Monday, September 27, 2010

Insurance companies that economically encourage doctors will be investigated

Read from news source
September 27, 2010

House vice-president Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló presented a resolution to order the Health Committee to
investigate insurance companies which encourage doctors to prescribe certain morning bioequivalent drugs.


Rodríguez Aguiló said there is evidence that some of these companies offer economic incentives
to doctors, with the condition that they prescribe one of these specific drugs, which in turn lowers
costs for the companies.

The Health Committee will hold public hearings and will have 90 days after the inquiry is concluded to 
present its findings and recommendations.

There is no doubt that communication between doctor and patient decisively influences the way a 
patient treats is condition.

For this reason, we presented this measure to put a stop to this unethical practice which puts patients'
well-being at risk due to strictly economical reasons,” said Rodríguez Aguiló.

Currently, 2004 Law 247 (Puerto Rico Pharmacy Law), as amended, regulates everything related to 
prescription dispatch, as it states that “no doctor, medical group, dentist, odontologist or podiatrist can 
sell or participate in any profitable commercial transaction with patients by using prescription samples.”

This prohibition guarantees that prescriptions recommended to patients are safe and directed towards 
promoting health, instead of an economical interest on behalf of the doctor, insurance company or any 
other party.

In an attempt to strengthen enforcement of Law 247, Rep. Rodríguez Aguiló presented a bill to amend 
section (b) of Article 5.02 which would constitute such unethical practices as misdemeanors, imposing 
sanctions ranging from paying a fine to imprisonment.

This amendment sets a foundation for guaranteeing patient rights in the health insurance company 
market, giving them control over the medical attention they receive,” said the representative.

Rodríguez Aguiló mentioned doctors have the ethical and moral duty of watching over their patients' 
best interest, without economical considerations.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

En busca de una estrategia contra el SIDA


Calidad de vida
23 Septiembre 2010
2:12 p.m.

Por José A. Delgado jdelgado@elnuevodia.com
WASHINGTON – Activistas y autoridades puertorriqueñas se sumaron hoy a una conferencia de la Casa Blanca en que se discute la implantación de la política estratégica del Ejecutivo federal en torno al SIDA.
Líderes del grupo Pacientes de SIDA pro Política Sana indicaron que aprovecharon el encuentro para reclamar asistencia para la vivienda y el transporte de los pacientes.
“No podemos seguir sin asistencia de transportación y vivienda que garanticen mayor acceso a citas relacionadas a nuestra salud y bienestar”, señaló Anselmo Fonseca,  portavoz del grupo.
Fonseca estuvo en la conferencia de la Casa Blanca, en la cual habló el comisionado residente en Washington, Pedro Pierluisi.
José Fernando Colón, el otro portavoz de Pacientes de SIDA pro Política Sana, recorrería oficinas del Congreso. “Tocaremos puertas para entregar documentos que reflejan la realidad de la epidemia en Puerto Rico”, afirmó.
Pierluisi, por su parte, fue uno de los oradores del foro de la Casa Blanca, auspiciado por la Oficina de Política Pública sobre Sida. En el evento estuvieron científicos, educadores, servidores públicos y activistas.
“Son ustedes soldados de primera fila contra un enemigo incansable. El progreso que ustedes han alcanzado en esta batalla a través de los años es extraordinario. Queda mucho trabajo por hacer”, sostuvo el Comisionado Residente.
Pierluisi indicó que el plan del presidente Obama es aumentar el acceso de los pacientes de SIDA a los servicios de salud.
“El HIV/SIDA  no discrimina por raza, género o clase. No importa quién eres o de dónde vienes. No obstante, existen disparidades significativas. De acuerdo a la información más reciente, por ejemplo, la incidencia entre mujeres latinas es cuatro veces mayor que la incidencia entre mujeres de raza blanca. Y la incidencia de casos entre hombres hispanos es tres veces mayor que entre los de raza blanca. Una vez diagnosticados con Sida, los hispanos generalmente mueren más temprano que los blancos. Son verdades duras y tenemos que enfrentarlas”, expresó Pierluisi.
Para el comisionado Pierluisi es necesario desarrollar una estrategia que tome en cuenta la situación particular de los hispanos. La congresista boricua Nydia Velázquez también tenía previsto participar del evento.

