Healthcare Legal Issues -You can Help

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Happy Wednesday Healthcare Advocates

I would like to encourage comments and suggestions from you if you have time. If there is a special topic you’d like to see please let me know. Please use the comment button below.

In a single cartoon, Politico’s Matt Wuerker demonstrates the U.S. health care system as it is, and as it should be. Thanks to Politico and Physicians for a National Health Plan.

Health Risk to Kids - Guns

According to to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation analysis, guns now pose a more serious risk to children than cars, cancer, drowning. You name it. and the mortality rate from guns for them is 6/100,000 while our peer industrialized nations have numbers ranging from .03 to .6 deaths/100,000. Two thirds are caused by assault (see the second graph).

Here is an easy action. There are two bills in Congress that address this. Let’s ask our elected representatives to take action on them.

ACTION

There are a number of bills in Congress that would help. The assault weapons ban (worked before), better background checks for ALL gun sales, even personal, and safe storage requirements like in Ethan’s law. Personally, I favor mandatory training and licensing and liability insurance too. Let’s call/email our representatives and tell them enough is enough putting so many children’s lives at risk. Their contact information is below.

Legal Issues and Health

Republicans, who seem to have a great distaste for public health, women’s rights, and vaccines, have advanced a bill in congress, from the House Appropriations Subcommittee that slashes or removes funding from a variety of programs that address family planning, teen pregnancy, HIV, mandates that health workers be vaccinated so as not to infect their patients. The agencies involved are HHS, the CDC, and more. Across all of the health care agencies the proposed cuts average 29%. Link to the news article. Here is a link to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Education summary of their “work”.

The bill cuts all funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. You may not be familiar with them but they are charged with improving the safety and quality of healthcare for all Americans. AHRQ develop knowledge, tools, and data needed to improve the healthcare system and help consumers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers make informed health decisions. I use their data all the time. If you don’t have facts and data, you can’t design a solution to the problem. That’s because they want no solutions. Here’s a link.

BTW Republicans did the same thing wrt collecting statistics related to guns and violence - against the law for federal data collection so the gun violence issue couldn’t be addressed.

ACTION

Use Resistbot and text SIGN PVJLRH to 50409 to send your senators and congressperson the following message.

“I am your constituent and I see that the Republican controlled Apportions subcommittee on Health and Education recommends cutting the budgets of the CDC and other health agencies by an average of 29%. I STRONGLY URGE YOU TO NOT SUPPORT THIS. They want to cut funding for family planning, shut down the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, get rid of HIV funding, allow healthcare workers not to be vaccinated against COVID-19 so more of us can get sick. PS COVID is still heavily the number 4 cause of death in the US.. These agencies and the work hard to protect the health of all of us and I need to to make sure that continues.”

EXTRA CREDIT

Webinar Today

I have signed up for a seminar today at 3 pm PDT on reproductive health and the problems faced by many getting care. It is run by United State of Women (USOW). Here is their website - https://usow.org. Here is a link to register for today’s event.

Reproductive Rights Action Page

They also have an outstanding action page of reproductive actions you can take right now. They have a feminist action page, you can support national funds that support abortions, help individual clinics. Here is their reproductive rights link

They also have outstanding reproductive health resources at the bottom of that page - link.

They also maintain a legislative action page where you can send comments to your representatives about all of the most important feminist actions. So cool. Here’s the link

Find My Elected Officials

Contact the White House  https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Contact State and Federal Representatives

https://www.commoncause.org/find-your-representative/addr/

Important Healthcare Resources

League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit

Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare

Healthcare Advocacy Reading List

Organizations to Contact

NARAL - Pro Choice America

Planned Parenthood

Physicians for a National Health Plan

Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do

Appeal a Healthcare Decision

Appeal/Negotiate a Hospital Bill

Save Democracy

Chop Wood, Carry Water by Jessica Cravens

RESISTBOT

Link to the RESISTBOT site to learn more

Link to Chop Wood, Carry Water Resistbot write up