A Good Day To Advocate for Better Healthcare
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Heart Pump Issues
A troubled heart pump that has now been linked to 49 deaths and dozens of injuries worldwide will be allowed to remain in use, despite the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to issue an alert about the risk that it could puncture a wall of the heart. The tiny Impella pumps, about the width of a candy cane, are threaded through blood vessels to take over the work of the heart in patients who are undergoing complex procedures or have life-threatening conditions. (NYTimes)
Despite the FDA’s classification of its March 21 alert as the “most serious type of recall,” the pumps will remain on the market. Abiomed, the device’s manufacturer, has issued new instructions to physicians on proper usage, including how to carefully position its catheter and use imaging when turning it during procedures.
Republicans and Marijuana - Strange Bedfellows
A coalition of 22 state attorneys general is calling on Congress to address “the glaring vagueness” that has led to legal cannabis products being sold over the counter across the country — including sometimes from vending machines or online. A letter dated March 20 addresses the consequences of Republican lawmakers’ choice to legalize hemp production in the 2018 omnibus Farm Bill — a decision that perhaps inadvertently led to a multibillion-dollar market in intoxicating cannabis products that are arguably federally legal. (The Hill) Ocherav (It’s Armenian and you can look it up or send me a note and I’ll explain.)
Medicaid Unwinding - One Year
It is now one year since the start of the Medicaid “unwinding,” when a pandemic-era promise that anyone enrolled in the safety-net program could keep their health coverage expired.
After 12 months, states have completed eligibility checks for nearly two-thirds of the record 94 million Americans enrolled in Medicaid and the related Children’s Health Insurance Program last April. So far, 19.2 million have been removed from the rolls, while 40.6 million have had their coverage renewed, according to KFF’s unwinding tracker.
Across the country, 70 percent of dis-enrollments have been for procedural reasons, such as failing to return paperwork, rather than confirming ineligibility. However, there are significant variations among states.
Nevada and New Mexico, for example, have a procedural termination rate of 93 percent.
Maine, at the other end of the spectrum, has dropped 22 percent of its Medicaid beneficiaries for procedural reasons.
You know the real answer -Universal Single Payer Healthcare, like HR 3421.
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
By phone: (202) 224-3121
By email: democracy.io
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.
If you need financial help with an abortion try abortionfunds.org
Claims Denials and Appeals & What to Do
Appeal a Healthcare Decision
Appeal/Negotiate a Hospital Bill
Disinformation Management
Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency
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
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