Archive for the ‘Health Issues’ Category
June 5 – Let’s Talk About the Future of Health Reform: How It May Affect You
The federal health reform legislation known as the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act poises the United States health care system for a major evolutionary step whether or not the Supreme Court upholds the law. Come and hear two well-known health care experts discuss the future directions of the national as well as the New York State programs and what you may gain or lose.
Harold and Jane Hirsh
Professor of Health Law and Policy
George Washington University School
of Public Health and Health Services.
Former Director of Citizen Action NY
Author, Fighting for Our Health:
The Epic Battle to Make Health Care a
Right in the United States
Date: June 5, 2012
Time: Reception begins at 5:30 pm, Program from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Location: Pfizer, Inc. Headquarters, 235 East 42nd Street, 219 Building, Lower Level
Cost: $5 for WCC members, $10 for non-members.
As seating is limited, please register by June 1st. To reserve your seat, please do so by registering online, by calling the WCC office at 212.353.8070, or by mailing or faxing (212.228.4665) this form to the WCC office.
Co-Sponsor: New York Medical College
Generously hosted by: Pfizer, Inc.
Join Us: Voice Your Support for the Affordable Care Act
Shortly after President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, anti-health care activists filed suit in federal court, trying to block the law from taking effect. According to FamiliesUSA, “of the dozens of cases filed to challenge the Affordable Care Act, four cases that deal with the substance of the law have reached the appellate level. Two courts (the Sixth Circuit and DC circuit) upheld the entire law. One court (the Fourth Circuit) dismissed the case as premature. One court (the Eleventh Circuit) struck down the individual responsibility provision, but left the rest of the law in place.”
The Supreme Court has agreed to review the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Florida et al. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, et al. Brought by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the attorneys general of 26 states, and several individuals, the Supreme Court has divided the case into four questions. It will hear arguments from March 26-28 and is expected to issue a decision by late June.
As an organization committed to the provision of high quality, accessible and affordable care for all, the WCC promotes policies to achieve universal health care coverage. While no one can predict how the Court will rule, we can still have an impact on their decision: join us and show that you support our health care rights and want to see them upheld. Get informed, take action, and make a difference:
Get Informed:
- Learn about the four questions and corresponding arguments. The Supreme Court has divided the case into four separate questions. Inform your advocacy with a clear understanding of these questions and the arguments against and in support of the Affordable Care Act.
- Explore court decisions about the Affordable Care Act. Already, 19 courts have either held up or dismissed the challenge to the law, two courts have upheld most of the law but ruled the individual mandate unconstitutional, and two courts have struck down more than one provision of the Affordable Care Act. See an interactive map here, based on information from Kasier Health News.
- Meet the key players. From President Barack Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, meet the people involved in the Supreme Court case.
Take Action:
- Sign FamiliesUSA’s “People’s Amicus Brief.” An amicus (friend of the court) brief allows stakeholders to share their insight on a case before the Court. Signing onto the “People’s Amicus Brief” is a great way to show the Justices that the law is working and that Americans support the Affordable Care Act. Be sure to share this brief with at least five of your friends, and ask them to join you in standing up for our health care rights.
- Share your story. If you are or someone you know is benefiting from provisions of the Affordable Care Act, sharing your story is a great way to emphasize the importance of the law. Go online today and tell your story to show how health reform is making a difference.
- Write a letter to the editor. Get the word out to those in your community about the difference the Affordable Care Act is making to families in our neighborhoods. Click here to submit a letter to the editor of your local paper and spread the word.
- Share on Facebook. Create your own message or use this sample post from FamiliesUSA to tell everyone on Facebook the importance of this fight: On March 26, the Supreme Court is hearing the anti-health care challenge to the Affordable Care Act. Judges on both sides of the political spectrum have upheld the law, but part of what will influence the Justices’ decision is hearing that the Affordable Care Act is working. Show your support by signing the “People’s Amicus Brief” today! http://bit.ly/x7btTF
- Share on Twitter. Create your own tweet or use this sample from FamiliesUSA to share the importance of this fight with your followers: #SCOTUS is reviewing #hcr. Sign this “People’s Amicus Brief” to show your support for #ACA. #itworks & #itslegal http://bit.ly/x7btTF
Health care is a basic human right which must be guaranteed: it should be universal, comprehensive, affordable and cost efficient, accountable, and consumer oriented. With your support, we can work to protect the health reform that is helping families across the country. Help us show the Supreme Court Justices that the law is working and that we support the Affordable Care Act.
