Posts Tagged: members

News

Don’t disrupt health care coverage of our most vulnerable

A physician checks the medical history of a hospital patient. (Photo: L.O.N. DsIr Cameravia Shutterstock)

OPINION: In working closely with our main partner, Health Net, I was both disappointed and disheartened to hear that the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) recently announced their intent to drop Health Net as an option for Medi-Cal patients in Sacramento County — a decision that is sure to affect the physical and mental health needs of the unhoused patients we serve.

Opinion

Maybe it’s time for a RINO party: Republicans in Name Only

An artist's photo illustration of a RINO -- Republican in Name Only. (Image: Jim Larkin, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Maybe there should be a RINO Party. You know—Republicans in Name Only. A number of Republican individuals are taunted by hard core fellow Republicans for not living up to the perceived standards that make one a Republican nowadays. Nuanced or mixed beliefs are not allowed. If you have a different position on a controversial issue or are willing to talk compromise, you are labeled a RINO — you don’t belong in the party.

Opinion

Labor to Lara: Cutting group insurance discounts is wrong

Construction workers in Bakersfield on the job at a shopping center project. (Photo: Richard Thornton, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: We will always fight to protect the interests of these workers. That’s why we are urging Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to reject proposed new regulations that could eliminate group insurance discounts that we provide our members.

News

A Christmas wish-list for politicos

The state Christmas tree in front of the Capitol in Sacramento. Photo, taken with fish-eye lens: Robert Schlie, via Shutterstock)

The Christmas season tells us that there are only a few days remaining in 2020, California’s anno horribilis. It also means political types begin to harbor fantasies about what they would like Santa to bring them if they’re very, very good.  

News

Lobbying bills on the floors of the Legislature

The chamber of the state Senate in Sacramento. (Photo: Felix Lipov, via Shutterstock)

In simplistic terms, lobbying the state Senate and Assembly floors is similar to lobbying legislative committees, except that the scale is much larger. For example, some committees have as few five members (elected officials), while others have over 20 members. As you would assume, most committees in the 40-member Senate have fewer members sitting on them than do their counterparts in the 80-member Assembly.

Opinion

The advantage of a trusted health benefits partner

The headquarters of the California Public Employees Retirement System in Sacramento. (Photo: Sabrina Clare)

OPINION: The U.S. health care system is in a moment of reckoning. No one pretends to have the perfect solution. But there is something consumers can agree on: More transparency is needed. Consumers and their employers, which insure 49 percent of American health coverage, are demanding to know exactly what goes in to their health care costs.

Opinion

‘Company unions’ deepen post-Janus threat to labor

A union supporter carries the California flag at a rally in Capitol Park. (Photo: Karin Hildebrand Lau, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: You’d be hard pressed to find a more challenging threat to America’s labor movement than the Supreme Court’s recent Janus decision—which overturned 40 years of established legal precedent and the laws of 23 states in forcing public sector unions to represent non-members for free.

Opinion

Pharmacy benefit managers ease seniors’ drug costs

A photo illustration of drug costs, with prescription medication atop a dollar bill. (Image: Video_Creative)

OPINION: The Golden Years for senior citizens across the Golden State are longer and more active than for the generations that preceded us. This is a real gift, but it does mean most of us are battling age-related medical conditions, often dealing with them for decades. Prescription drugs are a big part of our healthcare toolbox, and today, almost 40 percent of senior citizens use five or more medications.

News

Where are they now? Paul Horcher

Paul V. Horcher during his years as a member of the California Assembly. (Photo: Assembly)

That year, 1994, Assembly Republicans gained their first majority in a quarter century only to have one of their own  — Paul Horcher — break away and vote to keep Willie Brown, a Democrat, in power. It was one of the most amazing moments in the history of the Assembly.

News

Stem cell: Arthritic knee research in $33 million award

A stem cell researcher at work. (Photo: 18percentgrey, via Shutterstock)

The California stem cell agency has awarded $33 million for clinical trial research, but not before some governing board members questioned the appropriateness of backing an effort to treat osteoarthritis of the knee. The awards on Thursday bring to 43 the number of clinical trials funded by the stem cell agency, formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). 

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