| America faces a crisis on three critical fronts: a public health pandemic, an economic free fall and long-standing structural racism. |
| As America’s labor movement, we must urgently address all three with precision and purpose. They cannot be fixed separately. America’s Five Economic Essentials must be combined with policing reforms and implemented in ways that recognize the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on workers of color.
This is why we are coming together nationwide as working people on June 17—to demand Congress pass the HEROES Act and address police reforms that are urgently needed. |
| Elections Take Shape As Qualifying Ends |
| As Democrats hope to dent Republican majorities in both legislative chambers, the major parties will clash in 96 of 120 state House seats and 17 of 20 Senate contests, according to data posted by the Florida Division of Elections after the qualifying ended Friday at noon.
Candidates were required to file paperwork and fees by noon Friday for August primary and November general elections. As of Saturday morning, 322 candidates qualified for House seats and 65 others qualified to run for the Senate.
Just eleven incumbent Democrats, all House members, and Republican Rep. Brad Drake of Eucheeanna had no opposition.
Eight of 29 upcoming GOP House primaries feature incumbents. Republicans Mike Hill of Pensacola, Alex Andrade of Pensacola, Jay Trumbull of Panama City, Clay Yarborough of Jacksonville, Scott Plakon of Longwood, Thad Altman of Indialantic, Randy Fine of South Brevard County, and Daniel Perez of Miami will face challengers on Aug. 18.
All of the 12 incumbent senators up for reelection also are being challenged, and eight open seats in the upper chamber are up for grabs.
Read More |
| HUFFPOST : Florida Hits Biggest Daily COVID-19 Jump As It Gears Up For GOP Convention |
| Florida coronavirus cases jumped 35% over the previous day on Saturday, smashing a single-day record, just as state officials are gearing up to host thousands of visitors for the Republican National Convention in August.
It was the third day in a row in which the state hit a record number of new COVID-19 cases, The Miami Herald noted.
The number of coronavirus cases reported on Saturday morning was 2,581. Friday’s total number of new cases was 1,902. So far, there have been 73,552 cases in the state, with 2,925 deaths.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) — a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump — has not supported business and behavior restrictions meant to stem the spread of the virus. He was one of the last governors to issue a statewide stay-at-home order, which took effect in Florida on April 1.
The state began reopening in early May, and many businesses — including restaurants — are nearly back to normal activity.
On Friday, DeSantis shrugged off the continuing increase in the state’s COVID-19 cases. He attributed the rise to more testing at nursing homes and an outbreak of the coronavirus among farmworkers. More than 20% of Floridians are 65 and older, a demographic that is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. DeSantis triggered an uproar in April when he called Florida “God’s waiting room” because of its elderly population.
The key events of the Republican National Convention are now set for Aug. 24 to 27 in Jacksonville, after convention organizers and the president complained about COVID-19 social distancing requirements in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it was initially supposed to be held. A handful of official Republican party events will still be held in Charlotte.
DeSantis told a Florida TV station that he’s convinced that adequate precautions can be taken to protect the health of those attending the convention, and those they may interact with.
Officials are “really working hard on it,” said DeSantis. “They are working hard with the folks at the White House.”
Trump is expected to give his acceptance speech on August 27 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, which holds 15,000 people.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to warn against large gatherings, as they pose a serious risk for contracting COVID-19. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said in an interview Friday that any large group remains “risky” and “a danger” at this time. He added that it would be safer if Americans avoided all big gatherings, period. |
| Fired Florida Data Scientist Launches A Coronavirus Dashboard Of Her Own
Rebekah Jones was fired last month from her job at the Florida Department of Health, where she helped create a data |
| portal about the state’s COVID-19 cases. Now, she has created a dashboard of her own.
In some ways, Jones’ new portal for Florida coronavirus data looks a lot like the state health department’s. But it has a few key differences that reflect just how contentious coronavirus data has become amid politicized arguments about whether it’s safe for states to reopen.
Case in point: Jones’ dashboard has a map that shows which Florida counties are ready for the next phase of reopening. By her calculations, only two of the state’s 67 counties at the moment meet the state’s criteria for further easing restrictions. Jones says she was originally tasked with building essentially the same type of dashboard for the health department’s website in her role as a geographic information system manager — until it became clear what the results would show.
“When I went to show them what the report card would say for each county, among other things, they asked me to delete the report card because it showed that no counties, pretty much, were ready for reopening,” she says. “And they didn’t want to draw attention to that.”
Read More |
| Pfizer Won’t Commit to Affordable COVID-19 Vaccine |
| Despite investing billions of taxpayer dollars on research and development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, pharmaceutical corporations refuse to guarantee that these drugs will be affordable for all who need them.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said this week that his corporation won’t put a “huge price” on a coronavirus vaccine. However, Pfizer’s definition of a “not huge price” could be very different from what patients can afford, and the public has no way to hold them accountable. Pfizer has a history of price-gouging — its best-selling drug is Prevnar 13, a vaccine that protects against pneumonia and other infections. Pfizer has dramatically increased the price on that drug.
