With the election of Donald Trump as president, local insurers and brokers have begun fielding questions from nervous customers worried about their health insurance coverage for 2017. Trump has promised his first 100 days would include a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, long a goal of Republican representatives in Congress. That could affect everything from state healthcare exchanges, mandatory coverage and tax penalties, as well as coverage for pre-existing conditions and value-based reimbursement…
Reported by bizjournals 16 hours ago.
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Insurers: Trump promise for quick undoing of Obamacare unlikely in 2017
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Kitzhaber sees an opportunity for Oregon to work with Trump administration
Former Gov. John Kitzhaber doesn’t expect President-elect Donald Trump to yank health insurance coverage from the 20 million people who gained it under the Affordable Care Act. “Taking this coverage away will be very difficult politically and, I think, indefensible morally,” Kitzhaber said a written remarks to the Business Journal. “And even if it could be accomplished, it would simply increase the cost shift onto employers and do nothing to reduce the cost of premiums.” The issue hits…
Reported by bizjournals 13 hours ago.
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Trump says he's willing to keep 2 key parts of Obamacare that he can't repeal anyway
President-elect Donald Trump on Friday signaled he was willing to keep some parts of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, when he takes office, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trump told Gerard Baker and Monica Langley that he and President Barack Obama spoke about the law during their meeting on Thursday. Trump said he would consider keeping parts of it.
Trump said he is willing to keep the provisions of the law that prevent insurers from denying coverage due to a preexisting condition and that allow children to stay on their parents' health plan until they turn 26 years old, according to the Journal.
"I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that," Trump told the Journal.
Health policy experts have told Business Insider over the last few days that Republicans do not have the filibuster-proof majority needed to repeal these parts of the law, anyway.
Through the budget reconciliation process — which would avoid a drawn out fight and filibuster by Democrats — Republicans can only adjust parts of the law that have to do with the federal government's finances.
These parts include the funding for Medicaid expansion given to states, subsidies for people who receive their health insurance through the ACA marketplaces, and money for outreach to get Americans to sign up through the exchanges.
They do not include statutory measures such as the two provisions Trump said he would consider or others like the inability of insurers to place lifetime limits on plans.
Trump has been in favor of keeping the pre-existing conditions measure before.
Trump's plans, even with these provisions kept, could leave roughly 20 million people without health insurance.
*SEE ALSO: Obamacare is in serious trouble*
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: David Cay Johnston: 'There’s very good reason to believe Trump’s been engaged in tax fraud' Reported by Business Insider 14 hours ago.
Trump told Gerard Baker and Monica Langley that he and President Barack Obama spoke about the law during their meeting on Thursday. Trump said he would consider keeping parts of it.
Trump said he is willing to keep the provisions of the law that prevent insurers from denying coverage due to a preexisting condition and that allow children to stay on their parents' health plan until they turn 26 years old, according to the Journal.
"I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that," Trump told the Journal.
Health policy experts have told Business Insider over the last few days that Republicans do not have the filibuster-proof majority needed to repeal these parts of the law, anyway.
Through the budget reconciliation process — which would avoid a drawn out fight and filibuster by Democrats — Republicans can only adjust parts of the law that have to do with the federal government's finances.
These parts include the funding for Medicaid expansion given to states, subsidies for people who receive their health insurance through the ACA marketplaces, and money for outreach to get Americans to sign up through the exchanges.
They do not include statutory measures such as the two provisions Trump said he would consider or others like the inability of insurers to place lifetime limits on plans.
Trump has been in favor of keeping the pre-existing conditions measure before.
Trump's plans, even with these provisions kept, could leave roughly 20 million people without health insurance.
*SEE ALSO: Obamacare is in serious trouble*
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: David Cay Johnston: 'There’s very good reason to believe Trump’s been engaged in tax fraud' Reported by Business Insider 14 hours ago.
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Trump Says May Keep Parts Of Obamacare
One day after his first and only meeting with Barack Obama, Donald Trump suggested he may take a more flexible view of what to do with Obamacare. “Either Obamacare will be amended, or repealed and replaced,” Trump told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.Trump said that Obama had suggested areas of the health law that should be kept. “I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that,” Mr. Trump said in his Trump Tower office.
Ironically, Trump's walkback comes just day after Trump’s attacks on the health law intensified toward the end of his campaign, and comes on the same day as he suggested he may be more lenient on Dodd-Frank. At his final rally on the eve of the election in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he called for “repealing and replacing the disaster known as Obamacare.” As we reported yesterday, according to Trump’s initial health plan, published yesterday on his transition website, the ACA would be "repealed and replaced."
“A Trump Administration will work with Congress to repeal the ACA and replace it with a solution that includes Health Savings Accounts, and returns the historic role in regulating health insurance to the States,” according to the website.
Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he values two features of the ACA: *a ban on insurers denying coverage to individuals who are sick, and a provision allowing children to stay on their parents’ plans for a period of time.*
His transition website lays out an approach to the issue of coverage for individuals who are sick with so-called "pre-existing conditions" that’s different from the ACA. On the site, Trump says he’d use high-risk pools -- state insurance programs for individuals who are sick or otherwise unable to get coverage -- to cover those with large medical expenses who have “not maintained continuous coverage.” Reported by Zero Hedge 13 hours ago.
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Clinton ignored pro-lifers at her own peril, Democrats say
Washington D.C., Nov 11, 2016 / 02:40 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In the wake of Hillary Clinton's electoral defeat in Tuesday's presidential election, pro-life Democrats and faith voters criticized the party's pro-abortion support and lack of religious outreach.
“Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party decisively lost Tuesday’s election, thanks in large part to the party’s extreme abortion position, which alienated would-be Clinton voters,” the group Democrats for Life of America stated in a press release on Wednesday.
“We cautioned in our DNC Report – Make Room for Pro-Life Democrats & Achieve Party Goals Nationwide – that the party is slowly dying and on the way to being irrelevant if it does not start a dialogue with its pro-life members,” Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, stated.
On Nov. 8 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, earning a majority of electors to become the next president although Clinton narrowly won the popular vote.
Trump, who in 1999 had supported partial-birth abortion, campaigned on a pro-life platform that included promises like a late-term abortion ban and the appointing of pro-life Supreme Court justices.
Clinton, meanwhile, championed access to abortions for women and supported the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, a 40 year-old policy that prohibits federal tax dollars from funding abortions.
Democrats lost many potential voters because of their party’s extreme pro-abortion platform, Day insisted.
She said that in key traditionally-Democratic states that Trump picked up like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Clinton lost many voters like “soft Republicans; anti-abortion Independents, and millions of pro-life voters in her own party” who might have listened to her had she not supported abortion so staunchly.
“One of the reasons she lost these groups is that she championed an extremist abortion platform,” Day said.
The abortion plank of the platform – criticized even by President Obama’s 2012 campaign director of faith outreach Michael Wear as “morally reprehensible” – supported late-term abortions, the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, and also the repeal of the Helms Amendment which prohibited the funding of abortions in foreign aid.
Abortion was mentioned 19 times in the party’s platform, Dr. Matthew Bunson, EWTN senior contributor, told EWTN News Nightly during the Democratic National Convention in July, adding “that itself gives us an idea of the seriousness of this issue for them.”
Many voters – especially those in traditionally-Democratic Rust Belt states that surprisingly fell for Trump – were turned off by this “extremist abortion platform,” Day said.
“Americans want to see wages rise, and they want to see more people protected with health insurance, and they want to protect the environment, but they absolutely do not support abortion-on-demand,” she said. “The Democratic Party is going to be the party of coastal, urban elites if it does not change course and respect the social conscience of pro-life voters.”
One young voter agreed that the pro-abortion platform and rhetoric from Democratic circles was toxic to many Democrats and Republicans.
“The abortion plank of the platform was a figurative middle finger, not only to the 21 million plus pro-life Democrats, but also to those who vote Republican purely because of abortion and the tens of millions of other Democrats who favor some restrictions on abortion,” Robert Christian, editor of Millennial journal, told CNA/EWTN News.
“In a tight election, a lot of things would have pushed Hillary over the top, but we can be certain that abortion absolutism was one that cost her the election,” he added.
Christian said that he heard “from dozens upon dozens of fellow pro-life Democrats and progressives” and “young Catholics who sincerely believe in Catholic moral and social teaching” who could not vote for Hillary due to her pro-abortion policies and rhetoric.
Others complained that the Clinton campaign had overlooked certain religious voters. For example, Clinton lost White Catholics to Trump by 23 points, the largest margin of defeat for that voting bloc for a major presidential candidate since at least the 2000 election. Clinton lost Catholics overall by seven percent.
Michael Wear tweeted on Thursday that “The most basic understanding of religious demographics in America suggested Trump’s only path to victory was Rust Belt White Catholics.”
Wear also implied that the Democrats’ support for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment hurt their standing with Evangelical voters.
“I believe there was an absolute failure to reach out to people of faith by the Clinton campaign,” Christian said, noting that Clinton “rarely talked” about her faith.
“It is tough to overstate how foolish this decision was,” he added.
“Bourgeois liberalism, rooted in enlightened self-interest, social libertarianism, and technocratic pragmatism, is not the right answer to populist nationalism.”
“Democrats need to recommit to solidarity, human dignity, and genuine human equality and rebuild the party around a shared vision of social, economic, and global justice; this can only be done by working with religious humanists of all faith traditions to rebuild the party from the ground up.”
Christopher Hale, executive director of the group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, tweeted that last year, “one Dem official told me that they were going to pursue a ‘post-Christian’ outreach strategy.”
“That worked well,” he tweeted sarcastically. Reported by CNA 13 hours ago.
“Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party decisively lost Tuesday’s election, thanks in large part to the party’s extreme abortion position, which alienated would-be Clinton voters,” the group Democrats for Life of America stated in a press release on Wednesday.
“We cautioned in our DNC Report – Make Room for Pro-Life Democrats & Achieve Party Goals Nationwide – that the party is slowly dying and on the way to being irrelevant if it does not start a dialogue with its pro-life members,” Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, stated.
On Nov. 8 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, earning a majority of electors to become the next president although Clinton narrowly won the popular vote.
Trump, who in 1999 had supported partial-birth abortion, campaigned on a pro-life platform that included promises like a late-term abortion ban and the appointing of pro-life Supreme Court justices.
Clinton, meanwhile, championed access to abortions for women and supported the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, a 40 year-old policy that prohibits federal tax dollars from funding abortions.
Democrats lost many potential voters because of their party’s extreme pro-abortion platform, Day insisted.
She said that in key traditionally-Democratic states that Trump picked up like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Clinton lost many voters like “soft Republicans; anti-abortion Independents, and millions of pro-life voters in her own party” who might have listened to her had she not supported abortion so staunchly.
“One of the reasons she lost these groups is that she championed an extremist abortion platform,” Day said.
The abortion plank of the platform – criticized even by President Obama’s 2012 campaign director of faith outreach Michael Wear as “morally reprehensible” – supported late-term abortions, the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, and also the repeal of the Helms Amendment which prohibited the funding of abortions in foreign aid.
Abortion was mentioned 19 times in the party’s platform, Dr. Matthew Bunson, EWTN senior contributor, told EWTN News Nightly during the Democratic National Convention in July, adding “that itself gives us an idea of the seriousness of this issue for them.”
Many voters – especially those in traditionally-Democratic Rust Belt states that surprisingly fell for Trump – were turned off by this “extremist abortion platform,” Day said.
“Americans want to see wages rise, and they want to see more people protected with health insurance, and they want to protect the environment, but they absolutely do not support abortion-on-demand,” she said. “The Democratic Party is going to be the party of coastal, urban elites if it does not change course and respect the social conscience of pro-life voters.”
One young voter agreed that the pro-abortion platform and rhetoric from Democratic circles was toxic to many Democrats and Republicans.
“The abortion plank of the platform was a figurative middle finger, not only to the 21 million plus pro-life Democrats, but also to those who vote Republican purely because of abortion and the tens of millions of other Democrats who favor some restrictions on abortion,” Robert Christian, editor of Millennial journal, told CNA/EWTN News.
“In a tight election, a lot of things would have pushed Hillary over the top, but we can be certain that abortion absolutism was one that cost her the election,” he added.