En busca de una estrategia contra el SIDA


Calidad de vida
23 Septiembre 2010
2:12 p.m.

 
Por José A. Delgado jdelgado@elnuevodia.com
WASHINGTON – Activistas y autoridades puertorriqueñas se sumaron hoy a una conferencia de la Casa Blanca en que se discute la implantación de la política estratégica del Ejecutivo federal en torno al SIDA.
Líderes del grupo Pacientes de SIDA pro Política Sana indicaron que aprovecharon el encuentro para reclamar asistencia para la vivienda y el transporte de los pacientes.
“No podemos seguir sin asistencia de transportación y vivienda que garanticen mayor acceso a citas relacionadas a nuestra salud y bienestar”, señaló Anselmo Fonseca,  portavoz del grupo.
Fonseca estuvo en la conferencia de la Casa Blanca, en la cual habló el comisionado residente en Washington, Pedro Pierluisi.
José Fernando Colón, el otro portavoz de Pacientes de SIDA pro Política Sana, recorrería oficinas del Congreso. “Tocaremos puertas para entregar documentos que reflejan la realidad de la epidemia en Puerto Rico”, afirmó.
Pierluisi, por su parte, fue uno de los oradores del foro de la Casa Blanca, auspiciado por la Oficina de Política Pública sobre Sida. En el evento estuvieron científicos, educadores, servidores públicos y activistas.
“Son ustedes soldados de primera fila contra un enemigo incansable. El progreso que ustedes han alcanzado en esta batalla a través de los años es extraordinario. Queda mucho trabajo por hacer”, sostuvo el Comisionado Residente.
Pierluisi indicó que el plan del presidente Obama es aumentar el acceso de los pacientes de SIDA a los servicios de salud.
“El HIV/SIDA  no discrimina por raza, género o clase. No importa quién eres o de dónde vienes. No obstante, existen disparidades significativas. De acuerdo a la información más reciente, por ejemplo, la incidencia entre mujeres latinas es cuatro veces mayor que la incidencia entre mujeres de raza blanca. Y la incidencia de casos entre hombres hispanos es tres veces mayor que entre los de raza blanca. Una vez diagnosticados con Sida, los hispanos generalmente mueren más temprano que los blancos. Son verdades duras y tenemos que enfrentarlas”, expresó Pierluisi.
Para el comisionado Pierluisi es necesario desarrollar una estrategia que tome en cuenta la situación particular de los hispanos. La congresista boricua Nydia Velázquez también tenía previsto participar del evento.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

We are off to the White House Again for a Meeting on Implementing the National AIDS Strategy in the Latino Community

PACIENTES DE SIDA PRO POLÍTICA SANA 
We are off to the White House Again for a Meeting on
Implementing the National AIDS Strategy in the Latino Community

(Retos y Nuevas Oportunidades)

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Tentatively scheduled for 1-4pm (subject to change)

The White House, South Court Auditorium Washington, DC


White House HIV/AIDS Plan


Slide show from last visit below.

House Speaker says police need to learn about hurt - Puerto Rico Daily Sun - Timely news about Puerto Rico

House Speaker says police need to learn about hurt - Puerto Rico Daily Sun - Timely news about Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the world



Gay community activist Ada Conde criticized his confession that he doesn't known how to investigate a hate crime. “That shows the lack of education and training,” she said. “They are used to first finding out that there was a death and how it was caused. That is how you establish that there was a hate crime and establishes the elements of the crime,” said Conde, who criticized that the hate crime  concept had been discarded.Homosexual activist José Julio Serrano demanded Sunday that the police investigate the killings as hate crimes.


