WinnDems News

Say you’re on Day 6 — or 8 or 10 — of a symptomatic covid infection, and a rapid antigen test comes back positive. Could the test just be detecting bits and pieces of dead virus? If you’re a petri dish, sure. But if you’re a human, chances are you’re still infectious. Virologists weigh in. http://dlvr.it/SJ6G9V

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) and John Katko (R-NY-24) introduced bipartisan legislation to fund neighborhood improvement efforts renovating abandoned and distressed properties. The Neighborhood Reinvestment and Revitalization Act would create a new, $25 million competitive grant program within the NeighborWorks program to fund the demolition and rehabilitation of abandoned or severely distressed […] The post Bustos, Katko Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Revitalize America’s Neighborhoods appeared first on Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. http://dlvr.it/SHzfVx

With its highest-in-the-nation vaccination rates, Vermont offers a glimpse of what’s possible as the U.S. learns to live with coronavirus. http://dlvr.it/SHyRhB

WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) issued the following statement on Justice Stephen Breyer’s announcement that he will retire at the end of the current Supreme Court session. Breyer was appointed to the court in 1994 by President Bill Clinton and has served more than 27 years on the bench. “Justice Stephen Breyer honorably […] The post Bustos Statement on the Retirement of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer appeared first on Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. http://dlvr.it/SHwhCb

Temporary subsidies helped boost enrollment under the Affordable Care Act to a record 14.5 million, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. But unless Democrats in Congress extend those subsidies, many of those new enrollees will be in for a rude surprise just ahead of midterm elections. Meanwhile, the need to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer further crowds an already tight legislative schedule. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Diana Greene Foster, author of “The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having — Or Being Denied — An Abortion.” http://dlvr.it/SHwh0q

Mass General Brigham’s $2.3 billion expansion plan is raising state officials’ concerns that it will reduce competition and raise the price of care in Massachusetts. It also signals a national shift from a focus on hospital mergers and purchases of physician practices — which boost the cost of care — to individual hospitals’ expansions to gain a bigger share of the market. http://dlvr.it/SHtzk9

The health agency and the White House acted in the wake of a KHN story about pharmacists refusing to give shots to patients with moderate to severe immune suppression. http://dlvr.it/SHsfHZ

The new federal law will provide protection against surprise medical bills for between 6 million and 7 million Californians who are not covered under state law. http://dlvr.it/SHqVL5

A KHN reporter had written for years about the people left behind by the absurdly complex and expensive U.S. health care system. Then he found himself navigating that maze as he tried to get his insulin prescription filled. http://dlvr.it/SHm3v9

The laws governing Medicare don’t provide coverage for self-administered diagnostic tests, which is precisely what the rapid antigen tests are and why they are an important tool for containing the pandemic. http://dlvr.it/SHkLFc

WASHINGTON — Last week, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D-IL) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers secured $829 million in federal infrastructure funding for the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) to modernize locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi River.  Announced by the Biden Administration as part the latest wave of programming from the bipartisan infrastructure […] The post WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: Stakeholders React to $829 Million Investment in Upper Mississippi River Locks and Dams appeared first on Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. http://dlvr.it/SHk2k1

Anti-vaccination activists say California’s Democratic lawmakers are helping strengthen their movement nationally by pushing for tougher vaccine requirements — without exemptions for religious or personal beliefs. But a new pro-vaccine lobbying force is vowing to fight back. http://dlvr.it/SHhYz5

The top 12 states using antibody therapies produced by Regeneron and Lilly — which research shows don’t work against the omicron variant — include several Southern states with some of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates, but also California, which ranks among the top 20 for fully vaccinated residents. http://dlvr.it/SHXMm4

Two rapid-testing initiatives the Biden administration released in the past week are inaccessible to some residents of multifamily housing, people who don’t speak English well, or those without internet access. http://dlvr.it/SHVtK1

WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17), a member of the powerful House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, voted for the Ensuring Veterans’ Smooth Transition (EVEST) Act which would automatically enroll all eligible veterans into Veterans Affairs (VA) health care services. The legislation passed the House with bipartisan support.  “When our nation’s Veterans leave military service, […] The post Bustos Helps Pass Bill to Automatically Enroll Veterans in VA Health Care Services appeared first on Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. http://dlvr.it/SHVZRm

Jan. 22 marks the 49th — and very likely last — anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark abortion decision, Roe v. Wade. The court’s conservative supermajority seems poised to overturn later this year the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Also this week, the Biden administration turns 1, with much of its domestic and health agenda yet unrealized. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Kimberly Leonard of Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, about what a post-Roe world might look like. http://dlvr.it/SHVYPg

Disasters have previously prompted special enrollment periods in California, Maine, and the South. Now, Colorado is extending the state insurance marketplace sign-up period by two months. http://dlvr.it/SHStn4