Christian said that he heard “from dozens upon dozens of fellow pro-life Democrats and progressives” and “young Catholics who sincerely believe in Catholic moral and social teaching” who could not vote for Hillary due to her pro-abortion policies and rhetoric.
Others complained that the Clinton campaign had overlooked certain religious voters. For example, Clinton lost White Catholics to Trump by 23 points, the largest margin of defeat for that voting bloc for a major presidential candidate since at least the 2000 election. Clinton lost Catholics overall by seven percent.
Michael Wear tweeted on Thursday that “The most basic understanding of religious demographics in America suggested Trump’s only path to victory was Rust Belt White Catholics.”
Wear also implied that the Democrats’ support for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment hurt their standing with Evangelical voters.
“I believe there was an absolute failure to reach out to people of faith by the Clinton campaign,” Christian said, noting that Clinton “rarely talked” about her faith.
“It is tough to overstate how foolish this decision was,” he added.
“Bourgeois liberalism, rooted in enlightened self-interest, social libertarianism, and technocratic pragmatism, is not the right answer to populist nationalism.”
“Democrats need to recommit to solidarity, human dignity, and genuine human equality and rebuild the party around a shared vision of social, economic, and global justice; this can only be done by working with religious humanists of all faith traditions to rebuild the party from the ground up.”
Christopher Hale, executive director of the group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, tweeted that last year, “one Dem official told me that they were going to pursue a ‘post-Christian’ outreach strategy.”
“That worked well,” he tweeted sarcastically. Reported by CNA 13 hours ago.
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Technology May Prevent Trump From Delivering On His Jobs Promise
As the election results rolled in Tuesday night, it became increasingly clear that America — and the world — would never be the same. The American people overlooked all of Republican nominee Donald Trump’s faults and elected him to office in the belief that he will fix the nation’s deep-seated problems of inequity and injustice. And they rebelled against the business interests and corruption that they believed Hillary Clinton represented.
Trump’s victory was enabled by technology — everything from his use of social media to Clinton’s email scandals to Russian hacking. But advancements in technology and how they reshape our economy may also keep him from delivering on some of the major promises that made him so popular during the campaign season.
The truth is that, over recent decades, the rich have been getting richer. Power has shifted to Wall Street and business. Globalization has caused the loss of millions of jobs in the United States. Some white Americans have also been terrified at the changing complexion — and values — of the country. Trump very smartly played to these fears and promised his supporters what he knew they wanted: greater economic opportunity by bringing back jobs shipped overseas.
But those jobs, many in the manufacturing sector, are increasingly done by technology. Machines are learning to do the jobs of manufacturing workers; artificial intelligence-based tools are mastering the jobs of call-center and knowledge workers; and cars are beginning to drive themselves. Over the next decade, technology will decimate more jobs in many professions, inequality will increase and more people will be disadvantaged.
Some robots already cost less to operate than the salaries of the humans they replace, and they are getting cheaper and better. Boston Consulting Group predicts that, by 2025, the operating cost of a robot that does welding will be less than $2 per hour, for example. That’s more affordable than the $25 per hour that a human welder earns today in the U.S., and even cheaper than the pay of skilled workers in the lowest-income countries. Trump may be able to keep immigrants out, but how will he stop the advance of robots?
Uber and many other companies are working on developing cars and trucks that don’t need a driver in the driver’s seat. According to the American Trucking Associations, approximately 3 million truck drivers were employed in the United States in 2010, and 6.8 million others were employed in other jobs relating to trucking activity, including manufacturing trucks, servicing trucks and other types of jobs. So roughly one of every 15 workers in the country is employed in the trucking business. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly another 300,000 people work as taxi drivers and chauffeurs. We could be talking about millions of jobs disappearing in the early 2020s.
And then there is the “Gig Economy” that has some businesses shifting toward part-time, on-demand employment. Uber has already done this to taxi drivers, and other technology companies are doing it to a wide range of jobs. A study by software company Intuit predicted that, by 2020, 40 percent of American workers will be independent contractors, temps or self-employed, and that full-time jobs will be harder to find. We are talking about 60 million people in this category. The problem is that not only do such part-time workers lack reliable full-time jobs and sick pay, but they are not entitled to health insurance and longer-term benefits. Even if Obamacare continued, they would not be able to afford it.
The remedies that are being proposed are to impose trade barriers. But closing the doors to foreign trade won’t bring jobs back. It will only slow the global economy and hurt American exports, thereby shrinking the U.S. economy and accelerating job loss.
The silver lining to this dark cloud is that these technology advances also provide solutions to the problems of humanity, such as a lack of energy, food, education and health care. The production costs of clean energies, such as solar and wind, will keep
As the election results rolled in last night, it became increasingly clear that America — and the world — would never be the same. The American people overlooked all of Republican nominee Donald Trump’s faults and elected him to office in the belief that he will fix the nation’s deep-seated problems of inequity and injustice. And they rebelled against the business interests and corruption that they believed Hillary Clinton represented.
Trump’s victory was enabled by technology — everything from his use of social media to Clinton’s email scandals to Russian hacking. But advancements in technology and how they reshape our economy may also keep him from delivering on some of the major promises that made him so popular during the campaign season.
The truth is that, over recent decades, the rich have been getting richer. Power has shifted to Wall Street and business. Globalization has caused the loss of millions of jobs in the United States. Some white Americans have also been terrified at the changing complexion — and values — of the country. Trump very smartly played to these fears and promised his supporters what he knew they wanted: greater economic opportunity by bringing back jobs shipped overseas.
But those jobs, many in the manufacturing sector, are increasingly done by technology. Machines are learning to do the jobs of manufacturing workers; artificial intelligence-based tools are mastering the jobs of call-center and knowledge workers; and cars are beginning to drive themselves. Over the next decade, technology will decimate more jobs in many professions, inequality will increase and more people will be disadvantaged.
Some robots already cost less to operate than the salaries of the humans they replace, and they are getting cheaper and better. Boston Consulting Group predicts that, by 2025, the operating cost of a robot that does welding will be less than $2 per hour, for example. That’s more affordable than the $25 per hour that a human welder earns today in the U.S., and even cheaper than the pay of skilled workers in the lowest-income countries. Trump may be able to keep immigrants out, but how will he stop the advance of robots?
Uber and many other companies are working on developing cars and trucks that don’t need a driver in the driver’s seat. According to the American Trucking Associations, approximately 3 million truck drivers were employed in the United States in 2010, and 6.8 million others were employed in other jobs relating to trucking activity, including manufacturing trucks, servicing trucks and other types of jobs. So roughly one of every 15 workers in the country is employed in the trucking business. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly another 300,000 people work as taxi drivers and chauffeurs. We could be talking about millions of jobs disappearing in the early 2020s.
And then there is the “Gig Economy” that has some businesses shifting toward part-time, on-demand employment. Uber has already done this to taxi drivers, and other technology companies are doing it to a wide range of jobs. A study by software company Intuit predicted that, by 2020, 40 percent of American workers will be independent contractors, temps or self-employed, and that full-time jobs will be harder to find. We are talking about 60 million people in this category. The problem is that not only do such part-time workers lack reliable full-time jobs and sick pay, but they are not entitled to health insurance and longer-term benefits. Even if Obamacare continued, they would not be able to afford it.
The remedies that are being proposed are to impose trade barriers. But closing the doors to foreign trade won’t bring jobs back. It will only slow the global economy and hurt American exports, thereby shrinking the U.S. economy and accelerating job loss.
The silver lining to this dark cloud is that these technology advances also provide solutions to the problems of humanity, such as a lack of energy, food, education and health care. The production costs of clean energies, such as solar and wind, will keep falling till they are almost free. With artificial intelligence-based applications, we will have digital doctors advising us, and advances in medicine will allow us to live longer and healthier lives. Robots will do our chores; digital tutors will teach us new skills. It becomes possible to provide for everyone’s needs. But all of this requires understanding the cause and effects of inequity and applying more carefully the technologies that are going to change the equation.
We now need a nationwide conversation on how we can distribute the prosperity we are creating. We must create equity and fairness in our legal, justice and economic systems. And, recognizing that technology will disrupt entire industries and wipe out millions of jobs, so we must ease the transition and pain for the people most affected and least prepared. falling till they are almost free. With artificial intelligence-based applications, we will have digital doctors advising us, and advances in medicine will allow us to live longer and healthier lives. Robots will do our chores; digital tutors will teach us new skills. It becomes possible to provide for everyone’s needs. But all of this requires understanding the cause and effects of inequity and applying more carefully the technologies that are going to change the equation.
We now need a nationwide conversation on how we can distribute the prosperity we are creating. We must create equity and fairness in our legal, justice and economic systems. And, recognizing that technology will disrupt entire industries and wipe out millions of jobs, so we must ease the transition and pain for the people most affected and least prepared.
*For more, follow me on Twitter: @wadhwa or visit my website: www.wadhwa.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 12 hours ago.
Trump’s victory was enabled by technology — everything from his use of social media to Clinton’s email scandals to Russian hacking. But advancements in technology and how they reshape our economy may also keep him from delivering on some of the major promises that made him so popular during the campaign season.
The truth is that, over recent decades, the rich have been getting richer. Power has shifted to Wall Street and business. Globalization has caused the loss of millions of jobs in the United States. Some white Americans have also been terrified at the changing complexion — and values — of the country. Trump very smartly played to these fears and promised his supporters what he knew they wanted: greater economic opportunity by bringing back jobs shipped overseas.
But those jobs, many in the manufacturing sector, are increasingly done by technology. Machines are learning to do the jobs of manufacturing workers; artificial intelligence-based tools are mastering the jobs of call-center and knowledge workers; and cars are beginning to drive themselves. Over the next decade, technology will decimate more jobs in many professions, inequality will increase and more people will be disadvantaged.
Some robots already cost less to operate than the salaries of the humans they replace, and they are getting cheaper and better. Boston Consulting Group predicts that, by 2025, the operating cost of a robot that does welding will be less than $2 per hour, for example. That’s more affordable than the $25 per hour that a human welder earns today in the U.S., and even cheaper than the pay of skilled workers in the lowest-income countries. Trump may be able to keep immigrants out, but how will he stop the advance of robots?
Uber and many other companies are working on developing cars and trucks that don’t need a driver in the driver’s seat. According to the American Trucking Associations, approximately 3 million truck drivers were employed in the United States in 2010, and 6.8 million others were employed in other jobs relating to trucking activity, including manufacturing trucks, servicing trucks and other types of jobs. So roughly one of every 15 workers in the country is employed in the trucking business. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly another 300,000 people work as taxi drivers and chauffeurs. We could be talking about millions of jobs disappearing in the early 2020s.
And then there is the “Gig Economy” that has some businesses shifting toward part-time, on-demand employment. Uber has already done this to taxi drivers, and other technology companies are doing it to a wide range of jobs. A study by software company Intuit predicted that, by 2020, 40 percent of American workers will be independent contractors, temps or self-employed, and that full-time jobs will be harder to find. We are talking about 60 million people in this category. The problem is that not only do such part-time workers lack reliable full-time jobs and sick pay, but they are not entitled to health insurance and longer-term benefits. Even if Obamacare continued, they would not be able to afford it.
The remedies that are being proposed are to impose trade barriers. But closing the doors to foreign trade won’t bring jobs back. It will only slow the global economy and hurt American exports, thereby shrinking the U.S. economy and accelerating job loss.
The silver lining to this dark cloud is that these technology advances also provide solutions to the problems of humanity, such as a lack of energy, food, education and health care. The production costs of clean energies, such as solar and wind, will keep
As the election results rolled in last night, it became increasingly clear that America — and the world — would never be the same. The American people overlooked all of Republican nominee Donald Trump’s faults and elected him to office in the belief that he will fix the nation’s deep-seated problems of inequity and injustice. And they rebelled against the business interests and corruption that they believed Hillary Clinton represented.
Trump’s victory was enabled by technology — everything from his use of social media to Clinton’s email scandals to Russian hacking. But advancements in technology and how they reshape our economy may also keep him from delivering on some of the major promises that made him so popular during the campaign season.
