Page 2 The Skanner January 27, 2016
Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now
Opinion
Bernie Foster
Founder/Publisher
African Americans and the Affordable Care Act
Bobbie Dore Foster
Executive Editor
T
Jerry Foster
Advertising Manager
Christen McCurdy
News Editor
Patricia Irvin
Graphic Designer
Arashi Young
Donovan M. Smith
Reporters
Monica J. Foster
Seattle Office Coordinator
Susan Fried
Photographer
2015
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WINNER
The Skanner has received 20 NNPA awards since 1998
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he passage of the Af-
fordable Care Act (ACA)
promised to improve the
delivery of healthcare
services in America — espe-
cially for historically disad-
vantaged communities that
suffer high rates of chronic
illness.
The ACA has begun to deliv-
er on that promise, but work
still remains to ensure all who
need healthcare in the most
prosperous nation on earth
can receive it.
Healthcare.gov is now avail-
able for the open enrollment
period through Jan. 31, 2016.
It’s imperative that members
of the African American com-
munity take advantage of this
opportunity to access the cov-
erage and care they need.
Some of the greatest gains
in reducing the number of
uninsured people in the U.S.
have been realized in the Af-
rican American community,
which has seen a 30 percent
increase in those with health
insurance. According to the
U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS),
nearly 8 million African
Americans now have access to
critical preventive services,
including mammograms and
flu shots.
The benefit is extended fur-
Patricia A.
Maryland,
Dr.PH
NNPA
Columnist
ther for adults whose chil-
dren up to age 26 can remain
on their parent’s health insur-
ance.
That includes some 500,000
African Americans.
Now, our focus turns to edu-
cating and mobilizing groups
where more work needs to
“
though their overall exposure
to cigarette smoke (the prima-
ry risk factor for the disease)
is lower. These rates are pri-
marily attributed to afford-
ability and limited access to
care. Thanks to the ACA those
limitations to care have been
lifted.
For those living in poor
and minority communities,
cost has always been a ma-
jor barrier to care. However,
access to care is now more
broadly available, thanks to
an expansion of Medicaid in
many states, the Children’s
Health Insurance Program,
According to the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services
(HHS), nearly 8 million African
Americans now have access to crit-
ical preventive services, including
mammograms and flu shots
be done, in particular with
African American males.
Within this group, 43 per-
cent suffer from high blood
pressure, compared to nearly
34 percent of all white men.
And black males are more
than 30 percent more likely
to contract lung cancer, even
and health insurance subsi-
dies for millions of individ-
uals and families. In fact, ac-
cording to HHS, if more states
took advantage of these provi-
sions, upwards of 95 percent
of African Americans would
qualify. Unfortunately, some
states remain reluctant to
participate, so access to cov-
erage is limited to some who
need it most.
Another barrier to health
insurance is lack of informa-
tion. Therefore, our job —
yours and mine — is to help
spread the word about the
ease of signing up for insur-
ance using Healthcare.gov.
For those who have used the
program before, it is import-
ant that they review their pol-
icy to see if it still meets their
needs and fits within their
budget. For those would-be
first-timers, take them by the
hand and lead them through
the site.
The Affordable Care Act
has begun to meet its goal of
revitalizing our healthcare
system and making it more
accessible and affordable to
all Americans. As we make
our way through this latest
enrollment period, our mis-
sion is to ensure more Afri-
can Americans have the in-
formation they need to make
informed choices about their
healthcare. Ultimately, we
know this will help lead to a
higher overall quality of life.
Patricia A. Maryland, Dr.PH,
is the president of Healthcare
Operations and Chief Oper-
ating Officer for Ascension
Health.
info@theskanner.com
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Black Love and Unity Should be the New Normal
I
f ever there was a time we
needed to turn back the
hands of time and return to
a place where there was a
strong sense of Black love and
Black unity, that time is now.
I remember growing up and
listening to songs like “Say
it Loud — I’m Black and I’m
Proud,” by the phenomenally
talented and extremely gifted
James Brown.
I watched the movie Get on
Up, which chronicled the life
and career of James Brown.
In the movie, the part of the
movie where he introduced
the song to America stood
out to me. The power of those
eight words -- “Say it Loud, I’m
Black and I’m Proud” -- gave
Black people a newfound
self-confidence in 1968 that
they had not had before.
That is an example of Black
love and Black unity.
I
remember
walking
through the halls of my ele-
mentary school, and witness-
ing my African American
male principal lead our pre-
dominately African Amer-
ican student body in an em-
powerment chant, whereby
he told every student to chant,
“Black is Beautiful.”
There was something about
knowing that there was noth-
ing wrong with me making
that declaration for the whole
world to hear, and know-
ing that I was special. There
Jeffrey L.
Boney
NNPA
Columnist
was something about feeling
supported and protected by
someone else who looked like
me and who could relate to me
and my experiences.
That is an example of Black
“
Black people are not quit-
ters. Black people are cre-
ative. Black people know how
to be resourceful.
If history has taught us
anything, it’s that us working
together collaboratively in
love and unity is the only way
that Black people are going to
progress and achieve peace
and equality in this country.
As a people, we must stop
showing hatred toward one
another. At the heart of most
issues, conflict and hate-filled
It is time for us to start effectively
communicating with one another
-- with a foundation of Black love
and Black unity leading the way
love and Black unity.
Those were the days, but
many of us feel we can’t
re-establish the type of Black
love and Black unity we once
displayed and embraced. It’s
time to return to Black love
and unity. Let’s refer to it as
“The New Normal.”
We need to revisit this men-
tality amongst ourselves and
watch what happens when we
make the decision to reinstate
something that has helped
make our communities great
once before — economically,
socially, politically, emotion-
ally, spiritually, etc.
actions in the Black communi-
ty, is a lack of love and a lack
of unity. It is time for us to
start effectively communicat-
ing with one another -- with a
foundation of Black love and
Black unity leading the way.
As a people, we must both,
have a LOVE for God and once
again UNITE ourselves to
God.
As a people, we must both,
LOVE our community and
once again UNITE as a com-
munity.
As a people, we must both,
LOVE our people and once
again UNITE as a people.
As a people, we must both,
LOVE our youth and once
again UNITE to teach our
youth and help bridge the gap
between them and our elders.
As a people, we must both
LOVE our history and once
again UNITE our minds with
the knowledge of our history
and embracing our culture.
Once again, it is time for us
to return to Black love and
Black unity – that is, if we re-
ally want to see our commu-
nities return to the strength,
pride and prominence it once
experienced. Without Black
love and Black unity, the Black
race as we know it in America
is doomed. Let’s make a deci-
sion to make Black love and
Black unity “The New Nor-
mal” right now and moving
forward.
Jeffrey L. Boney serves as
Associate Editor and is an
award-winning journalist for
the Houston Forward Times
newspaper. Jeffrey is a frequent
contributor on the Nancy
Grace Show and has a daily ra-
dio talk show called Real Talk
with Jeffrey L. Boney. He is a
Next Generation Project Fellow,
dynamic, international speak-
er, experienced entrepreneur,
business development strate-
gist and Founder/CEO of the
Texas Business Alliance. If you
would like to request Jeffrey as
a speaker, you can reach him at
jboney1@forwardtimes.com.