Author: SeniorWomenWeb

Spirits by Deborah Masters at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon

Deborah Masters’ Spirits, whose heads measure up to five feet in height, are clothed in white, robe-like garments, and wear talismans signifying their identities. Suspended from the ceiling by chains, they stare out at us impassively, silently dwelling in their own consciousness. The Little Spirits, both human and animal, have a quirky individuality and engaging liveliness. Their heads are in white porcelain and in clay glazed in many colors, and they wear sheath-like garments. They are drawn from people, dogs, and cows known by Masters through her life.

The exhibit, Spirits, will be on view at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon, Georgia until April, 14, 2019

In her drawings, the artist renders her figures, both real and archetypal, with graphic energy and directness. We witness her confronting the observable and translating it into the hieratic presences that we see in her sculptural work. For the past three decades, Masters has been creating a series of Crosses, which are like diary entries that capture the inner concerns of the artist. The painted images range from Christian iconography to reflections on tsunamis and the refugee crisis, to the landscape of Central Pennsylvania where the artist grew up. The Crosses, like all of Masters’ work, join the human and the spiritual, asking us to see them as one.

Deborah Masters was born in Harrisburg, PA in 1951. Her Greek father died right before she was born. Until age seven she lived mostly in New Mexico and Mexico with her mother and grandfather, where she was exposed to Native American culture, Mexican art and traditional altars, and to the many artists who lived in Taos, New Mexico. After moving back to Pennsylvania, Masters became deeply involved in art making. Her mother frequently took her to the major museums in New York City, and it was not uncommon for her stepfather to leave her at the Philadelphia Museum of Art during his business hours. She attended Bryn Mawr College, where she initially focused on Medieval art history, particularly the early Italian painters and sculptors, earning a BFA in 1973. She concentrated on sculpture and bronze casting at Haverford College and did a three-year stint at The New York Studio School.

Walking New York at JFK International Airport

February 9, 2019
GAO: A Comprehensive Re-evaluation Needed to Better Promote Future Retirement Security

What GAO Found

Fundamental changes over the past 40 years have led to various risks and challenges for the three main pillars supporting the U.S. retirement system. For example, current projections indicate that by 2034, the Old-Age and Survivors trust fund for Social Security’s retirement program—the first pillar—will only be sufficient to pay 77 percent of scheduled benefits, due in part to the aging of the population (see figure). Other federal government retirement-related programs also face financial uncertainty. For example, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, whichinsuresthe pension benefits of most private sector defined benefit plans, estimates a greater than 90 percent chance the multiemployer program will be insolvent by 2025.

Meanwhile, employer-sponsored plans — the second pillar — have experienced a shift from traditional defined benefit (DB) plans that generally provide set monthly payments for life, to defined contribution (DC) account-based plans, like 401(k)s. DC plans provide greater portability of savings that can be better suited to the needs of a more mobile workforce but also require individuals to assume more responsibility for planning and managing their savings. While DC plans can provide meaningful retirement security for many, especially higher earners, lower earners appear more prone to having little or no savings in their DC accounts. Further, individuals’ savings — the third pillar — may be constrained by economic trends such as low real wage growth and growing out-of-pocket health care costs. Combined with increased longevity, these challenges can put individuals at greater risk of outliving their savings and fiscal pressures on government programs will likely grow.

The US Population Is Aging

Congress generally has sought to address retirement-related issues in an incremental fashion. Also, no one agency is responsible for overseeing the US retirement system in its entirety, so there is no obvious federal agency to lead a comprehensive reform effort. It has been nearly 40 years since a federal commission has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the nation’s approach to financing retirement. Without a more comprehensive re-evaluation of the challenges across all three pillars of the system, it may be difficult to identify effective, enduring solutions. Unless timely action is taken, many older Americans risk not having sufficient means for a secure and dignified retirement.

Why GAO Did This Study

Strengthening the US retirement system to be more accessible and financially sound is important to ensuring that all Americans can retire with dignity and security, and to managing the fiscal exposures to the federal government from various retirement-related programs. Currently, the US retirement system, and many of the workers and retirees it was designed to help face major challenges.

This testimony discusses (1) the fiscal risks and other challenges facing the US retirement system, and (2) the need to re-evaluate our nation’s approach to financing retirement. It is based on a 2017 report, GAO-18-111SP , on the nation’s retirement system, with updated statistics when more recent estimates from publicly available sources were available.

