Washington, DC-- Quick Health Care Update

From the Center on Public Policy Priorities--

Capitol Hill Health Reform Update

• The Senate Finance Committee has completed all of its open round table discussions on health reform, and has begun closed-door “walk-throughs” in the areas of health care delivery systems, expanding health coverage, and financing health reform.
• The Committee projects that it will have draft legislation ready by mid-June and advocates will have another opportunity to weigh-in during the official mark-up period.
• Both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives plan to have their respective health reform bills written and voted on before the August Congressional recess.

Action Alert

The Senate Finance Committee released a new policy proposal for expanding health care coverage based on the Committee’s second roundtable discussion on health reform, held May 5, on expanding health coverage. Visit the Action Alert for the full text of the proposal, a summary, talking points, and information on how to contact Senators.

NRA Call for Proposals is Open

Beverlee Stafford, National Rehabiliation Association Executive Director, asks the membership and the public to respond to the “Call for Proposals” published in the February issue of Contemporary Rehab and on the NRA website-- click on the link for the Call for Proposals on the NRA homepage. Please help identify potential speakers and topics to make the 2009 conference a memorable one! Proposals are due to the NRA national office by June 1, 2009. Speakers will know by July 1, 2009 if selected.

This conference is a great opportunity to showcase academic, field-based, and studnet research!!

AAPD Ticket that Rocks!

The American Association of People with Disabilties (AAPD) launches an online auction "The Ticket that Rocks!" Friday, May 8, 2009."The Ticket that Rocks!" online charitable auction gives theater connoisseurs and concert goers the opportunity to bid on tickets to their favorite shows while supporting individuals with disabilities and their families. The auction is live on May 8th, 2009 via eBay.

Seth Harris Confirmation Hearing for Deputy Secretary of Labor

WAHINGTON, DC--
President Obama nominated Seth Harris for Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor. His confirmation hearing is scheduled to go before the Senate on Thursday May 7, 2009 at 10:00am. Seth is a strong advocate for people with disabilities. He championed multiple employment and labor initiatives in and out of government to advance employment opportunities for people with disabilities. He provided essential leadership to the Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities. If you are in the DC Metro area or surrounding areas, Justice for All encourages you to get friends and family in the disability community to attend his confirmation hearing.

Disability in the Blogosphere

Disability and rehabilitation are hot topics throughout the blogosphere! Following are just a few brief comments about a few of my favorite blogging platforms and some of the blogs you can find on them.

Blogger
According to the website at https://www.blogger.com/, Blogger started in 1999 as an independent company, although now Google now owns it. Blogger is currently available in 41 languages. “Disability Blogger” at http://www.disabilityblogger.blogspot.com/ has timely blog updates, and “My Big Noise” at http://mybignoise.blogspot.com/ has a great take on music videos and the health care crisis with “Boyfriend with Health Care”.

Type Pad
Typepad, located at http://www.typepad.com/, started in 2003. The service publicizes itself as the “best blogging tool for professionals and small businesses”. Like other hosted blog sites, Typepad is easy to use without much technical knowledge or skill. Disability activist group “Justice for All” and the American Association of People with Disabilities maintains a Typepad blog, the “JFActivist” as do many other individuals with disabilities and disability and rehabilitation related organizations.

WordPress
As with other hosted blogging platforms, WordPress offers a set of design templates, and its ease of use allows bloggers to have a functional site quickly. The disability and rehabilitation communities are well represented on the site, with more than 3000 results directly related to people with disabilities. In addition, more than 900 groups related to independent living maintain WordPress.com blogs, such as “The Independent Living Institute” and “Independent Living 101”.

Twitter
Twitter is free, real-time short messaging service (SMS) available at http://twitter.com/. Twitter, which launched in 2006, combines aspects of blogging and social networking. Numerous individuals and groups in disability and rehabilitation related fields use twitter. For example, “Disability Tips” sends tweets about social security and other programs, while “PeepsHelpsPeeps” offers adults with disabilities alerts on many issues, such as prescription drug benefits and healthcare.