Defining the Problem and Searching for Solutions: Insurers, Employers, and State Government

Panel discussion: Some solutions to the uninsured problem happening right here in Cleveland. The Health Policy Coalition is a group which presents health insurance reform ideas to Congress. Charles Weller talked about the Coalition. Powell Woods described the Cleveland Health Quality Choice Program as follows: Cleveland Health Quality Choice is based upon the principle that if we figure out a way to reward high quality and cost efficiency as the twin lynch pins of reimbursement in our health purchasing system, we can drive both quality and efficiency gains in the system which can help produce savings which will in turn help underwrite the problem of coverage for the uninsured. E. John Polk discussed employee health insurance programs offered by the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE). Kenneth Seminatore represented Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio. He proposed that the price escalation problem be solved by well-managed competition, such as that created by the 1987 of Senate Bill 124, the Health Insurance Reform Act. Mr. Seminatore also mentioned the problem of mandated benefits, stating, A study by Dr. John Goodman of Dallas indicates that perhaps 20 percent of the uninsured nationally are uninsured because they\u27re priced out of the market by mandated benefits they neither want, their insurance companies don\u27t want to offer, and they can\u27t afford. He also proposed Medicaid buy-in for the working poor

Defining the Problem and Searching for Solutions: Insurers, Employers, and State Government

Panel discussion: Some solutions to the uninsured problem happening right here in Cleveland. The Health Policy Coalition is a group which presents health insurance reform ideas to Congress. Charles Weller talked about the Coalition. Powell Woods described the Cleveland Health Quality Choice Program as follows: Cleveland Health Quality Choice is based upon the principle that if we figure out a way to reward high quality and cost efficiency as the twin lynch pins of reimbursement in our health purchasing system, we can drive both quality and efficiency gains in the system which can help produce savings which will in turn help underwrite the problem of coverage for the uninsured. E. John Polk discussed employee health insurance programs offered by the Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE). Kenneth Seminatore represented Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio. He proposed that the price escalation problem be solved by well-managed competition, such as that created by the 1987 of Senate Bill 124, the Health Insurance Reform Act. Mr. Seminatore also mentioned the problem of mandated benefits, stating, A study by Dr. John Goodman of Dallas indicates that perhaps 20 percent of the uninsured nationally are uninsured because they\u27re priced out of the market by mandated benefits they neither want, their insurance companies don\u27t want to offer, and they can\u27t afford. He also proposed Medicaid buy-in for the working poor

A Rapid Assessment of Disaster Preparedness Needs and Resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: This year has seen the emergence of two major crises, a significant increase in the frequency and severity of hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known as to how each of these two events have impacted the other. A rapid qualitative assessment was conducted to determine the impact of the pandemic on preparedness and response to natural disasters and the impact of past experiences with natural disasters in responding to the pandemic. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 representatives of 24 different community-based programs in southern Louisiana. Data were analyzed using procedures embedded in the Rapid Assessment Procedure-Informed Community Ethnography methodology, using techniques of immersion and crystallization and focused thematic analysis. Results: The pandemic has impacted the form and function of disaster preparedness, making it harder to plan for evacuations in the event of a hurricane. Specific concerns included being able to see people in person, providing food and other resources to residents who shelter in place, finding volunteers to assist in food distribution and other forms of disaster response, competing for funds to support disaster-related activities, developing new support infrastructures, and focusing on equity in disaster preparedness. However, several strengths based on disaster preparedness experience and capabilities were identified, including providing a framework for how to respond and adapt to COVID and integration of COVID response with their normal disaster preparedness activities. Conclusions: Although prior experience has enabled community-based organizations to respond to the pandemic, the pandemic is also creating new challenges to preparing for and responding to natural disasters

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Resilience to Climate Change in Underserved Communities

