St. Johns Hospital on Trial for Attacking RNs’ Rights
The federal agency that oversees labor law has ordered St. Johns Health Center, located in Santa Monica and a part of the Catholic chain, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, to stand trial on charges that it violated the rights of its registered nurses. The National Labor Relations Board is prosecuting the hospital for unlawful harassment of nurse leaders, engaging in illicit spying of RNs, and interrogating nurses about union activity, among other serious violations.
Press Release
Nov 22, 2010
Single payer, here we come
For more than 7 million working Californians who currently don't have health insurance, Congress and President Barack Obama's attempt to reform health care has been an exercise in frustration. The public option was almost immediately taken off the table, despite the fact that most independent experts agree reform won't work without it, and after a year of negotiations, no bill is in sight.
Sacramento News and Review
RNs Reach Settlement at St. Joseph, Eureka Hospital Cite Gains for Patients, Security for RNs
Registered nurses at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka have achieved a tentative settlement with hospital officials on a new collective bargaining agreement that nurses say bring significant improvements in patient care protections and economic gains for the RNs.
Press Release
Nov 22, 2010
Health Reform Lessons from Massachusetts, Part X
Four years ago, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts enacted a far-reaching health reform law that politicians and the media hailed as a model for other states and the federal government. That law has become the blueprint for health system change on a national scale, and its advocates have aggressively marketed a variation of the Massachusetts plan that has passed the Senate and House of Representatives. This is the tenth in an occasional series of posts that will continue to explore how well the Massachusetts law is working with an eye toward helping the press and the public understand its flashpoints. The entire series is archived here.
Columbia Journalism Review
What do we need health insurers for anyway?
Angela Braly can't kid me. When the chief executive of gargantuan health insurer WellPoint (parent of Blue Cross of California) went before a congressional subcommittee the other day, she displayed all the smile-through-the-tears pluck of Annie looking to a sunny tomorrow or Scarlett swearing to God she'll never be hungry again.
Los Angeles TImes
California Nurses Association Cheers Eden District Board for Courage to Overturn Sutter Decision
Malinda Markowitz, RN, co-President of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee issued the following statement in the wake of this week’s vote by the Eden Township District Health Board to sue Sutter Health over conflicts of interest and cancel the Memorandum of Understanding that is the basis of Sutter’s attempts to close down San Leandro Hospital.
Press Release
Nov 22, 2010
Deaths Rising for Lack of Insurance, Study Finds
As members of the Obama administration and Congress met on Thursday to try to find common ground on health care, a new report warned that without comprehensive legislation, more than 275,000 adults nationwide will die over the next decade because of a lack of health insurance. Nearly 14,000 of those deaths would occur in New York State.
New York Times
California Insurers Denied Over 26% of All Claims in 2009
Seven of California’s biggest insurance companies rejected more on average more than one-fourth of all payment claims in the second half of 2009, according to new data just released by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee and its national arm, National Nurses United.
Press Release
Nov 22, 2010
California insurance denials rose after public uproar
In the weeks following public outcry about claims denials by California's biggest private insurers, the insurance giants continued to deny more than one fourth of all claims for services. That's from new data released today by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee following the announcement that California Attorney General Jerry Brown plans to subpoena financial documents and other records from the insurance companies.
DailyKOS.com
Nurses from Across Texas to March in Corpus Christi in Support of Patient Advocacy Protections
Nurses from across Texas will march and rally in Corpus Christi Tuesday February 23rd to demand hospitals across the state recognize their democratic rights to associate and advocate individually and collectively for their patients - rights that were recently affirmed locally when the Christus Spohn hospital system agreed to end retaliation and intimidation of nurses who had spoken up on behalf of their patients. The nurses are leaders in NNOC-Texas (the National Nurses Organizing Committee-Texas), which counts over 10,000 nurse activists in the Lone Star State and is affiliated with National Nurses United, the professional association and union for RNs.
Press Release
Nov 22, 2010