organisations what doctors are for people. The company's complete system of IT-based services reduces sick leave, related costs and deliver long term prosperity, increased productivity and employee engagement by adopting health, wellbeing and safety as an everyday activity.

Aino Health AB (publ) is listed at Nasdaq First North Stockholm (Ticker: AINO). Erik Penser Bank AB, +46 8 463 83 00, is the Certified Adviser to the company.  

170518 Press Release Aino Health LOI Barmer
--------------------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: Aino Health AB (publ) via GlobeNewswire

HUG#2104044 Reported by GlobeNewswire 9 hours ago.

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Cataract Rates Continue to Increase, Remains Leading Global Cause of Blindness

May 18, 2017, 6:45 am

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Prevent Blindness Declares June as Cataract Awareness Month to Educate Public on Most Common Eye Disease

CHICAGO (PRWEB) May 18, 2017

Cataract is responsible for 51 percent of world blindness, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States, the current number of those with cataract is estimated to be more than 25.7 million. Projections from Prevent Blindness research estimate that number will increase to 38.5 million by 2032, and to 45.6 million by the year 2050.

Prevent Blindness, the nation’s oldest eye health and safety non-profit organization, has declared June as Cataract Awareness Month to educate the public on risk factors, symptoms and treatment options. For those considering surgery and their caregivers, Prevent Blindness offers a free online guide at: http://www.preventblindness.org/cataract-surgery.

Cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens which blocks or changes the passage of light into the eye. Cataracts usually form in both eyes, but not at the same rate. They can develop slowly or quickly, or progress to a certain point, then not get any worse.

Besides aging, other factors may cause cataracts to form. Eye infections, some medicines (such as steroids), injuries or exposure to intense heat or radiation may cause cataracts. Too much exposure to non-visible sunlight (called UV or ultraviolet light) and various diseases, such as diabetes or metabolic disorders, may also contribute to cataracts forming.
Types of cataract include:·     Age-related – 95 percent of cataracts are age-related, usually after age 40.
·     Congenital – These are present at birth, usually caused by infection or inflammation during pregnancy; possibly inherited.
·     Traumatic – Lens damage from a hard blow, cut, puncture, intense heat or chemical burn may cause cataracts.
·     Secondary – Some medicines, eye disease, eye infection, or diseases such as diabetes cause these cataracts.
·     Radiation – Cataracts can develop after exposure to some types of radiation.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, there are approximately 2 million cataract surgeries performed in the United States every year. And, in approximately 90 percent of cases, people who have cataract surgery have improved vision afterward.

Most cataract surgery is covered by Medicare and health insurance. However, it is important the patient talks to his or her eyecare professional and insurance provider to determine what surgery-related expenses are covered and by how much. For example, some types of intraocular lenses (the artificial lens used to replace the natural lens) cost more than others.

“As the U.S. population continues to age, the number of those affected by cataract is also increasing significantly,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “Fortunately, cataract surgery has an extremely high success rate. Talking with your eyecare professional about what treatment is right for you is essential to protect the gift of sight today and for years to come.”

For free information on cataract, please call Prevent Blindness at (800) 331-2020 or visit the Prevent Blindness website at preventblindness.org/cataract.

About Prevent Blindness
Founded in 1908, Prevent Blindness is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness touches the lives of millions of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, certified vision screening and training, community and patient service programs and research. These services are made possible through the generous support of the American public. Together with a network of affiliates, Prevent Blindness is committed to eliminating preventable blindness in America. For more information, or to make a contribution to the sight-saving fund, call 1-800-331-2020. Or, visit us on the Web at preventblindness.org or facebook.com/preventblindness.

### Reported by PRWeb 8 hours ago.

Cobbs Allen Launches Health Care Benefits Platform

May 18, 2017, 8:46 am

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cobbs Allen, a national risk-management firm focused on specialty insurance solutions, announced the launch of subsidiary OutFront Health, an insurance platform aimed at offering healthcare and ancillary benefits to multiple-employer groups, including professional employer organizations (PEOs), associations, staffing firms and family offices. The platform enables these businesses to form their own pooled groups through which tailored, comprehensive insurance b Reported by Business Wire 6 hours ago.