The truth is that, over recent decades, the rich have been getting richer. Power has shifted to Wall Street and business. Globalization has caused the loss of millions of jobs in the United States. Some white Americans have also been terrified at the changing complexion — and values — of the country. Trump very smartly played to these fears and promised his supporters what he knew they wanted: greater economic opportunity by bringing back jobs shipped overseas.
But those jobs, many in the manufacturing sector, are increasingly done by technology. Machines are learning to do the jobs of manufacturing workers; artificial intelligence-based tools are mastering the jobs of call-center and knowledge workers; and cars are beginning to drive themselves. Over the next decade, technology will decimate more jobs in many professions, inequality will increase and more people will be disadvantaged.
Some robots already cost less to operate than the salaries of the humans they replace, and they are getting cheaper and better. Boston Consulting Group predicts that, by 2025, the operating cost of a robot that does welding will be less than $2 per hour, for example. That’s more affordable than the $25 per hour that a human welder earns today in the U.S., and even cheaper than the pay of skilled workers in the lowest-income countries. Trump may be able to keep immigrants out, but how will he stop the advance of robots?
Uber and many other companies are working on developing cars and trucks that don’t need a driver in the driver’s seat. According to the American Trucking Associations, approximately 3 million truck drivers were employed in the United States in 2010, and 6.8 million others were employed in other jobs relating to trucking activity, including manufacturing trucks, servicing trucks and other types of jobs. So roughly one of every 15 workers in the country is employed in the trucking business. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly another 300,000 people work as taxi drivers and chauffeurs. We could be talking about millions of jobs disappearing in the early 2020s.
And then there is the “Gig Economy” that has some businesses shifting toward part-time, on-demand employment. Uber has already done this to taxi drivers, and other technology companies are doing it to a wide range of jobs. A study by software company Intuit predicted that, by 2020, 40 percent of American workers will be independent contractors, temps or self-employed, and that full-time jobs will be harder to find. We are talking about 60 million people in this category. The problem is that not only do such part-time workers lack reliable full-time jobs and sick pay, but they are not entitled to health insurance and longer-term benefits. Even if Obamacare continued, they would not be able to afford it.
The remedies that are being proposed are to impose trade barriers. But closing the doors to foreign trade won’t bring jobs back. It will only slow the global economy and hurt American exports, thereby shrinking the U.S. economy and accelerating job loss.
The silver lining to this dark cloud is that these technology advances also provide solutions to the problems of humanity, such as a lack of energy, food, education and health care. The production costs of clean energies, such as solar and wind, will keep falling till they are almost free. With artificial intelligence-based applications, we will have digital doctors advising us, and advances in medicine will allow us to live longer and healthier lives. Robots will do our chores; digital tutors will teach us new skills. It becomes possible to provide for everyone’s needs. But all of this requires understanding the cause and effects of inequity and applying more carefully the technologies that are going to change the equation.
We now need a nationwide conversation on how we can distribute the prosperity we are creating. We must create equity and fairness in our legal, justice and economic systems. And, recognizing that technology will disrupt entire industries and wipe out millions of jobs, so we must ease the transition and pain for the people most affected and least prepared. falling till they are almost free. With artificial intelligence-based applications, we will have digital doctors advising us, and advances in medicine will allow us to live longer and healthier lives. Robots will do our chores; digital tutors will teach us new skills. It becomes possible to provide for everyone’s needs. But all of this requires understanding the cause and effects of inequity and applying more carefully the technologies that are going to change the equation.
We now need a nationwide conversation on how we can distribute the prosperity we are creating. We must create equity and fairness in our legal, justice and economic systems. And, recognizing that technology will disrupt entire industries and wipe out millions of jobs, so we must ease the transition and pain for the people most affected and least prepared.
*For more, follow me on Twitter: @wadhwa or visit my website: www.wadhwa.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 12 hours ago.
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The Bottom Drops Out
Sometimes life tests you in ways you never expected.
The election that shocked the nation dealt a stunning blow to our efforts to make this country more fair, family friendly and healthy.
The loss was especially bitter because it came at a time when we were hoping to see our nation elect its first woman president - and not just any woman, but Hillary Clinton, a spectacularly well-qualified candidate and one of very few public officials to devote an entire career to advancing policies that promote fairness, equality, health and prosperity. We must not forget her grace and resilience, her eloquence in demanding respect and dignity for all women, and the fact that a majority of America's voters cast their ballots for her.
We anticipated being able to spend the next few years making the progress America needs - securing our right to choose abortion and access to contraception, making pay fair, giving all workers the right to earn paid sick days, enacting a national paid family and medical leave program, building on the Affordable Care Act so we can all get quality health care and live in communities that help us thrive.
But the bottom dropped out.
We ache today for every child of immigrants whose nightmares are returning - for all the children with disabilities who feel the anguish of being mocked every time they see Donald Trump and for all the parents who are trying to help those children through confusion, shock and pain - for all children who now feel even more unsafe and unwelcome due to their race, religion or ethnicity.
We ache for all the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer teens who know, already, that the bullies who menace and harm them are emboldened by this election.
We ache for every hardworking family struggling to make ends meet who saw long-overdue relief slip away Tuesday night - and for the growing number of families with frail, sick elders who fear that a functional, affordable health care system is now further from reach.
We ache for every person who has been profiled, felt the sting of discrimination or been victimized by baseless suspicion and knows it is going to get worse, not better. We ache for the generation growing up in our country which, for now, is not all that it could be.
We ache for every woman and girl who has been overlooked, disempowered, harassed, assaulted or violated because of her gender.
We recognize that progress rarely comes in straight lines - and we are absolutely determined to turn this pain into action. We have been facing down misogyny, racism, xenophobia, hatred and injustice for as long as we can remember and we will continue doing so, for as long as it takes.
We have a lot to learn about why people voted the way they did in this election but there is one thing we know: This was not a mandate for Donald Trump to overturn Roe v. Wade - to fuel gender, race, religious and other forms of discrimination - to deny low-wage workers fair pay, overtime wages and paid sick days - to repeal Obamacare and take health insurance away from 20 million people - to slow the progress on paid family and medical leave.
One path closed to us on Tuesday night ... so we will forge another.
The bottom dropped out ... but we will again find solid ground.
We are poised and ready to fight every single attempt to roll back the clock on our rights and our progress, every hour of every day, until the threats to every one of us are gone. We will be on the frontlines, building unity and solidarity where there is division. We feel a greater responsibility than ever to advance our vision of a country in which nobody has to face bias or discrimination, policies are compassionate and humane, workplaces are family friendly, and no family is without quality, affordable health care and real economic security.
Our values are America's values. Our resolve is unmatched. And our work has never mattered more.
Debra L. Ness is president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
-- 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 11 hours ago.
The election that shocked the nation dealt a stunning blow to our efforts to make this country more fair, family friendly and healthy.
The loss was especially bitter because it came at a time when we were hoping to see our nation elect its first woman president - and not just any woman, but Hillary Clinton, a spectacularly well-qualified candidate and one of very few public officials to devote an entire career to advancing policies that promote fairness, equality, health and prosperity. We must not forget her grace and resilience, her eloquence in demanding respect and dignity for all women, and the fact that a majority of America's voters cast their ballots for her.
We anticipated being able to spend the next few years making the progress America needs - securing our right to choose abortion and access to contraception, making pay fair, giving all workers the right to earn paid sick days, enacting a national paid family and medical leave program, building on the Affordable Care Act so we can all get quality health care and live in communities that help us thrive.
But the bottom dropped out.
We ache today for every child of immigrants whose nightmares are returning - for all the children with disabilities who feel the anguish of being mocked every time they see Donald Trump and for all the parents who are trying to help those children through confusion, shock and pain - for all children who now feel even more unsafe and unwelcome due to their race, religion or ethnicity.
We ache for all the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer teens who know, already, that the bullies who menace and harm them are emboldened by this election.
We ache for every hardworking family struggling to make ends meet who saw long-overdue relief slip away Tuesday night - and for the growing number of families with frail, sick elders who fear that a functional, affordable health care system is now further from reach.
We ache for every person who has been profiled, felt the sting of discrimination or been victimized by baseless suspicion and knows it is going to get worse, not better. We ache for the generation growing up in our country which, for now, is not all that it could be.
We ache for every woman and girl who has been overlooked, disempowered, harassed, assaulted or violated because of her gender.
We recognize that progress rarely comes in straight lines - and we are absolutely determined to turn this pain into action. We have been facing down misogyny, racism, xenophobia, hatred and injustice for as long as we can remember and we will continue doing so, for as long as it takes.
We have a lot to learn about why people voted the way they did in this election but there is one thing we know: This was not a mandate for Donald Trump to overturn Roe v. Wade - to fuel gender, race, religious and other forms of discrimination - to deny low-wage workers fair pay, overtime wages and paid sick days - to repeal Obamacare and take health insurance away from 20 million people - to slow the progress on paid family and medical leave.
One path closed to us on Tuesday night ... so we will forge another.
The bottom dropped out ... but we will again find solid ground.
We are poised and ready to fight every single attempt to roll back the clock on our rights and our progress, every hour of every day, until the threats to every one of us are gone. We will be on the frontlines, building unity and solidarity where there is division. We feel a greater responsibility than ever to advance our vision of a country in which nobody has to face bias or discrimination, policies are compassionate and humane, workplaces are family friendly, and no family is without quality, affordable health care and real economic security.
Our values are America's values. Our resolve is unmatched. And our work has never mattered more.
Debra L. Ness is president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
-- 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 11 hours ago.
↧
Donald Trump says he's considering keeping parts of Obamacare
The law has enabled millions of American citizens who previously had no health insurance to obtain coverage, but US Republicans oppose it and call it a government overreach.
Reported by DNA 8 hours ago.
↧
Pro-Life Democrats Criticize Clinton Campaign’s Lack Of Religious Outreach
By Matt Hadro
In the wake of Hillary Clinton’s electoral defeat in Tuesday’s presidential election, pro-life Democrats and faith voters criticized the party’s pro-abortion support and lack of religious outreach.
“Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party decisively lost Tuesday’s election, thanks in large part to the party’s extreme abortion position, which alienated would-be Clinton voters,” the group Democrats for Life of America stated in a press release on Wednesday.
“We cautioned in our DNC Report – Make Room for Pro-Life Democrats & Achieve Party Goals Nationwide – that the party is slowly dying and on the way to being irrelevant if it does not start a dialogue with its pro-life members,” Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, stated.
On Nov. 8 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, earning a majority of electors to become the next president although Clinton narrowly won the popular vote.
Trump, who in 1999 had supported partial-birth abortion, campaigned on a pro-life platform that included promises like a late-term abortion ban and the appointing of pro-life Supreme Court justices.
Clinton, meanwhile, championed access to abortions for women and supported the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, a 40 year-old policy that prohibits federal tax dollars from funding abortions.
Democrats lost many potential voters because of their party’s extreme pro-abortion platform, Day insisted.
She said that in key traditionally-Democratic states that Trump picked up like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Clinton lost many voters like “soft Republicans; anti-abortion Independents, and millions of pro-life voters in her own party” who might have listened to her had she not supported abortion so staunchly.
“One of the reasons she lost these groups is that she championed an extremist abortion platform,” Day said.
The abortion plank of the platform – criticized even by President Obama’s 2012 campaign director of faith outreach Michael Wear as “morally reprehensible” – supported late-term abortions, the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, and also the repeal of the Helms Amendment which prohibited the funding of abortions in foreign aid.
Abortion was mentioned 19 times in the party’s platform, Dr. Matthew Bunson, EWTN senior contributor, told EWTN News Nightly during the Democratic National Convention in July, adding “that itself gives us an idea of the seriousness of this issue for them.”
Many voters – especially those in traditionally-Democratic Rust Belt states that surprisingly fell for Trump – were turned off by this “extremist abortion platform,” Day said.
“Americans want to see wages rise, and they want to see more people protected with health insurance, and they want to protect the environment, but they absolutely do not support abortion-on-demand,” she said. “The Democratic Party is going to be the party of coastal, urban elites if it does not change course and respect the social conscience of pro-life voters.”
