Page 10 - Senior Issues News Today

A traveling roadshow highlighting changes to Medicaid, Kentucky Childrens Health Insurance Program (KCHIP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and other public assistance programs comes to Owensboro next month. The "ThriveKY" series is aimed at educating community health workers, legal aid professionals, librarians, social workers and others working directly in communities on aspects of the public safety net. Emily Beauregard, the executive director of Ke...

A national training program with deep roots in Colorado is partnering with colleges and universities in an effort to bring more people into healthcare careers. Elena Thomas Faulkner - CEO of the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement, or NIMAA - said medical assistants play a critical role in primary care at community health centers. They facilitate every aspect of the one-stop-shop visits that connect patients with medical, behavioral, and dental care. ...

A national nonprofit organization is speaking out about a federal lawsuit filed last week against California officials, challenging the states End of Life Option Act. The plaintiffs claim that the revised law, which took effect last year, discriminates against people with disabilities by violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. CEO of the group Compassion & Choices, Kim Callinan, pointed out that a disability alone doesnt qualify a person for medical aid in dying. ...

A new effort is underway in Georgia to improve mental health support for veterans and their loved ones, as Gov. Brian Kemp has signed a bill aimed at addressing high suicide rates among veterans. The latest national Veterans Affairs data cite more than 6,000 veteran suicides in 2020. ...

Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission said it intends to ban non-compete agreements, and hundreds of people have submitted comments on the proposed rule change. Non-compete terms bar workers from joining a competing business or starting their own for a set period of time after leaving a job. Chris White - director of the Restaurant Opportunities Center United in Michigan - said many businesses want a thriving marketplace, and notes more than 900 restaurants are part of Restaurants ...

Organ donor recipients and their families will join Gov. Janet Mills at the State House today to highlight Organ Donation Month in Maine. Advocates of organ donation say more than 1,300 lives were saved in New England last year because of individuals who registered as organ donors at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. ...

Recently passed legislation lowers barriers to access Washington states Death with Dignity Act. The original law was passed by voters in 2008. Cassa Sutherland, client services manager for the group End of Life Washington, said the medical aid-in-dying law was in need of modernization so more people who wanted to participate could. ...

A new report outlines ways that states like Virginia could rethink long prison sentences and how to use them more sparingly. The Council on Criminal Justice Task Force on Long Sentences makes a series of policy recommendations for more judicial discretion in sentencing, and for promoting more individual accountability. They focus on allocating more resources to rehabilitation, through behavioral healthcare or trauma services. ...

A recent report from the Prison Policy Initiative calls for better state laws to keep incarcerated parents close to their kids. It finds 12 states including New York have measures designed to improve a childs access to incarcerated parents, but not all of these laws have the same protections. New York has a proximity law, which means theres a maximum distance allowed between a child and an incarcerated parent. ...

California will soon become the first state in the nation to offer health insurance to income-eligible individuals who are incarcerated - starting 90 days prior to their release. The feds just agreed to match funds spent on Medi-Cal or CHIP for people leaving jail, prison or juvenile correctional facilities. Hagar Dickman, senior attorney at the nonprofit Justice in Aging, said it is in everyones interest to set justice-involved people up for success. ...