Some members of Congress have proposed legislation to require that any COVID-19 vaccine or treatment is affordable, but it has not yet come up for a vote. The bipartisan Affordable COVID-19 Drug Pricing Act of 2020 from Reps. Jan Schakowsky (IL) and Francis Rooney (FL) will establish critical protections against price gouging amid the pandemic.
The bill:
- ensures universal access to new, taxpayer-funded drugs that are used to treat COVID-19;
- mandates these COVID-19 drugs be reasonably and affordably priced;
- requires manufacturers to publicly report specific cost breakdowns; and
- prevents excessive pricing of drugs used to treat any disease that causes a public health emergency.
“Without the kind of controls in this bill, drug corporations can continue to use their monopoly control over prices,” said Alliance Executive Director Richard Fiesta. “Big Pharma has demonstrated time and time again that they will use every opportunity to profiteer by setting sky-high prices on drugs developed with taxpayer dollars. Lawmakers must take strong action to prevent drug corporations from putting patients’ health over shareholders’ profits.” |
| When A Doctor No Longer Accepts Medicare, Patients Left Holding The Bag
Carmen Heredia Rodriguez, Kaiser Health News |
| Pneumonia. Heart problems. High cholesterol. Betsy Carrier, 71, and her husband, Don Resnikoff, 79, relied on their primary care doctor in Montgomery County, Maryland, for help managing their ailments.
But after seven years, the couple was surprised when the doctor informed them she was opting out of Medicare, the couple’s insurer. “It’s a serious loss,” Resnikoff said of their doctor.
Patients can lose doctors for a variety of reasons, including a physician’s retirement or when either patient or doctor moves away. But economic forces are also at play. Many primary care doctors have long argued that Medicare, the federal health insurance program for seniors and people with disabilities, doesn’t reimburse them adequately and requires too much paperwork to get paid.
Read more at: When A Doctor No Longer Accepts Medicare, Patients Left Holding The Bag |
| Caravan in Waterloo, Iowa Grows Support for the Postal Service |
| Last Sunday members of the Iowa Alliance joined American Postal Workers Union Local 451 for a caravan to support the hardworking people of the U.S. Postal Service. The caravan called on their Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst to include funding for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in the next coronavirus relief package. |
| Without action from Congress, the Postal Service could be very different in September. Millions of older Americans rely on the USPS to deliver food, medicine, and mail amid the pandemic. Voters of all ages will need the federal program in November to deliver absentee ballots and protect our health while ensuring our right to vote. |
| “The Trump administration is purposely aiming to deny adequate funding to the Postal Service, and it refuses to provide the federal program with any support to survive the coronavirus and economic crises,” said Joseph Peters, Jr., Alliance Secretary-Treasurer.
Call (866) 828-4162 and demand that Congress approve emergency USPS funding. You will be connected to your Senator’s office. |
| Telemedicine Leaves Tens of Millions of Patients Behind |
| As more doctors turn to telemedicine amid the coronavirus pandemic, many patients are not getting the care they need. The technological knowledge and equipment needed to have an online appointment is a barrier for many people, particularly older adults. |
| According to Wired magazine, more than 150 million Americans have substandard internet speed and over half of low-income Americans say they’re concerned about paying their internet and phone bills. In rural areas with unreliable connections, phonecalls can be patients’ best option, but no visual contact makes it more difficult for doctors to treat and diagnose. |
| Telemedicine is an imperfect solution. The digital divide across the country is increasing disparities in the access that people have to health care. Patients without reliable internet service or access to devices are receiving inferior care, or none at all. To overcome this problem, these patients are being asked to come for in-person visits. However, many of the patients who are more likely to have problems accessing technology and need more frequent care are also more vulnerable to COVID-19: older adults and people with preexisting conditions.
“Telemedicine was supposed to increase access and protect patients during the pandemic,” said Robert Roach, Jr., President of the Alliance. “Unfortunately for some people, particularly older adults, it is another barrier that can cause serious harm if people aren’t getting the level of care close to what they had experienced in person.” |
| Trump’s War on Health Care Exacerbates Crisis for Seniors in Michigan and Nevada |
| Protect Our Care (POC) and the Alliance for Retired Americans this week released Michigan- and Nevada-specific reports on the impact of COVID-19 for seniors. A previous report had outlined how President Trump’s ongoing sabotage of seniors’ health care and attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act have been especially dangerous nationally amid the coronavirus pandemic.
On Wednesday, POC-Michigan was joined by speakers including State Representative Padma Kuppa; Dick Long, President of the Michigan Alliance; and Bob Sisler, Group Chair of the UAW Region 1A Retirees, to explain how Trump’s war on health care is hurting Michigan seniors facing the COVID-19 outbreak. On Thursday, Nevada Alliance President Tom Bird joined POC and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto to brief the media about the effect of Trump’s health care policies on Nevada seniors. |
| Thanks for reading. Every day, we’re fighting to lower prescription drug prices and protect retirees’ earned benefits and health care. But we can’t do it without your help. Please support our work by donating below. |
| If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:
|
|
