Community

Obama Returns to White House for 1st Time Since 2017, Celebrates Obamacare Anniversary

About 21 million people are covered by the ACA, according to a recent analysis by the Urban Institute. Measures in the bill include protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions and an expansion of Medicaid, the public health insurance program that covers people with lower incomes and disabilities. Though the ACA was unpopular in its early days, data from the Kaiser Permanente Foundation show that 55% of Americans support the law today.

Published

12 months ago

April 15, 2022

Oakland Post

Vice President Kamala Harris introduced former President Barack Obama at a White House press conference.

By Brandon Patterson

Former President Obama returned to the White House this week for the first time since leaving office in 2017 to celebrate the 12^th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act with President Joe Biden.

The ACA, passed in 2010 during Obama’s first term when Biden was vice president, is widely considered the crowning achievement of Obama’s administration, bringing affordable health insurance options to millions of Americans.

Obama, who maintains the close friendship with Biden developed previously in the White House, began his remarks by jokingly referring to “Vice President Biden” before giving Biden a hug. “That was all set up. My president, Joe Biden.” Obama was introduced by Vice President Kamala Harris. He received a standing ovation upon entry to into the press room.

“It’s fitting the first time you return to the White House is to celebrate a law that is transforming millions of lives because of you,” Biden said. “And I say because of you, you had a lot of help — staff, and I helped a little bit — but because of you. A law that shows hope leads to change, and you did that. Let’s be honest, the Affordable Care Act has been called a lot of things, but ‘Obamacare’ is the most fitting.”

Republicans have repeatedly tried to repeal the ACA since it became law. The law survived challenges in the Supreme Court in both 2012 and 2015, though carveouts were made, including allowing states to opt out of the Medicaid expansion, which many Republican-led states have done.

Then in 2017, under former President Donald Trump, when Republicans also controlled both chambers of the Congress, Republicans came close to repealing it. But the attempt failed when three Republicans broke from the partly line, including the late Senator John McCain.

In the years since the Obama administration, Medicare for All, which would institute a national single-payer health care system where the government would serve as insurer for all residents, has become popular among progressives in the wake of the presidential campaigns of Senator Bernie Sanders and national organizing from progressive groups.

Recent political polling from Pew Research, Morning Consult and other polling firms have shown that most Americans support the proposal today. A March 2021 poll from Morning Consult found that 55% of Americans support Medicare for All.

Sources for this report were CNN, Morning Consult, Yahoo News.

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Gov. Newsom Requests Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Counties Impacted By Storms

Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a request Tuesday for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for nine California counties, including Monterey County. If approved, the move will pave the way for federal aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be provided to local governments and individuals impacted by storms in February and March.

Published

2 days ago

March 31, 2023

Oakland Post

Monterey County Sheriff, Tina Nieto, provides California Governor Gavin Newsom an update on the Pajaro River levee repair near the township of Pajaro, Calif., in Monterey County on March 15, 2023. Floodwaters breached the levee around midnight on March 10, 2023. (Ken James/California Department of Water Resources via Bay City News)

By Thomas Hughes
Bay City News
Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a request Tuesday for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for nine California counties, including Monterey County.
If approved, the move will pave the way for federal aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be provided to local governments and individuals impacted by storms in February and March.
In addition to Monterey County, the request included Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, along with Calaveras, Kern, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Tulare and Tuolumne counties.
Four other counties were added to a previous emergency declaration from the governor, including Alameda, Marin, Modoc and Shasta counties.
“Over these past months, state, local and federal partners have worked around the clock to protect our communities from devastating storms that have ravaged every part of our state. We will continue to deploy every tool we have to help Californians rebuild and recover from these storms,” Newsom said.
If approved, aid from FEMA can be used for individual housing assistance, food aid, counseling, medical and legal services. It will also cover some storm-related costs like debris removal.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors has requested additional state aid to help undocumented residents receive direct assistance that they aren’t eligible for from FEMA.
The governor said in a press release that funding from the state’s Rapid Response Fund would be made available to those residents and will ensure that families with mixed immigration status can access federal aid.
A local resources center opened Wednesday at the Watsonville Veterans Memorial Building at 215 E. Beach St. The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through April 7. The center is staffed with personnel from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and Monterey County emergency staff who will help guide Monterey County residents through the recovery process.
An eviction moratorium was passed by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will provide limited eviction protection for residents who lost income because of the storms. If the Presidential Disaster Declaration is approved, FEMA assistance could help some eligible residents receive money to help pay rent, which will not be forgiven during the moratorium.

Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

Activism

20 Years Later, Breast Cancer Emergency Fund a Testament to Faith Fancher’s Enduring Legacy

When a woman is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, chemotherapy and radiation often make her too weak to work. If she is working a low-paying job or unemployed, the mounting bills can become overwhelming. For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.

Published

2 days ago

March 31, 2023

Oakland Post

Faith Fancher, a KTVU reporter, died of breast cancer in 2003

By Tammerlin Drummond

For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.

Grant recipients have used the money to help pay for food, utilities, rent, car insurance, medical co-pays and other necessities. One woman who was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer said she used her $595 grant to buy an oxygen concentrator.

“You could say the air I breathe is because of your generosity,” she said. “I am so incredibly grateful to you and am feeling better every day.

The fund is named in honor of Faith Fancher, a popular television reporter at KTVU who died in 2003 after a valiant battle against breast disease, the web site says. Fancher saw her own cancer as an opportunity to use her public profile to raise awareness and educate others about the importance of early detection.

Fancher founded an organization called Friends of Faith that was dedicated to raising funds for low-income women with breast cancer.

It was 20 years ago this March that Fancher first approached the Women’s Cancer Resource Center about setting up an emergency grant program for women going through breast cancer treatment.

One of the earliest recipients was a 50-year-old homeless woman who used her $595 grant to pay for moving costs into housing she could afford.

“Faith understood the financial burden that low-income individuals faced when diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Dolores Moorehead, who oversees the fund at the WCRC. “This was the first fund dedicated to financial support being offered in the East Bay.”

Over the past two decades, the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund has given out $992,000 in one-time cash grants. There have been 2,500 beneficiaries, including women and some men with breast cancer.

Ricki Stevenson, a founding member of Friends of Faith, reflected on Fancher’s legacy and the enduring impact of the emergency fund that she created.

“It says that Faith continues to be a presence and it wasn’t just about her,” Stevenson said. “It was so all of the other sisters who come behind us they now have help even though they don’t have the same resources.”

Rosie Allen, another founding member of Friends of Faith, said Fancher left a lasting impact. “Twenty years later Faith is no longer with us, but the breast cancer emergency fund lives on and the need is even greater than ever.”

The Friends of Faith used to host an annual 5K walk/run at Lake Merritt to honor Fancher after she died. It raised funds for the emergency fund and other Bay Area non-profits that provide services to breast cancer survivors.

After Friends of Faith disbanded in 2017, the To Celebrate Life Foundation, former Friends of Faith board members and community members have continued to support the breast cancer emergency fund.

Shyanne Reese used her grant to help pay her rent while she was going through breast cancer treatment.

“I often reflect on how I wish I could share with Faith the impact her life and friends made on me in a non-judgement environment, relieving the financial stress of simply paying the rent so that I could focus on healing,” Reese said.

“With your support, we are able to continue this fund and support our community members when they need us most, said WCRC Executive Director Amy Alanes.

To donate to the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency fund, visit https://tinyurl.com/FaithFancher.