Sunday, August 25, 2024
Home Blog Page 50

Medi-Cal mantendrá más planes de seguro después de ser presionado

Los funcionarios estatales de salud lanzaron el año pasado un primer proceso de licitación competitivo para sus contratos de seguro de Medi-Cal, con el objetivo de implementar estándares más altos. Pero cuando se anunciaron los ganadores, varias aseguradoras se quejaron del proceso y del posible impacto en la atención al paciente

 

by Kristen Hwang and Ana B. Ibarra

 

En un cambio de postura significativo, el Departamento de Servicios de Atención Médica de California anunció que ha negociado con cinco planes de salud comerciales para brindar servicios de Medi-Cal en 2024, eliminando un proceso de licitación de dos años para los codiciados contratos estatales.

Esto anula los planes anteriores del estado de otorgar contratos a solo tres planes de salud. Significa que es probable que más afiliados a Medi-Cal conserven su aseguradora y sus médicos actuales, lo que evitará un proceso de reinscripción confuso para la mayoría de los afiliados y evitará interrupciones en la atención del paciente. También significa que el estado evitará una batalla legal prolongada en medio de amenazas de juicio por parte de aseguradoras que anteriormente se habían quedado fuera.

Los grandes ganadores: Blue Shield y Community Health Group obtendrán un contrato después de haber perdido ofertas inicialmente, y Health Net podrá conservar al menos algunos de sus afiliados de Los Ángeles.

“Para brindar certeza a los miembros, proveedores y planes, el Estado usó su autoridad para trabajar directamente con los planes para volver a trazar nuestra asociación y avanzar con confianza y rapidez hacia la implementación de los cambios que queremos ver”, dijo el departamento en un comunicado publicado el viernes por la tarde. El departamento no proporcionó respuestas a las preguntas de seguimiento antes de esta publicación.

“En cierto nivel, facilita la transición, pero queremos hacerlo mejor que el statu quo”, dijo Anthony Wright, director ejecutivo de Health Access, un grupo de defensa del consumidor. “Menos interrupciones es bueno, pero no queremos perder la razón del cambio, que es tener más responsabilidad sobre estos planes en el futuro”.

Medi-Cal brinda cobertura de salud a más de 14 millones de californianos de bajos ingresos, más de un tercio de la población del estado. En 2021, el Departamento de Servicios de Atención Médica, que supervisa el programa Medi-Cal, se embarcó en un proceso de licitación que le permitiría modificar los contratos con los planes de salud comerciales de Medi-Cal. El objetivo del estado era reducir la cantidad de planes de salud participantes de los nueve actuales y seguir adelante con solo los planes más calificados, que se someterían a estándares más altos relacionados con los resultados de los pacientes, los tiempos de espera y la satisfacción, además de mejorar las disparidades de salud. En agosto del año pasado, el estado anunció que otorgaría tentativamente $14 mil millones en contratos de Medi-Cal a tres compañías: Health Net, Molina y Anthem Blue Cross. Esta decisión propuesta obligaría a cerca de 2 millones de afiliados a Medi-Cal a cambiar de seguro y probablemente encontrar nuevos proveedores. Algunos proveedores de salud criticaron la decisión del contrato original del departamento, alegando que habría causado una interrupción “inconmensurable” en la atención.

Kaiser Permanente negoció un contrato especial con el estado a principios del año pasado, sin pasar por el proceso de licitación. Y la mayoría de los planes de salud comunitarios sin fines de lucro no tenían que competir por un contrato.

El anuncio de verano del estado rápidamente se convirtió en polémico ya que los planes de salud que quedaron fuera cuestionaron el proceso del estado para elegir a las tres aseguradoras, apelaron la decisión y demandaron al estado.

Este cambio de rumbo pone en entredicho el poder que pueden tener las aseguradoras para presionar con amenazas legales la acción estatal. Los defensores de la salud dicen que esperan que no siente un precedente. Wright en Health Access dijo que le gustaría que el departamento dejara en claro que el estado no retrocederá en el proceso de contratos competitivos en el futuro, ya que considera que es una herramienta clave para la rendición de cuentas.

Blue Shield, una de las compañías de seguros inicialmente excluidas, presentó una queja contra el Departamento de Servicios de Atención Médica, solicitando que el departamento divulgue todos los documentos utilizados en el proceso de selección.

El gigante de los seguros incluso lanzó una campaña en el otoño pidiendo a los californianos que hablaran en contra de la decisión del estado. La compañía argumentó que el estado no logró involucrar suficientemente a los afiliados y médicos de Medi-Cal en el proceso. “El mensaje de esta campaña es que no es demasiado tarde para que el estado cambie de rumbo y tome decisiones que promuevan la innovación y la equidad en la salud para todos”, dijo en un comunicado Kristen Cerf, presidenta y directora ejecutiva del plan Medi-Cal de Blue Shield. en octubre.

