SITUATION: At long last due to the tireless efforts of OWL and SF Gray Panthers Member, Dr. Teresa Palmer and many others, City officials announced on June 20th that Federal officials have approved the 156-year-old public nursing facility Laguna Honda for Medicare recertification. (MediCal recertification was granted earlier.)

This is great news, BUT there are many unanswered and extremely relevant questions. 

Now we need the Mayor and Department of Public Health/Laguna Honda Leaders to tell us:

1. When will admissions resume (and if not why not)?
2. Any way back for all those San Franciscans sent out of county because LHH was not available? (A required report on out of county transfers for 2023 is way overdue—supposedly will be out July 1). 
3. Is preventing the loss of 120 beds on the radar still? San Franciscans need those beds.

ACTION: Contact Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors and tell them to call a Special Meeting to address these unanswered questions and others. 

London Breed:
Office of the Mayor
City Hall
1 Dr Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 200
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 554-6141

Click HERE to find contact information for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Click HERE for a sample letter to send.

Don’t Lock Nursing Home and Long Term Care Facility Residents Away From Loved Ones During A Public Health Emergency

SITUATION: Data shows that no one suffered more during the Covid pandemic than elders and disabled individuals in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. They disproportionately died from COVID and were isolated because they were unable to see relatives.

Let’s learn from our mistakes and fix this before the next public health emergency.   

California State bill AB 2075—which passed the Assembly on May 23—guarantees that nursing home and long-term-care facility residents will have access to a designated family member, friend, or care provider during a public health emergency. Each would follow the same safety protocols as the facility’s staff. 

AB 2075 is now set for hearing by the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday June 19 at 1:30 p.m. 

ACTION: Contact the Senate Health Committee and your State Senator and voice your support for AB 2075. (See below for contact info and letter examples.)

And please share this message with friends, family and colleagues in the state of California.

California State Senate Health Committee *
1021 O Street, Room 3310
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4111
SHEA.Committee@senate.ca.gov
Website: https://shea.senate.ca.gov/committeehome

HERE is one example of a letter to send. HERE is another.

* State Senator Scott Wiener is a member of the Senate Health Committee.

SITUATION: Data shows that private-equity ownership in the healthcare industry has more than doubled in the last decade, often leading to higher healthcare costs, poor quality, and less access to care.  

AB 3129—which was passed in the California State Assembly on May 21 and is now in the Senate Health Committee—will strengthen state prohibitions against private equity group abuses in healthcare.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) introduced AB 3129, authorizing the A.G. to grant, deny, or impose conditions to a change of control or an acquisition between a private equity group or hedge fund, and a healthcare facility or provider group. AB 3129 will also reinforce the existing bar on the corporate practice of medicine, including the bar on the interference of private equity groups or hedge funds in the treatment of patients.
 

Without proper enforcement, predatory practices will continue to consolidate our healthcare system, driving up prices, reducing quality of care, and restricting access for patients.  
 

ACTION: Contact your State Senator and voice your support for AB 3129. Contact friends and family who vote in California and urge them to contact their representatives.

And please share this message with friends, family and colleagues in the state of California. 

SITUATION: An OWL-SF Member recently received notification that her personal information was included in a huge breach of data by AT&T.

In March, 2024 an AT&T data breach exposed data from 7.6 million current customers and 65.4 million former account holders on the dark web. The data leaked online includes personal information such as email and mailing addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, social security numbers (SSNs), AT&T account numbers and passcodes. Fraudsters can use information exposed in this breach to commit synthetic identity theft.

IMMEDIATE ACTION—do this NOW:

• Click HERE to place a Fraud Alert on Equifax. This will be free of charge if you make sure to mention you are doing it in response to the AT&Tdata breach.
• Click HERE to notify the Office of Inspector General of the Social Security Administration; or call (800) 269-0271.
• Click HERE to contact the Federal Trade Commission to report the breach and start a recovery plan.

AND: Send this information to your friends everywhere. 73 million is a lot of people.

SITUATION: As housing costs rise, older adults and adults with disabilities living in California on a fixed income are at higher risk for experiencing severe rental cost burden. Older adults and those with disabilities—especially those without families to call on—are thus more at risk for homelessness.

State Senate Bill SB37 would provide housing subsidies to older adults and adults with disabilities, who are experiencing such burden and possible risk of homelessness. Rental subsidies could also make it possible for many living in overburdened nursing facilities and who wish to live independently to return to the community.

ACTION: Contact your senator and voice your support for SB37, which makes it possible for many older adults to expand their choices and continue to live independently in the community. Contact friends and family who vote in California and urge them to contact their representatives.

Click HERE to identify your California State Senator, and find their contact information.

SITUATION:  City College has traditionally been a resource for all San Franciscans, but in 2019 90% of the offerings from the Older Adults Department were eliminated. 

Older Women’s League-SF has always been a strong supporter of City College and applauds the opportunities that CCSF has offered to younger people, but today we  are asking, “Why have you forgotten Older Adults?” 

The importance of lifelong learning, having an active mind, socialization, and community engagement are well known preventative steps to increase health and even longevity. These things are lost when City College cuts classes for Older Adults.
 
ACTION: Email or call the Board of Trustees and the CCSF Chancellor demanding restoration of programs for Older Adults. Remind officials that overlooking older adults is not only unjust, but that it hurts the entire community.

ALSO: Please share this message with friends, family and colleagues.
 
