Archive for the 'Debra Ness' Category

Today of All Days, Be Heard!

Published on August 26, 2010 in Debra Ness and Workplace Fairness. 0 Comments

Debra Ness, President

Today is Women’s Equality Day, when we celebrate the fact that, 90 years ago, a group of dedicated women and men made history when the 19th Amendment passed, guaranteeing a woman’s right to vote.

We celebrate their legacy by continuing the fight for women’s equality – and we need your help. Add your voice to our latest campaign for equal pay for equal work:  We are gathering signatures for a special petition calling on Senators to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Looking back, it is hard to believe how hard the fight for women’s suffrage was. Those who opposed women voting — like President Grover Cleveland, who observed that “sensible and responsible women do not want to vote”– were out of step with the march of time.  We can only hope that 90 years from now, we feel the same way about those who are standing in the way of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would help women exercise their rights to equal pay on the job.

The sad truth is, women working full time are still paid only 77 cents to a man’s dollar.  For African American and Hispanic women the numbers are even worse: 62 cents and 52 cents, respectively, for every dollar paid to a full time working white man.  This is tough news for American households, because in six out of ten families, women are the primary or co-breadwinner. Every time a woman is shortchanged, the whole family suffers, particularly in today’s economy.

The Paycheck Fairness Act would help to close that wage gap. The House has already passed the bill, and it has the full support from the White House.  But the Senate hasn’t voted yet.  It’s time to change that.  The Paycheck Fairness Act would help women get equal pay for equal work by:

  • making it harder for employers to hide pay discrimination;
  • helping train women and girls about salary negotiations;
  • supporting government collection of critical wage data; and
  • rewarding employers that have good pay practices.

It’s time to remind Senators how important women’s earning are, and that we’re counting on them to help us continue the progress.

So today, in honor of the suffragists who gave us a voice, let’s speak out and be heard!

Tell your Senators that you expect them to get on the right side of history and vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act.

And if you need to brush up on your 19th Amendment history, click here for the School House Rock version.

And Kagan Makes Three!

Published on August 5, 2010 in Debra Ness and Judges & Supreme Court. 7 Comments
Debra Ness

Debra Ness, President

I am thrilled that the Senate has confirmed Elena Kagan to serve on the Supreme Court. This is an important milestone in our journey toward equal rights for women – and our nation will be stronger as a result.

Elena Kagan will be a superb justice. Her presence on our highest court will maintain and strengthen our nation’s commitment to equal justice and privacy, and to fairness for women, people of color, workers, seniors and every person who may face discrimination.

When she is sworn in, for the first time in history, three women will serve together on our highest court. This confirmation brings us closer to the day when it is no longer surprising to see a woman on the Supreme Court or in other positions of power.

I want to thank every Senator who voted to confirm Elena Kagan, and President Obama for appointing her. This is a historic moment for our nation.

BREAKING NEWS: Dr. Berwick is Appointed!

Published on July 7, 2010 in Campaign for Better Care, Debra Ness and Health Care. 0 Comments
Debra Ness

Debra Ness, President

Today, President Obama appointed Dr. Donald Berwick to serve as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). I truly believe that Dr. Berwick is the best man for the job – he is a highly qualified candidate with extraordinary skill, vast experience and a deep dedication to improving America’s health care system.

However, he has been the victim of ugly and baseless attacks by opponents of health reform who wanted to undermine his nomination.

Just last week , the Campaign for Better Care organized some 90 of the nation’s top consumer, purchaser and provider groups to issue a strong defense of Berwick. Despite that strong, broad-based support, opponents have continued to misrepresent his work and distort his positions.

A recess appointment should not have been necessary but, given the circumstances, it was. The White House was right to appoint a man who is, quite simply, one of the nation’s leading experts on our health care system. He is sure to be a dedicated and effective public servant who works tirelessly to improve care for vulnerable older adults and others with multiple health problems.

It is past time to put politics aside. We should all unite behind Dr. Berwick and work together to ensure that we realize the promise of reform and make quality, coordinated care available to all.

