Bernie Sanders pushes universal health plan in wake of Republican repeal failure | the Guardian US
Bernie Sanders has spent the first months of the new Congress defending Barack Obama’s health reforms as Republicans vowed to repeal them. But after the GOP’s seven-year drive to eliminate the Affordable Care Act collapsed on the Senate floor last week, Sanders is ready to introduce his own solution – government-run universal healthcare for all Americans.
How Many Americans Have A Disability? A New Survey Indicates The Number Is Higher Than You Think | Bustle
One of the largest minority populations in the United States is a group whose voices and stories are not often heard in conversations about inclusivity. People with disabilities represent about 12.6 percent of people living in the U.S., yet representation of disabled people, especially in media, does not always reflect the full reality of their lives. A recent report from Pew Research Center lists seven facts about Americans with disabilities, helping give a clearer picture on who we need to be including in these conversations.
Disability awareness campaigner calls on Japan to accept inclusive classrooms | Japan Times
A 36-year-old man with physical disabilities has been working to help schools understand that children with special needs should be allowed to attend regular classes if they wish to do so. Takashi Ono, who has cerebral palsy, can hardly move his body or speak. Yet he is capable of communicating his thoughts by writing messages with his index finger on the palm of a caretaker’s hand.
Game of Thrones’s Harington backs disability campaign | BBC News
Game of Thrones actor Kit Harington has called on the government to fund six years’ back pay for overnight carers. Revenue & Customs has ruled care workers sleeping overnight to provide safety and reassurance should get the national minimum wage for all hours. But Harington fears people such as his cousin Laurent, who has Down’s syndrome and autism, could suffer as a result.
5 important ways to talk about disability during a job search | Ladders
Looking for a job is one of the hardest tasks we face in our careers, and it can be even more challenging for disabled Americans. Yes, thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which just turned 27 years old, it’s against the law for employers to discriminate against people for any disabilities. Life, however, is rarely that simple. The ADA provides some strong protections that require only two things from job-seekers: the candidate has to disclose his or her disability to the employer and ask for reasonable accommodations.
15 People Told Us Their Stories Of Disability Discrimination At Work | Buzz Feed News
We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about their experiences of disability discrimination they had faced in the workplace. Here are some of their stories.
White House panel urges Trump to declare state of emergency over opioid crisis | STAT News
The White House’s commission on combating the opioid epidemic has recommended that President Trump declare a federal state of emergency to address the crisis, a potentially significant step for an administration that has repeatedly pledged to take steps to ease the epidemic. “The first and most urgent recommendation of this Commission is direct and completely within your control. Declare a national emergency under either the Public Health Service Act or the Stafford Act,” the committee wrote in an interim report released Monday.
The declaration would effectively nationalize a move that has already taken place in numerous states. Governors in Florida, Arizona, and Maryland have previously declared states of emergency, granting those governments access to millions of dollars and, in some cases, regulatory leeway in administering their responses.
Miss Teen USA’s powerful message about disability rights: Tolerance isn’t enough | USA Today
For her winning answer at Sunday night’s Miss Teen USA pageant, Miss Missouri Sophia Dominguez-Heithoff offered a broad message of inclusivity. “It’s important to remember that as Miss Teen USA, you are a role model,” Dominguez-Heithoff, 17, said during the question-and-answer session. “I would love to be the Miss Teen USA that could accept everyone, especially for their differences.” Days after winning the crown, Dominguez-Heithoff spoke to USA TODAY about her history of advocacy work and her big dreams ahead. As a soon-to-be freshman at the University of Kansas, she’s dedicating the pageant’s $10,000 scholarship and $5,000 cash prize to her studies, majoring in ethics and political science. She hopes to eventually attend law school
Social Security disability fund benefiting from longer lag times | the Hill
The lifetime of the Social Security disability trust fund was recently declared slightly healthier than expected, partly because people are enduring longer wait times for approval. “What we see that’s been of particular concern is that the trust is benefiting from this massive hearing backlog,” said Mary Dale Walters, senior vice president of Allsup, a company that helps disability claimants obtain benefits. “They’re not processing the claims as they used to, so it means a lesser impact on the trust fund,” she said.
