Politicians & Healthcare - So Much Room to Improve

A free public service for a better community

Alan Unell Ph.D.

Mar 22, 2024

A Good Day To Advocate for Better Healthcare

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Reproductive Health News

The Texas Medical Board will discuss what qualifies as a medical exception to the state’s overlapping abortion bans, following a petition urging the panel to issue “clear guidance” about cases in which doctors can legally terminate pregnancies.

Sure. We’ll see.

ACTION

How about Congress pass the Women’s Health Protection Act - Restore Roe v Wade and tell this bunch to shut up. Their contact info is in the Resources section below.

Or use RESISTBOT by texting SIGN PVGQBD to 50409 to send the email below.

“I am your constituent and I want you to know that the Texas State Medical Board is thinking about what constitutes a medical emergency for an abortion. Women will still die and be faced with unnecessary surgeries because abortions were not available. Some legislators, like Senator Patty Murray have stood up for women. You know better - Pass the WHPA and start saving lives like your job depends on it.”

We Support IVF (LIAR)

A large majority of House Republicans released a budget proposal on Wednesday endorsing legislation that would threaten to make in vitro fertilization illegal nationwide. The move is a stunning turnabout after most of the party spent weeks voicing support for IVF following a controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling that led providers in the state to halt the procedure.

Republican Care for Others - NOT

Plans to expand Medicaid coverage in Georgia and Kansas were defeated Thursday by Republican-led committees in the state legislatures, dashing hopes that eligibility for the safety net program would be extended to more than half a million additional low-income Americans, Jeff Amy and John Hanna report for the Associated Press.

Medical Milestone :)

Surgeons in Boston have transplanted a kidney from a genetically engineered pig into an ailing 62-year-old man, the first procedure of its kind. If successful, the breakthrough offers hope to hundreds of thousands of Americans whose kidneys have failed. So far, the signs are promising.

Safer Blood Thinners :)

A new class of anticoagulant drugs on the horizon is taking fresh aim at one of cardiology’s toughest challenges: how to prevent blood clots that cause heart attacks and strokes, without leaving patients at risk of bleeding. At least a half-dozen experimental blood thinners are in development that inhibit a protein called factor XI, one of several blood factors that regulate how the body forms clots. (WSJ)

Federal Spending Package & Healthcare

Community health centers and a slew of healthcare programs would receive funding increases under a sweeping bipartisan government appropriations bill congressional leaders introduced Thursday. The $1.2 trillion fiscal 2024 spending package covers about 70% of the federal government, from defense to labor, and includes $117 billion for Health and Human Services Department operations. The measure must be enacted by midnight Friday — an uncertain outcome — to prevent a partial government shutdown.

But Republicans touted the package's clawback of $4.3 billion in "unnecessary" COVID-19 funding, with cuts potentially falling on activities like genomic sequencing and contact tracing. Of course.

Private Equity in the ER - Doctors and Patients Suffer

We have discussed private equity buy ups of hospitals and doctor practices. One of the sad events when hospitals decide to become profit centers is the outsourcing of labor in the Emergency Room. Doctors, nurses and support staff levels are cut and whoever remains is overworked.

Here is a video story on the subject. Universal healthcare is not the be all end all, but Global Budgets in HR 3421, the vastly improved Medicare For All Act would make sure that there was enough money for the staff in the ER so outsourcing wouldn’t be needed.

Resources

Healthcare Advocacy (Us)

Website

Our Newsletter resources including reproductive healthcare

Healthcare Advocacy Reading List

Find My Elected Officials

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

Contact State and Federal Representatives

Important Healthcare Resources

League of Women Voters Healthcare Reform Toolkit

Organizations to Contact

National Nurses United Medicare4All

Physicians for a National Health Program

One Payer States

Healthcare Now

Reproductive Health

NARAL - Pro Choice America

Charley. chatbot abortion resource - make sure to use a secure incognito browser if you live in a state that has banned abortion

Planned Parenthood

Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has references about where to procure abortion medications. They also assist women in the process of self managed abortion or miscarriage by phone or text and will respond in an hour. Details and hours of operation at their website.

United State of Women Reproductive health page (bottom of the page) has important resources such as medical support, access to Telehealth, prescriptions by mail, and legal support references.

Practice careful communications - The Digital Defense Fund has a number of tips to keep texts, calls, and internet use private. Here is their site.