Month: August 2020

Severe Staffing And Personal Protective Equipment Shortages Faced By Nursing Homes During The COVID-19 Pandemic

By Brian E. McGarry, David C. Grabowski, and Michael L. Barnett: For Entire Post, Go Here…

ABSTRACT

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to devastate U.S. nursing homes.

Adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and staffing are critical to protect nursing home residents and staff during future COVID-19 outbreaks. Despite the importance of these basic measures, little national data is available about the state of nursing homes with respect to these resources.

This paper presents results from a new national database containing 98% of U.S. nursing homes. We find that more than 1 in 5 nursing homes report a severe shortage of PPE and any shortage of staff.

Rates of both staff and PPE shortages did not meaningfully improve from May to July of 2020. Facilities with COVID-19 cases among residents and staff, as well as those serving more Medicaid recipients and with lower quality scores, were more likely to report shortages.

Policies aimed at providing resources to obtain additional direct care staff and PPE to these vulnerable nursing homes, particularly in areas with rising community COVID-19 case rates, are needed to reduce the national COVID-19 death toll. [Editor’s Note: This Fast Track Ahead Of Print article is the accepted version of the peer-reviewed manuscript. The final edited version will appear in an upcoming issue of Health Affairs.]

States are trying to cap the price of insulin. Pharmaceutical companies are pushing back.

By Amy Martyn: For Entire Post, Go Here…

The drug industry has fought some state efforts to make insulin more affordable to people who are on Medicare or lack health insurance.

Tennessee state Rep. Jason Hodges wanted to do something about the soaring cost of insulin. He learned that in the United States, the average list price for insulin tripled from 2002 to 2013 and then doubled from 2012 to 2016, forcing some diabetics to spend as much as $1,200 a month. So he wrote a bill to forbid any pharmacy in Tennessee from charging more than $100 for a 30-day insulin supply, thinking that would force drug companies to lower their prices.

As Hodges, a Democrat, prepared in March to file his bill, he was approached by a lobbyist for Eli Lilly & Co., one of the three multinational drug companies that make insulin for U.S. patients. The lobbyist handed him an amendment, Hodges told FairWarning, and said one of his co-sponsors had already signed off on the changes.

“I’m the sponsor of the dang bill, I haven’t agreed to anything,” Hodges remembers responding. Eli Lilly’s proposal also would have capped the monthly cost of insulin at $100, but only for diabetics with health insurance. It offered nothing for the uninsured. Knowing that many of the people struggling to afford insulin in Tennessee are uninsured, Hodges rejected the changes. He says the lobbyist, Estie Harris, warned that Eli Lilly would fight the bill unless he reconsidered. Harris did not respond to messages from FairWarning.

Reaching Victims August Newsletter

From National Resource Center for Reaching Victims: For Entire Post, Go Here…

Human Trafficking of Youth with Disabilities

Through the National Resource Center’s Innovations Mini-Grant program, the International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA), in collaboration with the National Human Trafficking and Disabilities Working Group, partnered together to increase identification of children and youth with disabilities who are victims of human trafficking and improve their ability to access appropriate services.

They created a series of targeted education, training and outreach materials and tools for organizations serving trafficked youth; youth with disabilities; and at-risk youth; and to youth themselves. These resources include an educational booklet, and a series of webinars focused on what victim service providers need to know when serving youth with disabilities.

Mail Delays Could Affect Mail-Order Prescriptions for Millions of Medicare Part D and Large Employer Plan Enrollees

From KFF: For Entire Post, Go Here…

In July, the new Postmaster General instituted changes in the operation of the U.S. Postal Service that could result in delays in mail delivery. More recently, the post office has suspended these changes until after the November election. Prior to the announcement that he was postponing these changes, the Postmaster General had warned states of the possibility that mail-in ballots requested close to state deadlines would not be received in time to be counted in November’s election. Changes to the Postal Service’s delivery standards have potential implications that extend beyond those for the election.