Según el acuerdo revisado, Blue Shield podrá seguir prestando servicios en el área de San Diego. Blue Shield rechazó una solicitud de entrevista y, en cambio, remitió a los periodistas a un comunicado publicado el pasado martes.

Mientras tanto, Health Net, que en el verano obtuvo tentativamente contratos en nueve condados pero perdió su contrato anterior y más grande en Los Ángeles, también demandó al estado. Según el nuevo acuerdo, Health Net permanecerá en Los Ángeles y dividirá su parte de los afiliados a Medi-Cal en partes iguales con su contraparte comercial, Molina Healthcare. Health Net también mantendrá su membresía en Sacramento pero perderá el mercado de San Diego.

Centene, la empresa matriz de Health Net, dijo en un comunicado el martes que pondría fin a sus acciones legales contra el departamento de servicios de salud del estado.

La división equitativa de los miembros entre Molina y Health Net a través de un acuerdo de subcontratación es un “paso en la dirección correcta”, dijo Jim Mangia, presidente y director ejecutivo de St. John’s Community Health, que atiende a pacientes de bajos ingresos en el sur de Los Ángeles, pero mucho más permanece incierto.

“¿Quiénes serán el 50 por ciento que podrá permanecer en Health Net y quiénes serán el 50 por ciento que tendrá que mudarse?”, dijo Mangia. “No tenemos respuestas para eso, así que creo que es problemático porque todavía desplaza a una cantidad significativa de pacientes”.

Actualmente, Health Net administra más de 1 millón de pacientes de Medi-Cal en el condado de Los Ángeles. Casi una cuarta parte de los pacientes de St. John’s Community Health tienen Health Net, y el LA Care Health Plan, administrado públicamente, representa el resto. (La mayoría de los angelinos con Medi-Cal están inscritos y podrán continuar con LA Care, un plan operado públicamente).

Mangia dijo que la última decisión aún interrumpirá los servicios para los 12,500 pacientes solo en St. John’s que se verán obligados a cambiarse a Molina. Anticipa que la clínica necesitará contratar más personal para ayudar con la orientación de los pacientes, pero no hay dinero para eso.

“Obviamente fue un intento de rectificar la decisión inicial, pero no estoy seguro de que el impacto en los pacientes vaya a ser tan diferente. Esa es mi preocupación”, dijo Mangia. “Es esencialmente un mandato sin fondos”.

“Con eso como entendimiento, pensamos que lo mejor para la compañía, para los miembros y para los inversionistas era participar en la negociación”, dijo Zubretsky.

Molina acordó no protestar por la adjudicación final del contrato y subcontratará a Health Net en el condado de Los Ángeles en el “acuerdo negociado”, dijo Zubretsky. Molina duplicará su membresía de Medi-Cal, de 600,000 a 1.2 millones, para 2024 como resultado de este último contrato.

“Acordamos las asignaciones de membresía que el estado ahora ha articulado además de renunciar a otros tipos de derechos legales que uno normalmente tendría”, dijo Zubretsky a los inversionistas.

Community Health Group, el mayor proveedor de Medi-Cal en el condado de San Diego, también obtendrá un nuevo contrato en 2024. La aseguradora fue excluida en el anuncio original de verano, pero apeló la decisión del estado.

Community Health Group rechazó una solicitud de entrevista, pero durante el verano, el director de operaciones de la compañía, Joseph García, le dijo a CalMatters que la decisión del estado había sido impactante porque su compañía habitualmente superaba a otras aseguradoras.

Zara Marselian, directora ejecutiva de La Maestra Community Health Centers en San Diego, dijo que la nueva decisión del estado fue una grata sorpresa. Las clínicas de La Maestra atienden a pacientes de bajos ingresos en todo el condado y han trabajado con Community Health Group durante casi tres décadas. Alrededor del 26% de sus pacientes confían en Community Health Group para Medi-Cal, la mayoría de cualquier grupo de pacientes. Anteriormente, Marselian también había previsto tener que contratar más personal para ayudar a los pacientes a transitar la transición.

“Es realmente mejor para los beneficiarios de Medi-Cal que ahora no tendrán que transferirse a otro plan de salud y ver interrumpida toda la continuidad de su atención”, dijo Marselian. “Estoy muy agradecido sin embargo esto sucedió. Estoy muy agradecido en nombre de nuestros pacientes”.

 

US Hits Borrowing Limit — Treasury Implements ‘Extraordinary Measures’ — Here’s What It Means for Your 401Ks

by Chief Editor

CF news

 

The Treasury Department is starting ‘extraordinary measures’ to avoid a U.S. default after the federal debt limit was reached on Thursday. This measure will allow the government to keep paying bills while Congress negotiates to try and avoid an economic meltdown.

American debt is now at an eye-watering $31.38 trillion – that’s 120 percent of GDP, up from 39.2 percent in 2008 and 77.6 percent in 2018.

The staggering figure is the highest since the Second World War, equals $246,876 in federal debt per taxpayer and is more than the economies of China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom combined.