One young voter agreed that the pro-abortion platform and rhetoric from Democratic circles was toxic to many Democrats and Republicans.
“The abortion plank of the platform was a figurative middle finger, not only to the 21 million plus pro-life Democrats, but also to those who vote Republican purely because of abortion and the tens of millions of other Democrats who favor some restrictions on abortion,” Robert Christian, editor of Millennial journal, told CNA/EWTN News.
“In a tight election, a lot of things would have pushed Hillary over the top, but we can be certain that abortion absolutism was one that cost her the election,” he added.
Christian said that he heard “from dozens upon dozens of fellow pro-life Democrats and progressives” and “young Catholics who sincerely believe in Catholic moral and social teaching” who could not vote for Hillary due to her pro-abortion policies and rhetoric.
Others complained that the Clinton campaign had overlooked certain religious voters. For example, Clinton lost White Catholics to Trump by 23 points, the largest margin of defeat for that voting bloc for a major presidential candidate since at least the 2000 election. Clinton lost Catholics overall by seven percent.
Michael Wear tweeted on Thursday that “The most basic understanding of religious demographics in America suggested Trump’s only path to victory was Rust Belt White Catholics.”
Wear also implied that the Democrats’ support for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment hurt their standing with Evangelical voters.
“I believe there was an absolute failure to reach out to people of faith by the Clinton campaign,” Christian said, noting that Clinton “rarely talked” about her faith.
“It is tough to overstate how foolish this decision was,” he added.
“Bourgeois liberalism, rooted in enlightened self-interest, social libertarianism, and technocratic pragmatism, is not the right answer to populist nationalism.”
“Democrats need to recommit to solidarity, human dignity, and genuine human equality and rebuild the party around a shared vision of social, economic, and global justice; this can only be done by working with religious humanists of all faith traditions to rebuild the party from the ground up.”
Christopher Hale, executive director of the group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, tweeted that last year, “one Dem official told me that they were going to pursue a ‘post-Christian’ outreach strategy.”
“That worked well,” he tweeted sarcastically. Reported by Eurasia Review 4 hours ago.
In the wake of Hillary Clinton’s electoral defeat in Tuesday’s presidential election, pro-life Democrats and faith voters criticized the party’s pro-abortion support and lack of religious outreach.
“Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party decisively lost Tuesday’s election, thanks in large part to the party’s extreme abortion position, which alienated would-be Clinton voters,” the group Democrats for Life of America stated in a press release on Wednesday.
“We cautioned in our DNC Report – Make Room for Pro-Life Democrats & Achieve Party Goals Nationwide – that the party is slowly dying and on the way to being irrelevant if it does not start a dialogue with its pro-life members,” Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, stated.
On Nov. 8 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, earning a majority of electors to become the next president although Clinton narrowly won the popular vote.
Trump, who in 1999 had supported partial-birth abortion, campaigned on a pro-life platform that included promises like a late-term abortion ban and the appointing of pro-life Supreme Court justices.
Clinton, meanwhile, championed access to abortions for women and supported the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, a 40 year-old policy that prohibits federal tax dollars from funding abortions.
Democrats lost many potential voters because of their party’s extreme pro-abortion platform, Day insisted.
She said that in key traditionally-Democratic states that Trump picked up like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Clinton lost many voters like “soft Republicans; anti-abortion Independents, and millions of pro-life voters in her own party” who might have listened to her had she not supported abortion so staunchly.
“One of the reasons she lost these groups is that she championed an extremist abortion platform,” Day said.
The abortion plank of the platform – criticized even by President Obama’s 2012 campaign director of faith outreach Michael Wear as “morally reprehensible” – supported late-term abortions, the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, and also the repeal of the Helms Amendment which prohibited the funding of abortions in foreign aid.
Abortion was mentioned 19 times in the party’s platform, Dr. Matthew Bunson, EWTN senior contributor, told EWTN News Nightly during the Democratic National Convention in July, adding “that itself gives us an idea of the seriousness of this issue for them.”
Many voters – especially those in traditionally-Democratic Rust Belt states that surprisingly fell for Trump – were turned off by this “extremist abortion platform,” Day said.
“Americans want to see wages rise, and they want to see more people protected with health insurance, and they want to protect the environment, but they absolutely do not support abortion-on-demand,” she said. “The Democratic Party is going to be the party of coastal, urban elites if it does not change course and respect the social conscience of pro-life voters.”
One young voter agreed that the pro-abortion platform and rhetoric from Democratic circles was toxic to many Democrats and Republicans.
“The abortion plank of the platform was a figurative middle finger, not only to the 21 million plus pro-life Democrats, but also to those who vote Republican purely because of abortion and the tens of millions of other Democrats who favor some restrictions on abortion,” Robert Christian, editor of Millennial journal, told CNA/EWTN News.
“In a tight election, a lot of things would have pushed Hillary over the top, but we can be certain that abortion absolutism was one that cost her the election,” he added.
Christian said that he heard “from dozens upon dozens of fellow pro-life Democrats and progressives” and “young Catholics who sincerely believe in Catholic moral and social teaching” who could not vote for Hillary due to her pro-abortion policies and rhetoric.
Others complained that the Clinton campaign had overlooked certain religious voters. For example, Clinton lost White Catholics to Trump by 23 points, the largest margin of defeat for that voting bloc for a major presidential candidate since at least the 2000 election. Clinton lost Catholics overall by seven percent.
Michael Wear tweeted on Thursday that “The most basic understanding of religious demographics in America suggested Trump’s only path to victory was Rust Belt White Catholics.”
Wear also implied that the Democrats’ support for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment hurt their standing with Evangelical voters.
“I believe there was an absolute failure to reach out to people of faith by the Clinton campaign,” Christian said, noting that Clinton “rarely talked” about her faith.
“It is tough to overstate how foolish this decision was,” he added.
“Bourgeois liberalism, rooted in enlightened self-interest, social libertarianism, and technocratic pragmatism, is not the right answer to populist nationalism.”
“Democrats need to recommit to solidarity, human dignity, and genuine human equality and rebuild the party around a shared vision of social, economic, and global justice; this can only be done by working with religious humanists of all faith traditions to rebuild the party from the ground up.”
Christopher Hale, executive director of the group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, tweeted that last year, “one Dem official told me that they were going to pursue a ‘post-Christian’ outreach strategy.”
“That worked well,” he tweeted sarcastically. Reported by Eurasia Review 4 hours ago.
↧
↧
Trump Win An Indictment On Republican Party – OpEd
By Somar Wijayadasa*
After an acrimonious election that lacked a dialogue on policy issues but filled with animosity and innuendo, Donald J. Trump won the presidency in a stunning upset that has surprised the whole world.
He single-handedly won the election despite the Republicans in Washington shamefully spurned the Republican nominee with disdain and contempt. Even the major media outlets jumped on the bandwagon indiscriminately bashing Trump’s every word. Even three days after elections, the media was still stirring the cesspool.
Trump’s win is not a win for the Republican Party because Americans voted to prove their absolute repugnance and distrust of the “established political order” in Washington.
As a former Republican, I wish to point out a few important policy changes that Trump has proposed, and if implemented would bode well for all citizens of this great country.
*Unity in Diversity*
Trump promised to unify the Republican Party and the country. Republicans should seriously contemplate on reorganizing the Grand Old Party (GOP) to recognize the aspirations of ALL citizens of this country – especially to embrace changing demographics if it wishes to be recognized as a true national party.
I doubt whether GOP could truthfully embrace changing demographics of this country. It may continue as a shrinking party of middle-aged and older white men. I hope Trump would take the courage to motivate the Republicans in Washington to mobilize the diverse ethnicities in our country with status, direction, purpose and dignity.
*Health Care Reform*
Almost all GOP candidates vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) known as Obamacare. Though Obamacare is not a panacea for all ills, let’s not forget that regardless of its deficiencies and rising costs, it is a blessing for millions of people.
It is shameful that the richest country in the world has miserably failed in its duty to provide universal health care for all its citizens – even though the United States (U.S.) spends more per capita on publicly funded health care than almost every other country in the developed world.
Combined public and private spending on health care in the U.S. came to $8,233 per person in 2010, more than twice as much as relatively rich European countries such as France, Sweden and Britain that provide free health care to all their citizens.
The problem is that in America, health care is used as an “opportunity” to get rich, not as an opportunity to provide compassionate and affordable health care services.
Why can’t care providers (doctors, labs and hospitals) have a standard fee that is fair, just and reasonable to all – rich and poor, insured or not? Why do we have to pay five times more than what Europeans pay for the same medications? Health care cannot work as a for-profit enterprise. It is a basic right of all human beings.
Therefore, instead of repealing Obamacare, Washington should strive to improve on it by converting it into a single-payer health insurance system, and find ways to stop price gauging on life-saving medications.
*Rebuild America: Infrastructure Development*
Trump promised to boost spending on new roads and bridges to build infrastructure in this country which is a monumental task when we are bogged down in a $22 Trillion dollar deficit, and spend colossal amounts on foreign wars.
Since Trump is a successful businessman, I assume that his Tax Law changes and his plan to encourage U.S. multinationals to bring back the 2.5 Trillion dollars they hold overseas would provide – to some extent – the much needed funding for infrastructure development.
Trump can also save trillions of dollars if he keeps his promise not to engage in foreign wars.
Many American researchers estimate that the costs of our wars in the Middle East could be more than $6 Trillion dollars. This colossal amount could have been invested in our schools, hospitals, rebuild collapsing infrastructure, and provide Universal healthcare to all our citizens.
Let’s not forget that wars make millionaires out of our tax dollars, and no matter how much we spend or sacrifice, these countries in the Middle East will form radical Islamic governments that hate America.
According to Foreign policy expert Michael Burleigh, the Trump Presidency could witness “the end of a cycle of ill-conceived overseas interventions and fifteen years of incessant war, and the dawn of a harder edged attitude to America’s friends, ‘frenemies’ and foes alike”.
*Term Limits for Congressmen and restrict Lobbyists*
Vowing to “drain the swamp in Washington D.C.”, Trump proposed a package of ethics reforms.
Saying that “decades of failure in Washington, and decades of special interest dealing must come to an end,” Trump called for an amendment to the Constitution to implement term limits on members of Congress under which members of the House of Representatives would serve a maximum of six years, while Senators would be limited to 12 years in office.
For this initiative, Trump has a partner in Congress. In 2012, the Washington Post quoted (current Speaker) Paul Ryan: “I’ve always supported that in Congress. That takes a constitutional amendment. I’ve always believed that this should be something that you serve temporary, not for an entire lifetime.”
In 2013, a Gallup survey noted that, if given the option, 75 percent of Americans would vote for term limits for both the House and Senate.
Furthermore, Trump said that he would ban executive branch officials from becoming lobbyists for five years after leaving the government and would never allow senior officials to lobby on behalf of a foreign government.
I would like to see politicians act on their words. Never in our history has the need for term limits been more desperate.
*Nuclear Weapons*
Trump has not taken a firm position on nuclear weapons. His comments range from “biggest problem, in the world, is nuclear, and proliferation”, “I will be the last to use nuclear weapons”, “I will have a military that’s so strong and powerful, and so respected, we’re not gonna have to nuke anybody”, but “I don’t want to rule out anything.”
Nuclear weapons are the most inhumane and dangerous weapons on earth which can annihilate whole cities, potentially kill millions of people, and destroy the natural environment and lives of future generations through its long-term catastrophic effects.
Saner American Presidents have spoken about the need to abolish nuclear weapons.
For example, John F. Kennedy said that these nuclear weapons “must be abolished before they abolish us”; Ronald Reagan said, “We must never stop until nuclear arms have been banished from the face of the Earth”; and in a 2009 Prague speech, Barack Obama vowed to take “concrete steps toward a world without nuclear weapons”.
But that never materialized. Hope Trump takes steps to eliminate nuclear weapons.
*Climate Change*
Trump has threatened to pull America out of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change that commits almost every country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also proposed an incoherent energy plan aimed at reviving the coal industry.
If implemented, these are disasters that would create lasting harm to everything from global biodiversity to food availability. I hope his advisers enlighten him that “climate change is not a hoax”.
All of the above issues did not surface overnight. These should have been resolved decades ago for the common good of all Americans.