Dr. Berwick… Just What the Doctor Ordered

Published on July 1, 2010 in Campaign for Better Care, Debra Ness, Health Care and Reform. 0 Comments
Debra Ness

Debra Ness

Enough is enough. Dr. Berwick – nominee for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – has been the victim of partisan and baseless attacks, and at the Campaign for Better Care, we think it’s time to set the record straight. That’s why we organized a strongly worded letter in support of Dr. Berwick’s nomination, which was signed by some 90 of the nation’s top consumer, purchaser and provider groups. Dr. Berwick is the right leader, at the right time, to make health care reform work for patients and their families.

Why should you care about Dr. Berwick’s nomination? The CMS is a critical federal agency that runs government-insurance programs for tens of millions of older persons, children, and those living in poverty. As Administrator, Dr. Berwick will help decide how to implement the new health reform law – a crucial role for the future of health care in the United States. That’s why his opponents would have you believe that he will ration care and let the government make health care decisions that should be made by patients and their doctors.

On the contrary, Dr. Berwick has consistently prioritized patients’ needs and preferences – and his record shows that commitment to patient-centered care. He is one of the nation’s leading authorities on health care quality and improvement, and has dedicated his professional career to closing the gap between the health care we have and the health care we should have.

Driven by his belief that health care is a human right, Berwick has launched groundbreaking initiatives to reduce unnecessary deaths, minimize preventable harm from surgical complications, and put control of health care decisions in the hands of informed patients and their families – goals we share at the National Partnership and with the Campaign for Better Care.

Berwick’s supporters describe him as a “passionate advocate for patients’ rights,” and he is “highly regarded in health-policy circles for his work to impose quality-control systems inside medical facilities and improve treatments.”

The New York Times writes that “[w]orking with numerous hospitals and clinics around the country, Dr. Berwick has shown that it is possible to reduce medical errors and improve the quality of care while reducing its cost.”

The Washington Post agrees: although Berwick’s focus “has been on improving care, several health policy experts said his methods often result in lower costs as well.”

And in a glowing endorsement of Berwick, a Los Angeles Times editorial states that “[o]nly in the topsy-turvy world in which end-of-life counseling services are called ‘death panels’ could a doctor who champions patients’ rights and better medical treatment be labeled a threat to healthcare consumers.”

So don’t let the negative, partisan spin fool you: Berwick is the highly qualified, experienced, and patient-centered Administrator CMS needs in order to implement health reform in a way that will lower costs and improve health care coordination.

And the experts agree – Berwick has widespread support from doctors, hospitals, medical schools, consumer groups and several former directors of CMS who served under presidents on both sides of the aisle.

The Washington Post sums it up best: Donald Berwick is “just what the doctor ordered for CMS.”

Progress…Power…Women…Lunch!

Published on June 30, 2010 in Debra Ness, Health Care and Reform. 0 Comments
Debra Ness

Debra Ness

A heartfelt thanks to the honoree of this year’s National Partnership annual luncheon, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who inspired us with her comments on the future of health reform – and the many women in top positions who are working to implement it.

“Taken together, these reforms have the potential to give all American women more control over their health care,” Secretary Sebelius said in her keynote speech. “But to achieve this potential, we need to make sure we get these reforms right. That’s why I appreciate the work you’re doing through the Campaign for Better Care to organize advocates to push for a more effective health care system.”

We were also touched by a powerful story from artist and patient advocate Regina Holliday, who courageously shared her experiences with the health care system during the final months of her husband’s life.
We extend our deep appreciation to the event’s emcee, WRC-TV anchor Eun Yang, as well as National Partnership Board Chair Ellen Malcolm, and approximately 1,000 supporters who helped make this year’s annual luncheon an incredible success.

Check out the luncheon highlights and watch the video >>

New Survey: People Need, Want Paid Sick Days

Published on June 21, 2010 in Debra Ness and Work & Family. 1 Comment
Debra Ness

Debra Ness

Do you worry about losing your job when you get sick? If you’re like 40 million other workers in this country, perhaps you should!

In a new survey conducted by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center, commissioned by the Public Welfare Foundation, one in six people report that they have lost a job for taking time off from work to care for a sick child or family member, or to cope with their own illness.