In a letter sent by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday, she warned that the ‘period of time that extraordinary measures may last is subject to considerable uncertainty.’

The ‘extraordinary measures’ refers to accounting workarounds to ensure financial liquidity to keep the government open through at least June.

First, the government will temporarily suspend payments to the retirement, disability and health benefit funds for federal employees. Second, it will suspend the reinvestment of maturing government bonds in the retirement savings accounts of government workers.

Nearly 25 million full-time and part-time federal employees, or approximately 16 percent of the American workforce, will be affected if the debt debacle defaults in June.

As the DailyMail.com explains below, the spiraling debt and battle over it could have major implications for American citizens, particularly their 401 (k) plans.

The larger and more immediate impact for the estimated 159 million U.S. workers, is the economic uncertainty of retirement accounts, which have taken a huge hit following the global pandemic and Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine resulting in historic inflation levels and ongoing supply chain woes.

Analysts at Bank of America cautioned in a report last week that ‘there is a high degree of uncertainty about the speed and magnitude of the damage the U.S. economy would incur.’

The 2022 selloff erased nearly $3 trillion from U.S. retirement accounts, according to Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. By her calculations, 401(k) plan participants have lost about $1.4 trillion from their accounts since the end of 2021, according to CBS News.

Markets remained relatively calm, given that the government can temporarily rely on accounting tweaks to stay open and any threats to the economy appear to be several months away.

The White House went on the offense.

‘They’re threatening to kill millions of jobs and 401K plans by trying to hold the debt limit hostage unless they can get cut Social Security, cut Medicare, cut Medicaid,’ said Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during her regular briefing on Wednesday.

‘We’re just not going to negotiate that,’ Jean-Pierre said. ‘They should feel the responsibility.’

Republicans have said they will oppose raising the ceiling debt ceiling without a cut in federal spending, while the White House and Democrats are refusing to allow the GOP to cut federal programs such as social security.

‘Why create a crisis over this?’ McCarthy said this week. ‘I mean, we’ve got a Republican House, a Democratic Senate. We’ve got the president there. I think it’s arrogance to say, ‘Oh, we’re not going to negotiate about pretty much anything’ and especially when it comes to funding.’

If a deal is not made by the summer, the fallout could result in a global economic crisis. Since 1960 Congress has raised, extended or revised the debt limit 78 times when the U.S. hit its borrowing cap.

So far, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Biden are playing what could be a dangerous game of chicken with the world’s largest economy in the middle.

The results could be devastating for both taxpayers and the global economy, so DailyMail.com has broken down what to expect as both parties enter the ring and try and hash out detente.

The Treasury Department has limited options, but starting Thursday, the agency will be making a series of accounting maneuvers that would put a hold on contributions and investment redemptions for government workers’ retirement and health care funds, giving the government enough financial space to handle its day-to-day expenses until early June.

Reparations for all?

Paul Craig Roberts

by Paul Craig Roberts

 

A majority of the white ethnicities, such as the French Huguenots, the Irish, the Scots, and others, came to the original colonies to escape oppression and persecution. Some came as slaves.  English debtors were sold into indentured servitude to cover their debts.

The notion of Woke white liberals that only blacks were enslaved is historical ignorance.  There were more white slaves in history than black. Arab slave traders raided the coastal cities of Italy and France. Arabs captured Americans off of merchant ships, causing the Founding Fathers to send the US Marines to the shores of Tripoli. Why are only black descendants of former slaves entitled to reparations?

The white American liberals have concocted a fiction that only white Americans are responsible for slavery.  The truth of the matter is that white Americans have no responsibility for slavery.  Every black purchased as a member of an agricultural work force in America was enslaved long before arriving in the British colonies of North America which became later the United States.  They were enslaved by the African slave wars between black tribes or kingdoms, among which the black king of Dahomey was supreme.

Many of Dahomey’s captives were themselves warring for slaves and lost the battle.

Among the black contenders for slaves, slaves were a status symbol, but as time passed more slaves were accumulated than could be supported by their captors.  The surplus was sold, thus beginning the slave trade.  Initially they were sold to Arabs, then to the European powers who had colonies in the New World where there were resources but no labor force.  Every black slave who ended up in what became later the United States and for its short existence the Confederate States of America could have been kept in Africa as a slave or sold to Arabs as a slave.  Where was the enslaved black most well off?

Obviously, in America amidst white people who have assumed all the guilt for the slave wars of the Black King of Dahomey.  White people have accepted indoctrination that they are guilty of enslaving blacks and have obligation to pay reparations to “survivors” of black slavery.  The reparations task force formed by the Woke white governor of California figures blacks in California, which became a state in 1850 and whose Constitution forbade slavery, are owed $1 million dollars each on the slender grounds that an unknown ancestor might have been a slave 157 or more years ago. As the Hispanic and Asian population of California constitute a majority of the state’s population, and as they are not descendants of white slave owners (none of whom ever lived in California) targeted by the governor’s reparations task force, will they have to pay it?