What GAO Recommends

In the 2017 report, GAO recommended that Congress should consider establishing an independent commission to comprehensively examine the US retirement system and make recommendations to clarify key policy goals for the system and improve how the nation promotes retirement security.

For more information, contact Charles A. Jeszeck at (202) 512-7215 or jeszeckc@gao.gov.

GAO-19-342T: Publicly Released: Feb 6, 2019.

VIEW REPORT (PDF, 45 PAGES)

February 9, 2019
Are Border Walls Necessary? What the Research Says About Them

(U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

By Denise-Marie Ordway, Journalist’s Resource*

As American lawmakers argue over whether to fund a wall along the United States’ southwestern border, the federal government is moving ahead with plans to replace some of the fencing it built there years ago with 30-foot-tall steel bollard walls. Meanwhile, a growing number of countries worldwide have built border walls and other barriers to try to control the flow of people and goods.

There are a total of 77 border barriers worldwide — up from 15 at the end of the Cold War, Elisabeth Vallet, director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies at the University of Quebec-Montreal, told USA Today in 2018. Vallet and a number of other scholars in the field have spoken out against man-made barriers, arguing they are expensive and dangerous and questioning their effectiveness. Several of those scholars weighed in with essays published in a recent issue of the Journal of Latin American Geography.

Here in the US, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has erected more than 650 miles of fence and other types of barrier along the almost 2,000-mile US-Mexico border. Even before President Donald Trump took office, federal law required the barrier to be expanded by another almost 50 miles. In December, DHS announced that it had completed most of a $292 million project to build 40 miles of steel wall to replace “an outdated and operationally ineffective barrier” in the San Diego, El Centro and El Paso sectors of the border.

Lawmakers have until Feb. 15 to reach a compromise on a new border security plan or there could be another government shutdown. Disagreement over funding — Trump wants $5.7 billion in border wall money — led to a 35-day shutdown that ended Jan. 25, 2019.

To help journalists understand this issue and put it into context, we’ve pulled together academic studies, federal government reports and other scholarly literature. Below, we have summarized research that explains what border barriers are, why they have become so popular and whether they actually help countries control their borders. We have also included research that investigates the consequences of building these barriers, including impacts on the environment and local communities.

It’s important to note that government officials, politicians, scholars and others tend to use the terms “fence,” “wall” and “barrier” interchangeably when discussing man-man structures built to control a country’s borders. There also is some confusion over terms such as “border security.” New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush wrote an article offering a “glossary of the border debate.”

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February 5, 2019
Congressional Action: Violence Against Women, Abortion, Wage Discrimination, Human Trafficking, Veterans Child Care Assistance

Bills Introduced

Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) has introduced a bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide child care assistance to veterans receiving certain medical services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs

Abortion

H.R. 833—Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)/Energy and Commerce (1/29/19)—A bill to prohibit federal funding to entities that do not certify the entities will not perform or provide any funding to any other entity that performs, an abortion.

H.R. 888—Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI)/Energy and Commerce (1/30/19)—A bill to allow for greater flexibility with respect to excluding providers who are involved in abortions.

S. 311—Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE)/read for the first time (1/31/19) —A bill to prohibit a health care practitioner from failing to exercise the proper degree of care in the case of a child who survives an abortion or attempted abortion;

Health

S. 283—Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)/Finance (1/30/19)—A bill to improve access to, and utilization of, bone mass measurement benefits under part B of the Medicare program by establishing a minimum payment amount under such part for bone mass measurement.

H.R. 866—Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)/Transportation and Infrastructure (1/30/19)—A bill to provide a lactation room in public buildings.

Human Trafficking

S. 251—Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)/Judiciary (1/29/19)—A bill to establish the Interdiction for the Protection of Child Victims of Exploitation and Human Trafficking Program to train law enforcement officers to identify and assist victims of child exploitation and human trafficking.

H.R. 836—Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX)/Judiciary (1/29/19)—A bill to establish the Interdiction for the Protection of Child Victims of Exploitation and Human Trafficking Program to train law enforcement officers to identify and assist victims of child exploitation and human trafficking.

