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The economic recession caused by COVID-19 has hit small businesses especially hard, making it more challenging for them to offer health insurance. But certain regulatory measures can help stabilize the small-group market, such as states restricting self-insured plans and transitional plans to control costs.
(Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog)
Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog - August 25, 2020 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Mark A. Hall, Michael J. McCue Source Type: blogs
Thriving in COVID Times
By KIM BELLARD
These are, no question, hard times, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the U.S., we’re closing in on 180,000 deaths in the U.S. Some 40 million workers lost their jobs, and over 30 million are still receiving unemployment benefits. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of small businesses are believed to have closed, and many big companies are declaring bankruptcy. Malls, retailers, and restaurants have been among the hardest hit.
Yes, these are hard times. But not for everyone.
Last week Target announced what CNBC called a “monster quarter.” ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - August 25, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: COVID-19 Health Policy Kim Bellard Source Type: blogs
The Wrong Way to Protect Small Business
Jules Coleman, The Wrong Way to Protect Small Business, SSRN: This is the first in a series of essays exploring a range of philosophical issues that arise in ordinary life that will ultimately be revised for publication in a book... (Source: HealthLawProf Blog)
Source: HealthLawProf Blog - August 22, 2020 Category: Medical Law Authors: Katharine Van Tassel Source Type: blogs
Healthcare Sings The Non-Profit Blues
By MICHAEL TURPIN
Powers once assumed are never relinquished, just as bureaucracies, once created, never die.Charley Reese
As we ponder the 100 day count down to the Presidential Elections, the rhetoric and ranting swirling around the best solution for our nation’s healthcare crisis, is hitting decibel levels not heard since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. As with any major entitlement legislation, there are commendable elements, inefficiencies, and a host of unintended consequences. The current administration’s obsession with repeal while the ranks of uninsured people grow, begs the question, ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - August 17, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Health Policy Blue Cross Blue Shield Michael Turpin non-profit insurers Source Type: blogs
Funding Opportunities: Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Radical (RADx-rad) Emergency Awards
We’ve joined the NIH Office of the Director and several institutes in two Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Radical (RADx-rad) initiative funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). These FOAs offer an excellent opportunity for NIGMS-supported researchers with expertise in technology development and/or artificial intelligence/machine learning to conduct innovative research addressing the public health emergency caused by COVID-19.
RADx-rad Wastewater Detection of SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) (U01-Clinical Trials Not Allowed)RFA-OD-20-015Solicits cooperative agreements for field studies and small business research on opti...
Source: NIGMS Feedback Loop Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 13, 2020 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Funding Opportunities COVID-19 Source Type: blogs
Occupational Licensing Reform Moves Forward
Michael D. Tanner andKelly LesterWith an unemployment rate currently over 10 percent and many businesses permanently closing due to the pandemic, policymakers should make it as easy as possible for unemployed workers to find new opportunities.State policymakers have tools at their disposal that could help put the unemployed back to work by eliminating barriers that prevent workers from moving between careers. Despite a wave of deregulation early in the COVID-19 crisis, many states still have occupational licensing requirements on the books that are hindering economic recovery by choking off access to new jobs, hinderi...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - August 3, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Michael D. Tanner, Kelly Lester Source Type: blogs
Caring vs Pretending to Care
One is a squishy, emotional, heartfelt hug with bright, shining smiles.
The other is a grayscale photocopy of a hug photo.
Visually they’re both easily identifiable as hugs. Experientially they’re vastly different, and when given, they land very differently with the receiver.
Pretending to care can still lead to a contribution, albeit one bereft of dimensionality. Some people may semi-appreciate the gesture, perhaps seeing it as a better than nothing. You may get a few pats on the back, each with an eerily hollow echo.
These are your options for what you offer yourself internally too.
What will y...