Potential mail service delays could also be a concern for people who receive prescription drugs from mail-order pharmacies. In 2019, sales of mail-order prescriptions in the U.S. totaled nearly $145 billion (excluding rebates), with residents of some states more likely than others to use mail-order pharmacies. Mail service delays could affect a relatively large number of people in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the first seven months of 2020 shows that use of mail order increased by up to 20% over 2019 levels in the early weeks of the pandemic as patients stocked up on prescriptions and avoided retail settings, but as of late July, mail-order use is up only slightly compared to the same period last year. Getting prescriptions through mail-order pharmacies can offer convenience and cost savings to patients. Many large group plan enrollees choose to fill prescriptions at reduced cost through the mail, while others are only able to fill scripts at a mail-order pharmacy.

Melatonin Linked to Improved Brain Function in Child Concussion

From University of Queensland: For Entire Post, Go Here…

Summary: Researchers identified a specific neural network that positively responds to melatonin following concussion in children. Results suggest melatonin may help compensate for normal brain function that has been interrupted due to injury caused by concussion and helps prevent sleep disturbances.

Using the latest brain mapping techniques, researchers examined Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans from 62 children before and after taking melatonin or a placebo in a randomised clinical trial.

Child Health Research Centre’s Dr Kartik Iyer said the study revealed that concussed children who received 3mg or 10mg of melatonin over a four-week period experienced significant improvement in whole-brain function and grey matter – brain regions which are essential for sleep control and cognition.

Dr Iyer said the MRI scans enabled the team to rapidly assess millions of neural connections to help guide treatment response.

“We identified a specific “network” of brain connections that positively responded to melatonin treatment, compared with placebo,” Dr Iyer said.

“The results suggest melatonin, when taken by children with concussion, compensated for normal brain functions that may have been interrupted due to injury.”

Michigan to pay $600 million to victims of Flint contaminated-water crisis

By Kayla Ruble: For Entire Post, Go Here…

Michigan will pay $600 million to children and families in Flint who were exposed to dangerous lead-contaminated drinking water in one of the nation’s worst public health disasters, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday.

In a statement, Whitmer (D) apologized to residents for the “uncertainty and troubles” they have endured since 2014 and acknowledged that the healing “will take a long time.”

“What happened in Flint should have never happened,” she said, “and financial compensation with this settlement is just one of the many ways we can continue to show our support for the city of Flint and its families.”

The settlement resolves a lengthy legal battle that began under her Republican predecessor, Rick Snyder, who was among the many public officials accused of ignoring or even denying the crisis in the poor, largely minority city of 95,000. The problems started almost immediately after Flint changed the source of its municipal water supply to save money, and they continued for nearly two years despite residents’ increasing complaints and concerns.

IRS takes new steps to ensure people with children receive $500 Economic Impact Payments

From the IRS: For Entire Post, Go Here…

The Internal Revenue Service continues to look for ways to help people who were unable to provide their information in time to receive Economic Impact Payments for their children. As part of that effort, the Internal Revenue Service announced today it will reopen the registration period for federal beneficiaries who didn’t receive $500 per child payments earlier this year.

The IRS urges certain federal benefit recipients to use the IRS.gov Non-Filers tool starting August 15 through September 30 to enter information on their qualifying children to receive the supplemental $500 payments.

Those eligible to provide this information include people with qualifying children who receive Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Railroad Retirement benefits and Veterans Affairs Compensation and Pension (C&P) benefits and did not file a tax return in 2018 or 2019.

The IRS anticipates the catch-up payments, equal to $500 per eligible child, will be issued by mid-October.

“IRS employees have been working non-stop to deliver more than 160 million Economic Impact Payments in record time. We have coordinated outreach efforts with thousands of community-based organizations and have provided materials in more than two dozen languages,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “Given the extremely high demand for EIP assistance, we have continued to prioritize and increase resource allocations to eligible individuals, including those who may be waiting on some portion of their payment. To help with this, we are allocating additional IRS resources to ensure eligible recipients receive their full payments during this challenging time.”

Used the Non-Filers tool after May 5? No action needed.

For those Social Security, SSI, Department of Veterans Affairs and Railroad Retirement Board beneficiaries who have already used the Non-Filers tool to provide information on children, no further action is needed. The IRS will automatically make a payment in October.

Didn’t use the IRS Non-Filers tool yet? Provide information by September 30.

Seeing yourself in a new light: Recalling memories from a third-person perspective changes how our brain processes them

Katie Willis: For Entire Post, Go Here…

Remembering your past as an observer affects your memories, according to new study.

Adopting a third-person, observer point of view when recalling your past activates different parts of your brain than recalling a memory seen through your own eyes, according to a new paper.