H. Res. 90—Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA)/Judiciary (1/30/19)—A resolution supporting the observation of “National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month” during January 2019 to promote efforts to prevent, eradicate, and raise awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery.

S. Res. 36—Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)/Judiciary (1/31/19)—A resolution supporting the observation of National Trafficking and Modern Slavery Prevention Month during the period beginning on January 1, 2019, and ending on February 1, 2019, to raise awareness of, and opposition to, human trafficking and modern slavery.

Judiciary

H.J. Res. 35—Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)/Judiciary (1/29/19)—A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women.

H.J. Res. 38—Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA)/Judiciary (1/30/19)—A joint resolution removing the deadline for the ratification of the equal rights amendment.

Miscellaneous

S. 239—Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)/Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (1/28/19)—A bill to require the secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition of Christa McAuliffe.

February 4, 2019
Memories of Seventies Dublin: As the Decade Moved On, the City Changed and We Were Changing With It; Not All Changes Were Welcome

by Jane Shortall

A Dubliner, a girl in her twenties, envies me for living in that city through the seventies. She, and many of her friends do not snigger at those years described as ‘the decade that style forgot.’ They love how things were back then, citing everything from our apparent carefree life, lots of jobs, not so many crazy rules, many different styles of clothing and, in their words, totally brilliant music.

‘Tell me, what music from today will we be listening to in forty years’ time?’ she asked. ‘You saw all the greats. Envy! At least Fleetwood Mac is still playing.’

Yes, I did see lots of bands in Dublin back then. From Led Zeppelin to Horslips, they came to Dublin and belted out their hits, often with just one big speaker on either side of them. They mostly played in the old boxing stadium. We went to the concerts by bus and walked home. Hundreds of teenagers heading off on foot in all directions, maybe picking up fish & chips on the way.

Loving music, I bought a guitar and the Paul Simon songbook in Walton’s. I can’t have been the only teenager sitting in her bedroom, with painful fingertips, singing ‘Hello Darkness My Old Friend’ to the walls.

Considering my life in the seventies, I came up with this very personal look back.

Things were already changing in the Ireland of 1970 when I was sixteen and beginning the real business of living. Not that I’d had an awful life before that, far from it. Between nine and twelve years old I’d attended probably the best junior school in Dublin, Marlborough Street, opposite the Pro-Cathedral. Taking a bus from the suburbs into the city in the early morning and back late afternoon as a nine-year-old seems unthinkable today, but it was fine.

My senior school, nearer home, then called a Tech, now called a College, never measured up to Scoil Mhuire. Bored witless, after the Inter Cert I left, got a job in the city I loved and joined the adult world. It was an interesting job and I took to my new office life with gusto. Starting in the Data Processing department, I was there for the beginning of the new technology and I often went over to the swish IBM offices, who did the processing for our company. But my personality was more suited to people and I transferred departments, traveling with young students on Educational Tours to the UK, France and Holland.

I signed up for a three-year evening art course, spent a lot of time in the National Gallery, I wrote, painted, became a cub scout leader, took up horse riding and made great, lifelong friends.

The seventies informed and educated me. They were heady days, taking responsibility for myself, working, earning money, learning new skills and enjoying all that the city offered. And Dublin city offered a lot.

My office in Westmoreland Street meant I was in the thick of the action and the area around me, Grafton Street and the streets leading off it had everything I had ever wanted. Lovely buildings, Trinity College at one end, St Stephens Green at the other, fantastic shops, art galleries, restaurants, great pubs in the side streets, and, something that changed my life, one special hairdressing salon.

With a head of strong auburn brown hair, and the wages of a junior not stretching to salon appointments, I looked like Rory Gallagher. The salons I could afford just put rollers in bunged you under a huge hot drier and you came out looking like your mother.

The Witches Hut, in South Great Georges Street was my aim. The owner had worked with Vidal Sassoon in London, hair was cut in modern styles and dried with a handheld drier. I saved the £3 cost of this transformation and turned up, unaware that my luck, indeed my life, was about to change.

February 3, 2019
Popular Healthcare Questions Answered: Medicare’s New ‘What’s Covered’ App and eMedicare

Editor’s Note: We received this message from Medicare this morning:

Jan 28, 2019

Get Medicare’s new “What’s covered” app!