But it doesn’t stop there. The survey findings also suggest that the lack of paid sick days is harming public health, and straining the nation’s health care system. It makes perfect sense: Without paid sick days, more people to go to work sick, multiplying their chance of infecting others.  People without paid sick days can’t take time off from work to go to the doctor – and according to the new survey, they are then twice as likely as people with paid sick days to use an emergency room.

Government data show that nearly 40 percent of workers in this country do not have paid sick days.  Even more don’t have paid time off to care for a sick child or family member.  In light of the public health risk and economic insecurity caused by the lack of paid sick days, it isn’t surprising that across all demographic groups, the public says paid sick days are a basic worker’s right. The public favors a law that guarantees paid sick days for all workers. In fact, a whopping 86% of respondents would back a plan providing workers up to seven paid sick days per year.

San Francisco and Washington, D.C. have paid sick day laws in place, and voters in Milwaukee passed a paid sick days measure.  There is strong support in the New York City Council for the citywide paid sick days law now under consideration.  More than 20 states saw the introduction of paid sick days bills in the 2009-2010 legislative sessions, and as many as 24 states and localities are expected to see the same next year.  Congress is considering the Healthy Families Act, which would allow workers at businesses with 15 or more employees to earn up to seven paid sick days annually. By all appearances, one would think the tide is turning – but we aren’t nearly there yet.

The survey relays a clear message from the public: No one should have to make the impossible choice between their job and their own health or the health of their loved ones. Now more than ever, workers need paid sick days.

Happy (?) Equal Pay Day

Published on April 20, 2010 in Debra Ness and Workplace Fairness. 0 Comments
Debra Ness

Debra Ness

Today is Equal Pay Day — a day to think about the wage gap, and how it affects women, families and the country.

Equal Pay Day is April 20th, because that’s the day we mark for how long it takes for the wages paid to women working full-time, beginning in January 2009, to finally catch up to the wages that were paid to full-time working men in 2009. In other words, a woman has to work for nearly four months in 2010 for her wages to equal to what a man was paid in 2009.

In this recession, with families facing crushing economic pressure, Equal Pay Day has special meaning. Women’s earnings are more vital than ever to the economic security of their families. Nearly four in ten mothers are primary breadwinners, bringing home the majority of their family’s earnings. Nearly two-thirds are breadwinners or co-breadwinners, bringing home at least a quarter of their family’s earnings. Yet a woman has to work nearly four months longer than a man to bring home the same amount of pay.

The wage gap hurts working women and families each and every day, cutting deeply into their ability to meet basic needs. If we got rid of the wage gap, here’s what hard-working families across the country would be able to afford:

In Maine: 65 more weeks of food (that’s food for 1.25 years!)
In California: 7 months of rent payments
In Virginia: 7 months of mortgage and utility payments
In Arkansas: 3 years of family health care premiums
In North Carolina: more than 3,000 gallons of gas

To see how the wage gap affects women and families in your state, click here.

To help fix the pay gap, we need Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. It would make it harder for employers to hide pay discrimination, help train women and girls about salary negotiation, support government collection of critical wage data, and reward employers that have good pay practices.

The House of Representatives passed it last year, but a vote of 256 to 163. The Administration supports this bill. It’s time for the Senate to act.

Join us in urging the Senate to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act now. Women have rent to pay, and food and gasoline to buy. Our bills won’t wait, and neither can we!

Now the Hard Work Begins…

Published on April 8, 2010 in Campaign for Better Care, Debra Ness, HIT, Health Care, Quality and Reform. 0 Comments
Debra Ness

Debra Ness

That’s right. Health reform may officially be law, but now the hard work of fixing our health care system begins.

And we’re excited to launch a major new initiative, the Campaign for Better Care, to ensure that older adults, and all Americans, can realize the promise of reform.

The Campaign for Better Care — led by the National Partnership, Community Catalyst and the National Health Law Program, with funding from The Atlantic Philanthropies — begins the critical work of convincing policymakers to implement reform in ways that give people the comprehensive, coordinated health care they need -­- especially older adults and individuals with multiple chronic conditions, and those who are sickest and most vulnerable.

This issue affects so many of us. In communities across the country, patients cope with extraordinary pressures from a health care system that doesn’t coordinate their care. And family caregivers — including wives, daughters, husbands, sisters, grandchildren, other relatives and friends — struggle to help, often with little or no support.

