The Administration has revived its assault on the ACA when, on Thursday, June 7, the Justice Department said it would not defend the Act against a lawsuit by some conservative states that are once again seeking to have the law declared unconstitutional. This comes against a backdrop of some other states, or at least
On Thursday, June 7, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new report that indicated that 45,000 people committed suicide in 2016. The report indicated that more than half the victims did not have a known mental health condition. There were a variety of contributing factors both for those with a known
Shaquita Ogleetree On Wednesday, June 6th, the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth in coordination with Florida’s Camelot Community Care held a youth-lead briefing titled: What’s next for me? Facing my future as I age out of care. A dynamic panel of eight young people between the ages of 18 through 22 and in foster care
The Senate Finance Committee will consider a package of opioids legislation this Tuesday, June 12. Before the Memorial Day break, Senate Finance members announced a package of 22 bills. The bill mainly addresses the Committee’s jurisdiction over the Medicare and Medicaid programs but the three bills that deal with child welfare address funding under the
Shaquita Ogletree The Congressional Baby Caucus (co-chaired by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN)) sponsored a briefing to focus on the drug impact of opioids on that population. Highlighting a recent report in the New York Times, Congresswoman DeLauro said that the solution could not be to tear families apart and punish
On May 23, shortly before the Memorial Day break, the Senate Finance Committee announced a package of 22 bills, (including three on child welfare) that attempt to address the opioid crisis. The bill mainly address the Committee’s jurisdiction over the Medicare and Medicaid programs but the three bills that deal with child welfare address funding
Shaquita Ogletree The National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse (NHCVA) and Futures Without Violence sponsored a briefing last month, Health Solutions to Women, Children, and Families Affected by Trauma and Abuse. The panel included the First Lady of Massachusetts, Lauren Baker, Sabrina Matoff-Stepp, Office of Women’s Health, HHS, Tiffany Flowers, Pathways Counseling Center, Iowa,
Shaquita Ogletree On May 22, the Hill newspaper sponsored another of their series of forums on opioids, America’s Opioid Epidemic: Youth Awareness & Prevention. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) spoke about her state having the highest opioid death rate per capita in the United States and how the state is struggling with the multiple families
On Wednesday, May 9, Dr. Phil McGraw was the featured speaker at a briefing co-hosted by several congressional caucuses including the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, Senate Caucus on Foster Youth, Congressional Social Work Caucus, Congressional Mental Health Caucus, the Congressional Crime Prevention and Youth Development Caucus, the Bipartisan Taskforce to Combat the Heroin Epidemic.
The Commonwealth Fund released findings last Tuesday, May 1 that the increased health insurance coverage under the ACA may be going in reverse. There new survey indicates that the uninsured rate is now 15.5 percent, up from 12.7 percent in 2016. That means about 4 million people have lost coverage in two years. They find