Montana Democrat’s Donations Top $5 Million As Woes Mount For GOP Rival

May 18, 2017, 12:59 pm

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The populist Democrat running for Montana’s open seat in the House of Representatives has hit a major fundraising milestone, as a race ignored until last month by party officials heats up in its final week.

Donations to Rob Quist, the bluegrass legend who won an unlikely bid for the nomination in March, have surpassed $5 million, his campaign announced on Thursday. The contributions averaged less than $25 each and came from roughly 200,000 individuals. For context, donations to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has endorsed Quist, averaged $27 donations during his insurgent bid for the Democratic presidential nomination last year.

Fundraising surged this month after Greg Gianforte, Quist’s multimillionaire Republican opponent, waffled on his support for the controversial health care bill just passed by the House. Gianforte told conservative lobbyists he backed the bill in a private call later published by The New York Times. He walked back the comment days later amid uproar from the more than 70,000 voters whose health insurance could be imperiled if the deeply unpopular American Health Care Act becomes law.

Quist, who supports single-payer health care and legalizing marijuana, has weathered his own history of financial woes, stemming from what he says was a botched gallbladder surgery that for years left him unqualified for affordable insurance.

Forced to pay out of pocket for follow-up surgeries, Quist accessed Social Security and sold off part of the ranch he inherited from his family. In October 1994, the doctor responsible for the surgery denied allegations of malpractice, according to a report published this week by the conservative Washington Free Beacon.“Rob’s story is resonating with voters who want someone who will stand up for them,” Tina Olechowski, Quist’s communication director, said in a statement. “After medical complications following surgery, Rob got into debt. He paid off his debt, but Rob believes no one should ever face bankruptcy just because they get sick.”

By contrast, Gianforte, who narrowly lost a bid for the Montana governor’s mansion last year, raised $2 million from the Congressional Leadership Fund, a dark-money super PAC funded by “tobacco companies, video game manufacturers, other corporations and wealthy donors,” according to Bloomberg BNA. The tech mogul, who sold a software company to cloud-computing giant Oracle for $1.5 billion in 2011, loaned himself $1 million to finance his campaign ahead of the May 25 special election.

Republican attacks on Quist’s personal financial struggles have increased amid heightened scrutiny of Gianforte’s own investments. Gianforte listed in financial disclosures a nearly $48,000 stake in a French-Swiss cement maker accused of making payments to the Islamic State terror group, as HuffPost first reported on Wednesday. President Donald Trump criticized Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton last August for once accepting a donation to the Clinton Foundation from the company. Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, campaigned last week alongside Gianforte.


Rob will represent all Montanans, not just the millionaires, and that’s why he’ll win next week.
Tina Olechowski, communications director for Quist's campaign
Gianforte also invested nearly $250,000 in index funds with holdings in Gazprom and Rosneft, the Kremlin-controlled oil and gas firms sanctioned by the U.S. after Russia invaded Crimea, The Guardian reported last month.  

Gianforte had a 6-point lead over Quist in a poll released earlier this month by a Democratic political action committee. But internal GOP polling shifted against Gianforte last weekend amid proliferating scandals coming from the White House, according to the conservative blogger and radio host Erick Erickson.

Shane Scanlon, a spokesman for Gianforte, did not respond to a request for comment. 

“Rob will represent all Montanans, not just the millionaires,” Olechowski said on Thursday, “and that’s why he’ll win next week.”type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related... + articlesList=58f508e0e4b0da2ff8625337,58e3fcc5e4b03a26a3670c30,591c710be4b0ed14cddb53fa,5904e8c6e4b05c39767ff02d,590e5af2e4b0d5d9049cf76e

-- 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 2 hours ago.

California, 14 other states take legal action to preserve Obamacare cost-sharing

May 18, 2017, 4:56 pm

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California and 14 other states took legal action Thursday to try to preserve Affordable Care Act funds that insurance companies receive to lower insurance costs for some Americans.