Source: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog - July 29, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Steve Pavlina Tags: Emotions Source Type: blogs
PACT Act Does More Harm than Good
Will DuffieldThe bipartisan, process oriented“Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency Act” joins a recent parade of Section 230 reform proposals. Sponsored by Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and John Thune (R-SD), thePACT Act proposes a collection of new requirements intended to optimize social media platforms’ governance of user speech. These government mandated practices for handling both illegal speech and that which merely violates platform community standards would upset delicate, platform specific balances between free ex pression and safety. While more carefully constructed than competing proposals, wit...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 27, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Will Duffield Source Type: blogs
5 Ways I Manage to be Productive Since Becoming a Stay at Home Mother
When our first child arrived, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was physically and emotionally drained. There were so many things left undone. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
I recently described it to my husband as "feeling like I was trying to walk while having my heels tied together". I didn't even want to run, just to walk slowly. To put one foot in front of the other each day.
My approach was wrong and other aspects of my life, unrelated to raising my child, quickly unravelled.
All too often, we get lost in motherhood, neglect ourselves and forget about our own self development and progress. However, it doesn't have to b...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - July 8, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Erin Falconer Tags: family featured happiness productivity tips self-improvement working from home motherhood self improvement stay at home mom Source Type: blogs
Psych Central: Reflections & Gratitude After 25 Years
Long before Google, Facebook, Twitter, and even WebMD, Psych Central began its life in 1995 as a side project I created to highlight great mental health resources online at the time. Over its 25-year lifespan, we’ve gone from a dozen simple pages to tens of thousands of referenced articles.
After 25 years, it’s time to reflect on Psych Central’s past, present, and the future yet to come.
If you’re not familiar with the background on the inspiration for founding Psych Central, you may want to check it out. (You can also read this interview with me about 25 years of Psych Central.)
The Past
I began P...
Source: World of Psychology - July 6, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: General Mental Health and Wellness Psychology Anniversary best of psych central Source Type: blogs
Small Businesses Need the Right Kind of Help to Survive the Economic Impact of COVID-19
Small and medium-sized companies are less equipped than large ones to weather the devastating effects of the pandemic. What could policymakers do to help these businesses get the help they need? (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - June 25, 2020 Category: Health Management Authors: Joanna Hofman Source Type: blogs
A Path to Recovery from COVID-19 for Small Businesses
The COVID-19 pandemic has hammered small businesses around the United States. We spoke with 21 small business owners to learn more about the challenges they are facing and how they might best be helped. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - June 24, 2020 Category: Health Management Authors: C. Richard Neu; Diana Gehlhaus; Howard J. Shatz Source Type: blogs
Irrational Neutrality
Do you have any people in your life who, in the face of today’s many social storms, will say things like this?
I just prefer to remain neutral.I like to see both sides.I’m not into hating people on either side.The media makes everything look bad.
How does this land with you? Do you think it’s a valid perspective?
I agree that there are some issues where intelligent, rational, and compassionate people will come to different thoughtful conclusions. People have different values, so this is to be expected.
Some examples include:
Where the government should spend more or less moneyAbortion right...
Source: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog - June 24, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Steve Pavlina Tags: Relationships Values Source Type: blogs
Paycheck Protection Program: Who Lent to Whom, and Where?
Diego ZuluagaIt ’s been 11 weeks since Congress passed the CARES Act, which, among its many other provisions, established thePaycheck Protection Program (PPP). Nearly three ‐quarters of U.S. small businesses have so far availed themselves of this program. But it turns out that fewer small businesses got a PPP loan in the states hardest‐hit by the Covid‐19 pandemic than elsewhere. And whereas it seemed early on that small banks had done a better job tha n larger reaching the smallest businesses, the most recent public data contradict that initial finding.The PPP consists of government ‐guaranteed Sma...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 22, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Diego Zuluaga Source Type: blogs
NIGMS Priorities for Small Business Development of Sepsis Diagnostics and Therapeutics
Last summer, we published a notice of information on our priorities for sepsis research that applies to all active NIGMS funding opportunity announcements. We’ve now published a notice of special interest (NOT-GM 20-028) to promote early-stage research and development projects through the NIH SBIR/STTR program.
We’re interested in receiving applications from small businesses or from small businesses and their academic partners that propose to develop novel tools and technologies for sepsis research, detection, and treatment. We’re specifically interested in diagnostic tools, predictive clinical algorithms, a...
Source: NIGMS Feedback Loop Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - June 22, 2020 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Chrissa Chverchko Tags: Funding Opportunities Research Administration Sepsis Research Source Type: blogs