New Issue of Agenda: Sex Trafficking, MTA Budget, Gale Brewer and More
The New Issue of WCC’s Newsletter, Agenda, is now available!
Our newsletter, Agenda, reports on WCC’s recent advocacy actions, public programs and special events. Highlights of the current issue include:
- WCC 2012 Public Policy Priorities
- Stop Sex Trafficking
- 95th Anniversary Holiday Party
- MTA Capital Budget
- NYC Budget with Gale Brewer
- Theater Benefit
And more! View the current issue online here. Copies are available at the WCC office, so be sure to pick one up next time you stop in.
Previous issues are available online.
WCC Announces 2012 Public Policy Priorities
By Pam Elam, Public Policy Committee Chair
While the Women’s City Club of New York takes positions on many issues throughout the year, our Committees often select specific items upon which they wish to focus. Over the last two months, the Public Policy Committee has worked with the civic committee chairs and members to develop the following list of Public Policy Priorities for 2012. But as we all know, it is not enough to highlight issues. Working to implement the initiatives we highlight is always the major challenge. We may choose to support or oppose a piece of legislation, seek a new regulation or remove an old one, schedule meetings with our elected officials, join in coalitions with other good government groups, testify at hearings, organize programs or conferences on our issues, sign petitions or conduct letter/email/phone campaigns, send op-ed articles to the press, have our members interviewed by the media, as well as other avenues of activism.
Those avenues of activism must extend within the WCC as well. We need more WCC members to take part in the civic committees, form new committees, or jump-start old ones. The Public Policy Committee is always available as a resource and is willing to assist the committees in any way. The Public Policy Committee has also launched a Seminar Series to give WCC members the opportunity to participate in a “master class” on the key components of government led by the leading experts in the field. In the first seminar last November, Ronnie Lowenstein, Director of the NYC Independent Budget Office, explained how the NYC budget process really works. On March 29th, former Comptroller Liz Holtzman will join us to discuss the role of the comptroller in NYC.
In addition, the Women’s City Club has a number of signature issues that will be part of any year’s list of Public Policy Priorities. Those issues include, among others: fighting for equal rights and opportunities for all; achieving ethics, election, and campaign finance reforms; protecting reproductive freedom; improving public education through smaller class sizes, fair funding, and adherence to State mandates; and preserving and creating affordable housing. But for 2012 we add the following WCC Public Policy Priorities and seek your help in implementing them:
* Poverty Issues Committee Priorities: (1) Develop and Distribute 2012 Resource Guide to Services & Programs in Manhattan; (2) Examine effects of City, State and Federal budget cuts on those below or at poverty level — ask for a Congressional hearing in NYC; (3) Support access to education for those on public assistance — win passage of NYS bills S2323 and A2471 to allow specific educational programs and related homework to be counted towards satisfying work requirements for public assistance recipients; and (4) Monitor federal welfare legislation regarding continued TANF funding for those in need of temporary assistance.
* Women’s Issues Committee Priorities: (1) Sex Trafficking: Work with NYS Legislators to assure enactment of needed changes to the 2007 Anti-Trafficking Law and the Safe Harbor Act; (2) Reproductive Rights: win passage of the NYS Reproductive Health Act and work to have contraception included in the new Affordable Care Act; (3) Sex Education: monitor curriculum of the new sex education mandate in NYC public schools; (4) Pay Equity: continue working with the Equal Pay Coalition to enact the NYS Equal Pay Law; and (5) Creation of a Young Women’s Initiative.
* Health Committee Priorities: (1) Work in coalitions with other groups to promote policies to achieve universal health care coverage; (2) Promote policies to eliminate financial barriers to access quality health care; (3) Develop information materials and programs about health care reform under the Affordable Care Act for WCC members and the community; and (4) Advocate for policies to improve the quality of and access to health care for target populations including: (a) Adolescents, through such services as school-based Health Centers and physical education in the schools; and (b) The Aging Population, through such services as Long Term Care.
* Environment and Infrastructure Committee Priorities: (1) Fracking: call for strong regulations and greater accountability to protect the integrity of NYC’s water supply. Consider broadening WCC’s approach to include other aspects of the environment, and possibly agriculture insofar as it relates to increasing the food supply brought into the City from upstate New York; (2) Styrofoam: develop ways to press for its elimination or limited use; (3) Evaluate Urban Food production as a possible priority; and (4) Transportation and Infrastructure: co-host public programs and develop a follow-up agenda related to the MTA capital program (securing a lock box for MTA funds from State invasion, opposing service cuts, and advocating for well-maintained, clean, rat-free, safe subway stations).
