Reaching and Affirming: LA Corp Style

Bridging the Gap: LA Corp and STRILITE Outreaches To LGBTQ Community

 

The Living Affected Corporation and its same gender loving program, STRILITE partnered with Future Builders Inc. on sharing information on smoking cessation in the LGBTQ community and beyond. Founder, CEO, Linder Conely, offered an overview of her organization and its mission to speak to a myriad of issues around tobbaco use. "I was glad that this partenreship came about and the joint effort that Future Builders could share with Living Affected," said Conely. "This is an important dilemma that has not received as much attention as it should have. Therefore, through these training sessions and community forums we can extend out educational reach." Co-facilitator, Lee Brown, current Board of Director Member and LA Corp Director of Development and Expansion, stated that he was enthusiastic at the response and hopes that the "Bridging The Gap" concept can be fully developed to engage many social determinants that are highly impacting the community overall. The next community meeting is scheduled for April 18, 2013, 7pm 401 North Maple Street, Suite A (Presbyterian Church of Argenta), North Little Rock. Call 279-8203 for more info or info@livingaffected.org 

Local Employment Opportunities with CBO

The Living Affected Corporation is seeking applicants for pre-screening for possible consideration for part-time positions within both the organizations current projects and 2013-2014 programming. The organization serves as a sub-grantee of the Arkansas Department of Health as a conduit to offering HIV/AIDS prevention interventions. The organization also has plans for serving as an access point for the states evolving medicaid health exchange expansion. Through this program the entity will be seeking indiviudals to train as "in-person assiters," to dissimenate information on the insurance options witnin the impending marketplace. The group is diversifying its scope of work as it pursues a course of action dealing with a variety of health maladays that often involve marginalized communities.

Each applicant must be at least 18 years old, obtained a high school degree or certified GED, capable of a flexible schedule, reliable transportation including current drivers license and willing to actively engage pre-testing and ongoing training modules will be preferred. Qualified applicants will be apart of the organizations multi teams in providing HIV testing and counseling, public outreach and speaking, fundraising, event logistic planning and supportive data gathering and entry. Desired skills include Word software applications including Excel, interest in social justice activities, being a self starter with a team player attitude and prepared for some possible travel opportunities. Appointments can be arranged at 379.8203, resumes forwarded to cornelius@livingaffected.org , or FAXED to 855.792.5483. Only serious applicants need apply. For additional organizational information: www.livingaffected.org Check us out and become a friend on FACEBOOK

 In repsonse to the expansion, the organizatoin sought to increase linking HIV positive indiviudal to care continuums due to federal statistical data that Black gay men have had a 48% increase in infection rates which supports the need for additional messaging and innovative approaches.
 LA Corp will be seeking candidates for upcoming testing and counseling training session for 2013. Concurrent to the prevention programming angle, LA Corp also seeks to explore issues around its "H.E.F.T E. initiative" ( Housing, Education, Food, Treatment and Employment) that creates a framework of social determinants that also plays a significant role in not only incidence rates but also health outcomes among marginalized communities. To further address these levels of determinants, the organization has plans to pursue a partnership within the developing Medicaid expansion exchange project connected to the Affordable Care Act. Arkansas Exchange task force is recommending utilizing community based organizations in the effort to serve as navigation points of entry for citizens shopping the exchanges for insurance. Complete details of the project are still unfolding at post time, however in lieu of the program launch, LA Corp is preparing an interview schedule, hiring parameters as well as possible drug or background checks as required for certain positions.

Affordable Care Act extended free preventive care to 71 million Americans with private health insurance

Health Care Law’s third anniversary sees health costs slowing down, more value for consumers
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that about 71 million Americans in private health insurance plans received coverage for at least one free preventive health care service, such as a mammogram or flu shot, in 2011 and 2012 because of the Affordable Care Act. The new data was released in a report from HHS today.
Additionally, an estimated 34 million Americans in traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans have received at least one preventive service, such as an annual wellness visit at no out of pocket cost because of the health care law.
Taken together, this means about 105 million Americans with private health plans and Medicare beneficiaries have been helped by the Affordable Care Act’s prevention coverage improvements.
Preventive services, consumer protections, and other reforms under the Affordable Care Act are giving millions of Americans of all ages more value for their health care dollars and contributing to the slowest growth in health care costs in 50 years.
“Preventing illnesses before they become serious and more costly to treat helps Americans of all ages stay healthier,” Secretary Sebelius said. “No longer do Americans have to choose between paying for preventive care and groceries.”
Secretary Sebelius released the preventive services report as HHS celebrates the Affordable Care Act’s third anniversary this week. The law is keeping down costs and providing more value for consumers and taxpayers through new consumer protections, holding insurance companies accountable, building a smarter health care system, and providing seniors with vital savings on their prescription drugs.
The Affordable Care Act is giving Americans better value for their health insurance plans by:

• Eliminating lifetime dollar caps on essential health benefits, and phasing out annual caps. About 105 million Americans no longer have to fear their benefits will disappear when they need them most because their insurer put a lifetime cap on the amount it would pay.
• Prohibiting health insurance companies from denying coverage to children based on a pre-existing condition, such as asthma or cancer.
• And in 2014, it will be illegal for health insurance companies to deny coverage to any American or to charge more because of a pre-existing condition. No longer will 129 million Americans with health conditions have to fear seeing their premiums increased or getting locked out of the insurance market.
• The law will also make it illegal for a health insurer to charge women more simply because they are women. “That means,” Secretary Sebelius said, “being a woman will no longer be a pre-existing condition.”

The full report on expanded preventive care for Americans with private health insurance is available at http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2013/PreventiveServices/ib_prevention.cfm.
Learn more about the key features of the Affordable Care Act at http://www.healthcare.gov/law/timeline/full.html.