From Medicare: Not sure if Medicare will cover your medical test or service? Medicare’s free “What’s covered” app delivers accurate cost and coverage information right on your smartphone. Now you can quickly see whether Medicare covers your service in the doctor’s office, the hospital, or anywhere else you use your phone.

“What’s covered” is available for free on both the App Store and Google Play. Search for “What’s covered” or “Medicare” and download the app to your phone. Once “What’s covered” is installed, you can use it to get reliable Medicare information even when you’re offline.

The app delivers general cost, coverage and eligibility details for items and services covered by Medicare Part A and Part B. Search or browse to learn what’s covered and not covered; how and when to get covered benefits; and basic cost information. You can also get a list of covered preventive services.

Easy access to accurate, reliable Medicare coverage information is just one new feature of the eMedicare initiative. To stay up to date on eMedicare improvements and other important news from Medicare, sign up for our email list and follow us on Facebook.

Try the “What’s covered” mobile app!

Sincerely,

The Medicare Team

Editor’s note, continued: And we found the following information on eMedicare:

eMedicare – Another step to strengthening Medicare!

You’ve been using technology more and more in your everyday lives. As a result, you have a growing need for fast, easy-to-use, seamless, and personalized experiences online.

eMedicare is here to give you access to accurate and valuable information, presented in ways that make sense. Whether you choose to interact with Medicare online, on the phone, or through other channels, our goal is to make sure you have personalized guidance to make good decisions about your health care and coverage.

To meet these needs and provide the level of customer service that you’ve come to expect, we’re working to update and improve the Medicare resources you know and trust. We’re building these improvements based on data from millions of interactions, feedback that you give us, and targeted research. And as always, we’ll continue to ensure that your personal information is safe and secure.

We’ve already started some of these improvements – have you noticed? If you have or make a personalized account at MyMedicare.gov, and you’ve gotten your new Medicare card in the mail, you can go online anytime to log in and view or print a copy of your card. No more waiting for a replacement in the mail if your Medicare card takes an unexpected turn through the rinse cycle! Also, in your Medicare & You handbook this fall, we’ve included some new charts to give you a simple overview of the types of coverage choices available in Medicare.

These are just a couple of early changes, and there are more on the way. We’re committed to giving you a seamless Medicare experience, whether you’re looking for quick answers online or comparing costs and coverage in different health plan options.

January 30, 2019
GAO Reports: Health Insurance Exchanges & College Students and Food Assistance
GAO-19-215: Published: Jan 28, 2019.

What GAO Found

Since 2014, when health insurance exchanges established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) began operating, issuers’ medical costs for enrollees (claims costs) in the individual market have varied widely.

(Note: Image from Herman Miller furnishings)

Claims costs were higher than expected in early years (from 2014-2016). Reviewed studies and interviews with selected issuers indicate that claims costs for plans sold to individuals were higher than expected, in some cases between 6 and 10 percent higher in 2014. This was due to enrollees being sicker than expected, higher costs for some services, and certain federal policies, such as initial policies for special enrollment periods that issuers were concerned allowed for potential misuse.

Claims costs generally grew from 2014 to 2017, but selected issuers sometimes experienced wide swings in costs from year to year. Most issuers attributed the volatility in costs, in part, to large changes in the number and health of enrollees each year.

Average monthly claims costs varied significantly across issuers in the same state. For selected issuers, differences in per member per month claims costs within a given state were often more than $100 — significant given that median per member per month claims costs were about $300.

Selected issuers also varied significantly in their decisions to expand or reduce their participation in the exchanges and make changes to premiums and plan design. Issuers cited several key factors driving changes.

Claims costs. Selected issuers noted that claims costs drove their decisions regarding participation, premiums, and plan design. For example, increasing claims costs was a consistent factor driving premium increases.

Federal funding changes. Selected issuers cited the planned phase out of federal programs that helped issuers mitigate risk, including payments and adjustments for issuers with higher cost enrollees, the limited funding for one of those programs, and the ending of federal payments for cost-sharing for certain enrollees, as reasons for reducing participation and increasing premiums.

State requirements and funding. Selected issuers provided examples of state requirements that resulted in reduced participation and increased premiums. However, issuers also cited examples where state policies minimized premium increases or variations in benefit design for issuers participating in the state’s exchange.

Looking to 2018 and 2019, selected issuers said that changes in federal and state policies would continue to affect decisions, particularly on premium changes.

