Mike Bassett, Staff Writer on Oncology and Hematology - MEDPAGE TODAY
Stephan:
Yet another story tracking a negative trend in the healthcare of American women; another reason why we need to implement universal birthright single-payer healthcare like the rest of the developed world
Woman getting mammogram Credit: Medpage today
While out-of-pocket costs (OOPCs) have largely been eliminated for screening mammography, they still serve as financial barriers to patients undergoing subsequent diagnostic tests, according to results from a retrospective cohort study.
The analysis of more than 200,000 commercially insured women who underwent screening mammography in 2016, detailed just how much more women enrolled in plans with higher cost-sharing (such as copay- and deductible-predominant plans) paid in OOPCs for subsequent imaging tests.
Plans dominated by coinsurance had the lowest mean OOPCs ($945), followed by balanced plans ($1,017), plans dominated by copays ($1,020), and plans dominated by deductibles ($1,186), reported Danny Hughes, PhD, of Arizona State University in Phoenix, and colleagues in JAMA Network Open in a new tab or window.
In turn, women in plans with higher OOPCs had fewer subsequent diagnostic breast imaging procedures than patients enrolled in plans with lower OOPCs.
For example, women in predominant co-pay plans underwent on average 24 fewer subsequent breast imaging procedures per 1,000 patients than those in predominant coinsurance plans, while women in predominant […]
How much clearer does it need to get that the MAGAt Republicans neither like nor support democracy? The voters in the 3rd District of Colorado who elected this cretin to Congress should be ashamed of themselves.
MAGAt Republican Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado. Credit: Gage Skidmore
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) argued that the United States is “not a democracy” in response to teachers union president Randi Weingarten’s call to enact gun bans similar to ones in Australia and New Zealand.
At an American Federation of Teachers (AFT) meeting Tuesday morning, Weingarten had addressed the Nashville school shooting by calling for a reaction similar to “other great democracies.”
“How many lives will be shattered before we have the courage to do what Scotland did, what Australia did, what New Zealand did, what other great democracies do? We must solve this epidemic, and that’s up to us,” she said.
Boebert spoke about Weingarten’s remarks after right-wing host Charlie Kirk speculated that the teachers union president wanted to repeal the Second Amendment.
“And, you know, maybe one of the things that we need to address with the Democrat party is, you played a clip from the teachers union with Randi there talking,” Boebert said. “Maybe one thing we need to address is we’re not a democracy! So quit with that!”
Celine McNicholas, Margaret Poydock, Samantha Sanders, and Ben Zipperer , - Economic Policy Institute
Stephan:
Anyone who actually knows anything about American history, which almost by definition means no one who is a Republican ideologue, knows that the middle class in America was created in large measure by what Unions achieved for their members. This, of course, has always meant that the corporations who employ those workers do not like or support unions. Corporations want to pay their workers as little as possible and want support programs like healthcare to be as limited as possible. Oh, do I need to tell you that all this union-busting is being done by Republicans?
High-profile union organizing campaigns and attacks on those campaigns at companies such as Amazon, Starbucks, and Google have shined a spotlight on workers seeking better pay and working conditions. However, attempts to derail those efforts by corporations are on the rise, costing more than $400 million a year.
But that number is only the tip of the union-busting iceberg.
Here’s what we know about ‘union avoidance’ today:
When workers seek to form unions, employers often hire “union-avoidance” consultants to dissuade and weaken workers’ unionization efforts. These consultants work to prevent a union election from taking place—and if that fails, to ensure that workers vote against the union.
Employers spend a lot of money trying to derail union organizing campaigns. EPI estimates employers spend $433 million per year on union-avoidance consultants. This work is well compensated—consultants report being paid $350-plus hourly rates or $2,500-plus daily rates for their work to defeat union organizing efforts. This estimate is just a drop in the bucket because there is not enough data to reveal the true scope of what employers spend.1
Texas has become a very weird state, in my opinion. Its elected state officials do one thing after another to harm the wellbeing of the people who voted them into office. Degraded schools, Degraded healthcare for women and children. Degraded childcare. Degraded elder care. Degraded preparation for the impact of climate change. The only people getting any benefit are rich White men, and the corporations they control. And yet the voters of Texas will probably vote for more of the same.
MAGAt Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas waves to a crowd at a Trump rally. Credit:Nick Wagner / AP
Texas Republicans are at it again. Last week, Republican politicians in the state legislature introduced a package of bills intended to punish renewable energy and boost fossil fuels, despite the fact that Texas is currently one of the nation’s top generators of renewable power.
On Thursday, Texas state senators Charles Schwertner and Phil King introduced nine bills that they said would help solve issues with Texas’s beleaguered power grid. According to the Dallas Morning News, the bills include one that would create up to 10,000 megawatts of natural gas-fueled generation; one to smooth out what Schwertner said were pro-wind and solar “market distortions” that federal tax breaks create; one to get rid of any remaining state tax credits for renewables; and one that would limit new renewable energy facilities being built based on how much natural gas facilities are also being built, in an attempt to keep natural gas competitive.
The Republicans have become a danger to the wellbeing of the United States. I know that sounds partisan; it is not. I care about objectively verifiable social outcome data. I support that which fosters wellbeing at every level and by that calculation the Republican Party is a danger. This report is one of the reasons I say this.
A gas flare is seen at an oil well site on July 26, 2013 outside Williston, North Dakota. Credit: Andrew Burton/Getty
As House Republicans prepare to vote on H.R. 1 this week, environmental advocates warned Monday that the sprawling package of fossil fuel-friendly legislation would worsen the climate emergency and biodiversity destruction while saddling U.S. households with higher energy bills.
H.R. 1, misleadingly titled the “Lower Energy Costs Act” and dubbed the “Polluters Over People Act” by opponents, consists of 15 separate bills and a pair of resolutions. As GOP lawmakers made clear at a legislative hearing held last month and through recent amendments, they’re seeking to dismantle a wide range of regulations to boost fossil fuel production and exports despite scientists’ unequivocal warnings about the need to prohibit new coal, oil, and gas projects to avert the worst effects of the climate crisis.
Environment America explained Monday that if approved, the sweeping proposal introduced earlier this month by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) would, among other things:
