In July, local health official Faisal Khan attended a county council meeting to do his job — talk about COVID-19 data and offer guidance on the best ways to save lives and contain the spread of the virus. He left the meeting needing security detail for his entire family.  [The Nation's Health October 2021, 51 (8) 1-13]

“I was prepared for a discussion, even skepticism,” said Khan, MPH, MBBS, director of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health in Missouri. “But in 25 years of public health service, I have never faced this sort of situation.”

That night at the council meeting, Khan explained why he and fellow county officials had decided to reinstate a mask requirement against a backdrop of surging infections, lagging vaccination rates and rising hospitalizations. Khan’s talk was met with jeers, taunts and verbal abuse. One council member pointed out that Khan was not born in the U.S.

As Khan left the meeting, an angry crowd hurled racial slurs and physically assaulted him, Khan later wrote in a letter to the council chair. The situation “saddens me beyond comprehension,” he told The Nation’s Health.

Full article here> 

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Our team of policy experts is closely monitoring new developments of the Senate reconciliation bill under consideration. As pieces of legislation make their way through Congress, we have identified multiple components that align with our 2021 Policy Agenda. Most recently, budget reconciliation set to be considered in the House Energy and Commerce committee seeks to provide access to health coverage for over 2 million uninsured Americans who fall into a gap in access to affordable health plans. [Coalition to Transform Advanced Care 10.6.2021]

This coverage gap is created by income limits for Medicaid eligibility and marketplace tax credits in states that have not expanded Medicaid to offer the coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As a result, low-income individuals, even those with incomes below the federal poverty line, may not be eligible for Medicaid, and are left to seek coverage in a marketplace meant for individuals earning at least 138% of the federal poverty line, pay for potentially costly coverage offered by employers, or go without insurance. This places more people at risk of serious illness derived from lacking preventive care, missed screenings, and lack of treatment adherence. Additionally, existing policies disproportionately impact Black and Latinx individuals, who represent more than half of those who fall into the coverage gap. The proposed legislation aligns with C-TAC’s commitment to advancing health equity and increasing access to critical treatments and services for those living with serious illness.

The legislation under consideration aims to close the coverage gap by implementing immediate and long-term solutions for low-income individuals who find themselves unable to access coverage. The bill would begin implementation in January 2022 by expanding eligibility for premium tax credits in ACA marketplaces to include low-income individuals in non-expansion states who would be eligible for Medicaid under ACA expansion guidelines. 

More details and full article>

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Register now for the November 12, 2021, virtual session: Cannabis- Everything You Need to Know and Be Pain-Free with CBD Cannabis Therapy in the 21st Century 

In the 19^th century, cannabis was the most common ingredient in the American pharmacopeia. Park-Davis, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck prepared digestible and topical medicines for prescription. By the 1930’s; however, a nefarious political agenda, grounded in an inert economy and racial and ethnic bias, passed the Marijuana Tax Law, ushering in decades of needless cannabis prohibition and a famous war on drugs.

Fortunately, the exploration of exogenous cannabinoids and discovery of the endocannabinoid system, combined with an informed public, have reconceptualized cannabis as a harm reduction (rather than gateway) substance that restores homeostasis, treats countless diseases and conditions, improves psychological health, secures sleep, and manages pain. 

Speakers

• Melanie Dreher, PhD, RN, Dean Emeritus, Rush University, and Anthropologist-Moderator
• Dr. Jeffrey Hergenrather, Founding member and President of the Society for Cannabis   Clinicians
• Jesse Lopez, Founder & CEO, SourceOne Global Partners, Geocann
• Eloise Theisen, RN, Adult Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, and President of the American Cannabis Nurses Association

For more details and to register, visit this page.

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As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, Cook County Health will be hosting a virtual event on Thursday, October 14 at 6 pm for a “Conversation with Hispanics, Latinos and Latinas in Medicine.”

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Health leaders will discuss the historic role that Hispanics and Latino/as have played in medicine, especially in Cook County, as well as touch on the topics that are of most concern for the community, including COVID-19 and mental health.

 The virtual event will be live-streamed on their  Facebook page. 

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The COVID-19 pandemic added new obstacles and exacerbated existing barriers to healthy eating and physical activity in 2020 and 2021, and deepened longstanding racial and economic inequities in the United States. Emerging data suggests eating habits shifted, physical activity declined, stress and anxiety increased, food insecurity worsened, and many Americans gained weight throughout the pandemic, a sharp reminder of the effects that underlying social, economic, and environmental conditions have on the health and well-being of Americans. Many of direct and indirect effects of the pandemic fell disproportionally on certain populations, including low-income communities and communities of color.

Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public health policy, research, and advocacy organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community, and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) provided support for this report. Opinions in it are TFAH’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of RWJF.