The stupidity of white Americans boggles the mind.  Maybe their replacement by Hispanics pouring across the southern border is a good thing.  Maybe the genocide planed for white gentiles by Bill Gates and Klaus Schwab with the complicity of the FDA and US media is a good thing. Certainly, the dumbest people who have ever lived are white American liberals.

Have you ever thought about the American white liberal’s position?  They have bought into “white guilt” and the belief that white ethnicities are racist even if they don’t intend to be and are responsible for oppressing blacks and preventing their success. Therefore America has preferential treatment for blacks, special rights, that discriminate against whites, especially white heterosexual males.

Yet the same white liberals claim that 360,222 Northern white racists died killing 258,000 Southern white racists for the sole reason of emancipating blacks from slavery.

So how do we reconcile 618,222 dead white people killed in order to free blacks when whites, all whites, even white liberals, are racists?  The white deaths allegedly spent eliminating black slavery are 202,823 more deaths than Americans suffered during World War II when America fought both Japan and Germany.  (I don’t believe what is called the Civil War was a civil war or that it was about slavery.   Articles on my website make this clear.)

The picture drawn of white racists killing white racists in order to liberate blacks makes no sense.  If white Americans were really sacrificing their lives for blacks’ freedom, then how can whites be racists?

The ability of the American liberal to hold mutual incompatibles as truths illustrates the extremely limited intelligence and reasoning ability of this species of humanity.

This limited intelligence species–white liberals– is what controls the United States, or perhaps more accurately serves as a cloak for those who do control us.  In other words, they are twice stupid.

Yet insouciant Americans still vote for them.

Consider other parts of the inconsistent liberal agenda.  Liberals are all for diversity and multiculturalism.  Yet they teach blacks to hate white people, and liberal feminists teach women that men are their enemy.  Simultaneously, white culture is disparaged as imperialist exploitation. How does unity materialize out of Identity Politics?  How are white people included in “diversity” when they are demonized and their culture disparaged?

It seems that far from diversity and multiculturalism white people are excluded. The United States are disunited. Will the liberals will try to put Humpty Dumpty back together by federal force as they did once before?

(Paul Craig Roberts is an American economist and author. He formerly held a sub-cabinet office in the United States federal government as well as teaching positions at several U.S. universities. He is a promoter of supply-side economics and an opponent of recent U.S. foreign policy. Wikipedia)

Opposition parties confirm alliance for 2024 presidential election

by the El Reportero

 

Mexico’s main opposition parties have announced they will field a common candidate at next year’s presidential election.

The Va por México alliance — made up of the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) — was thought to be on the verge of breaking up in late 2022 after a PRI lawmaker presented a constitutional bill that sought to authorize the use of the military for public security tasks until 2028.

But the coalition survived the saga, and its leaders confirmed Thursday that the three parties will contest the 2024 presidential election, as well as the Mexico City mayoral race, on a joint ticket.

The PAN will be responsible for the selection process to find common candidates for those elections, said Marko Cortés, the party’s national leader. He told a press conference that the process will have “clear rules” and be open to all potential candidates that aspire to represent Va por México at the elections, including members of civil society.

Cortés also said that Va por México was open to having more parties join its alliance. There was speculation that the Citizens Movement party would join the coalition, but its national leader Dante Delgado said last month that wouldn’t be the case.

Cortés and PRD president Jesús Zambrano said last September that their relationship with PRI national president Alejandro Moreno was over because of his support for the militarization bill, but they appeared alongside him at Thursday’s Va por México “relaunch” press conference.

Moreno said that the coalition’s differences had been dealt with, and that it is now a solid opposition force.

However, a new internal rift has appeared. Zambrano said after Thursday’s press conference that the PAN and the PRI reached an agreement about the selection of candidates for next year’s presidential and mayoral elections without the involvement of the PRD. While the PAN will run the selection process to find candidates for those elections, the PRI was given responsibility for choosing Va por México candidates for gubernatorial elections in México state and Coahuila later this year.

The PAN-PRI agreement was struck bilaterally, and “we don’t agree with that,” Zambrano said.

At the joint press conference, the PRD leader proposed the formation of a citizens’ committee to conduct the Va por México candidate selection processes in a transparent way.

“We’re a coalition of three political forces, but a coalition that must have the support of civil society,” he said later on Thursday.

“That’s the only way we will be able to win, if we don’t take that route we’ll be announcing a defeat.”

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum and Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard are seen as the top contenders to secure the ruling Morena party’s candidacy at the 2024 presidential election.

There is far less clarity about who will represent the PAN, PRI and PRD. In that context, President López Obrador offered his own (very) long-list of possible opposition candidates in October, saying that a total of 43 people have either expressed interest in vying for the presidency or have been mentioned as potential contenders.

With reports from Milenio, El Universal and El País.