The Department of Health and Human Services provided technical comments on a draft of this report, which GAO incorporated as appropriate.

Why GAO Did This Study

Since 2014, millions of individuals have purchased coverage through the health insurance exchanges established under PPACA. PPACA altered the individual health insurance market by setting federal standards for coverage and subsidizing exchange coverage for certain low-income individuals. In the first 5 years of exchanges, issuers have moved in and out of the market and increased premiums, but little is known about issuers’ claims costs or the factors driving their business decisions.

PPACA included a provision for GAO to examine exchange activities, including issuers’ experiences participating in the individual market exchanges. This report examines (1) claims costs of issuers participating in exchanges, and (2) factors driving selected issuers’ changes in exchange participation, premiums, and plan design. GAO reviewed data from nine issuers participating in five states, which were selected to represent a range in size, tax status, and exchange participation. The five states — California, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Mississippi — were selected to provide variation in geography and whether they had a federally facilitated or state-based exchange. GAO also conducted a literature review, reviewed federal data, and interviewed the selected issuers, officials in the selected states, and stakeholder groups.

For more information, contact John E. Dicken at (202) 512-7114 or dickenj@gao.gov.

Food Insecurity:

Better Information Could Help Eligible College Students Access Federal Food Assistance Benefits

GAO-19-95: Published: Dec 21, 2018. Publicly Released: Jan 9, 2019.
Many college students may not have enough to eat — but nobody knows exactly how many. Studies show a range of estimates, but none of the 31 we reviewed provided a national estimate. We also looked at student use of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Of the 3.3 million students who were potentially eligible in 2016, less than half said they participated.

Colleges have responded to student hunger by opening food pantries and helping students understand complicated SNAP rules.

We recommended the Food and Nutrition Service clarify the rules and share information on how states help eligible students use SNAP.

As of September 2018, over 650 colleges reported having a food pantry on campus that provides free food to college students in need.

View Highlights

What GAO Found

There is limited information about the national prevalence of food insecurity among college students. GAO reviewed 31 studies that identified a wide range of food insecurity rates among the students studied, but the studies did not provide national estimates. College students at risk of food insecurity may be eligible for benefits from the Food and Nutrition Service’s (FNS) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). However, GAO’s analysis of Department of Education (Education) data shows that almost 2 million at-risk students who were potentially eligible for SNAP did not report receiving benefits in 2016. According to GAO’s analysis, having a low income is the most common risk factor for food insecurity among college students. Among low-income students, most have one additional risk factor associated with food insecurity, such as being a first-generation student or a single parent.

The 14 selected colleges that GAO contacted were addressing student food insecurity in a number of ways. For example, all 14 were providing free food to students through on-campus food pantries, and most were offering emergency funds to help students pay for living expenses that might otherwise force them to choose between buying food or staying in school. Many of these colleges had centralized student services to better address their students’ basic needs and provide other support, such as screening students for potential eligibility and helping them apply for federal benefit programs like SNAP.

Selected Colleges’ Initiatives to Address Student Food Insecurity

Federal student aid generally does not cover all college costs for low-income students, and college students may have limited access to federal food assistance programs such as SNAP because of program eligibility restrictions. Some state SNAP agencies reported that they are taking steps to help students access SNAP by conducting outreach to colleges and developing guidance. Nevertheless, at 9 of the 14 colleges GAO contacted, some college officials and students said that they were unfamiliar with or did not fully understand SNAP’s student eligibility rules. Some college officials said that they would like information from FNS to better explain SNAP student rules, but FNS has not made such information easily accessible on its website. Further, college officials and state SNAP agencies noted that FNS does not share examples of actions taken by other states to help eligible students access SNAP. Clarification of SNAP student eligibility rules and enhanced information sharing about state efforts could help ensure that potentially eligible college students can access federal food assistance programs.

Why GAO Did This Study

Increasing evidence indicates that some college students are experiencing food insecurity, which can negatively impact their academic success. However, college students are only eligible for SNAP in certain cases. Given the substantial federal investment in higher education and the risk posed if students do not complete their degrees, GAO was asked to review food insecurity among college students.

