Every year more Alaskan families lose health insurance and can't afford health care. Every year more families with health insurance cannot afford to use it because of expensive out-of-pocket charges. Every year more Alaskan elders with Medicare are refused treatment by local physicians. And every year health care in Alaska continues to cost 30 percent more than down south. These problems are a reflection of the crisis across the nation. Not surprisingly, the United States ranks last in preventable deaths compared to 14 Western European nations. We have a lot to talk about.
Community Health Resources List
Physicians for a National Health Program
Universal Health Care Action Network
Lawrence D. Weiss retired from UAA in 2004 as a research professor in public health. He designed and built the Master of Public Health program at UAA, and has published three books and numerous articles on public health and health policy issues. He completed a post-doctoral degree at Harvard School of Public Health in 1982, and has been in Alaska ever since. His favorite expression is "facts matter." Occasionally he can be found in a local pub drinking beer and eating pizza while engaged in passionate conversation with friends.
Health Care Workers Grapple with Climate Change - 3/13/2009 2:42 pm
Women Leading the Charge - 3/9/2009 12:29 pm
Health Care Summit - 3/6/2009 1:48 pm
Health Care Reform Stirs Unity - 3/3/2009 2:37 pm
Washington a Model for Reform? - 2/27/2009 11:50 am
2009 Municipal Public Health Legislation and Budget Requests - 2/24/2009 2:44 pm
Direct Service Workers Survey - 2/20/2009 2:51 pm
Health Care Reform: A Meeting of the Minds - 2/17/2009 12:09 pm
Unions and Better Healthcare for Alaskan Workers - 2/2/2009 10:27 am
UAA Climate Change and Health Presentation: Feb. 3, 5-7pm - 1/26/2009 2:16 pm
Unemployment Benefits for Alaskans Can't Cover COBRA Premiums - 1/23/2009 12:00 pm
Legislative Health Caucus Report - 1/16/2009 10:15 am
"Health, Money and Fear" - 1/9/2009 2:57 pm
Medicare Changes and Access to Health Care - 1/5/2009 1:21 pm
APCA Applauds Governor for Alaska Health Care Commission - 12/30/2008 10:36 am
Mat-Su Health Forum--December 30, 2008 - 12/29/2008 4:15 pm
Get Your Free Copy of the Alaska Well-Being Report - 12/23/2008 10:03 pm
Pretty Exciting: The Alliance to Restore Medicare - 12/18/2008 3:12 pm
Health Reform: Free Public Forum - 11/25/2008 2:07 pm
Physicians for a National Health Program Statement - 11/21/2008 2:30 pm
New Alliance to Reverse Harmful Provisions of 2003 Medicare Law - 11/15/2008 5:07 pm
Learn About Access to Health Care in Alaska - 11/13/2008 11:13 am
MARCH 13, 2009 - 2:42 PM
The topic of the latest fall/winter issue of Northwest Public Health, now available online, is "Climate Change: Challenging Public Health". A series of articles address how public health workers plan to prepare and adapt to the challenges of climate change. Climate model predictions for the Northwest indicate that health workers will face a wide range of health problems, including complications related to extreme weather and more outbreaks of infectious diseases.
At least one article deals with Alaska specific challenges. Joining Forces to Address Climate Change: Alaska Communities Threatened by Coastal Erosion and Flooding by Jaquline H. Poston and Larry Hartig reports on a collaborative effort to support tribal elders struggling with the survival of native villages. Other subjects include:
MARCH 9, 2009 - 12:29 PM
Late last year, The National Women’s Law Center published a tool kit to assist advocates pushing for quality comprehensive, affordable health care reform that meets the needs of women and their families. As the national discussion on health care gains momentum, this literature provides important information.
The Tool kit, "Making Real Progress for Women and Health Care," seeks to empower women's advocates in the health care reform movement at the state and national levels. This resource outlines the basics of health care reform and explores several issues women face in particular. The tool kit explores various reform proposals and their impact on women's access to solid health care. To download a copy of the Reform Matters Tool kit, click here.
MARCH 6, 2009 - 1:48 PM
Approximately 82 health care policy stake holders, 32 House members, 23 senators, and eight "everyday Americans" convened at the White House yesterday for a health care summit, CongressDaily reports (Condon, CongressDaily 3/5). The summit included five sessions that addressed proposals including how to finance health care reform, plans to reduce health care costs, whether to establish an individual health insurance mandate, and whether to develop a public health plan that would compete with private plans.
President Obama voiced a willingness to compromise on his ideas put forth during the 2008 election campaign. Obama said, "...I put forward a plan for health care reform. I thought it was an excellent plan. But I don't presume that it was a perfect plan or that it was the best possible plan" according to a New York Times report (Pear/Stolberg, New York Times, 3/6).
MARCH 3, 2009 - 2:37 PM
President Obama is looking to get started on an ambitious health care agenda this week. On Monday, he announced Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as his nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Any day now, a Health Care Summit will take place. Change will come quickly.