Del Toro’s Golden Globes win, ‘Ruido’ debuts on Netflix and Mexico’s top influencers

Guillermo del Toro is first Latino to win a Golden Globe in the animated feature category

 

by MND Staff

 

The Golden Globe for best animated film went to Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” at the award ceremony on Tuesday. This award made history as the first one granted to a Latino in the animated feature category, and the first time the award category went to a streaming company, in this case Netflix.

Accepting the Golden Globe, Guillermo del Toro said that “animation is cinema” and “animation is not a genre for kids, it’s a medium.”

“Pinocchio” is one of Del Toro’s most personal films and as he said in previous interviews, it took him half of his career to produce. It required more than 1,000 days of filming.

The film is a co-production between the United States, Mexico and France. It was co-directed by Mark Gustafson and is based on the 19th century novel by Carlo Collodi but set in the context of World War II (1939-1945).

The movie is also nominated at the Critics’ Choice Awards, set to take place on Sunday.

Netflix premieres “Ruido”, about a mother searching for her missing daughter

“Ruido” (Noise) is a new film by Mexican director Natalia Beristain, who told The Washington Post she had the idea of making a movie about “that which has no word to name it: the state of pain in which a parent remains when his or her child dies or disappears.”

She said that the first time she had the idea was in 2006 while her mother, actress Julieta Egurrola, played the role of a mother searching for her 10-year-old daughter in the play “Congelados” (Frozen).

The film narrates Mexican mother Julia’s search for her daughter (who has been missing for nine months) while delving into the problems faced by the families of the missing in Mexico. The opening scene takes place at the Attorney General Office, when the officers tell Julia that due to a mistake, the tattoo on her daughter’s arm was not registered in her file and thus the body Julia has been called to identify is not her daughter’s.

The film premiered on Netflix on Wednesday.

Top 3 Mexican influencers

Entertainment, travel, makeup, video games and music content creators stood out among Mexico’s most successful content creators of 2022, according to influencer marketing agency Tagger. The agency estimated which influencers had the most real, human accounts following them, excluding bots and other fake accounts.

Originally from the northern city of Mexicali, Baja California, Kimberly Loaiza leads the ranking as the most successful Mexican influencer of 2022. She started her career as a YouTuber and now she is also a singer and a model. On Instagram she has 36.7 million followers. Eight million people follow her on Twitter and she has a whopping 71.6 million followers on TikTok.

With 32.9 million followers on Instagram and 39.8 million followers on YouTube, Luisito Comunica from Puebla came in as the second most successful influencer in México. His channel ranks seventh in the Spanish-speaking world for most subscribers.

Ranking third is 21-year-old Domelipa, originally from Monterrey, Nuevo León. Her dance moves and beauty advice gained her a following of 2.8 million people on Instagram and close to 63 million people on TikTok. Univision reported she has more likes on her photos than international superstars like Rosalía and Dua Lipa.

With reports from La Silla Rota, Forbes México and Informador.mx

$100K grant will fund CA Food-Box Program to fight child hunger

by Suzanne Potter

California News Service

 

Jan. 26, 2023 – San Diego may seem like a wealthy area, but the mountain communities in the eastern part of the county still struggle with hunger and poverty.

Now, a new $100,000 grant from Save the Children’s Innovation Lab will fund the development of a program to mailboxes of shelf-stable food to low-income rural families, starting next year. Anahid Brakke, president and CEO of the San Diego Hunger Coalition, said the program has been a big hit in other communities.

“The parents said, ‘It’s like Christmas.’ The kids feel like it’s Christmas, you know, they get this food box; you know, it’s for them,” Brakke explained. “It really helps supplement the whole household.”

A team from the San Diego Hunger Coalition is at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, this week to learn best practices from other communities already implementing the program. The funds will also be used to train community health navigators who can help people sign up for programs like CalFresh and WIC.

Esther Liew, lead associate for food security projects with the nonprofit Save the Children, said mailing the food boxes makes more sense than asking families to travel long distances to pick them up.

“There’s little public transportation in rural communities, meaning that they then have limited access to grocery stores and places where they can get fresh and nutritious foods,” Liew pointed out. “That makes it really difficult to provide the food that they need for their children and their family members.”

Hunger Coalition data showed about 35 percemt of children in the Mountain Empire region live in poverty, which is nearly triple the rate for the rest of San Diego County.

In a recent community food survey of local residents, almost three-quarters said they would run out of food at some point in the last 30 days and did not have the resources to buy more.

 

State Projects Millions Could Lose Medi-Cal as Renewals Start Back Up

Starting in April, an estimated 2-3 million people could be dropped from Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for low-income people.

For three years during COVID, terminations were halted, but Congress recently voted to de-link the program from the Public Health Emergency. So California will have 14 months to re-evaluate eligibility for almost 15 million people.

Tiffany Huyenh-Cho, senior staff attorney for the nonprofit Justice in Aging, said people who do not respond to the renewal packet will lose coverage.