“Our perspective when we remember changes which brain regions support memory and how these brain regions interact together,” explained Peggy St Jacques, assistant professor in the Faculty of Science’s Department of Psychology, member of the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, and co-author on the paper. 

Specifically, the results show that recalling memories from an observer-like perspective, instead of through your own eyes, leads to greater interaction between the anterior hippocampus and the posterior medial network.

“These findings contribute to a growing body of research that show that retrieving memories is an active process that can bias and even distort our memories,” added St Jacques.

“Adopting an observer-like perspective involves viewing the past in a novel way, which requires greater interaction among brain regions that support our ability to recall the details of a memory and to recreate mental images in our mind’s eye.”

Adopting an observer-like perspective may also serve a therapeutic purpose, explained St Jacques. “This may be an effective way of dealing with troubling memories by viewing the past from a distance and reducing the intensity of the emotions we feel.” 

How to Get Diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

From How To Get On: For Entire Post, Go Here…

Getting a diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is not always a simple process. Many of our readers report that they had to either educate their doctor about how to diagnosis this condition, or travel to another area to visit a specialist, or visit multiple new doctors before finding one who was able and willing to diagnosis them.

If this happens to you, don’t give up hope. Most people find they are eventually able to find a supportive doctor.

What Type of Doctor Should I Go To? 

 General Practitioner – Most or our readers report being diagnosed by their primary care physician or family medicine doctor. These doctors may not know very much about ME or CFS and sometimes people got a diagnosis by bringing their doctor a list of the criteria (see below) and reviewing it together. Some patients switched primary care doctors several time before finding one that was able/willing to diagnose them.

 Specialists – There is no specific field or medical speciality that diagnoses ME. Any doctor can diagnose you, if you find one who cares and is willing to listen. Some readers report getting diagnosed by a neurologist, rheumatologists, infectious disease specialist, or other specialist.

 Integrative Medicine – Some readers report that they found their best help from an Integrative Medicine Doctor or a Naturopathic Doctor or a Functional Medicine doctor. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to find a doctor like this who can accept insurance. In addition, if you are applying for Social Security disability, it may be helpful to keep in mind that Social Security does not recognize naturopathic doctors as “acceptable medical sources”

 ME or CFS Specialists – Some doctors are referred to as “ME Specialists.” This term is slightly misleading, as this is not a licensed area of medical specialty. However, there are doctors who do have special knowledge and training with ME, and special interest in treating ME patients. These doctors are sometimes expensive or far away, but if you are lucky enough to be able to go to one, here are some places to find one: #MEAction list of doctors and Colleen Steckel’s list of doctors.

 ME Clinics – In the UK there are special clinics that focus on ME. Although this sounds great, many of our readers report bad experiences. In the past, most of these clinics supported Graded Exercise Therapy. As there continues to be more documentation and research showing the dangers of Graded Exercise Therapy, many clinics are now changing their practice and no longer offer Graded Exercise Therapy. Our readers report that clinics that have stopped practicing GET may not have a lot of other options to offer. Perhaps this will change in time. Stay tuned!

 If You Are Applying for Disability (US) – We asked people who were approved for disability in the US to share the name of: What doctor was the most helpful?. Also take a look here: How to Find a Doc to Help With Disability

Sins Invalid: An Unshamed Claim to Beauty in the Face of Invisibility

From Sins Invalid: For Entire Post, Go Here…

Our Mission

Sins Invalid is a disability justice based performance project that incubates and celebrates artists with disabilities, centralizing artists of color and LGBTQ / gender-variant artists as communities who have been historically marginalized. Led by disabled people of color, Sins Invalid’s performance work explores the themes of sexuality, embodiment and the disabled body, developing provocative work where paradigms of “normal” and “sexy” are challenged, offering instead a vision of beauty and sexuality inclusive of all bodies and communities.

We define disability broadly to include people with physical impairments, people who belong to a sensory minority, people with emotional disabilities, people with cognitive challenges, and those with chronic/severe illness. We understand the experience of disability to occur within any and all walks of life, with deeply felt connections to all communities impacted by the medicalization of their bodies, including trans, gender variant and intersex people, and others whose bodies do not conform to our culture(s)’ notions of “normal” or “functional.”