CCSF CONTACT INFO: 

CHANCELLOR
David Martin: dmartin@ccsf.edu.   Phone: 415-239-3303

BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Alan Wong, President: alanwong@ccsf.edu
Aliya Chisti: achisti@ccsf.edu
Murrell Greetn: murrellgreen@ccsf.edu
Anita Martinez, Vice President: anitamartinez@ccsf.edu
Susan Solomon: ssolomon@ccsf.edu
Vick Van Chung: vchung@ccsf.edu
Shanell Williams: swilliams@ccsf.edu
Heather Brandt, Student Trustee: studenttrustee@mail.ccsf.edu

SITUATION:  Medigap is an extra insurance policy that Medicare recipients can buy to help pay out-of-pocket costs not covered by Medicare. Presently, if an enrollee does not purchase a Medigap plan during their initial Medicare enrollment period, signing up for it later is difficult and more costly.

CASB 1236 creates open enrollment opportunities for Medicare beneficiaries to choose a Medigap policy between January 1 and March 31 annually—the same time frame for signing up for Medicare Advantage plans and others. 

This bill will have its first hearing April 24 at 1:30 in the Senate Health Committee.

ACTION:
1) Call your CA Senate member this week and ask them to support SB 1236!!!
Senator Scott Wiener: (916) 651-4011.
Click HERE to locate State Senators outside of San Francisco.
2) Email the Senate Health committee this week and ask them to forward your comments to the Senate Health Committee members. Email them here: SHEA.Committee@senate.ca.gov
3) Share this message with friends, family and colleagues in California.

You can watch or listen to hearing on April 24, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. HERE.

SITUATION:  People living in Residential Care Facilities (RCFEs) often feel that their complaints go unheeded, even when a formal complaint is filed. California Assembly Bill 1911 makes the complaint process in RCFEs more timely, efficient and fair, by:

• Putting an end to the practice of informally screening complaints, and not telling the complainant if their issue is not going forward,
   
• Imposing investigation deadlines for RCFE complaints that align with deadlines for nursing home complaint investigations, 
   
• Requiring written notice to the complainant when their complaint is received and assigned for investigation, and
   
• Creating a right to appeal investigation findings.

ACTION: Contact your assembly member and ask them to vote Yes on AB 1911.

• Click HERE to contact Assembly Member Matt Haney, District 17.
• Click HERE to contact Assembly Member Phil Ting, District 19.
• Click HERE to identify and locate State Assembly Members outside of San Francisco.

CALL TO ACTION: SB 980 HEARING ON MARCH 20TH!

CARAs sponsored bill, SB 980 (Wahab) which expands the Medi-Cal Dental benefit to cover implants –  impacting over 1.6 million Medi-Cal Senior beneficiaries – will be heard in the Senate Health Committee on MARCH 20TH. Visit our Positions Letters page to learn more about the bill, get your organization to submit a support letter, and join us in Sacramento on MARCH 20TH! If you would like to join our CARA Lobby Team on March 20th, please contact Dwane Camp at dcamp.cara@gmail.com . You can submit a letter directly on our Website HERE – Thank you!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

CARA’s STATEWIDE LOBBY DAY TRAINING

FRIDAY, MARCH 22ND AT 12 NOON

REGISTER HERE: https://bit.ly/CARALobby24

CARA’s Statewide (Virtual) Lobby Day will be held on Friday, APRIL 12TH, when we will talk to the 120 legislative offices (CARA CATs will host these).  If you want to attend, email caralobby@gmail.com to let us know which legislators you would like to talk with and we will send you the details.

In preparation for our Lobby Day, PLEASE register for our Lobby Day Training- Fabulous Friday Forum on March 22nd to learn more about our priority bills and how to conduct our virtual lobby visits.  REGISTER AT https://bit.ly/CARALobby24

SITUATION: California Assembly Bill 2200—known as the California Guaranteed Health Care For All Act, introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Ash Kalra—sets in motion a single-payer health care coverage system in California, called CalCare, for all residents, regardless of citizenship status. By streamlining payments and lowering per-capita health care spending, CalCare guarantees quality health care and long term care without creating barriers to care or out of pocket costs.

This crucial legislation needs to be heard and voted on by the Assembly Health Committee within the next two months in order to move forward. 

ACTION: National Nurses United is holding house parties all over California to plan future actions to support the passage of the bill. Get together with other activists and learn about a plan to win, in a fun, informative and empowering gathering. 

The San Francisco house party is Thursday, March 21 at 6 p.m., 1407 5th Avenue, Apt A (top buzzer). Click HERE to register. See National Nurses United-CalCare for more information and ways to get involved. 

Please also share this message with colleagues, friends and family in California. 

SITUATION: The Coalition to End Biased Stops has been working for over 2 years to eliminate racially biased police stops in SF. The Police Commission did finally vote unanimously in favor of Department General Order 9.07, a comprehensive policy to prohibit racially-biased traffic stops in San Francisco. HOWEVER – since then, this policy has been stuck in the “meet and confer process” with the Police Officer’s Association (POA).

It has taken nearly an entire year, but the policy is finally coming back to the Police Commission for its second and final vote TOMORROW, February 21st.

ACTION:

• Please take 20 seconds to send an email to the commission urging them to finally implement DGO 9.07 by using this easy email tool.
• Please post on social media, urging the commission to finally implement DGO 9.07, using this social media toolkit!
• Meet us at Police Commission tomorrow at 6:30pm at City Hall, Room 400! We want to show force, and while the meeting starts at 5:30pm, this item is 8^th on the agenda.

To learn more about DGO 9.07, why it’s so important for our clients, and why it has been held up so long, please read this letter drafted by the coalition.

And please share this message with colleagues, friends and family in San Francisco.