“Lots of individuals might have moved, might have had a change in income or a change in household size, or a new job or lost their job,” Huyenh-Cho observed. “It is really important to update contact information such as addresses and phone numbers with the county office.”

The state has an ambassador program to educate community health workers on the resumption of renewals and about the unwinding of the public health emergency, which is expected to end sometime this spring.

Huyenh-Cho noted Justice in Aging is also part of the public education campaign to make sure people who meet the income requirements don’t fall off the rolls.

“Now, individuals can be terminated from Medi-Cal benefits due to an increase in income or an increase in assets for older adults that are subject to the asset test,” Huyenh-Cho explained.

Last year, California increased the limit on assets a single older person can have and still qualify for Medi-Cal, changing the amount from $2,000 to $130,000.

Para tu hijo, en esta temporada festiva, el regalo que sigue dando  

Contenido patrocinado por JPMorgan Chase

 

La educación financiera es crucial para el éxito a largo plazo, y esa educación comienza a una edad temprana. Las investigaciones sugieren que muchos de los hábitos que llevamos a la edad adulta se establecen antes de los siete años. Para los padres, es importante sentar una base temprana sobre la que los niños puedan construir. Regalarle a un niño una cuenta bancaria en esta temporada festiva es un paso para promover conocimientos financieros, empoderándolos para aprender y desarrollar metas de ahorro saludables y hábitos de hacer presupuestos que pueden ayudar a prepararles para el éxito financiero en el futuro.

A diferencia de una cuenta de ahorros regular, la cuenta de ahorros de un niño puede venir con beneficios adicionales, incluyendo no tener cargos de cuenta mensuales o requisitos de saldo de apertura. Además, los bancos a menudo crean contenido original para audiencias más jóvenes, lo que facilita que los niños aprendan los conceptos básicos de administración responsable del dinero. A menudo, estas herramientas de aprendizaje están en línea/móvil; por ejemplo, Chase ofrece a los nuevos clientes jóvenes The Quest, una novela gráfica animada que enseña a los niños a ahorrar con regularidad, gastar de manera inteligente y ganar dinero, para ayudar a impulsar la educación financiera de tu hijo.

Jenny Baltodano, gerente comunitario local de Chase en San Francisco, nos ofreció algunas ideas sobre los beneficios de abrir una cuenta de ahorros para tu hijo:

  • Ayudarlos a aprender más acerca de ahorrar dinero. Enseñarle a tus hijos cómo planificar y priorizar sus costos. Ayudarlos a desarrollar un presupuesto realista para construir una base y supervisar sus gastos.
  • Ahorrar dinero para una meta financiera específica a corto plazo. Aprovecha la oportunidad de animar a tu hijo a reservar fondos en su cuenta de ahorros para realizar una compra especial, ya sea ahorrar para comprar ese nuevo juego o la bicicleta que tanto desea.
  • Proporcionar experiencia práctica. Los niños a menudo aprenden haciendo, así que considera abrir una cuenta de ahorros para niños tan pronto como ellos comiencen a recibir dinero. Empoderarlos con una tarjeta de débito para niños puede ayudar a construir buenos hábitos de dinero.
  • Enseñarles más sobre realizar operaciones bancarias. Tu hijo puede aprender cómo depositar cheques en una sucursal, realizar operaciones bancarias por internet y retirar efectivo en un cajero automático, ayudando a administrar su cuenta.

Construir un futuro financiero saludable

Abrir una cuenta de ahorros para niños proporciona una vía natural para que los padres hablen con los niños acerca de su bienestar financiero y, aunque a menudo no pagan rendimientos altos, estas cuentas son herramientas significativas para iniciar a un niño en un camino financiero responsable desde una edad temprana.

Es importante proporcionar formas para que los niños ganen dinero a través de tareas, una asignación o un trabajo de verano. Que los niños adquieran experiencia de la vida real, ganando y administrando dinero cuando sean adultos, es el objetivo a largo plazo. De esa manera, estarán más equipados para ser parte de una discusión más amplia sobre tarjetas de débito, tarjetas de crédito, préstamos para automóviles u otros productos financieros que puedan necesitar al entrar a la edad adulta.

Visite chase.com/parents para descubrir más consejos y herramientas para enseñar a sus hijos buenos hábitos de dinero.

The Gift That Keeps Giving for Your Child This Holiday Season

Content sponsored by JP Morgan Chase

 

Financial education is crucial to long-term success – and that education begins at an early age. Research suggests many of the habits we carry into adulthood are set by age seven. For parents, it’s important to lay a foundation early that children can build on. Gifting a child a bank account this holiday season is one step to promoting financial literacy, empowering them to learn and develop healthy savings goals and budgeting habits that can help set them up for future financial success.