Roughly 5 million Californians gained health insurance through the national law, also known as Obamacare, California... Reported by L.A. Times 23 hours ago.

New DME Dispensing Feature Provides Sleep Labs with an Additional Revenue Stream and Improves Inventory Management

May 18, 2017, 6:05 pm

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The new Somnoware durable medical equipment (DME) dispensing feature enables sleep labs to easily track their inventory of CPAP devices and supplies, as well as generate additional revenue.

Santa Clara, CA (PRWEB) May 18, 2017

Somnoware, a leading provider of digital health technology, announces a new CPAP dispensing feature that allows sleep labs and physicians to independently dispense CPAP devices and supplies, such as machines, filters, tubing, and masks. Using this feature, physicians can quickly place DME orders, and sleep labs can dispense the devices. Device registration for daily usage data is automated, and a DME order is created for each patient that has been set up via Somnoware. This process reduces the transition of care, as well as prevents redundant data entry and error rates, by having patients complete their sleep history using electronic questionnaires.

After dispensing a device, the lab can create reports of CPAP supplies, equipment, and devices provided to patients for insurance reimbursement for quicker payment. This solution is primarily for self-pay patients or those covered by commercial health insurance, which applies to most patients placed on CPAP therapy. Unless the state law says otherwise, sleep lab staff can now sell CPAP devices and supplies to Medicare or Medicaid patients if the lab is not owned by physicians—generating an additional revenue stream.

With this new feature, patients are automatically on-boarded to the respective cloud-based care management platform, such as Philips® EncoreAnywhere™ and ResMed® AirView,™ and physicians can view daily PAP usage data in Somnoware. Lab staff only need to scan each item’s barcode instead of manually entering data into an inventory management system, such as the specific DME device manufacturer or mask type, since this solution uses a scanner to recognize each item. Lab managers can also generate a monthly report of all inventory dispensed by the sleep lab to track their total inventory.

Sleep lab staff typically enter all patient data directly into multiple systems and then notify the patient by phone, often making 4-5 calls per patient. Staff working at large healthcare systems often track 4,000 or more PAP devices a month and handwrite their inventory list, then enter that data into other systems. This manual process delays DME device and supply orders, which increases the number of devices not being used or misplaced in a storage facility. The Somnoware platform provides proof of billing, as well as a record of each DME device and supply item being dispensed, for tracking purposes.

Aside from generating additional revenue for sleep labs, this new feature benefits patients as well. It provides them with the convenience of one-stop shopping for their sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment—creating a continuum of care from diagnosis to therapy. Using a scanner, lab staff can quickly enroll DME devices and supplies with manufacturer systems to receive patient PAP device usage data—improving compliance and care management. Many patients also have established relationships with lab staff and are more comfortable dealing with them for their PAP needs.

“We are very excited about our new DME dispensing feature,” says Subath Kamalasan, CEO of Somnoware. “It enables sleep labs to manage large populations of patients using one unified system. This capability also allows labs to generate additional revenue beyond diagnosis. We follow the IHI Triple Aim framework by creating solutions to enhance the experience and outcomes for patient populations, as well as reduce the per capita cost of care for the benefit of communities.”

As the industry’s leading sleep health management platform, Somnoware is currently used by one in five sleep physicians in the United States. It is available in two versions—Somnoware for Physicians and Somnoware for Sleep Centers. Physicians get instant access to sleep test data, e-signature capability, one-click DME ordering, CPAP compliance data, and the ability to conduct end-to-end patient care management. Sleep centers can automate their complete workflow including scheduling at multiple centers, inventory management, automated reporting, therapy ordering, and AASM accreditation.

To learn more about Somnoware, please contact Raj Misra at media(at)Somnoware(dot)com.

About Somnoware
Somnoware is transforming sleep health management by accelerating diagnostics and increasing therapy adherence. It automates sleep testing processes, provides actionable data and predictive insights to physicians, and drives patient engagement. Our customer base includes leading health systems, independent sleep centers, and sleep services companies. Somnoware is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. For more information, please visit http://www.somnoware.com or follow us on twitter @somnoware. Reported by PRWeb 21 hours ago.