Campaign for Better Care

Campaign for Better Care

It doesn’t have to be this way. Doctors should work together as a team, medical records should be at our fingertips, and patients and families should not be left to fend for themselves. We get it. There is a better way. And it’s what the Campaign for Better Care is all about.

Check out the new campaign website at www.CampaignforBetterCare.org where you can learn more, read compelling personal stories, and even become part of the “face” of the campaign, by adding your photo to an interactive photo slideshow — filled with photos and stories shared by real people just like you. We also encourage you to follow and interact with us on Facebook and Twitter .

We have a lot planned in the coming weeks, and hope we can count on you to help us raise awareness about the urgent need for better care.

In particular, we’re launching an advertising blitz on Capitol Hill next week to welcome Congress back from recess and remind them that now the hard work begins! We’ll post a copy of the full-page newspaper ad on the day it runs, and we’d appreciate your help spreading the word. We need our elected leaders to take notice!

In the meantime, take a look at our new site and photo slideshow, and send us your thoughts and ideas. We’d love to hear from you.

It’s Official. Campaign for Better Care Launched Today!

Published on April 8, 2010 in Campaign for Better Care, Debra Ness and Health Care. 1 Comment
Debra Ness

Debra Ness

That’s right. Health reform may officially be law, but now the hard work of fixing our health care system begins.

And we’re excited to launch a major new initiative, the Campaign for Better Care, to ensure that older adults, and all Americans, can realize the promise of reform.

The Campaign for Better Care — led by the National Partnership, Community Catalyst and the National Health Law Program, with funding from The Atlantic Philanthropies — begins the critical work of convincing policymakers to implement reform in ways that give people the comprehensive, coordinated health care they need -­- especially older adults and individuals with multiple chronic conditions, and those who are sickest and most vulnerable.

This issue affects so many of us. In communities across the country, patients cope with extraordinary pressures from a health care system that doesn’t coordinate their care. And family caregivers — including wives, daughters, husbands, sisters, grandchildren, other relatives and friends — struggle to help, often with little or no support.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Doctors should work together as a team, medical records should be at our fingertips, and patients and families should not be left to fend for themselves. We get it. There is a better way. And it’s what the Campaign for Better Care is all about.

Campaign for Better CareCheck out the new campaign website at www.CampaignforBetterCare.org where you can learn more, read compelling personal stories, and even become part of the “face” of the campaign, by adding your photo to an interactive photo slideshow — filled with photos and stories shared by real people just like you. We also encourage you to follow and interact with us on Facebook  and Twitter .

We have a lot planned in the coming weeks, and hope we can count on you to help us raise awareness about the urgent need for better care.

In particular, we’re launching an advertising blitz on Capitol Hill next week to welcome Congress back from recess and remind them that now the hard work begins! We’ll post a copy of the full-page newspaper ad on the day it runs, and we’d appreciate your help spreading the word. We need our elected leaders to take notice!

In the meantime, take a look at our new site and photo slideshow, and send us your thoughts and ideas. We’d love to hear from you.

New Beginning: Fixing Our Broken Health Care System Starts Now

Published on March 30, 2010 in Campaign for Better Care, Debra Ness, Health Care and Reform. 5 Comments
Debra Ness

Debra Ness

It’s done. Health reform is now the law of the land. Your hard work has paid off, and you should feel proud.

Today, President Obama accomplished a legislative victory that has eluded our nation for a century. Today, he put the finishing touches on long overdue changes that can make America’s health care system more affordable, more accessible, more efficient, more centered on patients, and more fair for those who for too long suffered discrimination in insurance and disparities in care.

However, this isn’t the end of the journey…it’s a new beginning.

The hard work of making reform a reality now rests with President Obama, Secretary Sebelius and the states.

Now they must establish rules so that no person is denied coverage or care because of gender, age, health status, income or employment; so people who are sick can focus on getting well instead of worrying that they will lose their coverage; and so patients and their caregivers can count on more coordinated care.

Fixing our broken health care system begins now, and we urge you to join us as we hold our leaders accountable and ensure the promise of quality, affordable health care is kept for all Americans.

Stay tuned.