WASHINGTON —  Today, U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) and Ashley Hinson (R-IA-01), along with U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has allocated $829.1 million in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs […] The post Bustos, Hinson, Durbin, Duckworth, Blunt, Grassley Announce $829 Million in Funding to Modernize Lock and Dams on the Upper Mississippi & Illinois Rivers appeared first on Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. http://dlvr.it/SHQy3k

Telling insurance companies to pay for rapid covid-19 tests is just the latest covid-related cost the federal government expects them to bear. But who really ends up paying for it? http://dlvr.it/SHPG98

WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) published an op-ed in The Hill recounting her experience on the House Floor on Jan. 6, 2021 and calling for the preservation of American democracy.  READ: One year later: A lesson | Opinion in The Hill Excerpts below: The first thing I remember are the Capitol Police.  One […] The post Bustos in The Hill: “Our democracy requires the dedication and investment of those who value it” appeared first on Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. http://dlvr.it/SHMGKr

MOLINE — Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) announced more than $860,000 in federal housing grants for communities throughout Northwest and Central Illinois through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program. The grants will fund services such as child care, transportation, education, job training, employment counseling, financial literacy and homeownership counseling to […] The post Bustos Announces More Than $860,000 in Federal Housing Grants appeared first on Congresswoman Cheri Bustos. http://dlvr.it/SHLhJ1

High demand for covid screening and scarce supply have opened the door to bad actors, and officials in some states are sounding the alarm about dubious street testing operators that could put people’s personal data, their health or wallets at risk. http://dlvr.it/SHKzTn

Explore what made the Navajo people ― also known as the Diné ― so vulnerable to the first surges of the covid-19 pandemic. The first episode of “Rezilience,” Season 4 of the “American Diagnosis” podcast, begins in the forests outside the Grand Canyon. http://dlvr.it/SHKp6q

Amid covid-related staffing shortages and testing requirements, school systems are stretched thin. And so are parents’ nerves. http://dlvr.it/SH6CLv

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a federal rule requiring larger businesses to mandate employees be vaccinated or wear masks and undergo weekly testing. At the same time, however, it allowed a federal order that health care workers be vaccinated. http://dlvr.it/SH4kMd

Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimer’s drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. http://dlvr.it/SH4V25

Although at-home antigen testing remains a useful tool, experts warn it is often used inappropriately and can provide false confidence for people concerned about safety. http://dlvr.it/SH4JXL

More than 20 years after the terrorist attacks, the World Trade Center Health Program is considering covering the most common form of uterine cancer, in what patient advocates say is a key acknowledgment of the women affected by the 9/11 fallout. http://dlvr.it/SH2lXv

With the omicron variant surging throughout the U.S., many experts warn that a single-layer cloth mask is not enough protection. Instead, they recommend an upgrade: layering wardrobe masks with surgical masks or wearing an N95 or KN95 respirator. http://dlvr.it/SGzGQV

On Jan. 1, California started buying prescription drugs for its nearly 14 million Medicaid enrollees, a responsibility that had primarily been held by managed-care insurance plans. State officials estimate California will save hundreds of millions of dollars by flexing its purchasing power, but some health clinics expect to lose money. http://dlvr.it/SGwCzp

The most destructive fire in state history has knocked a hospital out of service and left health care workers homeless with omicron driving new covid hospitalizations. http://dlvr.it/SGvlcL

National data shows that Black Medicare patients and their families are not making the move to comfort care as often as white patients are. Experts speculate it's related to spiritual beliefs and widespread mistrust in the medical system due to decades of discrimination. http://dlvr.it/SGrHGj

The court is considering whether to let the rules go into effect as opponents fight them in lower courts. Conservative justices pressed lawyers hard about whether the administration overstepped its authority, but liberal members of the high court questioned why the government shouldn’t be expected to move forcefully when facing a severe health crisis. http://dlvr.it/SGk93Q

Montana’s largest hospital recently signed employment contracts with two dozen foreign nurses. Nationwide, a backlog of 5,000 international nurses await approval to enter the U.S. http://dlvr.it/SGhQ66

It’s 2022 and the covid-19 pandemic is still with us, as are congressional efforts to pass President Joe Biden’s big health and social spending bill. But other issues seem certain to take center stage on this year’s health agenda, including abortion, the state of the health care workforce, and prescription drug prices. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Victoria Knight, who reported the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode. http://dlvr.it/SGfjwN

Despite state Republican leaders’ rigid opposition to expanding the health program designed for low-income residents, advocates successfully gathered enough signatures to get the measure on the fall ballot. http://dlvr.it/SGd8Pz

A new law makes California the first state to require that health insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover home STI tests. But some details still need to be worked out. http://dlvr.it/SGYpp2

Fear of covid has kept some adults from moving to nursing homes, and many facilities are in trouble financially. When Nevada, Missouri, officials announced they were planning to close a home specializing in dementia care, members of the community rose up in protest. http://dlvr.it/SGVVXj