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Tag Archives: United States
Board of Health … the Other Washington
See this video from King 5 News on how we could make eating out safer in King County.
| By Sarah Schacht |
| Seattle, Washington |
King County Board of Health: Create clear restaurant inspection ratings & improve access to ratings.
Each year, 1 in 5 Americans gets food poisoning. This completely preventable illness results from poor food handling. Restaurants are a major source of food poisoning, yet King County’s antiquated restaurant inspection ratings website makes it difficult for county residents to easily search and understand if a restaurant has had good or bad inspection ratings. Essentially, these ratings show the progress of a restaurant to maintain high levels of cleanliness and well trained (for food safety) staff.
King County could reduce reported food poisoning hospitalization rates by at least 14% (which is a lot, since most food poisoning cases go unreported or don’t make it to the hospital) by creating a “A, B, C…” ratings system, with “A” being highest, and “F” being grounds for closure. These ratings should be posted publicly near the entrance of all restaurants, bars, cafes, and eateries. In addition, these ratings should be made available through open data, allowing websites like Yelp to post restaurant inspection ratings in their websites and apps. So, when you quickly look for a restaurant in your area, you can see how safe it is along with their menu and customer reviews.
Currently, King County Public Health (the agency that manages restaurant inspection ratings) has a website that hasn’t been upgraded since the early 2000’s, and a convoluted inspection ratings system that confuses consumers. None of these ratings are posted at restaurants. As a result, restaurants that don’t adhere to safety standards keep serving food to unknowing customers, and restaurants who are safe and clean don’t get rewarded for their work with an “A” rating. Consumers should be able to use transparent, readily available restaurant ratings to drive their purchases, rewarding safer restaurants with more business.
King County Public Health has refused to improve their current website or ratings system, creating small patches that don’t meet citizen’s needs. In the meantime, more people unknowingly eat at unsafe restaurants and fall ill.
We can prevent food poisoning in King County and set a higher standard for food safety. Sign the petition and tell King County Board of Health to make King County Public Health update its ratings systems and create more transparency in ratings.
(Photo above by woodleywonderworks on Flickr.)
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For Ethan …
Joanna,
Earlier this week, I called on Governor O’Malley to open a full investigation and inquiry into how we can prevent another death like that of Ethan Saylor.
Ethan Saylor was a 26-year old man with Down Syndrome. Last winter he was accidentally killed while being arrested by three deputies, attempting to remove him from a movie theater for watching a film for a second time without paying. Ethan never posed a serious threat to those around him, and eyewitness accounts clearly demonstrate that the altercation could have been avoided.
Ethan’s death was both tragic and unnecessary. And it was a wake up call. At every level, our public servants must be looking out for our most vulnerable citizens and treat all Marylanders with respect and dignity. Join me in calling on Governor O’Malley to launch a statewide audit of existing policies and a review of best practice models that will inform new protocols and statewide standards to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.
We cannot change the outcome for Ethan and his family, but we can change state and local policies to avoid future senseless tragedy.
Let’s honor Ethan by protecting thousands more just like him.
Sincerely,
Heather
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Young adults without insurance
| In six weeks, getting older may get a bit easierYoung adults historically are the biggest group of uninsured Americans. If you fall in this group, or know someone how does, we want to hear your story. It will help us make sure the new insurance marketplaces debuting Oct. 1 work for you.
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In about six weeks, health reform will unveil one of its biggest improvements for Americans in need of health insurance.
And if you’re a young adult who doesn’t have coverage – either because you are too old to be on your parents’ policy, your job doesn’t offer insurance, you’re in school, or you just think insurance is a drag – we want to specifically hear from you.
Are you a young adult without insurance? Share your story and help us make sure this new change works for you.
Starting Oct. 1, Americans without coverage can now find health insurance policies offered in their state in one spot on the Internet – and compare them by price and types of coverage. These online ‘marketplaces’ will also spell out who can get financial assistance to pay for their insurance, and how to get that help.
Why are we interested in hearing specifically from people age 19 to 29? Because this group historically is uninsured at higher rates than any other age group. Most don’t have access to insurance – they’re part-time workers, self-employed, or trying to find that first steady job with benefits.
Obamacare already helped 3 million young adults get coverage by requiring insurance companies let their parents keep them on their policies until age 26. Now, the marketplaces should help millions more find coverage and help those struggling pay for it.
If you are young and uninsured, or know someone who is, we need to hear about it. The reasons why you can’t get insurance will help us track whether the law meets your needs.
Even if you don’t fit this age group, you probably have a son or granddaughter who does. Please forward this email to anyone you know who is young and uninsured so we can hear from them.
Sincerely, Blake Hutson, Consumers Union Policy and Action from Consumer Reports
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ACA
 |
Regional Administrator Calvin Goings |
Affordable Care Act, Part 2
America’s 28 million small businesses are the backbone of our economy, creating two out of every three net new jobs and employing half of America’s workforce. From mom-and-pop stores and restaurants, to high-tech startups and productive manufacturers, small businesses are helping to drive our economy and create jobs in our local communities.
Many small business owners consider their employees to be part of their family, and providing benefits such as health care is one important tool they have to help retain their talented workforce and compete for skilled employees.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is committed to giving small business owners the resources they need to start and grow a business– including access to critical information about how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) works.
Under the Affordable Care Act, small employers will have more options.
First, starting January 1st, 2014, small businesses with generally up to 50 full-time equivalent employees will be able to purchase health insurance through the online health insurance marketplace for small businesses, known as SHOP.
The SHOP Marketplace will offer employers a choice of qualified health plans from different private health insurers and make it easier for employers to make side-by-side comparisons between these plans, based on price and benefits.
SHOP also offers employers and their employees access to health insurance plans that must include a package of “Essential Health Benefits” like coverage for doctor visits, preventive care, hospitalization and prescriptions. Any many small employers may be eligible for tax credits of up to 50% of their premium costs if they choose to purchase coverage through SHOP.
Enrollment starts on October 1st for coverage beginning January 1, 2014.
The Affordable Care Act allows small employers to offer health coverage in a way that makes sense for their business and works for their bottom line. And the SBA is committed to leveraging our resources and federal partnerships to connect you with the facts and resources you need to understand the law.
I hope you have found this information useful. Please feel free to forward this to your friends and colleagues. If you have comments or questions for me, please contact Connie Marshall in my office at connie.marshall@sba.gov. Sincerely, Calvin CALVIN W. GOINGS
Be a Seed for Change 
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