La Procuradora de Envejecientes, Rosanna López, ganó el pleito contra Gov. Fortuno

La Procuradora de Envejecientes, Rosanna López, ganó el pleito en el Tribunal de Apelaciones de Boston contra el Gobierno de Puerto Rico para frenar los despidos bajo la Ley 7 en su dependencia.
Escuche la entrevista en Radio Isla 1320…Audio As Live Karleen Caso Procuradora

P.R. Supreme Court declares Law 7 constitutional

The commonwealth Supreme Court has declared that Law 7, the Fiscal Emergency Law, is constitutional, in a 4-3 ruling in which the justices took jabs at each other.
Justice Erick Kolthoff wrote the majority opinion. He was joined by Justices Rafael Martínez Torres, Efraín Rivera Pérez and Mildred Pabón Charneco. Chief Justice Federico Hernández Denton and Justices Anabelle Rodríguez and Lianna Fiol Matta each wrote dissenting opinions.
“We ruled that Law 7 …  is constitutional in all of the aspects contained in this opinion,” the majority opinion reads.
The top court consolidated four cases involving 20 employees who were laid off from their jobs at the Justice, Family and Sports and Recreation departments, the Corrections Administration, the Child Support Services Administration and the Human Resources Office. The plaintiffs, who received pink slips in November and January, included employees in career positions and unionized workers.
Law 7 enabled the layoffs of more than 17,000 government workers who were informed of their right to appeal before the Appeals Commission of the Administration System of Human Resources in the case of career workers, or to the Labor Relations Commission in the case of unionized workers. The law created the Economic and Fiscal Restructuring Board, known as JREF in Spanish, to enforce the layoffs, transfer workers and subcontract help.
The first stage of the law gave workers a specific time period to decide if they wanted to quit or cut their working hours. The subsequent stages of the law called for the freezing of new benefits in all collective bargaining agreements and negotiations.
The plaintiffs argued that Law 7 was unconstitutional because it violated their acquired rights, impaired contractual obligations, violated their due process, violated their equal protection rights under the law and improperly delegated powers to the JREF. They requested an injunction to halt the implementation of the law, which was rejected by the top court.
In its majority opinion, the court ruled that while in the case of the career workers they had a property right over their jobs since they have the expectation of continuous employment, they noted that the right is not absolute and is superseded by the state’s police power to ensure general welfare, especially in times of economic crisis.
The top court cited most of Law 7’s exposition of goals to sustain the government’s contention of a severe fiscal crisis and a $3.2 billion deficit, but did not provide other evidence to sustain the claim. The majority dismissed the plaintiffs contentions that the government had other options such as reducing the working week and eliminating benefits before resorting to the layoffs.
After accepting the argument of a fiscal crisis, the majority ruled that in determining if a public worker’s property rights over their jobs were being violated, the justices must side with the Legislature that there is a rational link between the actions established in the law and the desired goal.
“The layoffs of the plaintiffs along with those of thousands of workers will create real savings to the government. Such a situation justifies the state of emergency declared by the Legislature and their actions,” the ruling states.

No violation of workers’ due process
The top court also ruled that Law 7 did not violate the workers’ right to due process because the displaced employees were given the rights to be heard by an impartial forum and to appeal. “The workers have a right to be heard before the layoff goes into effect if they request it,” the majority said.
Regarding arguments that Law 7 impairs contractual obligations obtained in collective bargaining agreements in violation of the Constitution, the court stated that not all acquired rights are protected when a law repeals them. “There is no right to not be laid off,” the court says.
The top court noted that the state’s police power allows states to legislate freely on social and economic powers, modifying the law to meet changing needs and conditions. While the justices noted that arguments against impairment measures are only valid if they affect substantial obligations and frustrate expectations, such as in the case of the workers, they said that impairment measures are valid if there is a compelling interest from the state in the wake of a fiscal emergency.
The justices in the majority dismissed the plaintiffs’ arguments that Law 7 hinders workers’ constitutional right to equal protection since it affects only agency workers and not employees from the legislative and judicial branches. The justices noted that equal protection applies only in certain situations and to certain classes of people and ruled that the law “respects the separation of powers of the three government branches.”
Regarding the plaintiffs’ contention that powers to enforce Law 7 were improperly delegated to the JREF, the top court ruled that it is permissible to delegate powers to an entity so long as guidelines are provided. The justices noted that Law 7 allowed the JREF to lay off workers using seniority as a criteria and also allows it to transfer workers and subcontract help. The justices also dismissed claims that the law unduly delegated to the governor powers that belong to the legislative branch.