**Somar Wijayadasa* was a Delegate of UNESCO to the UN General Assembly from 1985-1995, and was Representative of UNAIDS at the United Nations from 1995-2000. Reported by Eurasia Review 4 hours ago.
After an acrimonious election that lacked a dialogue on policy issues but filled with animosity and innuendo, Donald J. Trump won the presidency in a stunning upset that has surprised the whole world.
He single-handedly won the election despite the Republicans in Washington shamefully spurned the Republican nominee with disdain and contempt. Even the major media outlets jumped on the bandwagon indiscriminately bashing Trump’s every word. Even three days after elections, the media was still stirring the cesspool.
Trump’s win is not a win for the Republican Party because Americans voted to prove their absolute repugnance and distrust of the “established political order” in Washington.
As a former Republican, I wish to point out a few important policy changes that Trump has proposed, and if implemented would bode well for all citizens of this great country.
*Unity in Diversity*
Trump promised to unify the Republican Party and the country. Republicans should seriously contemplate on reorganizing the Grand Old Party (GOP) to recognize the aspirations of ALL citizens of this country – especially to embrace changing demographics if it wishes to be recognized as a true national party.
I doubt whether GOP could truthfully embrace changing demographics of this country. It may continue as a shrinking party of middle-aged and older white men. I hope Trump would take the courage to motivate the Republicans in Washington to mobilize the diverse ethnicities in our country with status, direction, purpose and dignity.
*Health Care Reform*
Almost all GOP candidates vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) known as Obamacare. Though Obamacare is not a panacea for all ills, let’s not forget that regardless of its deficiencies and rising costs, it is a blessing for millions of people.
It is shameful that the richest country in the world has miserably failed in its duty to provide universal health care for all its citizens – even though the United States (U.S.) spends more per capita on publicly funded health care than almost every other country in the developed world.
Combined public and private spending on health care in the U.S. came to $8,233 per person in 2010, more than twice as much as relatively rich European countries such as France, Sweden and Britain that provide free health care to all their citizens.
The problem is that in America, health care is used as an “opportunity” to get rich, not as an opportunity to provide compassionate and affordable health care services.
Why can’t care providers (doctors, labs and hospitals) have a standard fee that is fair, just and reasonable to all – rich and poor, insured or not? Why do we have to pay five times more than what Europeans pay for the same medications? Health care cannot work as a for-profit enterprise. It is a basic right of all human beings.
Therefore, instead of repealing Obamacare, Washington should strive to improve on it by converting it into a single-payer health insurance system, and find ways to stop price gauging on life-saving medications.
*Rebuild America: Infrastructure Development*
Trump promised to boost spending on new roads and bridges to build infrastructure in this country which is a monumental task when we are bogged down in a $22 Trillion dollar deficit, and spend colossal amounts on foreign wars.
Since Trump is a successful businessman, I assume that his Tax Law changes and his plan to encourage U.S. multinationals to bring back the 2.5 Trillion dollars they hold overseas would provide – to some extent – the much needed funding for infrastructure development.
Trump can also save trillions of dollars if he keeps his promise not to engage in foreign wars.
Many American researchers estimate that the costs of our wars in the Middle East could be more than $6 Trillion dollars. This colossal amount could have been invested in our schools, hospitals, rebuild collapsing infrastructure, and provide Universal healthcare to all our citizens.
Let’s not forget that wars make millionaires out of our tax dollars, and no matter how much we spend or sacrifice, these countries in the Middle East will form radical Islamic governments that hate America.
According to Foreign policy expert Michael Burleigh, the Trump Presidency could witness “the end of a cycle of ill-conceived overseas interventions and fifteen years of incessant war, and the dawn of a harder edged attitude to America’s friends, ‘frenemies’ and foes alike”.
*Term Limits for Congressmen and restrict Lobbyists*
Vowing to “drain the swamp in Washington D.C.”, Trump proposed a package of ethics reforms.
Saying that “decades of failure in Washington, and decades of special interest dealing must come to an end,” Trump called for an amendment to the Constitution to implement term limits on members of Congress under which members of the House of Representatives would serve a maximum of six years, while Senators would be limited to 12 years in office.
For this initiative, Trump has a partner in Congress. In 2012, the Washington Post quoted (current Speaker) Paul Ryan: “I’ve always supported that in Congress. That takes a constitutional amendment. I’ve always believed that this should be something that you serve temporary, not for an entire lifetime.”
In 2013, a Gallup survey noted that, if given the option, 75 percent of Americans would vote for term limits for both the House and Senate.
Furthermore, Trump said that he would ban executive branch officials from becoming lobbyists for five years after leaving the government and would never allow senior officials to lobby on behalf of a foreign government.
I would like to see politicians act on their words. Never in our history has the need for term limits been more desperate.
*Nuclear Weapons*
Trump has not taken a firm position on nuclear weapons. His comments range from “biggest problem, in the world, is nuclear, and proliferation”, “I will be the last to use nuclear weapons”, “I will have a military that’s so strong and powerful, and so respected, we’re not gonna have to nuke anybody”, but “I don’t want to rule out anything.”
Nuclear weapons are the most inhumane and dangerous weapons on earth which can annihilate whole cities, potentially kill millions of people, and destroy the natural environment and lives of future generations through its long-term catastrophic effects.
Saner American Presidents have spoken about the need to abolish nuclear weapons.
For example, John F. Kennedy said that these nuclear weapons “must be abolished before they abolish us”; Ronald Reagan said, “We must never stop until nuclear arms have been banished from the face of the Earth”; and in a 2009 Prague speech, Barack Obama vowed to take “concrete steps toward a world without nuclear weapons”.
But that never materialized. Hope Trump takes steps to eliminate nuclear weapons.
*Climate Change*
Trump has threatened to pull America out of the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change that commits almost every country to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also proposed an incoherent energy plan aimed at reviving the coal industry.
If implemented, these are disasters that would create lasting harm to everything from global biodiversity to food availability. I hope his advisers enlighten him that “climate change is not a hoax”.
All of the above issues did not surface overnight. These should have been resolved decades ago for the common good of all Americans.
**Somar Wijayadasa* was a Delegate of UNESCO to the UN General Assembly from 1985-1995, and was Representative of UNAIDS at the United Nations from 1995-2000. Reported by Eurasia Review 4 hours ago.
↧
What Trump might really do with health care
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has said he may keep some parts of his predecessor's signature health care overhaul. -All or most of the Affordable Care Act's tax increases on upper-income individuals and the health care industry. -The Medicaid expansion in President Barack Obama's law, which has provided coverage to an estimated 9 million low-income people. - Current rules that require women employees of religious-affiliated institutions such as colleges, hospitals and charities, to be offered coverage for contraceptives as a free preventive health benefit. -Some kind of new limit on the tax-free status of employer-provided health insurance, applying to the most generous plans.
Reported by SeattlePI.com 22 hours ago.
↧
Republicans To Attack Obamacare Through Regulation
Congressional Republicans are looking for the quickest ways to tear down Obamacare following Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president, including rapidly confirming a new health secretary who could recast regulations while waiting for lawmakers to pass sweeping repeal legislation.
Trump’s victory on Tuesday means Republicans will control the White House, Senate and House of Representatives. But congressional Democrats are expected to put up a huge fight against Republican efforts to repeal the 2010 law considered President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement.
The Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, has provided 25 million previously uninsured Americans with health coverage. Republicans have launched repeated legal and legislative efforts to dismantle the law, which they call a government overreach.
Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, a member of Senate Republican leadership, said one way for the incoming president and Congress to attack Obamacare immediately after Trump takes office on Jan. 20 would be to quickly confirm a new secretary of Health and Human Services, the official who writes the rules and regulations that enforce the law.
“We could confirm someone on Jan. 20 who could come in immediately and could be working right now on rewriting rules and regulations to give more freedom and choice to the states, to insurance companies and to businesses that are trying to provide affordable care to their workers,” Barrasso said in a telephone interview.
Barrasso noted that the Senate needs only a simple majority vote in the 100-seat chamber to confirm Cabinet members, as opposed to 60 votes to overcome procedural hurdles the Democrats could present to repeal legislation.
Passing repeal legislation “is not a ‘Day One’ activity. But a new secretary of HHS going after the regulations can be a ‘Day One’ activity,” Barrasso added.
Trump during the campaign called Obamacare “a disaster” and joined fellow Republicans in vowing to repeal and replace it with proposals like tax-free health savings accounts. His transition website says Trump wants a solution that “returns the historic role in regulating health insurance to the states.”
In repealing Obamacare, congressional Republican may have to resort to a special procedure known as reconciliation to get around Democrats in the Senate, where rules protect the rights of the minority party.
Republicans in Congress used reconciliation to try to undo large chunks of Obamacare in January, but Obama vetoed the legislation. The bill would have wiped out tax subsidies provided to help people afford insurance coverage, as well as tax penalties on people who do not obtain insurance as required by the law, and would have eliminated expansion of the Medicaid insurance health insurance program.
Republican Representative Chris Collins of New York, one of Trump’s earliest supporters on Capitol Hill, said he hopes Congress can pass a similar bill gutting Obamacare within Trump’s first 100 days in office, a promise Trump made during the presidential campaign. But some changes will doubtless be phased in over time, Collins said.
“There’s nothing that we will be able to do or would want to do that would impact anyone’s health insurance plan for 2017,” Collins said in an interview.
“From a replacement standpoint, our position has always been as Republicans to move forward in a step-by-step fashion,” Barrasso said.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Friday, Trump said he was considering retaining parts of Obamacare including provisions letting parents keep adult children up to age 26 on their insurance policies and barring insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.
While waiting for Congress to act on legislation, the new HHS secretary could be reworking Obamacare regulations, Barrasso said. For example, regulations could give U.S. states more flexibility under a provision that lets states seek waivers from key provisions of the law, such as exemptions from the so-called individual mandate requiring Americans to obtain insurance and the employer mandate to provide it.
Kim Monk, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, which provides policy research to financial institutions, said Trump’s HHS might be able to tighten up the rules governing special enrollment periods for Obamacare. Insurers complain that these periods have allowed some people who initially skipped buying insurance to sign up after becoming ill.
HHS might also be able to alter the language on “essential benefits” that the law requires insurance plans to cover, which include trips to the emergency room, maternity and newborn care, and mental health services, Monk said.
“The law requires they have to cover 10 essential health benefit categories, but how that gets defined, a lot of that is interpretative,” Monk said. “And of course, everything the Obama administration interpreted was more, more, more, more expensive coverage, and all these things lead to premium increases.”
Collins, a member of the Trump transition team’s executive committee, said the job of HHS secretary or surgeon general “would be great for Ben Carson,” referring to the neurosurgeon who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination and later endorsed Trump.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Will Dunham)
-- 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 21 hours ago.
Trump’s victory on Tuesday means Republicans will control the White House, Senate and House of Representatives. But congressional Democrats are expected to put up a huge fight against Republican efforts to repeal the 2010 law considered President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement.
The Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, has provided 25 million previously uninsured Americans with health coverage. Republicans have launched repeated legal and legislative efforts to dismantle the law, which they call a government overreach.
Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, a member of Senate Republican leadership, said one way for the incoming president and Congress to attack Obamacare immediately after Trump takes office on Jan. 20 would be to quickly confirm a new secretary of Health and Human Services, the official who writes the rules and regulations that enforce the law.
“We could confirm someone on Jan. 20 who could come in immediately and could be working right now on rewriting rules and regulations to give more freedom and choice to the states, to insurance companies and to businesses that are trying to provide affordable care to their workers,” Barrasso said in a telephone interview.
Barrasso noted that the Senate needs only a simple majority vote in the 100-seat chamber to confirm Cabinet members, as opposed to 60 votes to overcome procedural hurdles the Democrats could present to repeal legislation.
Passing repeal legislation “is not a ‘Day One’ activity. But a new secretary of HHS going after the regulations can be a ‘Day One’ activity,” Barrasso added.
Trump during the campaign called Obamacare “a disaster” and joined fellow Republicans in vowing to repeal and replace it with proposals like tax-free health savings accounts. His transition website says Trump wants a solution that “returns the historic role in regulating health insurance to the states.”
