American Rescue Plan and the Marketplace | CMS
- The new law will lower premiums for most people who currently have a Marketplace health plan and expand access to financial assistance for more consumers.
- Under the new law, many people who buy their own health insurance directly through the Marketplace will become eligible to receive increased tax credits to reduce their premiums. Starting April 1, 2021, consumers enrolling in Marketplace coverage through HealthCare.gov will be able to take advantage of these increased savings and lower costs.
- Premiums after these new savings will decrease, on average, by $50 per person per month or by $85 per policy per month. Four out of five enrollees will be able find a plan for $10 or less/month after premium tax credits, and over 50% will be able to find a Silver plan for $10 or less.
Thursday Tunes – I’ll Stand By You
Myanmar: U.S. trying to contact Aung San Suu Kyi after civilians die in military custody
- The U.S. is still trying to contact Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted from power as Myanmar’s de facto head of government in a Feb. 1 coup.
- Two members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy have died after Myanmar security forces detained them.
- “We’re working through appropriate channels to make contact with those detained,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
- The U.S. and China have a meeting in Anchorage, Alaska on March 18 to discuss a wide range of topics. Myanmar may be on the docket.
Source: Myanmar: U.S. trying to contact Aung San Suu Kyi after civilians die in military custody
WHO lists J&J COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use | CIDRAP
The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced that it has listed the one-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, which adds a more agile option for immunizing people in developing countries.
In another vaccine development, the WHO said its safety committee is reviewing reports of blood clots in people who have received doses from certain batches of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, but emphasized that the vaccine can be used while the probe is underway.
Source: WHO lists J&J COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use | CIDRAP
U.S. tops 100 million Covid vaccine doses administered, 13% of adults now fully vaccinated
The milestone marks the fulfillment of President Joe Biden’s goal to administer at least 100 million shots within his first 100 days in office.
Source: U.S. tops 100 million Covid vaccine doses administered, 13% of adults now fully vaccinated
Brazil reaches deal for 10 million shots of Russian vaccine – The Washington Post (Brazil population? 211 million!)
In other City Council business | | phillytrib.com
Open Thread | I Have Hope 🤞🤞 | 3CHICSPOLITICO
Yesterday, I got my second Fauci Ouchie 🤗
I am still a little emotional about it.
Everyone is going back to the anniversary of when we shut down.
We were living in our own horror movie.
I remember leading up to the masks, before they told us to wear them, they told us that this could be spread by coughing. Every cough was suspect. Then, I remember the day that I was watching cable and a doctor came on and said talking and singing were ways to spread it. I got on a bus the next day, and as more people got on, my anxiety level went through the roof. I have never had a panic attack, but I damn near came close that day. That was the last day that I took public transportation for 3 months. I was not going to put myself in that position again.
We saved America in so many ways by electing Joe Biden. Not only democracy, but our very lives.
ASIA/MYANMAR – Cardinal Bo: “The country needs peace and freedom; the role of the army is to protect, not to attack the people” – Agenzia Fides
Cardinal praises “the incredible courage, commitment and creativity of our people”, who demonstrate peacefully, giving “a sign of maturity”: “Young people and all citizens show tenacity and resilience: they are determined not to allow that democracy, freedom and peace, conquered with difficulty, can all of a sudden be canceled. Young people do not accept that their hope is stolen. Their strength of mind is a great inspiration for all of us”, he says to Fides, noting the “mutual solidarity between people of different ethnic groups and religions, side by side for the same cause, a good for the people”.
“The nation – he asserts – is experiencing a moment of great trial and suffering, marked by bloodshed, pain, mourning”, as “many innocent people are injured, killed or arrested”, while “in the states of Myanmar inhabited by ethnic minorities the military has resumed attacking civilians, causing thousands of internally displaced persons”. Cardinal Bo hopes for “a Myanmar in which the military lower their weapons, leave power and do what an army should do: protect, certainly not attack, the people”.
In this context of violence, he continues, “the Lord calls the Church to be an instrument of justice, peace and reconciliation, to be “her hands and feet “in comforting the afflicted, in contrasting hatred with love, in saving human lives”. And he concludes: “From prayer and from the Word of God we welcome a message of hope which is the center of our faith. We, the Church in Myanmar, cherish this message in our hearts. We will pray and work for a new Myanmar to rise from this tragedy, as a nation in which “every human being is truly a participant of fundamental rights and freedoms and where authentic peace is enjoyed”. Source: ASIA/MYANMAR – Cardinal Bo: “The country needs peace and freedom; the role of the army is to protect, not to attack the people” – Agenzia Fides


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