Dissenters counterattack 
Rivera Pérez chastised Fiol Matta, Hernández Denton and Rodríguez for criticizing the fact that the justices in the majority ruling cut the amount of time they had to write their dissenting opinions. Rivera Pérez reminded the three that in the 2004 case Suarez v. CEE (State Elections Commission), the justices in the majority gave three hours for the dissenting justices to write their opinions even though the case involved the voting rights of thousands of citizens.
Meanwhile, Hernández Denton criticized the majority vote for issuing a ruling in a supposedly hasty fashion using a file “that did not have the needed evidence for an adequate ruling” and using as evidence only the exposition of the stated goals of Law 7. He also objected to the majority arguments to justify the impairment of contractual obligations protected by the Constitution, and said that in times of fiscal crisis constitutional protection serves as a limit to the state’s power.
Rodríguez blasted the majority for certifying the case without having all of the evidence at hand and said the justices “struggled” to justify what was unjustifiable. She said the decision that workers do not have an acquired right over their jobs goes against what the top court decided in the case of the police escorts, which upheld the rights of former Govs. Rafael Hernández Colón and Carlos Romero Barceló to have police bodyguards.
Fiol Matta, on the other hand, lamented that law students will be taught the law “prior and after Law 7.” She disputed claims that the workers’ right to due process was not affected since they were not given a chance to be heard.

Fortuño, PDP reactions
“[The law] is valid. That is what we have always said, that the law is valid,” was Gov. Fortuño’s response to the news of the Supreme Court’s decision.
Popular Democratic Party Rep. Jaime Perelló decried the decision, saying the justices ruled along ideological lines and upheld the violation of the constitutional rights of workers. “They had to go beyond the ideological thoughts,” he said.
Labor Secretary Miguel Romero said the decision shows the Fortuño administration was careful in making sure Law 7 was drawn up “within a legal framework.”
Romero declined to say categorically whether he thought the decision was a blow to the labor movement, noting it was “part of a process in which unions have the right to challenge.”
Romero said reissuing seniority and layoff notifications that were successfully challenged in the courts would not be affected because this was a matter of “complying with the law.” This process is being carried out in 33 agencies and has yet to conclude, he said.
He said that as a result of the court decision, Seniors Advocate Rossana López León would have to implement the layoffs she was ordered to do, despite the fact that much of her budget is made up of federal funding, noting that Law 7 applies to agencies that hire employees with federal funds.

Daily Sun staff writers José Alvarado and Xavira Neggers Crescioni contributed to this report.

Poverty overwhelming elderly population

Seniors Advocate Rossana López León said Saturday that “poverty is overwhelming that population,” mainly women, who at present assume the responsibility of a grandmother or great grandmother.
The official said that, according to census a decade ago, in Puerto Rico, there are 70,000 grandparents who are responsible for their grandchildren under 18 years of age, a variable that will be updated now with new standards.
“That creates other demands for women, who aside from being mothers, are grandmothers with responsibilities that often affect their quality of life,” López said in a radio interview (Boricua 740-AM).
She said this situation is exacerbated because many times, for various reasons, parents will go to the U.S. and leave the children in the care of grandparents, without providing financial assistance, so that their meager incomes of less than $600 per month barely enable a life of subsistence.
“The elderly have a monthly deficit of nearly $1,500, as evidenced in many studies,” added Lopez.
She said there are also grandmothers who are assuming the responsibility for their grandchildren because the parents have died in the overwhelming wave of violence that is affecting the island.
López said the island’s economic situation worsens the problem for the elderly, because many children return to live with parents due to loss of jobs and transform their lives.