To hold the Administration and Congress accountable to their commitment to enact comprehensive health reform, several health care justice groups and campaigns have joined together to form the Universal Health Care Action Network (UHCAN). This alliance hopes to both keep Washington on task and to counter the efforts to derail reform similar to those seen in 1993 and 1994.
FEBRUARY 27, 2009 - 11:50 AM
The time for major Alaska health care reform is fast approaching. President Obama has proposed a $634 billion reserve fund over the next decade as a reform investment. The announcement of this budget detail clearly makes universal health care a high priority for the administration.
Some states are already positioning themselves to take advantage of federal relief dollars aimed at health care reform. Washington State's Senate health committee recently approved a bill to achieve universal health care by 2012. SB5945 would create the Washington Health Partnership, which would provide health care to all state residents by expanding access to coverage and lowering administrative costs. The Partnership would work closely with the state's D.C. delegation to take advantage of new federal opportunities for health care reform.
FEBRUARY 24, 2009 - 2:44 PM
The 2009 Anchorage Municipal Legislative Priorities have now been posted on the web by the Office of Management & Budget. There are two health-related legislative requests worth mention. HB 207 aims to reduce both the cost and labor burden of facilitating consent for participating in school-based surveys. This will help provide more vital information about youth behavior used to drive programs and initiatives. SB113/HB 190 would ensure break time for employees to breastfeed infants.
Requests for public health budgets have also been posted. Public Health Capital Budget Grant Requests include:
FEBRUARY 20, 2009 - 2:51 PM
Wage and benefit levels play a critical role in both the recruitment and retention of direct service workers. The Wages and Benefits subcommittee of the Mental Health Trust Authority Workforce Development Initiative is conducting a survey of direct service workers to develop a profile of what employment benefits are most important to them and which of these is most related to retention.
The purpose of the survey is to target advocacy efforts with the state and legislature to increase wages and benefits of the direct service workforce. Survey participants will be entered into a drawing to win one of forty $25 gift cards.
FEBRUARY 17, 2009 - 12:09 PM
Recently, Families USA hosted its annual conference, Health Action 2009, in Washington D.C. The national grassroots meeting running from January 29-31 gathered over a thousand health care advocates from around the country to address health policy topics including Medicaid, Medicare, prescription drugs, the uninsured and universal coverage.
Speakers included members of both the Senate and House of Representatives as well the White House Office of Health Care Reform, health care professionals and advocates, and respected members of the media. Workshops focused on several different aspects of health care reform, ranging from affordable access to quality, to unifying states' efforts and financing.
FEBRUARY 2, 2009 - 10:27 AM
Three important studies have recently linked union membership with improved healthcare. The first, Unions and Upward Mobility for Women Workers, produced by The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), records that unionized women workers are 19 percentage points more likely than their nonunion counterparts to have employer-provided health insurance. Another CEPR report, Unions and Upward Mobility for Young Workers, records that unionized workers ages 18 to 29 are 17 percentage points more likely to have employer-provided health insurance.
JANUARY 26, 2009 - 2:16 PM
On Tuesday, February 3, from 5:00pm-7:00pm at the UAA Campus Bookstore Dr. Kristie L. Ebi presents "Human Health Impacts of and Public Health Responses to Climate Change."
This event presents a unique opportunity to better understand what we can do when facing effects of climate change.
Dr. Kristie L. Ebi is an independent consultant (ESS, LLC) who has been conducting research on the impacts of and adaptation to climate change for more than a decade. Her scientific training includes an M.S. in toxicology and a Ph.D. and a Masters of Public Health in epidemiology, and two years of postgraduate research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
JANUARY 23, 2009 - 12:00 PM
This month, Families USA has released a report detailing the plight of recently unemployed American workers trying to continue their health care coverage after losing their jobs. The report, "Squeezed: Caught Between Unemployment Benefits and Health Care Costs," shows that the COBRA program (from the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) designed to help workers continue seeing the same doctors and keep the same insurance coverage, while transitioning to new work, simply costs too much.
The numbers are escpecially grim for Alaskans. Among the key finding, research shows that a newly unemployed worker in the state would need to spend, on average, more than 49.2 percent of their unemployment insurance income on COBRA premiums. The average premium for family coverage under COBRA would equal 131.7 percent of their unemployment insurance income. The costs of COBRA premiums for Alaskans are some of the highest in the nation.
JANUARY 16, 2009 - 10:15 AM
On December 3rd, 2008, the Alaska Legislative Joint Health Caucus released its first annual report on the State of Alaska's Health and Well-Being. This report contains summaries of the nine health care forums held during 2008, addressing a wide range of health care issues--including maximizing access through technology, the rising number of the uninsured, domestic violence, and a crisis in senior care.
The Alaska Joint Legislative Health Caucus was formed in 2004 to provide a summary of statewide information on current health issues to legislators, their staff, and interested Alaskans. For a full copy of the report, Power Point presentations of the forums, or more information, visit the website: www.akhealthcaucus.org .