In repealing Obamacare, congressional Republican may have to resort to a special procedure known as reconciliation to get around Democrats in the Senate, where rules protect the rights of the minority party.
Republicans in Congress used reconciliation to try to undo large chunks of Obamacare in January, but Obama vetoed the legislation. The bill would have wiped out tax subsidies provided to help people afford insurance coverage, as well as tax penalties on people who do not obtain insurance as required by the law, and would have eliminated expansion of the Medicaid insurance health insurance program.
Republican Representative Chris Collins of New York, one of Trump’s earliest supporters on Capitol Hill, said he hopes Congress can pass a similar bill gutting Obamacare within Trump’s first 100 days in office, a promise Trump made during the presidential campaign. But some changes will doubtless be phased in over time, Collins said.
“There’s nothing that we will be able to do or would want to do that would impact anyone’s health insurance plan for 2017,” Collins said in an interview.
“From a replacement standpoint, our position has always been as Republicans to move forward in a step-by-step fashion,” Barrasso said.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Friday, Trump said he was considering retaining parts of Obamacare including provisions letting parents keep adult children up to age 26 on their insurance policies and barring insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.
While waiting for Congress to act on legislation, the new HHS secretary could be reworking Obamacare regulations, Barrasso said. For example, regulations could give U.S. states more flexibility under a provision that lets states seek waivers from key provisions of the law, such as exemptions from the so-called individual mandate requiring Americans to obtain insurance and the employer mandate to provide it.
Kim Monk, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, which provides policy research to financial institutions, said Trump’s HHS might be able to tighten up the rules governing special enrollment periods for Obamacare. Insurers complain that these periods have allowed some people who initially skipped buying insurance to sign up after becoming ill.
HHS might also be able to alter the language on “essential benefits” that the law requires insurance plans to cover, which include trips to the emergency room, maternity and newborn care, and mental health services, Monk said.
“The law requires they have to cover 10 essential health benefit categories, but how that gets defined, a lot of that is interpretative,” Monk said. “And of course, everything the Obama administration interpreted was more, more, more, more expensive coverage, and all these things lead to premium increases.”
Collins, a member of the Trump transition team’s executive committee, said the job of HHS secretary or surgeon general “would be great for Ben Carson,” referring to the neurosurgeon who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination and later endorsed Trump.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Will Dunham)
-- 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 21 hours ago.
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Katy Perry Leads By Example And Donates $10,000 To Planned Parenthood
That nightmare you had is real. Donald Trump is now president-elect and Hillary Clinton has been hiking with her dog somewhere in update New York.
Many are afraid of what Trump’s presidency holds for America’s future and committed more than ever to protecting the rights of those acutely affected by the antediluvian promises of his campaign.
One of Clinton’s most prominent supporters, pop star Katy Perry, has decided to put her money where her mouth is and double down on her efforts to ensure that women continue to have access to safe and affordable healthcare.
On Friday, Perry donated $10,000 to Planned Parenthood, which Trump pledged to defund among women’s reproductive health services groups in his campaign. In a lengthy note on Instagram, the singer explained the role Planned Parenthood has played in her own life, and how vital the organization is to so many woman across America.
“I am grateful for and stand in support of Planned Parenthood for giving Katheryn Hudson the knowledge to plan, and for continuing to be a haven for women to learn all options for their future,” she captioned a photo of her donation, referring to herself by her real name. “Now, more than ever, we all need to protect and create safe places for each other. I hope I can help inspire you to make a gift as well, and become a member and an ally.”Read Perry’s full note below and follow her lead by donating to Planned Parenthood here.
It's time to turn words into action❗️There are so many steps to take, but my first vow is to support organizations that may have their funding support taken from them in the future by the government. I am making a public donation to Planned Parenthood for the teenage me who made several visits to first a clinic in Santa Barbara and then Los Angeles, CA to educate myself on my sexual health, a subject I had little to no information on because of my sheltered upbringing. I had no idea how things worked down there, and had no idea how to make a plan for them. Planned Parenthood educated me on my body and my reproductive health, so that I could focus on my dreams and using my voice until I knew the timing was right for me to make a plan to have a family. Since then, I have been able to focus wholeheartedly on bringing messages of strength and becoming a voice for others. Without this education, I may have had a different life path. That is just my experience, but I know Planned Parenthood's broader range of services can sometimes be the only medical support low-income families ever see. I know what it's like to need help. I came from a lower- to middle-class family and never grew up with the option of health insurance. I remember having 13 cavities as a teenager, and the best option my parents could come up with was to try and take me to Mexico because we couldn't afford anything in California. I am grateful for and stand in support of Planned Parenthood for giving Katheryn Hudson the knowledge to plan, and for continuing to be a haven for women to learn all options for their future. Now, more than ever, we all need to protect and create safe places for each other. I hope I can help inspire you to make a gift as well, and become a member and an ally. Go to: https://www.plannedparenthood.org to show your support. #wewontgoback
A photo posted by KATY PERRY (@katyperry) on Nov 11, 2016 at 5:19pm PST
-- 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 17 hours ago.
Many are afraid of what Trump’s presidency holds for America’s future and committed more than ever to protecting the rights of those acutely affected by the antediluvian promises of his campaign.
One of Clinton’s most prominent supporters, pop star Katy Perry, has decided to put her money where her mouth is and double down on her efforts to ensure that women continue to have access to safe and affordable healthcare.
On Friday, Perry donated $10,000 to Planned Parenthood, which Trump pledged to defund among women’s reproductive health services groups in his campaign. In a lengthy note on Instagram, the singer explained the role Planned Parenthood has played in her own life, and how vital the organization is to so many woman across America.
“I am grateful for and stand in support of Planned Parenthood for giving Katheryn Hudson the knowledge to plan, and for continuing to be a haven for women to learn all options for their future,” she captioned a photo of her donation, referring to herself by her real name. “Now, more than ever, we all need to protect and create safe places for each other. I hope I can help inspire you to make a gift as well, and become a member and an ally.”Read Perry’s full note below and follow her lead by donating to Planned Parenthood here.
It's time to turn words into action❗️There are so many steps to take, but my first vow is to support organizations that may have their funding support taken from them in the future by the government. I am making a public donation to Planned Parenthood for the teenage me who made several visits to first a clinic in Santa Barbara and then Los Angeles, CA to educate myself on my sexual health, a subject I had little to no information on because of my sheltered upbringing. I had no idea how things worked down there, and had no idea how to make a plan for them. Planned Parenthood educated me on my body and my reproductive health, so that I could focus on my dreams and using my voice until I knew the timing was right for me to make a plan to have a family. Since then, I have been able to focus wholeheartedly on bringing messages of strength and becoming a voice for others. Without this education, I may have had a different life path. That is just my experience, but I know Planned Parenthood's broader range of services can sometimes be the only medical support low-income families ever see. I know what it's like to need help. I came from a lower- to middle-class family and never grew up with the option of health insurance. I remember having 13 cavities as a teenager, and the best option my parents could come up with was to try and take me to Mexico because we couldn't afford anything in California. I am grateful for and stand in support of Planned Parenthood for giving Katheryn Hudson the knowledge to plan, and for continuing to be a haven for women to learn all options for their future. Now, more than ever, we all need to protect and create safe places for each other. I hope I can help inspire you to make a gift as well, and become a member and an ally. Go to: https://www.plannedparenthood.org to show your support. #wewontgoback
A photo posted by KATY PERRY (@katyperry) on Nov 11, 2016 at 5:19pm PST
-- 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 17 hours ago.
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Trump Win Fuels Planned Parenthood Donation Surge
NEW YORK - Planned Parenthood is reporting a spike in donations and demand for long-acting contraceptives since Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president while abortion foes hope to gain momentum in their quest to cut public funding to the women’s health organization.
Officials with Planned Parenthood said its patrons are worried about the impact of a Trump presidency on access to abortions and birth control in the United States.
Planned Parenthood, which draws the ire of many Republicans because it provides abortions, is bracing for one of the toughest battles in its 100-year history. It has about 650 health centers nationwide and relies on public funding for about half of its revenue, much of it from the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor.
With Trump winning Tuesday’s election and Republicans maintaining their control of Congress, it could be easier for lawmakers to cut funding to Planned Parenthood and dismantle outgoing President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, that mandates insurance coverage for contraceptives.
“There have been attempts the last two years to defund them, and we will do anything we can to defund them,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, which opposes abortion. “I am very optimistic.”
Since the election, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America said it has received nearly 80,000 new donations nationwide, although it did not disclose the money amount.
Planned Parenthood of Illinois said online appointments for long-acting contraceptives like IUDs, or intrauterine devices, rose nearly 50 percent in the past two days compared to the same period last week. It said it plans to increase the number of available appointments to meet demand.
“We have been overwhelmed by community members making donations and contacting us to offer to volunteer and provide support,” said Sarah Wheat, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, where successive Republican governors have cut funding to the organization.
Online donations to the Texas affiliate tripled on Wednesday compared to the previous week, while 125 people have contacted the group to volunteer to help, Wheat said.
Long a target of protest, and sometimes violence, by groups that oppose abortion on religious grounds, Planned Parenthood has in recent years worked to broaden its health services for women and men.
MIXED SIGNALS
Trump has sent mixed signals about abortion, saying in March that women who end pregnancies should face punishment. He later backtracked on his remarks.
On Wednesday, his team said the new Trump administration would “protect innocent human life from conception to natural death,” without elaborating.
Indiana Governor Mike Pence, Trump’s vice presidential running mate and the head of his transition team, is a strident opponent of abortion. Pence has pushed Congress to defund Planned Parenthood and signed a state law mandating that a fetus be buried or cremated after an abortion.
Trump has also vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare, although he was quoted by the Wall Street Journal on Friday as saying he would consider saving some provisions.
The law required for the first time that insurers cover the cost of many forms of birth control for women.
While it is not clear yet how Trump will proceed with his pledge, some patients want to ensure they have a contraceptives plan in place, Planned Parenthood officials said.
“They really have some concerns about the threats to the Affordable Care Act and the coverage for these services,” said Katie Thiede, the vice president of development for Planned Parenthood of Illinois.
The affiliate said demand for permanent sterilization climbed 57 percent over the past week.
If Obamacare were to be repealed, an estimated 55 million women could lose access to no-copay preventive services including birth control, screenings for sexually transmitted infections, Pap tests and cancer screenings, according to government figures.
Other challenges could come through court appointments, or through changes in funding rules for Medicaid.
In the longer term, abortion rights advocates have expressed concern that Trump could appoint conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who could overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
(Reporting by Jilian Mincer and David Ingram; Editing by Will Dunham)
-- 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 12 hours ago.
Officials with Planned Parenthood said its patrons are worried about the impact of a Trump presidency on access to abortions and birth control in the United States.
Planned Parenthood, which draws the ire of many Republicans because it provides abortions, is bracing for one of the toughest battles in its 100-year history. It has about 650 health centers nationwide and relies on public funding for about half of its revenue, much of it from the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor.
With Trump winning Tuesday’s election and Republicans maintaining their control of Congress, it could be easier for lawmakers to cut funding to Planned Parenthood and dismantle outgoing President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, that mandates insurance coverage for contraceptives.
“There have been attempts the last two years to defund them, and we will do anything we can to defund them,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, which opposes abortion. “I am very optimistic.”
Since the election, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America said it has received nearly 80,000 new donations nationwide, although it did not disclose the money amount.
Planned Parenthood of Illinois said online appointments for long-acting contraceptives like IUDs, or intrauterine devices, rose nearly 50 percent in the past two days compared to the same period last week. It said it plans to increase the number of available appointments to meet demand.
“We have been overwhelmed by community members making donations and contacting us to offer to volunteer and provide support,” said Sarah Wheat, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, where successive Republican governors have cut funding to the organization.
Online donations to the Texas affiliate tripled on Wednesday compared to the previous week, while 125 people have contacted the group to volunteer to help, Wheat said.
Long a target of protest, and sometimes violence, by groups that oppose abortion on religious grounds, Planned Parenthood has in recent years worked to broaden its health services for women and men.