Egypt activists challenge mental disability stigma | Medical Xpress
Ghada Tosson waits anxiously outside an Egyptian high school in the Helwan district south of Cairo as her daughter with Down’s syndrome sits her end-of-year exam. Winning the chance to sit standard high school tests took years of fighting in a country where people with mental disabilities are often marginalised and receive little assistance. “I’m so proud. We’ve been fighting for 18 years for this moment. She sat the exam like any other high schooler,” says Tosson. “No matter the result, it’s proof that it can happen.”
Rob Reiner To America: Face Addiction Out Loud By Telling Your Story | The Huffington Post
Tough love? Not so much. Instead of advocating for harsher crackdowns on people with substance use disorder, or more severe sentences for drug-related crimes, iconic director Rob Reiner says we can transform the conversation around addiction by simply talking about it. I recently interviewed Rob, and was really touched by his humor, candor, and courage. Instead of hiding from the drug epidemic, Rob is advocating for policy change that will change the way our culture treats people with substance use problems.
HRC Submits Public Comment Regarding National Survey if Older Americans Act Participants | Human Rights Campaign
Last week, HRC submitted a public comment in response to the Administration on Community Living’s (ACL) proposed revisions to the 2017 National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants (NSOAAP). ACL, an office within the Department of Health and Human Services had initially published the 2017 survey in March with a single change — the elimination of data collection efforts directed at LGBTQ seniors.
Summary of the Disability Integration Act of 2017 | TASH
Promoting Disability Employment Around the Globe | U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. sets a powerful example for the world by the way we promote and protect the rights of our citizens with disabilities to contribute to our economy. Unfortunately, many nations still lag behind in their treatment of people with disabilities. That’s why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is highlighting how American businesses—as they always do—are taking the lead in finding solutions to this problem, even without any legal obligation to do so. Last week the Chamber hosted the Global Disability Employment Summit, where we featured many inspiring companies that are voluntarily opening up opportunities for workers with disabilities around the globe.
A Search for Anti-Aging Secrets Starts with the Blood of 600 Estonians | Wired
SILICON VALLEY RUNS on two things: obscene amounts of cash and the tales people tell about who they are. Which is perhaps why the Bay Area has rapidly become ground zero for people pursuing one of the oldest mythologies in human history—the legend of everlasting life. Well, maybe not ever lasting life exactly, but vastly-expanded-and-improved life. Call it healthspan extension, call it geroprotection: Silicon Valley wants to find a way to keep humans healthier for like, way longer.
Disability-Rights Activists Are the Real Heroes of the Health-Care Fight | The Nation
The Social Security Amendments of 1965, which established Medicare and Medicaid, were approved by the House of Representatives on July 27 of that year and by the Senate on July 28 of that year. These life-saving, and life-transforming, measures became effective two days later, on July 30, 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson signed them into law.
Meet the Women Senators Who Helped Stop the Health Care Bill | Time
Sen. John McCain of Arizona’s vote against the “skinny repeal” of Obamacare may have been the most dramatic, but the objections of Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine had already put the bill’s fate in jeopardy. The Senate’s Republican women, including Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, had been left out of the initial drafting process and derailed the Majority Leader’s mid-July effort to repeal Obamacare in order to replace it further down the road.
This Is What It Feels Like To Live With An Invisible Disability | BuzzFeed News
There are 13.3 million disabled people in the UK, but there are no statistics on how many have an “invisible” or “hidden” disability – the term used for a condition that isn’t visibly apparent when you meet someone. People with conditions like fibromyalgia, Lupus, ME, or mental health problems face a unique range of challenges. Accessing services, or simply getting understanding from other people, can be harder without obvious signs such as using a wheelchair or a cane, and changes to disability benefit assessments have been accused of overlooking those with invisible illnesses. Five people in the UK who live with hidden disabilities told BuzzFeed News what the experience means to them.
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