WCC Advocates Air Concerns About Lack of P.E. in Interview
To illuminate the widespread lack of physical education (P.E.) in NYC schools, two representatives of the Women’s City Club of New York (WCC) taped an interview for the January 29, 2012 edition of “Getting Your Money’s Worth.”
Amy J. Schwartz and Dr. Katherine S. Lobach, respectively Chair and member of the WCC Task Force on Physical Education in City Schools, pointed out that one of the many benefits of physical education is its positive association with academic achievement. Kids who get adequate P.E. perform better in school.
According to a NYC Comptroller October audit prompted by the WCC, although New York State mandates specify amounts of P.E. time for each grade, most of the principals in the 31 audited schools were unaware of the State requirements, and none of the schools provided the expected amount of time in all grades. In some cases the time was used to prepare for reading and math tests, although there is good evidence that when P.E. time is maintained, test scores remain the same or improve.
In the taping, Dr. Lobach said, “We need more school administrators to recognize the academic value of physical education and more parents to insist that their children get it.”
“Our schools are falling down on the job of ensuring the health and well-being of our children” said Ms. Schwartz. “They are being denied the opportunity to reach their full academic potential and personal best.”
The WCC Task Force on Physical Education in City Schools works to ensure that all the city’s schools are in compliance with state-mandated requirements for physical education. In 2010 it issued a policy paper, “Physical Education in New York’s Public Schools: A Missing Ingredient for Academic Success”, and the New York Times recently published its letter to the editor.
The “Getting Your Money’s Worth” interview is posted on www.gettingyourmoneysworthnyc.com, and will air on Sunday, January 29 at 8:30 am on Time Warner Cable channel 34 and RCN channel 82. It will also stream online at MNN.org, on Brooklyn Access TV, and on and www.GoodNewsBroadcast.com.
A full press release is available here.
New York Times Publishes WCC Letter on Physical Education
In response to a recent New York Times article on physical education, the WCC submitted the following letter, published in the October 28, 2011 edition. The WCC’s Task Force on Physical Fitness advocates for the inclusion of comprehensive physical education in New York’s schools due to the myriad benefits it provides to students.
Exercise in Schools
To the Editor:
“Fitting In Time for Exercise, Between Math and English” (news article, Oct. 20) describes the creative ways some New York City teachers and principals have found to ensure that their pupils receive the benefits of regular physical education. Unfortunately, as shown by the city comptroller’s audit, such praiseworthy activity is found in far too few schools in the city.
In a recent position paper, we characterized physical education as “the missing ingredient for academic success.” Perhaps if more of the city’s principals and top administrators were aware that scientific studies provide strong evidence of a positive association between physical education and indicators of academic performance, including test scores, they would try harder to bring back adequate physical education to their schools.
The students who are participating in the programs cited are lucky, but access for all children to developmentally appropriate physical education should not be left to luck.
RUTH ACKER
KATHERINE S. LOBACH
New York, Oct. 21, 2011
The writers are, respectively, president of the Women’s City Club of New York, and a former assistant commissioner for child and adolescent health, New York City Department of Health, 1988-94.
The full text of the letter may be read online at the New York Times’ website.
WCC Applauds Comptroller’s Audit of Physical Education in Schools
Today, City Comptroller John C. Liu announced that an audit of the Department of Education (DOE) found that many elementary schools do not meet state guidelines for physical education (PE) and, that despite documenting high rates of obese and overweight students, the DOE has not filed a PE plan with the state since 1982.
According to the press release issued on October 4, childhood obesity “can lead to lifelong health problems such as diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. In a 2009 report, the DOE and the Department of Health (DOH) warned that local rates of childhood obesity were higher than the national average. That report, ‘Childhood Obesity is a Serious Concern in New York City,’ stressed that test scores rise alongside physical fitness. The report recommended that schools ensure that ‘all students receive the required physical education instruction each week, as mandated by the New York State Education Commissioner’s Regulations.’”
Amy J. Schwartz, Chair of the Task Force on Physical Education for the WCC, is quoted in the press release. “We are delighted that Comptroller Liu shares our commitment to the health and well-being of the city’s students,” she said. “This audit should serve as further inspiration to the DOE to implement what research has shown — that improved physical education leads to better academic performance.”
The audit recommended that the DOE:
- Create, implement, and regularly update a PE plan that meets state regulations for all schools.
- Adequately monitor school compliance with the state’s PE requirements.
- Ensure that principals are aware of the state’s PE requirements and advise them that it is their responsibility that students receive the mandated amount of PE.
The full report is available here.