MIXED SIGNALS
Trump has sent mixed signals about abortion, saying in March that women who end pregnancies should face punishment. He later backtracked on his remarks.
On Wednesday, his team said the new Trump administration would “protect innocent human life from conception to natural death,” without elaborating.
Indiana Governor Mike Pence, Trump’s vice presidential running mate and the head of his transition team, is a strident opponent of abortion. Pence has pushed Congress to defund Planned Parenthood and signed a state law mandating that a fetus be buried or cremated after an abortion.
Trump has also vowed to repeal and replace Obamacare, although he was quoted by the Wall Street Journal on Friday as saying he would consider saving some provisions.
The law required for the first time that insurers cover the cost of many forms of birth control for women.
While it is not clear yet how Trump will proceed with his pledge, some patients want to ensure they have a contraceptives plan in place, Planned Parenthood officials said.
“They really have some concerns about the threats to the Affordable Care Act and the coverage for these services,” said Katie Thiede, the vice president of development for Planned Parenthood of Illinois.
The affiliate said demand for permanent sterilization climbed 57 percent over the past week.
If Obamacare were to be repealed, an estimated 55 million women could lose access to no-copay preventive services including birth control, screenings for sexually transmitted infections, Pap tests and cancer screenings, according to government figures.
Other challenges could come through court appointments, or through changes in funding rules for Medicaid.
In the longer term, abortion rights advocates have expressed concern that Trump could appoint conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court who could overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
(Reporting by Jilian Mincer and David Ingram; Editing by Will Dunham)
-- 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 12 hours ago.
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If Obamacare is repealed, California has the most to lose - putting the insured on edge
California led the way with Obamacare, signing up more people for health insurance than any other state.
Now with a possibility that President-elect Donald Trump will repeal the law, as he has promised, the stakes are higher here than anywhere else.
“We’ve basically cut the number of uninsured... Reported by L.A. Times 34 minutes ago.
Now with a possibility that President-elect Donald Trump will repeal the law, as he has promised, the stakes are higher here than anywhere else.
“We’ve basically cut the number of uninsured... Reported by L.A. Times 34 minutes ago.
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Small Biz Health Insurance Deal Beats Obamacare
If you're one of the millions of Americans unhappy with your choices and prices this year under Obamacare, there is a possible alternative that could give you the same kind of top-flight healthcare plan offered by many businesses to their employees - with a wide choice of physicians and hospitals, and excellent prescription benefits.
That's because of a little-known "quirk" in the Affordable Care Act that allows small businesses a chance to offer employees - even if as few as one employee enrolls - a job -based plan that is equivalent to the best deals offered by major insurers.
This Special Enrollment Period or SEP occurs each year from November 15th through December 15th, for coverage to start on January 1 of the following year. All insurance companies offering coverage on or off the marketplace agree to accept all small businesses that apply for coverage during this SEP. That means major insurers like Blue Cross Blue Shield and Humana, among others, must accept even small businesses that might have just one employee!
In many cases, the small business plans offer better benefits and lower costs than plans available to individuals on the Obamacare exchanges - especially now that many insurers have dropped out of the state exchanges, or raised prices and limited participating providers.
The concept is attractive to business owners, because they do not have to contribute to the cost of employees' healthcare. Instead, the employee pays the premiums - on a pre-tax basis, lowering the true cost of paying for this healthcare policy. And, because the premium cost is an employee deduction, the business owner saves on payroll taxes.
Best of all, because this small business incentive program is part of the Affordable Care Act, there is no impact on cost or acceptance because an employee may have pre-existing medical conditions.
Before you think about "creating" a small business this month to take advantage of this offer, be aware that the government will be checking that the business is truly in existence. But even if only one employee of a small business enrolls in the health insurance plan, the coverage must be accepted by the insurer.
The plan chosen by the business may not be attractive to all the employees. For example, if an employee with a low income decides that the Obamacare exchange plans, including subsidies, will cost him or her less than the company's plan, the employee can buy one of those exchange plans. Remaining employees - even if only one -- can get the small business plan.
How do you find these small business plans? You'll likely have to go through an insurance broker.
Allen Wishner of Flexible Benefit Service Corporation (www.FlexibleBenefit.com) works with thousands of brokers helping their small business clients set up health insurance plans. And there's a year-end crunch, Wishner says, because business owners are suddenly facing unacceptable choices on the insurance exchanges.
One of those brokers, The Health Insurance Shoppe , (www.TheHealthInsuranceShoppe.com) located in Chicago, has registered insurance agents that will help business owners find a plan, and identify employees that might be better off with the subsidized exchange plans. Business owners know that they might be the only one covered under the plan - and still qualify for the small business deal created by the Affordable Care Act.
Since each state offers different "exchange" plans, you must consult with a health insurance broker in your state to find out your options. But hurry. The December 15th deadline is looming. It takes some time to process your application. That's The Savage Truth.
-- 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 20 hours ago.
That's because of a little-known "quirk" in the Affordable Care Act that allows small businesses a chance to offer employees - even if as few as one employee enrolls - a job -based plan that is equivalent to the best deals offered by major insurers.
This Special Enrollment Period or SEP occurs each year from November 15th through December 15th, for coverage to start on January 1 of the following year. All insurance companies offering coverage on or off the marketplace agree to accept all small businesses that apply for coverage during this SEP. That means major insurers like Blue Cross Blue Shield and Humana, among others, must accept even small businesses that might have just one employee!
In many cases, the small business plans offer better benefits and lower costs than plans available to individuals on the Obamacare exchanges - especially now that many insurers have dropped out of the state exchanges, or raised prices and limited participating providers.
The concept is attractive to business owners, because they do not have to contribute to the cost of employees' healthcare. Instead, the employee pays the premiums - on a pre-tax basis, lowering the true cost of paying for this healthcare policy. And, because the premium cost is an employee deduction, the business owner saves on payroll taxes.
Best of all, because this small business incentive program is part of the Affordable Care Act, there is no impact on cost or acceptance because an employee may have pre-existing medical conditions.
Before you think about "creating" a small business this month to take advantage of this offer, be aware that the government will be checking that the business is truly in existence. But even if only one employee of a small business enrolls in the health insurance plan, the coverage must be accepted by the insurer.
The plan chosen by the business may not be attractive to all the employees. For example, if an employee with a low income decides that the Obamacare exchange plans, including subsidies, will cost him or her less than the company's plan, the employee can buy one of those exchange plans. Remaining employees - even if only one -- can get the small business plan.
How do you find these small business plans? You'll likely have to go through an insurance broker.
Allen Wishner of Flexible Benefit Service Corporation (www.FlexibleBenefit.com) works with thousands of brokers helping their small business clients set up health insurance plans. And there's a year-end crunch, Wishner says, because business owners are suddenly facing unacceptable choices on the insurance exchanges.
One of those brokers, The Health Insurance Shoppe , (www.TheHealthInsuranceShoppe.com) located in Chicago, has registered insurance agents that will help business owners find a plan, and identify employees that might be better off with the subsidized exchange plans. Business owners know that they might be the only one covered under the plan - and still qualify for the small business deal created by the Affordable Care Act.
Since each state offers different "exchange" plans, you must consult with a health insurance broker in your state to find out your options. But hurry. The December 15th deadline is looming. It takes some time to process your application. That's The Savage Truth.
-- 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 20 hours ago.
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Paul Ryan Refuses To Promise Obamacare 'Replacement' Will Cover Birth Control Fully
The man likely to be the primary author of legislation repealing Obamacare refused on Sunday to promise that his “replacement” for the health care law would guarantee full coverage of birth control.
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Nation,” House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) faced pointed questions from host Jake Tapper about the new health care system Republicans have promised to create once they’ve taken the Affordable Care Act off the books.
In particular, Tapper wanted to know, would the new system require all insurance plans to cover FDA-approved forms of birth control, without any co-payments or other forms of out-of-pocket spending?
Such a requirement exists today because the health care law mandates that insurance plans fully cover “preventive services.” When the Obama administration wrote the regulations to fulfill that requirement, it put contraception on the list, on the theory that birth control was a routine form of health care ― women use it not just to prevent pregnancy but also, in many cases, to help with other medical conditions.
Ryan wouldn’t say yes or no to Tapper’s question, arguing that he couldn’t make promises about legislation that didn’t exist.
Here’s how the exchange went:
TAPPER: Obamacare also provides birth control to women at no cost. Is that going to end or will that remain?
RYAN: Look, I’m not going to get into all the nitty-gritty details of these things.
TAPPER: With all do respect, I don’t know that the average woman of child-bearing years out there who relies upon contraception provided by health insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act, I don’t know that she would think that that’s just a nitty-gritty detail. That’s...
RYAN: You’re asking me detail...
Tapper kept at it, asking Ryan whether he thought the benefit itself was something important. Again, Ryan wouldn’t answer:
TAPPER: Well, what do you think? Is it important to you?
RYAN: Jake, you’re asking me details about legislation ― you’re asking me details about legislation that hasn’t been written yet.
TAPPER: Right. But is it important to you? Would that be a principle? Would that be a principle of whatever replaces it, because...
RYAN: I’m not going to get into ― I’m not going to get into hypotheticals about legislation that hasn’t even been drafted yet.
Studies have shown that the requirement, in place since 2013, has succeeded in reducing what people pay for contraception ― most likely increasing usage, particularly when it comes to the long-acting forms, such as intrauterine devices, that physicians consider most effective.Polls suggest that the mandate, like most of the law’s consumer protections, is popular.
But like so many other provisions of Obamacare, it has also generated intense criticism from conservatives.
Some objected on grounds of religious freedom, arguing that employers who provide coverage to employees might object to paying for contraception because it violates the dictates of their faith.
The Obama administration addressed these by offering workarounds, so that certain religious employers could essentially opt out of paying for the requirement, but those employers have objected that even filing the necessary paperwork would violate their religious freedom.
Other conservatives object that the contraception requirement makes insurance more expensive overall. But while that’s certainly true for other insurance mandates the law has imposed on coverage, it’s unclear whether it’s also true of the contraception mandate, since birth control is relatively cheap and the costs associated with pregnancy are not. At the very least, many experts think, covering birth control at no cost may lead to lower health care spending overall.
Lurking beneath all of this is a more fundamental philosophical question at the heart of the health care debate ― to what extent should health care expenses be distributed broadly, and to what extent should they fall on the individuals who use them.
In 2009, during the legislative debate over the Affordable Care Act, some critics of the emerging legislation suggested it was wrong to make men pay for expenses like maternity care or contraception, since women are the ones who get pregnant.
The law’s promoters responded that men in fact have a direct stake in the well-being of women and children ― and that, given that human reproduction also requires the involvement of men, perhaps birth control should be partly their responsibility, too.
As it happens, the birth control mandate is one part of Obamacare that doesn’t require legislation to repeal. As Sarah Kliff of Vox noted recently, Trump could simply reverse the Obama administration’s regulation declaring that contraception belongs on the list of preventive services. It’s unclear whether Trump finds the contraception provision objectionable.
-- 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.
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Nation,” House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) faced pointed questions from host Jake Tapper about the new health care system Republicans have promised to create once they’ve taken the Affordable Care Act off the books.
In particular, Tapper wanted to know, would the new system require all insurance plans to cover FDA-approved forms of birth control, without any co-payments or other forms of out-of-pocket spending?
Such a requirement exists today because the health care law mandates that insurance plans fully cover “preventive services.” When the Obama administration wrote the regulations to fulfill that requirement, it put contraception on the list, on the theory that birth control was a routine form of health care ― women use it not just to prevent pregnancy but also, in many cases, to help with other medical conditions.
Ryan wouldn’t say yes or no to Tapper’s question, arguing that he couldn’t make promises about legislation that didn’t exist.
Here’s how the exchange went:
TAPPER: Obamacare also provides birth control to women at no cost. Is that going to end or will that remain?
RYAN: Look, I’m not going to get into all the nitty-gritty details of these things.
TAPPER: With all do respect, I don’t know that the average woman of child-bearing years out there who relies upon contraception provided by health insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act, I don’t know that she would think that that’s just a nitty-gritty detail. That’s...
RYAN: You’re asking me detail...
