Nursing home workers in Washington state have come back from the White House with renewed resolve to fight for their union contract. A delegation of SEIU members was in Washington, D.C., last week to meet with the Biden-Harris administration.

Gurnesh Chetty, medications manager for Aegis Ravenna in Seattle and is a member of SEIU 775, said members of the administration encouraged him to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board over contract negotiations with his employer.

"Even we were told that a lot of big corporations like Aegis, what they do is, they intentionally start letting go of employees that do support the union or want a union," Chetty said.

Chetty and his coworkers voted to form a union in March 2023, but the union has yet to secure its first contract. A spokesperson for Aegis Living says its objective is to "foster a strong and unified team environment," and that it's proud of its 2,700 employees serving 2,500 residents.

Chetty said working at Aegis can be stressful, which is why workers formed a union.

"We've been understaffed," he said. "We've been asking for more staffing, better pay, better retention of employees. People work there about three to six months and they end up leaving, because the employees aren't taken care of."

Chetty added retention is especially important in a nursing home setting.

"Once you form a relationship with the resident and then, you know exactly what they want, you know exactly what time they prefer things, it makes it better and easier and convenient for them, where they're happier," he continued.

Changes could be coming for Arkansans who are on Medicaid.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is proposing to add work requirements for some Medicaid recipients. Similar rules were imposed in the state in 2018 but later struck down by the Biden administration.

Neil Sealy, senior organizer for Arkansas Community Organizations, said more than 18,000 people lost coverage seven years ago although they were working or had been granted exemptions.

"We reached out to people to speak with them about their experience," Sealy explained. "There was a reporting requirement, and if after three months if you had not reported, then you would be taken off. "

He noted some recipients were unaware they did not have coverage until they tried to go to the doctor. Sanders is hopeful the requirements will remain in place under the new Trump administration.

According to a report in Forbes Magazine, Arkansas is the fourth-least healthy state in the country. Around 820,000 Arkansans are on Medicaid.

Specific details about Sanders' proposal have not been released but she said she wants a broader requirement to cover able-bodied adults. Sealy noted their volunteers are already mobilizing.

"We get ready," Sealy emphasized. "We are reaching out to people in the community. We are going to be on the doors, talking in churches, getting ready. We don't sit down and take it. "

A Harvard study showed in 2018 the work requirements did not decrease unemployment and red tape and paperwork created serious hurdles for people who were eligible for coverage.


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A new study from Wayne State University showed breathing in air pollution, especially benzene, can raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Benzene is a pollutant found in common emissions such as car exhaust and tobacco smoke. The report found a strong link between benzene exposure and insulin resistance.

Marianna Sadagurski, associate professor of environmental health sciences at Wayne State University and the study's lead author, investigated how air pollution affects metabolism. She explained how long it takes for sugar levels to rise after being exposed to benzene.

"Within seven days you already have changes in blood glucose levels," Sadagurski reported. "It does not mean that you already developed type 2 diabetes immediately. But that indicates that your blood glucose levels continue to higher than normal. "

In mice, test results showed after exposure, male mice showed changes in energy balance, brain activity, insulin function and immune responses, which caused their blood sugar levels to rise.

The researchers also discovered even short-term exposure to benzene affects how the brain handles insulin and causes inflammation in certain brain cells. The inflammation is connected to a specific pathway in the body. When they blocked the process in the brain cells, it helped fix the metabolism problems caused by benzene in the mice.

Sadagurski emphasized the study was far-reaching.

"All the studies, not just from the U.S., all across China and Mexico and so on," Sadagurski outlined. "All the studies that were done, we collected."

Sadagurski explained they analyzed data from different groups of people, including young adults and the elderly.

The Episcopal Health Foundation wants Texas lawmakers to make health a priority during this legislative session.

The nonprofit focuses on the nonmedical drivers of a person's overall health, such as economic status, health behaviors and safe neighborhoods where people can exercise.

Ann Barnes, president and CEO of the foundation, said they would like to see legislation on maternal health, food security and diabetes prevention.

"These are health conditions that affect low-income populations and communities of color," Barnes pointed out. "We are looking for opportunities to support legislation that improves those outcomes."

Barnes noted during the last legislative session, lawmakers passed bills that approved Medicaid screenings for nonmedical factors that influence health and for doulas to serve as case managers for pregnant people. She looks forward to having those bills implemented.

A recent survey by the foundation found nearly half of adults in Texas say they live in a household experiencing diabetes or prediabetes.

Barnes argued not addressing the problem puts an economic strain on the entire state.

"Between $6 billion and $8 billion, that's billion with a B, is spent on the treatment of diabetes through the Medicaid program," Barnes emphasized. "That is about a quarter of all dollars spent on adults on Medicaid."

She added health care only affects about 20% of a person's overall health. The other 80% is determined by their environment.