Coastal communities in South Louisiana and worldwide are increasingly impacted by climate-related events such as hurricanes, floods, and rising sea levels. In addition, they have recently faced the burden of a global pandemic that may also be a consequence of climate change. In many under-resourced communities, nongovernmental community-based organizations (CBOs) represent the backbone of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about the pandemic's impact on the efforts of these organizations to support and sustain individual and community resilience to this event and to the disruptive impacts of climate change-related weather events. Procedures embedded in the Rapid Assessment Procedure - Informed Community Ethnography methodology were used to analyze data collected from semi-structured interviews with 26 representatives of 24 different community-based programs in South Louisiana. The pandemic created numerous challenges to under-resourced community resilience by revealing the fragmented nature of community solidarity in adhering to public health guidelines; the lack of available social, political, and economic resources; and the influence of systemic racism and social determinants of health. To address these challenges, communities relied on social connections and support; prior experiences with climate-related disasters and adversity; and the resilience building, supporting, and sustaining efforts of CBOs. These organizations have responded to these challenges through provision of new services, expansion of existing services, providing access to training webinars, partnerships with other CBOs, and initiatives to address broader social issues, while balancing the disparity between increased demand and reduced supply of services and increased reliance on technology that is not uniformly accessible to all communities and residents. In responding to the pandemic, CBOs have played a major role in addressing the threats to individual and community resilience needed to prepare for and respond to natural disasters and other consequences of global environmental change in underserved communities

Effects of self-transcendence on neural responses to persuasive messages and health behavior change

Self-transcendence refers to a shift in mindset from focusing on self-interests to the well-being of others. We offer an integrative neural model of self-transcendence in the context of persuasive messaging by examining the mechanisms of self-transcendence in promoting receptivity to health messages and behavior change. Specifically, we posited that focusing on values and activities that transcend the self can allow people to see that their self-worth is not tied to a specific behavior in question, and in turn become more receptive to subsequent, otherwise threatening health information. To test whether inducing self-transcendent mindsets before message delivery would help overcome defensiveness and increase receptivity, we used two priming tasks, affirmation and compassion, to elicit a transcendent mindset among 220 sedentary adults. As preregistered, those who completed a self-transcendence task before health message exposure, compared with controls, showed greater increases in objectively logged levels of physical activity throughout the following month. In the brain, self-transcendence tasks up-regulated activity in a region of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, chosen for its role in positive valuation and reward processing. During subsequent health message exposure, self-transcendence priming was associated with increased activity in subregions of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, implicated in self-related processing and positive valuation, which predicted later decreases in sedentary behavior. The present findings suggest that having a positive self-transcendent mindset can increase behavior change, in part by increasing neural receptivity to health messaging

Fakers and Forgers, Deception and Dishonesty: An Exploration of the Murky World of Art Fraud

This article examines the problem of fraud in the contemporary art market. It addresses two major cases where persons have been convicted of art fraud in recent years in Australia, examining the legal context within which the prosecutions took place. It then examines problems in common terms such as \u27forgery\u27 and \u27fakery\u27. The final sections review the different ways that issues of authenticity in art are addressed in possible cases of art fraud, and examines the question of why so little art fraud comes to the attention of the criminal justice system

Fakes and Forgeries in Art, and the More Specific Term “Art Fraud”: A Criminological Perspective

Fakes and forgeries are topics of frequent and agitated discussion in the art world. For criminologists, this interests shifts to art fraud because of its fit with issues of non-authentic art. While fraud shares with the wider interests the need to demonstrate deception (an obvious aspect of a fake), a successful prosecution will require in addition that the defendant be shown to be dishonest (that is, that the deception is intentional), that there is harm as a consequence, and that the victim was actually deceived. Despite its popularity as a topic for discussion in the art world, actual cases of art fraud are exceptionally rare, although cases of “mistaken identity” are reasonably common (but these will often lack the deception and intentionality required of fraud). Among the reasons for art fraud being infrequently observed appear to be: (1) police are less than eager to pursue issues of fraud in art; (2) the deceptive skills required of a successful art faker are actually rarely observed or achieved; and (3) the role of the victim in art fraud is complex and often renders victims either passive or non-compliant with the justice process.</p