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California’s Efforts to Build on the Affordable Care Act Lead to a Record-Low Rate Change for the Second Consecutive Year
Health

California’s Efforts to Build on the Affordable Care Act Lead to a Record-Low Rate Change for the Second Consecutive Year

Sentinel News ServiceAugust 19, 2020

Covered California announced on Tuesday a record-low insurance premium rate change for the second consecutive year. The preliminary average rate change for California’s individual market is 0.6 percent for the upcoming 2021 plan year, which is the lowest mark since the launch of the Affordable Care Act and follows a rate change of only 0.8 percent in 2020.

Combating HIV in the African American Community
HealthNews

Combating HIV in the African American Community

Maisha Parnell, MPH, MSN and Nina Harawa, PhD, MPHMay 14, 2020

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic harkens back to another pandemic that began with the movement of a virus from animal into human populations and is still very much with us – HIV/AIDS.  Like COVID-19, HIV affects Black populations at increased rates for reasons related to racism, segregation, and poverty, presenting a serious ongoing threat to our health.  However, it is critical that COVID-19 does not distract us completely from efforts to end the HIV epidemic once and for all – a goal that many believe is in sight.  HIV.gov provides the specific metric for reaching this goal, “to reduce the number of new HIV infections, in the United States, by 75 percent within five years, and then by at least 90 percent within 10 years.”

NNPA EXCLUSIVE — Biden Says, ‘The Black Vote Will Determine the Nominee’
NationalNewsPolitical

NNPA EXCLUSIVE — Biden Says, ‘The Black Vote Will Determine the Nominee’

Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior CorrespondentMarch 5, 2020

“I got started in the African American community. I got involved in the Civil Rights Movement when I was a kid. I helped de-segregate a movie theater, that kind of thing,” Biden noted. “I was the only guy who worked in the projects on the East Side who was White. That’s how I got started, and the Black community is the community that, as we say, brung me to the dance. That’s how I got elected.”

Do You Know You’ll Be Fined for Going Without Health Insurance This Year?
FamilyHealth

Do You Know You’ll Be Fined for Going Without Health Insurance This Year?

California Black MediaJanuary 17, 2020

According to results of a recent survey, 56 percent of uninsured Californians are unaware of the new mandate. The study, conducted by Covered California – the state’s independent government insurance exchange – also “found that avoiding the penalty motivates those with health insurance to keep their coverage and encourages the uninsured to sign up.”

Congressmember Lauren Underwood Slams the Trump Administration’s Continued Assault on Americans’ Health Care
Daily BriefsHealthPolitical

Congressmember Lauren Underwood Slams the Trump Administration’s Continued Assault on Americans’ Health Care

Sentinel News WireMay 7, 2019

Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) WASHINGTON –  Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) responded to the Department of Justice’s newly filed brief in Texas v. United States, in which the Administration asks the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down protections for people with pre-existing conditions along with every protection and benefit of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As the Administration works to limit access to health care and protections under the ACA, Underwood continues to offer solutions to help improve the ACA and lower healthcare costs for the American people. “This weekend marks two years since House Republicans cruelly celebrated their vote

Senator Schumer: Trump and Barr Threaten African American Gains Under Obamacare
NewsPolitical

Senator Schumer: Trump and Barr Threaten African American Gains Under Obamacare

Stacy M. Brown NNPA, Newswire CorrespondentApril 12, 2019

Schumer noted that African American gains under the health care legislation, commonly known as Obamacare, are threatened by Trump and Attorney General William Barr as the Justice Department has argued in federal court that the law is unconstitutional and should be struck down – “Not just vital insurance reforms like protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions, as they had first argued last year,” Schumer said.

Congressmember Antonio Delgado Joins in Introducing Bill to Preserve Affordable Care Act Protections for People with Pre-Existing Conditions
Daily Briefs

Congressmember Antonio Delgado Joins in Introducing Bill to Preserve Affordable Care Act Protections for People with Pre-Existing Conditions

Sentinel News WireMarch 27, 2019

WASHINGTON, DC – With the Administration joining a lawsuit to invalidate the entire Affordable Care Act including its protections for those with pre-existing conditions, Representative Antonio Delgado (NY-19) joined as an original cosponsor in introducing the Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions & Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2019. Delgado’s action today follows his second in-district work period, where he focused on health care, touring health facilities across the district and speaking at the opening of a new Planned Parenthood facility. “People across my district are clamoring for better health care services – it’s why I focused my second in-district work