Health
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
SACRAMENTO – Covered California on Friday was honored for its public policy research, studies and reports on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the prestigious PR News Platinum Awards, a national contest recognizing outstanding public relations efforts.
“This national recognition underscores the work of our staff and community partners do to inform, educate and enroll Californians in affordable health insurance,” said Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California. “The main reward of our outreach is in the enrollment of thousands of Californians, but these rewards validate the good work our team is doing on consumers’ behalf.”
The 2018 PR News Platinum Award winners set industry benchmarks for excellence across all areas of communications. Entrants include U.S.-based and international public relations agencies, corporations, nonprofits, associations and government organizations.
Covered California was recognized as the top organization in the External Publications category and received honorable mention in three other categories: Media Event, Multicultural Campaign and the WOW! Award.
In the External Publications category, Covered California was honored for its “issue briefs” – a series of studies, reports and analyses – which highlighted the agency’s experiences and lessons in implementing the Affordable Care Act. These reports addressed the implications of federal policy changes, the benefits of legislative and administrative changes being considered at the state and federal level and the value of marketing and outreach.
The issue briefs and reports illustrate key elements of Covered California’s approach to creating a successful competitive marketplace in California, where the rate of the uninsured has been cut by more than half since 2013, and premiums for those who do not receive subsidies have increased by only modest amounts over the past four years.
Covered California was recognized in three additional categories. Two nominations were for the Media Event category and the WOW! Award for the agency’s outreach and education work during the "Covered in Art" bus tour and mural campaign. The statewide campaign promoted enrollment and illustrated that health care is part of the fabric of every community in California. Covered California worked in partnership with its public relations contractor, Ogilvy, on the tour, which took place between Nov. 1, 2017, and Jan. 31, 2018.
Covered California’s in-house communications team was also recognized in the category of Multicultural Campaign for its targeted outreach and media activities to reach Latinos, African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders and LGBTQ communities throughout the state.
Overall, Covered California competed with nationally known public relations firms that represented companies such as Intel, 21st Century Fox, HP and Kentucky Fried Chicken, among others.
“We couldn’t do this great work without the talented team of communications professionals and policy experts working in-house at Covered California,” Lee said.
For more information about Covered California, please visit www.CoveredCA.com.
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- Written by: California Department of Insurance
After its initial success, California's fifth largest life insurer is now including the program in all its life insurance policies at no additional cost.
The Vitality Life Insurance Program allows consumers with active and healthy lifestyles the option to lower their premiums by accumulating Vitality Points for health-related activities such as exercising, getting a flu shot and logging their annual visit to the doctor. The points are translated into discounts.
In 2015, Commissioner Jones became one of the first insurance regulators in the nation to approve this program so that Californians who take care of their health could be rewarded with financial incentives.
"Innovative products like the Vitality Life Insurance Program keep California's insurance marketplace healthy and vibrant and give Californians more options to decide how best to meet their insurance needs," said Jones. "When this new life insurance product was filed, we worked to expedite approval so California consumers could benefit from more life insurance options as well as monetary discounts for healthy living. I am excited about the success the program has had so far and am hopeful it will continue as John Hancock implements this change to its policies."
Since initiating the program, John Hancock reported their policyholders with the program take nearly twice as many steps as the average American, have logged more than three million healthy activities including walking, swimming, or biking, and engage with the program approximately 576 times a year.
"The remarkable results of our Vitality offering convinced us this is the only path forward for the industry," said Brooks Tingle, president and CEO of John Hancock Insurance. "We have smart phones, smart cars and smart homes. It's time for smart life insurance that meets the changing needs of consumers. We are very appreciative of the thorough and expedited review and approval by the California Department of Insurance, which made California one of the first states to approve our innovative new product."
This life insurance program does not penalize or shift costs to consumers who are less active, but instead offers an actuarially sound method to provide discounts for those policyholders who choose to live a healthy lifestyle, and are therefore likely to increase life expectancy. The product has been available in other countries for some time.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Internationally recognized author and Buddhist and recovery teacher Kevin Griffin will facilitate a daylong meditation retreat titled “Loving Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World” at A Positive Light Center for Spiritual Awakening, at 6470 Kelsey Creek Drive in Kelseyville on Saturday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The event is open to the public and offered on a donation basis.
This retreat is focused on instruction and practice with mindfulness and loving kindness meditations, lecture, interactive exercises, and question and answer periods.
Based on his latest book of the same name, Griffin's retreat will focus on the traditional teachings of metta, or loving kindness, practice.
"This practice is sometimes depicted as a simple 'open your heart and love everybody' practice, but a closer look at the Buddha’s teachings reveals a more complex and nuanced picture," noted Griffin. "In a time of great conflict and contention in our society, it can be extremely valuable to see how the Buddha addressed these relevant topics."
Topics to be explored are the challenges of living with other people; the risk of hating anyone, even your enemies; and the dangers inherent to conventional loving relationships.
Griffin is also the author of “One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps” (Rodale Press 2004) and “A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery” (Hay House 2009).
He teaches internationally at Buddhist centers, addiction treatment centers, professional conferences, and academic settings, specializing in helping people in recovery connect with meditation and a progressive understanding of the 12 Steps – a set of guiding principles outlining a course of action for tackling addictions, including alcoholism.
As a leader in the mindful recovery movement and a founder of the Buddhist Recovery Network, Griffin is a longtime Buddhist practitioner and twelve step participant.
He teaches nationally on the synthesis of these two traditions and has trained with leading Western Vipassana teachers, including Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and Ajahn Amaro.
Mr. Griffin is hosted by local meditation teacher, Reiki Master and director of A Positive Light, Joanie Lane, and local mindfulness teacher and author, JoAnn Saccato.
Space is limited for the event and early registration is encouraged. Participants are invited to wear comfortable clothing and to bring a lunch. Mats, cushions, water and tea are provided. Donations are accepted.
For more information and to register visit http://www.apositivelight.com or call 707-279-6031.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
SB 1245 will allow Covered California to have emergency rulemaking authority for nearly all of its regulatory packages until Jan. 1, 2022.
This legislation will also ensure that there will be enough time for the public to review and comment on the proposed regulations ahead of them being adopted by the Covered California Board of Directors.
“It is vital that Californians receiving health care coverage through Covered California and the Affordable Care Act are not endangered due to actions at the federal level,” Sen. Leyva said. “SB 1245 will allow Covered California to promptly respond to any potential regulation conflicts with federal law so that there is continuity of care for the over one million Californians that rely on the exchange for health care coverage. I thank Gov. Brown for supporting this important legislation that reinforces California’s commitment to providing affordable health care for our state’s residents.”
Since 2010, Covered California has made a deliberate effort to move to permanent regulations and has approved four permanent rulemaking packages.
As the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, stabilized, it was expected that Covered California would continue to effectively transition to the permanent rulemaking process.
However, current federal policy discussions regarding the ACA indicate that there will potentially be significant changes to the rules governing health benefit exchanges, like Covered California.
Due to potential future changes to the ACA and other related regulations, SB 1245 will allow Covered California to create and adapt regulations more quickly than is possible through the permanent rulemaking process.
Taking effect on Jan. 1, 2019, SB 1245 was supported by the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, Consumers Union, Health Access California and Western Center on Law and Poverty during the legislative process.
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