Unlike a regular savings account, a child’s savings account may come with additional perks, including no monthly account fees or opening balance requirements. Additionally, banks often create original content for younger audiences, making it easier for kids to learn responsible money managing basics. Often these learning tools are online/mobile – for example, Chase provides new young customers with The Quest, an animated graphic novel that teaches kids about saving regularly, spending wisely and earning money – to help boost your child’s financial education.

Jenny Baltodano, Community Manager for Chase in San Francisco, offered us some ideas on the benefits of opening a savings account for your child.

Opening a savings account for your child can:

  • Help them learn more about saving money. Teach your kids how to plan and prioritize their costs. Help them develop a realistic budget to build a foundation and monitor their spending.
  • Save money for a specific short-term financial goal. Take the opportunity to encourage your child to set aside funds in their savings account to make a special purchase – whether it’s saving up to buy that new game or bicycle they’ve been wanting.
  • Provide hands-on experience. Kids often learn by doing, so consider opening a child savings account as soon as they start receiving money. Empowering them with a child debit card can help build good money habits.
  • Teach them more about banking. Your child can learn how to deposit checks in a branch, bank online, and withdraw cash at an ATM by helping co-manage their account.

Building a Healthy Financial Future

Opening a kids’ savings account provides a natural avenue for parents to talk to children about their financial wellness and, while they often don’t pay high yields, these accounts are meaningful tools to start a child on a responsible financial path from an early age.

It’s important to provide ways for kids to earn money through chores, an allowance or a summer job. Long-term, the goal is for children to gain real-life experience earning and managing money when they become adults. That way, they will be more equipped to be part of a larger discussion about debit cards, credit cards, auto loans or other financial products they may need as they enter adulthood.

Visit chase.com/parents to discover more tips and tools to teach your kids good money habits.

CA anti-hunger groups slam governor’s proposed budget

Ft. Wayne - Circa November 2021: SNAP and EBT Accepted here sign. SNAP and Food Stamps provide nutrition benefits to supplement the budgets of disadvantaged families.

by Suzanne Potter

California News Service

 

Groups that fight hunger say they’re “deeply disappointed” in the new budget proposal released Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Last year, the Legislature approved $40 million to expand food assistance to low-income people over age 55, regardless of immigration status. But now, the governor wants to delay it until 2027.

Betzabel Estudillo, director of engagement for the group Nourish California – part of the Food 4 All Campaign – said she hoped the California Food Assistance Program would be expanded starting next year.

“It’s just not what we were expecting, considering how much California immigrants are struggling to access the food they need,” said Estudillo. “With inflation and the high cost of food, immigrant families are really, really hurting right now. ”

The governor’s budget projects a gap of more than $22 billion in the next fiscal year.

Right now, the California Food Assistance Program provides income-eligible, legal immigrants with a monthly electronic benefit transfer card – similar to CalFresh – that can be used at grocery stores and farmer’s markets.

However, it does not cover undocumented people, DACA recipients or people with Temporary Protected Status.

Estudillo said the “Food 4 All” coalition had also asked for $548 million a year, to include Californians age 54 and under in the program regardless of immigration status.

But that wasn’t part of the governor’s initial proposal.

“We’re committed to working with the legislative leadership and the governor’s office,” said Estudillo, “to ensure that all Californians, regardless of age or immigration status, have timely access to the food they need. No exceptions, no exclusions.”

The expansion of the program to income-eligible immigrants over age 55 would cover 75,000 people.

Last year, the Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated that between 690,000 and 840,000 Californians would meet the income requirements if the program was expanded to all ages.

 

Feds issue warning about student-loan debt-relief scams

Scammers targeting student-loan borrowers are shifting into high gear – spurred by the uncertainty surrounding President Joseph R. Biden’s debt-cancellation plan. The Supreme Court will hear a case in late February that seeks to strike down the administration’s plan to offer up to $20,000 in debt relief to low-income student loan borrowers.

Michelle Grajales, staff attorney with the Federal Trade Commission attorney, said fraudsters are playing on people’s anxieties.

“A major red flag is any company that calls you up and asks you to pay now for help with your loans later. Because that’s something that’s specifically prohibited under one of the rules we enforce. And so it is really unlikely to be a legitimate company,” she said.

The president’s debt-cancellation plan is currently on hold while the litigation continues, so it is not processing any applications. The website of the U.S. Department of Education, studentaid.gov, has a link to sign up to be notified if the program is restarted. The pause on federal student loan payments has been extended until the litigation is resolved. The best place to start for accurate information about your loans is to contact your federal loan servicer.

Some scams promise to reduce or zero out your monthly payment, and some target parents who have co-signed on Parent Plus loans. Grijales said the familiar adage applies: “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” she said.

“It could be loan forgiveness. It could be, ‘Hey, pay us X amount, and we’ll get your loans forgiven right now, or we’ll get some large amounts of your principal balance forgiven or canceled,’ right? And that might be a benefit that the consumer doesn’t actually qualify for,” she said.

sShe added that other scams are circulating where they purport to be your loan servicer and ask that you route your payment through them. Other scams are intended primarily to get people to divulge their personal identity or banking information. For more tips, go to the Federal Trade Commission website.