Download full report here>

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The COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force was established by Executive Order 13995, Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery, which was issued on January 21, 2021. Since February, the Task Force has convened every month as part of the government-wide effort to identify and eliminate health and social disparities that result in disproportionately higher rates of exposure, illness, hospitalization and death related to COVID-19.

This month, the Task Force released its deliberation and vote on final recommendations with proposed priorities, suggested outcomes and recommendations to achieve the outcomes. 

Proposed Priorities 

Priority 1 - Empower and Invest in Community-Led Solutions to Address Health Equity 

Priority 2 - Enforce a Data Ecosystem that Promotes Equity-driven Decision-Making 

Priority 3 - Increase Accountability for Health Equity Outcomes 

Priority 4 - Invest in a Representative Health Care Workforce and Increase Equitable Acces to Quality Health for All 

Priority 5 - Lead and Coordinate Implementation of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force Recommendations for a permanent health equity infrastructure in the White House. 

Download the 79-page report here.  

To read more, visit the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force webpage on the OMH website.

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Twenty years after 9/11, COVID-19 demonstrated that our nation’s public health readiness, despite the tireless efforts of committed and skilled public health professionals who have admirably responded, was compromised by disconnected local, state, and federal data systems and disease surveillance capacity; an inadequate medical supply chain to meet the demand for personal protective equipment; insufficient surge capacity to meet the national demand for contact tracing and case investigation, and varied attention to building equity and community resilience activities into ongoing response and recovery efforts. So, do we have the preparedness we need? The answer is mixed. (APHA) 

Full article> 

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President Toni Preckwinkle Announces $75M for Additional Round of
Emergency Rental and Utility Assistance

CHICAGO — (October 1, 2021)—Today, President Preckwinkle, County Board Commissioners Donna Miller, Brandon Johnson, and Frank J. Aguilar, the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development, and the Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC) announced another round of Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA 2) to support residents of suburban Cook County who are at risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability due to the pandemic.

The program will dedicate an additional $75M, funded through the American Rescue Plan, to provide emergency rental assistance to both tenants and landlords, with prioritization preference given to suburban Cook County’s most vulnerable residents. The program will begin accepting applications on Monday, October 4, 2021, and will remain open until Friday, October 29, 2021.

“This is a crucial extension of our Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which has provided aid to nearly 8,000 tenants and landlords during this difficult time. It was a top priority for the County to continue this program and make critical improvements, such as covering relocation, security deposits, and other housing-related expenses that our residents so desperately need,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

Designed to prevent and relieve housing instability for suburban Cook County renters and landlords who have experienced financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ERA 2 can help with up to 18 months of rental assistance. The program will cover past and current utility expenses, or other related housing expenses including relocation costs, security deposits, processing fees, and temporary housing solutions. In addition, under ERA 2, public housing residents and families with Housing Choice Vouchers are eligible to apply for assistance with their portion of rent.

“Because the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on our most vulnerable residents, ERA 2 allows residents and landlords who have received rental assistance from Cook County’s ERA 1 program to apply for an additional three months of assistance,” states Xochitl Flores, Bureau Chief of Economic Development of Cook County. “This program has been instrumental in providing direct rental assistance, preventing evictions, and helping ensure our residents can maintain a stable home, even in the face of unprecedented financial hardships caused by the pandemic.”

To qualify for assistance under ERA 2, applicants must live in suburban Cook County and rent their place of residence. They must have a current or future obligation to pay rent, utilities, and/or other housing-related expenses and have a household annual income at or below established requirements (ranging from $52,200 for single-person households up to $98,450 for eight-person households). Additionally, applicants must have proof of financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic such as losing income, working fewer hours, being furloughed, needing to stay home because of risk of infection or to care for a child, or incurring significant costs during COVID-19.

Beyond meeting the eligibility requirements, priority will be given to eligible households that have received an eviction notice, households where at least one member has been unemployed for 90 days prior to applying, households where an individual pays more than 50% of income on rent, and households that are considered overcrowded. Priority applications will be processed before non-priority applications.

Landlords and tenants in suburban Cook Country who wish to apply for ERA 2 funding can do so by visiting Cook County Covid-19 Emergency Rental Assistance at https://www.cookcountyil.gov/service/covid-19-recovery-rental-assistance-program. All applications are open on October 4 and will be accepted until October 29, 2021. For additional information, visit the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development at https://www.cookcountyil.gov/bureau-of-economic-development, or call (833) 221-9821. Help is available in multiple languages. Residents and landlords dealing with issues surrounding evictions and debt are also encouraged to contact Cook County Legal Aid for Housing and Debt (CCLAHD) at www.cookcountylegalaid.org or by calling 855-956-5763 to get free legal aid and mediation services to help resolve issues.

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