Tapper kept at it, asking Ryan whether he thought the benefit itself was something important. Again, Ryan wouldn’t answer:
TAPPER: Well, what do you think? Is it important to you?
RYAN: Jake, you’re asking me details about legislation ― you’re asking me details about legislation that hasn’t been written yet.
TAPPER: Right. But is it important to you? Would that be a principle? Would that be a principle of whatever replaces it, because...
RYAN: I’m not going to get into ― I’m not going to get into hypotheticals about legislation that hasn’t even been drafted yet.
Studies have shown that the requirement, in place since 2013, has succeeded in reducing what people pay for contraception ― most likely increasing usage, particularly when it comes to the long-acting forms, such as intrauterine devices, that physicians consider most effective.Polls suggest that the mandate, like most of the law’s consumer protections, is popular.
But like so many other provisions of Obamacare, it has also generated intense criticism from conservatives.
Some objected on grounds of religious freedom, arguing that employers who provide coverage to employees might object to paying for contraception because it violates the dictates of their faith.
The Obama administration addressed these by offering workarounds, so that certain religious employers could essentially opt out of paying for the requirement, but those employers have objected that even filing the necessary paperwork would violate their religious freedom.
Other conservatives object that the contraception requirement makes insurance more expensive overall. But while that’s certainly true for other insurance mandates the law has imposed on coverage, it’s unclear whether it’s also true of the contraception mandate, since birth control is relatively cheap and the costs associated with pregnancy are not. At the very least, many experts think, covering birth control at no cost may lead to lower health care spending overall.
Lurking beneath all of this is a more fundamental philosophical question at the heart of the health care debate ― to what extent should health care expenses be distributed broadly, and to what extent should they fall on the individuals who use them.
In 2009, during the legislative debate over the Affordable Care Act, some critics of the emerging legislation suggested it was wrong to make men pay for expenses like maternity care or contraception, since women are the ones who get pregnant.
The law’s promoters responded that men in fact have a direct stake in the well-being of women and children ― and that, given that human reproduction also requires the involvement of men, perhaps birth control should be partly their responsibility, too.
As it happens, the birth control mandate is one part of Obamacare that doesn’t require legislation to repeal. As Sarah Kliff of Vox noted recently, Trump could simply reverse the Obama administration’s regulation declaring that contraception belongs on the list of preventive services. It’s unclear whether Trump finds the contraception provision objectionable.
-- 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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Hitachi Held a Users' Meeting as it Further Expands its Particle Therapy System Business Globally
- Customers from Asia participated for the first time, in addition to customers from Japan and the US -
TOKYO, Nov 14, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi welcomed leaders from its particle therapy centers across the world to its second Users' Meeting, held in Tokyo on November 9th and 10th. Members from twelve world-class particle therapy facilities in the United States, Japan and Asia including those which are going to have Hitachi's system in the future joined the meeting to share their experiences with management, engineering teams and fellow users of Hitachi's systems.
Particle therapy is an advanced form of radiation therapy which offers less invasive treatments for cancer therapy compared to other forms of treatments such as surgery with minimal side effects allowing for even the elderly to undergo treatments and enabling faster rehabilitation. As a result, demand for particle therapy systems is increasing all over the world. In April 2016, insurance coverage of particle therapy treatments in Japan was extended to include pediatrics and certain bone cancers - further evidence of it becoming widely recognized and promoted as an effective cancer treatment. Hitachi continues to partner with the world's most advanced treatment centers where over 12,000 patients have been treated to date with its systems and has established a reputation of high reliability with a proven track record. This year, Hitachi received orders from National Cancer Centre Singapore and Hong Kong Sanatorium Hospital Eastern District Advanced Medical Centre, further expanding the particle therapy business globally.
Hitachi's Users' Meeting has been held since 2015 and is where the world's leading radiation oncologists, medical physicists and other medical professionals gather to share clinical experiences, opinions and requests regarding the system with Hitachi to refine the particle therapy system roadmap. This year, participants shared details about their facilities followed by a series of discussions regarding system performance and usability in an effort to achieve even more patient-friendly and effective treatments. Topics included patient throughput improvement and incorporating diagnostic imaging systems such as MRI and CT. Participants also described details of treatment and the impact of health insurance in various regions.
Dr. Shirato of Hokkaido University, who has co-developed their proton therapy system with Hitachi in 2014 commented, "We intend to continue our joint research and development activities with Hitachi. I also have high expectations on Hitachi that the comments and discussions from this year's meeting will help them further develop their particle therapy system."
Masaya Watanabe, Vice President and Executive Officer, CEO of Hitachi's Healthcare Business Unit, commented, "Leading edge particle therapy was achieved through Collaborative Creation between Hitachi and Hokkaido University. Moving forward, we intend to expand partnerships across many users and to continue these Users' Meetings to listen to the voice of the customer."
Hitachi will continue to strive to provide superior systems as a leading company in particle therapy though future Users' Meetings and collaborative activities with users. Hitachi hopes to contribute to the medical community by providing solutions truly needed by users through high value and improving medical quality and efficacy through healthcare innovation.
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges with our talented team and proven experience in global markets. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2014 (ended March 31, 2015) totaled 9,761 billion yen ($81.3 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes power & infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems, construction machinery, high functional materials & components, automotive systems, healthcare and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at www.hitachi.com.
Contact:
Hitachi Ltd
Corporate Communications
Tel: +81-3-3258-1111
Copyright 2016 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.com Reported by ACN Newswire 9 hours ago.
TOKYO, Nov 14, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi welcomed leaders from its particle therapy centers across the world to its second Users' Meeting, held in Tokyo on November 9th and 10th. Members from twelve world-class particle therapy facilities in the United States, Japan and Asia including those which are going to have Hitachi's system in the future joined the meeting to share their experiences with management, engineering teams and fellow users of Hitachi's systems.
Particle therapy is an advanced form of radiation therapy which offers less invasive treatments for cancer therapy compared to other forms of treatments such as surgery with minimal side effects allowing for even the elderly to undergo treatments and enabling faster rehabilitation. As a result, demand for particle therapy systems is increasing all over the world. In April 2016, insurance coverage of particle therapy treatments in Japan was extended to include pediatrics and certain bone cancers - further evidence of it becoming widely recognized and promoted as an effective cancer treatment. Hitachi continues to partner with the world's most advanced treatment centers where over 12,000 patients have been treated to date with its systems and has established a reputation of high reliability with a proven track record. This year, Hitachi received orders from National Cancer Centre Singapore and Hong Kong Sanatorium Hospital Eastern District Advanced Medical Centre, further expanding the particle therapy business globally.
Hitachi's Users' Meeting has been held since 2015 and is where the world's leading radiation oncologists, medical physicists and other medical professionals gather to share clinical experiences, opinions and requests regarding the system with Hitachi to refine the particle therapy system roadmap. This year, participants shared details about their facilities followed by a series of discussions regarding system performance and usability in an effort to achieve even more patient-friendly and effective treatments. Topics included patient throughput improvement and incorporating diagnostic imaging systems such as MRI and CT. Participants also described details of treatment and the impact of health insurance in various regions.
Dr. Shirato of Hokkaido University, who has co-developed their proton therapy system with Hitachi in 2014 commented, "We intend to continue our joint research and development activities with Hitachi. I also have high expectations on Hitachi that the comments and discussions from this year's meeting will help them further develop their particle therapy system."
Masaya Watanabe, Vice President and Executive Officer, CEO of Hitachi's Healthcare Business Unit, commented, "Leading edge particle therapy was achieved through Collaborative Creation between Hitachi and Hokkaido University. Moving forward, we intend to expand partnerships across many users and to continue these Users' Meetings to listen to the voice of the customer."
Hitachi will continue to strive to provide superior systems as a leading company in particle therapy though future Users' Meetings and collaborative activities with users. Hitachi hopes to contribute to the medical community by providing solutions truly needed by users through high value and improving medical quality and efficacy through healthcare innovation.
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges with our talented team and proven experience in global markets. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2014 (ended March 31, 2015) totaled 9,761 billion yen ($81.3 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes power & infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems, construction machinery, high functional materials & components, automotive systems, healthcare and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at www.hitachi.com.
Contact:
Hitachi Ltd
Corporate Communications
Tel: +81-3-3258-1111
Copyright 2016 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.com Reported by ACN Newswire 9 hours ago.
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Safeware’s Corporate Wellness Program Supports and Encourages Smoking Cessation
In an effort to promote healthy living, Safeware has launched a campaign to assist associates in their smoking cessation efforts.
Dublin, Ohio (PRWEB) November 14, 2016
Safeware, a leading provider of product protection and extended warranty solutions, has expanded its Corporate Wellness Program to include support and incentives for individuals who successfully stop smoking before October 31, 2017 and the colleagues who support them. As of November 2016, approximately 11% of Safeware’s workforce identify themselves as a regular smoker.
As the company grows and aims to become smoke-free, Safeware’s Health and Wellness Committee is rewarding those who stop smoking with a paid day off to be used in 2018. In addition, cessation “buddies” will be awarded points toward their annual corporate wellness tally, used to earn incentives such as jeans weeks, fun passes to family-friendly activities, or paid days off.
The cessation “buddies” will be responsible for providing support to their assigned co-worker and keeping them accountable throughout the cessation process. This support system, and added incentive, will hopefully encourage a few, if not all, associates to stop smoking in the coming year.
“Safeware is dedicated to supporting the health and well-being of our associates,” says Chief Executive Officer, Bryan Schutjer. “For those associates who choose to stop or minimize their smoking habits, Safeware strives to provide a supportive and inclusive environment.”
Safeware’s health insurance package also offers cessation support free of charge. This support includes nicotine patches and gum, telephone counseling, and motivational resources such as the promise of lower insurance rates and the option to complete a “Quitter for Life” contract.
About Safeware
Having pioneered the technology insurance industry in 1982, Safeware is now one of the most recognized names in product protection. Safeware’s innovative approach to insurance and extended warranty solutions has propelled the company into multiple industries including education, corporate technology, fitness, furniture and appliances. By allowing partners to customize coverage based on their unique needs, Safeware provides best-in-class programs allowing customers to own their products with confidence.
Learn more about Safeware online at http://www.safeware.com or by calling 1.800.800.1492. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.
Dublin, Ohio (PRWEB) November 14, 2016
Safeware, a leading provider of product protection and extended warranty solutions, has expanded its Corporate Wellness Program to include support and incentives for individuals who successfully stop smoking before October 31, 2017 and the colleagues who support them. As of November 2016, approximately 11% of Safeware’s workforce identify themselves as a regular smoker.
As the company grows and aims to become smoke-free, Safeware’s Health and Wellness Committee is rewarding those who stop smoking with a paid day off to be used in 2018. In addition, cessation “buddies” will be awarded points toward their annual corporate wellness tally, used to earn incentives such as jeans weeks, fun passes to family-friendly activities, or paid days off.
The cessation “buddies” will be responsible for providing support to their assigned co-worker and keeping them accountable throughout the cessation process. This support system, and added incentive, will hopefully encourage a few, if not all, associates to stop smoking in the coming year.
“Safeware is dedicated to supporting the health and well-being of our associates,” says Chief Executive Officer, Bryan Schutjer. “For those associates who choose to stop or minimize their smoking habits, Safeware strives to provide a supportive and inclusive environment.”
Safeware’s health insurance package also offers cessation support free of charge. This support includes nicotine patches and gum, telephone counseling, and motivational resources such as the promise of lower insurance rates and the option to complete a “Quitter for Life” contract.
About Safeware
Having pioneered the technology insurance industry in 1982, Safeware is now one of the most recognized names in product protection. Safeware’s innovative approach to insurance and extended warranty solutions has propelled the company into multiple industries including education, corporate technology, fitness, furniture and appliances. By allowing partners to customize coverage based on their unique needs, Safeware provides best-in-class programs allowing customers to own their products with confidence.
Learn more about Safeware online at http://www.safeware.com or by calling 1.800.800.1492. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.
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Why the cost of your health insurance will rise in 2017
A new class of drugs is driving up the cost of group insurance benefits. But other factors, including fees and prescribing practices, are also adding to the expense.
Reported by CBC.ca 3 hours ago.
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