 

What are the most interesting new laws for California in 2023?

by CalMatters

 

January 2, 2023 – In 2022, the California Legislature passed nearly 1,200 bills — and nearly 1,000 became law with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature.

Many of the new laws are minor fixes to laws that legislators and the governor previously enacted. Others are rather narrow or specific to a certain industry. Still others will be phased in over time.

Newsom has highlighted several, including a law limiting prosecutors from using rap lyrics and music videos in court and another requiring oil companies to publicly post their profits (the governor has also called a special session on his plan to impose a penalty on oil refiners for excess profits.)

And then there’s a select group of new laws that took effect on Jan. 1, 2023 — and that could have a noticeable impact on the daily lives of Californians, or on the policy direction of the state.

Here are nine of them, including audio segments for a few:

Will this law stop gender bias in prices? Assembly Bill No. 1287, CHAPTER 555

Shoppers may have noticed that shampoos and other personal care products marketed to women sometimes cost more than very similar versions for men.

No longer. With this law, stores will be banned from charging a different price based on gender — and could be in the crosshairs of the attorney general’s office for any violations. Advocacy groups say that ending the “pink tax” is another step in the cause of gender equity.

How much does that job pay? Senate Bill No. 1162, CHAPTER 559

It’s hit and miss how much applicants can find out about how much a job pays. And advocates say that allows for unfair disparities in salaries.

This new law will bring a little more transparency to California workplaces by requiring companies with at least 15 employees to put salary ranges into job postings. But intense business opposition blocked provisions that would have meant publication of pay data broken down by position, gender and race. And some specialists question how much difference the law will make.

Is this a return to Wild West bounties? Senate Bill No. 1327, CHAPTER 146

Back in the 1800s, the U.S. government offered bounties to stop the Union Army from getting cheated. In 2021, Texas passed a law restricting abortions and dangled $10,000 per violation to anyone who sued to help enforce it.

Not to be outdone, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature passed this new law that allows private citizens to collect $10,000 by suing those who make or sell illegal “ghost guns” or assault-style weapons. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, could throw out the Texas law and ones like it, including California’s. But that would be just fine with the governor and lawmakers.

Will this law stop spread of “COVID lies?” Assembly Bill No. 2098, CHAPTER 938

In our COVID world, one of many concerns is disinformation that can have dangerous, even deadly, consequences. Even some doctors have spread myths or lies about the virus and how best to treat it.

This law, supported by California’s medical establishment, makes it easier for the state medical board to punish physicians who deliberately spread misinformation. But some doctors have already sued to stop the law, saying it violates their free speech rights.

Could this law correct state history? Assembly Bill No. 1703 CHAPTER 477

The history of California is complicated, not least because it’s such a diverse state of immigrants, but also home to Native American tribes here well before European explorers or the Gold Rush.

This law encourages school districts to work with tribes to develop history lessons to give students a fuller understanding. The legislation also aims to raise the graduation rate and close the achievement gap for Native American students.

Will this law help stop sex trafficking? Assembly Bill No. 1788, CHAPTER 760

Lawmakers took their latest steps in their fight against human trafficking by targeting what law enforcement says are frequent places where it happens. Civil liberties groups, however, say more law enforcement is the wrong approach.

One new law calls for fines and civil penalties against hotels if supervisors know about sex trafficking but fail to notify law enforcement, a national hotline or victim advocacy group. Another new law adds beauty, hair and nail salons to those businesses, as well as airports and bus stations, that must post information on human trafficking, including how to contact nonprofits in the field.

Could this law empty death row? Assembly Bill No. 256, CHAPTER 739

California hasn’t executed anyone since 2006. Even though voters want to keep the death penalty, a 2019 moratorium imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom prevents executions.

Advocates are also seeking to limit when capital punishment is applied. This law aims at the 671 inmates already on death row, giving them a way to challenge their death sentences as racially biased. A disproportionate number of the condemned inmates are Black.

Does housing trump environment? Assembly Bill No. 2011, CHAPTER 647 and Senate Bill No. 886 and CHAPTER 663

California has a severe and persistent shortage of affordable housing — what Gov. Newsom even calls the state’s “original sin.”

These laws are designed to increase the supply, in part by bypassing some environmental reviews. One allows development along strip malls, as long as construction workers get union wages. A second is designed to ease the student housing crunch by exempting dorms from the California Environmental Quality Act.

1...495051...598Page 50 of 598

SELECTIONS

POPULAR TICKETS

POPULAR CATEGORY

ABOUT US

Welcome to our Marvin J. Ramirez website! We are an innovative newspaper located in the heart of San Francisco. With a relentless passion for telling powerful stories, we inform our community with truthful news, insightful analysis, and compelling reporting.

Contacto: lreportero@aol.com

FOLLOW US

© Copyright 2023. Agenciadigital.pw. All rights reserved.