This report examines (1) what is known about the extent of food insecurity among college students and their use of SNAP; (2) how selected colleges are addressing student food insecurity; and (3) the extent to which federal programs assist students experiencing food insecurity. GAO reviewed relevant federal laws and agency documents and studies on student food insecurity; analyzed 2016 federal student data (the most recent available), and visited four states, selected based on actions taken to address student food insecurity, geographic diversity, and other factors. GAO interviewed researchers; officials from Education, FNS national and regional offices; and officials at 14 colleges, including students at 8 of these colleges. GAO also emailed all state SNAP agencies about their efforts related to students.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that FNS (1) improve student eligibility information on its website and (2) share information on state SNAP agencies’ approaches to help eligible students. FNS partially concurred, and plans to review its information. GAO continues to believe additional action is warranted, as discussed in the report.

For more information, contact Kathryn Larin at (202) 512-7215 or larink@gao.gov.
January 28, 2019
My Delilah and A New Law Restricting Pet Stores To the Sale Only of Dogs, Cats and Rabbits From Animal Shelters & Non-profit Rescue Operations

By Sonya Zalubowski

Her name was Delilah, intriguing, especially for a dog that didn’t even weigh six pounds. Was she named after the Biblical tale of Samson and Delilah, the temptress that helped lead to the strongman’s downfall? Or was it because of the Tom Jones’ song, Delilah. That’s what everyone kept asking me.

Right, an Affenpinscher, circa 1915; credit W.E. Mason, Dogs of All Nations. Wikipedia

Besides my own pop culture ignorance — I’d never heard of the song — I had no idea because she was a rescue dog that I found online.

Someone else named her. That was just the beginning of the mystery about to unfold for me, the mystery involved in adopting such a dog, both the joys and sorrows.

I’d been looking online for almost a year to replace my Australian terrier whom I lost to liver disease and old age, scanning humane societies and other shelters and rescue outfits throughout my home state of Washington and adjacent Oregon. I believed in the slogan, you not only save a pet but you also create a space to save another.

Delilah. I looked up the biblical reference. Yes, she was the one responsible for Samson’s haircut and subsequent loss of power. As for Tom Jones’ song. that was the story of a crime of passion, of a man who stabbed Delilah after he learned she had cheated on him.

For me, Delilah the dog, indeed, was a temptress. The rescue operation featuring her said she was a Yorkie-poodle mix. One with black straight hair and gray highlights with a profile picture online of her face that was reminiscent of my Aussie. Both shared the same characteristic nose bump.

That was just enough to push me over the edge and make me apply for her adoption, even though it would mean a drive through treacherous Portland traffic en route to her temporary home in the timber wilds some 50 miles to the west. It was time. My hip replacement surgery earlier in the year was well healed. My own age was catching up on me, if I didn’t do something soon about a new pet I might not last long enough to see one through. Delilah’s age, five, plus her small size made her just about perfect.

I rolled through the traffic seamlessly thanks to the GPS in my car and out into the countryside. Then north through raw timber cuts till we came to Delilah’s rescue, a 501-C non-profit run by a local woman. She chose to remain anonymous for my story.

The ranch house was surrounded by separate fenced areas, all for the dozens of small dogs she cares for there. I was met by the happy yips and yaps of a multitude of petite dogs. Everything from fluffball Pomeranians to Chinese crested dogs to various mixes of Chihuahuas and Papillons.

Many of them are second chance animals that they received, I learned, from California. It this year became the first state to put in place a new law* restricting pet stores to the sale only of dogs, cats and rabbits from animal shelters or non-profit rescue operations. People can still purchase those animals directly from breeders. The new law is aimed at stopping puppy mills some of which in the past operated in deplorable conditions.

Perhaps the new law will help reduce the number of pets euthanized every year in the United States. The ASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, estimates that 6.5 million companion animals enter US shelters. It says of those, 1.5 million companion animals are euthanized every year.

That represents a decrease of over one million since 2011, due largely to an increase in adoptions.   The ASPCA estimates that 3.2 million shelter animals are adopted each year, 1.6 million of them dogs, the rest cats and rabbits. The organization and others also transport at-risk animals to areas like Oregon and Washington where they need more adoptable animals.

But the operator of Delilah’s rescue operation didn’t think it would impact her operation much. She said if there is a reduction in the number of last chance animals to her from California, it will just mean she will be able to take more from other states.