JANUARY 9, 2009 - 2:57 PM
Frustrated by the "multiple absurdities of our health care system, Dr. Paul Hochfeld created the DVD Health, Money and Fear, with the goal of "nudging the health care system in the direction of sanity and sustainability."
This 47 minute film examines why our health care system costs so mush, how it reflects on our society, what what can be done to change the system. Doctors interviewed in the film include John Kithaber (former Governor of Oregon), Arnold Relman (Emeritus Editor-in-Chief of the New England Journal of Medicine), and Daniel Callahan (co founder of the Hastings Center.
JANUARY 5, 2009 - 1:21 PM
The Municipality of Anchorage, Department of Health & Social Services presents a panel discussion. Tom Nighswander, MD, will facilitate.
January 9th, 10:00a.m. to 2:00p.m.
Assembly Chambers, Z.J. Loussac Library
3600 Denali Street
Call 343-4698 for more information.
Posted by K.L., ACPP Project Coordinator
DECEMBER 30, 2008 - 10:36 AM
On December 4, Governor Sarah Palin announced her health priorities which included the creation of a health care Commission. In conjunction with her stated priorities, Governor Palin signed Administrative Order No. 246 establishing the Alaska Health Care Commission in the Department of Health and Social Services. The purpose of the commission, as stated in the administrative order, is "to provide recommendations for and to foster the development of a statewide plan to address the quality, accessibility, and availability of health care for all citizens of the state."
The administrative order outlines the duties of the Commission. These duties are as follows:
1. serve as the state health planning and coordinating body;
2. consistent with state and federal laws, provide recommendations for and foster the development of a:
a. comprehensive statewide health care policy;
b. strategy for improving the health of Alaskans that includes
i. encouraging personal responsibility in prevention and health living for all residents of the state;
ii. a reduction in health care costs for all residents of the state to be below the national average;
iii. access in communities of the sate to safe water and wastewater systems;
iv. the development of a sustainable health care workforce in the state;
v. quality health care being accessible for all residents of the state; and
vi. increasing the number of residents of the state who are covered by health care insurance; and
3. submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature on or before January 15, 2010 regarding the Commission's recommendations and activities.
DECEMBER 29, 2008 - 4:15 PM
President-elect Obama has made it clear that health care reform is one of his top priorities. That's why he is asking people to give their own thoughts and ideas as to how we should fix the system at Health Care Community Discussions all across the country.
The Mat-Su Health Foundation just signed up to host a Community Discussion
Date and time: Tuesday, December 30, 6:00PM
Location: Colony High School Gym
Details: Contact: Elizabeth Ripley e.ripley@msrmc.com
DECEMBER 23, 2008 - 10:03 PM
The Alaska Legislative Health Caucus has produced a publication outlining critical health information and conclusions given in their nine '08 forums. The publication is the Alaskan Well-Being Report that can be downloaded from www.akhealthcaucus.org, or calling the office of the Caucus CoChair Representative Sharon Cissna: Outside of Anchorage: 800-922-3875 or 269-0190 in Anchorage.
DECEMBER 18, 2008 - 3:12 PM
A Call for Action from the Alliance to Restore Medicare:
To Restore and Ensure Medicare's Health
Background
Medicare, the federal social insurance program guaranteeing health care to older people and people with serious disabilities, has been treasured for decades by most Americans. But a law enacted five years ago is now undermining it. A multi-prong assault on Medicare is under way. It must be halted and reversed.
Developed with stealth and marketed deceptively, the so-called "Medicare Modernization Act" of 2003 (MMA) is looting Medicare's trust funds and undermining the public's confidence in Medicare as it chips away at this efficient, publicly accountable program, aiming to atomize it by gradually moving its beneficiaries into the profit oriented private insurance market.
NOVEMBER 25, 2008 - 2:07 PM
Health Reform Models for Alaska
Open to the public and free of charge. Come learn & discuss what will work in Alaska! Make sure you and your family can access and afford health care and health insurance in the future. Tuesday, December 2 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. Sheraton Hotel Ballroom
Guest Speakers
Robert Kraig, Citizen Action of Wisconsin - Healthy Wisconsin
Andy Moderow, Staff, Senator French, Alaska State Legislature - SB 160
JoAnn Lamphere, PhD, DirectorAARP - Lessons Learned From Other States
Health Reform Panel
Representative Mike Hawker, Alaska State Legislature
Senator Johnny Ellis, Alaska State Legislature
CEO Rod Betit, Alaska State Hospitals and Nursing Home Assoc.
Alaska Health Summit
NOVEMBER 21, 2008 - 2:30 PM
[The following is a communication from Physicians for a National Health Program]
November 18, 2008
The Honorable Max Baucus
Chairman, Finance Committee
U.S. Senate
Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Baucus,
Physicians for a National Health Program respectfully requests an opportunity for one or more of our members to testify about the merits of single-payer national health insurance (as embodied in the U.S. National Health Insurance Act, H.R. 676, which currently has the support of over 90 member of Congress) at the Senate Finance Committee's hearings titled "Healthcare Reform: An Economic Perspective."
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