Delilah did not come from California. She was a product of the shelter to rescue system set up in Oregon.   A system that gives hard to place animals that second or third chance by sending them to rescue operations that take more time to deal with problems.

Delilah is just such an animal.   The poor little thing was surrendered to the Multnomah County pound east of Portland when her family of five years had to move and couldn’t take her. They listed her as a mixed dog, a yorkie-poo.

January 26, 2019
Another Powerful Woman and First to Lead Either Party In Charge of House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Nita Lowey

New York State Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey is currently serving her fifteenth term in Congress, representing parts of Westchester and Rockland Counties. She was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 1988 and served in the Democratic Leadership in 2001 and 2002 as the first woman and the first New Yorker to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She is also the first woman to lead either party on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

Lowey has been described as “courageous” by The New York Times, “terrific” by Newsday, and one of “New York’s key Members of Congress” by the New York Daily News. The Journal News called Lowey “one of the most influential Members of Congress.”

Middle, Nita Lowey; right, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Muppets Ernie and Bert; Photograph library.cqpress.com

At the beginning of the 113th Congress, Lowey was selected by her colleagues to be the Ranking Democrat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee. Lowey is an extremely effective, committed legislator with a substantial record. Congressional Quarterly called her one of the 50 most effective Members of Congress, saying she “maneuvers skillfully through the appropriations process,” and Newsday said she “delivers for New York.”

Few members of Congress have taken key leadership roles on so many vital public policy issues. Lowey is a leading Congressional proponent of educational opportunity, health care quality and biomedical research, improved homeland security preparedness, stricter public safety laws, environmental protection, women’s issues, a leading international role for the United States, and national security.

An outspoken supporter of transportation, nuclear, and infrastructure security, Lowey was appointed to the Select Committee on Homeland Security and recognized by the New York Post as “a key general in the battle to rebuild New York” for her leadership in securing over $20 billion for recovery efforts after September 11, 2001. Her efforts to distribute homeland security grants based on risk and to screen airport personnel in secure areas have been endorsed by The New York Times. Lowey has also helped to obtain more than $68 million in federal funds to develop local bioterrorism response plans and to provide local first responders with interoperable communication devices, rescue equipment, and personal protective gear.

Lowey is a strong advocate for women, children, and families. She has been a champion of education throughout her career, fighting for school modernization, teacher development, and literacy programs. Under Lowey’s leadership, federal funding for after-school programs has increased from $1 million in 1996 to $1 billion today.

When GOP leaders threatened to eliminate the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in the 1990s, Lowey “invited” puppets Bert and Ernie to a Congressional hearing. The resulting worldwide publicity is largely credited with saving the agency. When Republican leaders again targeted PBS for severe budget cuts in 2005, Lowey again successfully restored funding to the program. She has been equally stalwart in her defense of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and served on the prestigious National Council for the Arts in recognition of her leadership.

January 24, 2019
The ‘You Have a Right to Know’ Rule: Transparent Hospital Pricing Exposes Wild Fluctuation, Even Within Miles

By Harriet Blair Rowan
January 24, 2019

Editor’s Note: Even though the sources cited below are from California exclusively, they will give you a framework of differing costs for the same hospital procedures and supplies. In addition, read the article, You Have a Right to Know the Price published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. — TMG

The federal government’s new rule requiring hospitals to post prices for their services is intended to allow patients to shop around and compare prices, a step toward price transparency that California has mandated since 2005.

California Healthline examined the price lists — known in hospital lingo as “chargemasters” — of four large acute care hospitals in Oakland, Calif., and another four in Los Angeles, using the documents California hospitals have been reporting annually to the California Department of Public Health — the same information the federal government is now requiring all hospitals to post on their websites.

The comparison of some basic procedures found wide-ranging prices, sometimes between hospitals that are part of the same network or located just miles from each other. For instance, the list price on a liter of basic saline solution for intravenous use ranged from $56 to $383, nearly seven times as much. A brain MRI with contrast was priced from $3,200 to $8,800 at the hospitals.

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Whether you will be able to determine the best prices when you have a need for a hospital is another question. KHN senior correspondent Julie Appleby and California Healthline’s Barbara Feder Ostrov recently wrote about this new rule and found price lists befuddling to most anyone without an advanced medical degree.

Harriet Blair Rowan: hrowan@kff.org, @HattieRowan

January 24, 2019