麻州政府致力改善居民醫保開銷大

蔡維衡

麻州為改善州內最貧窮，病最重居民的醫療服務，並控制開銷所制定的全美首創服務項目“醫關懷（One Care）“，自2013年實施以來，虧損嚴重。

            根據麻州州長健康及人民服務辦公室最近公佈的一份報告，實施該試驗辦法的三個保險商，在18個月內共損失了5400萬元。與此同時，保險商及州政府官員都表示，要斷定該一辦法是否改善了服務對象的健康，還嫌太早。

            麻州居家護理行政主任諾曼（Al Norman）表示，這是個使用公費所做的非常昂貴實驗。他不認為他們能對改善健康的結果說些什麼，但的確是花了很多錢。

            “醫關懷“項目旨在幫助那些在貧窮與複雜健康問題中掙扎的人們，包括患糖尿病，毒癮者，控制醫療開銷。

            根據麻州政府和“醫關懷“保險商的協議，納稅人將承擔該項目財物損失的一部分，儘管麻州政府預算已經因為醫療護理開銷而緊繃。

            自從麻州政府在2013年10月推出“醫關懷”項目後，有11州推出了類似項目。聯邦政府官員拒絕就其他州辦理這項目狀況如何置喙。

            在麻州，“醫關懷”是為大約10萬名65歲以下，享有醫療補助（Medicaid）或醫療護理（Medicare）的貧窮，殘障居民所設計的協調服務，由州及聯邦政府付給保險商一固定費率，以管理登記病人的醫療護理。

            “醫關懷”的宗旨是藉著把病人放入單一，整合，有協調員幫助他們的醫療護理計劃，來控制開銷，改善醫療護理。該項目還包括擴大了的牙齒，視覺，及精神健康上的醫療福利。

            不過，加入“醫關懷”的三家非牟利保險商，迄今只有18,000人登記加入。以波士頓為基地的麻州醫療護理聯盟（Commonwealth Care Alliance），有10,000名會員，損失了4000萬元。屋斯特法輪醫療（Fallon Health of Worcester）損失約1300萬元。水城塔芙茨醫療計畫有1700名會員，損失約100萬元。

            由於損失過鉅，屋斯特法輪醫療計畫在九月底時退出這一項目，裁減45名員工，讓州政府忙得人仰馬翻的得為5,400名會員重新分派醫療計畫。

            保險商在一份聲明中表示，由於該項目在經濟上無法持續，他們非常不甘願的決定了退出。

            麻州政府將承擔這些保險商所承受的一部份損失。

            麻州健康（MassHealth），也是麻州醫療補助（Medicaid）項目的助理卿蔡維衡(Daniel Tsai）表示，州政府考慮提高報帳率（reimbursement rates），藉以在未來年月中，幫助保險商彌平開支，但聯邦政府必須也批准這做法。

            同時享有醫療護理和醫療補助者，在醫療開銷上所佔費用，不成比例。這些人僅佔全美享有醫療補助人口的14%，但在醫療補助開銷花費上佔了35%。

            麻州一向為貧窮耆英提供管理式醫療計畫，但“醫關懷”還是第一次嘗試為65歲以下，符合兩種醫療制度資格者做醫療管理。

圖片說明：

            麻州健康（MassHealth）助理卿蔡丹尼（Daniel Tsai）。（圖由麻州州長辦公室提供）

MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR YOUTH JOBS

MAYOR WALSH ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR YOUTH JOBS

$230,000 to Create Enrichment and Employment Opportunities for Boston Youth

BOSTON - Monday, August 3, 2015 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced $230,000 in corporate and individual sponsorships through the Mayor's Summer Jobs Fund, to create an additional 175 youth jobs for nine community-based organizations. Sponsorships are among the various partners and organizations that support youth employment for the City of Boston and help to create the more than 10,000 jobs through the Mayor's Summer Jobs Program. "Jobs provide Boston youth with meaningful work experience," said Mayor Walsh. "Thanks to our community sponsors, who understand how to make a difference in a young person's life, we will be able to continue to create more opportunities for our young people and invest in the future of our City." In 2014, Mayor Walsh established the Mayor's Summer Jobs Fund to financially assist community-based organizations in need of additional funding to fully operate and execute youth employment programs.  The following is the list of grant recipients :  Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) SummerWorks: ABCD's SummerWorks program has provided over 5,000 Boston youth between the ages of 14 to 21 years old with a summer job at more than 500 partner worksites across Boston Award Amount: $125,000; Mayor's Summer Jobs Fund ($100,000) and Comcast ($25,000) Number of Jobs: 91 Boston Youth Wrestling: Teen youth employees assist instructors in developing curriculum for a week long camp that will expose 50 youth participants to various disciplines of martial arts, including wrestling, Brazilian jiujitsu, muay thai, Striking and more. Award Amount: $3,000 Number of Jobs: 3 Eliot Church: Youth employees, ages 14-22, serve as Junior Counselors, Counselors and Lead Counselors for a camp program that focuses on arts and recreation. Award Amount: $23,320 Number of Jobs: 28 Mothers for Justice and Equality (MJE): Youth employees (advocates) participate in the Junior Advocates Youth Leadership Development Program. Advocates participate in professional development workshops, organize community events for residents, design and deliver workshops on peacebuilding and conflict resolution, and work alongside MJE staff. Award Amount: $9,450 Number of Jobs: 6 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Boston Branch: Youth employees participate in professional development, conduct nonpartisan voter registration, promote healthy lifestyles and violence prevention, encourage support for local businesses and City of Boston initiatives, and work with other youth groups to explore solutions to community problems. Award Amount: $11,950 Number of Jobs: 7 Phillips Brooks House Association: Youth employees develop leadership experience staffing the Summer Urban Programs, a network of 12 camps which serve low-income youth throughout greater Boston and Cambridge by providing a high-quality, affordable summer enrichment experience. Award Amount: $20,000 Number of Jobs: 10 Smart from the Start: Smart from the Start offers comprehensive coordinated set of services for parents, caregivers and children. Youth employees are trained to provide administrative support to central staff, organize data and documentation of clients, assist with special projects and initiatives, and support families as needed. Award Amount: $12,500 Number of Jobs: 5 Southwest Boston Community Development Corporation (CDC): Youth employees, ages 18-22, participate in an environmental employment program to restore the urban wild in the Hyde Park community. The employees are trained to engage residents in planning and stewardship of the greenway along Fairmount Line. Award Amount: $8,605 Number of Jobs: 3 Talented And Gifted (TAG) Latino Program, University of Massachusetts Boston: Youth employees will serve as teaching assistants (TAs) in the 31st annual Summer TAG Program, which provides academic enrichment coupled with athletic and artistic programming to 200 BPS middle and high school youth, including special programming for English Language Learners. The Summer TAG TA program has been a pipeline to teaching careers, developing urban educators, many of whom are currently teaching in BPS. TAs are 17-22-year-olds working in classrooms, supporting implementation of curriculum, and working in small groups and with individual students and benefiting from ongoing professional development. Award Amount: $41,995 Number of Jobs: 22 "Through the additional support of the Mayor's Summer Jobs initiative, we were able to hire three youth interns who designed and implemented wrestling clinics and mini-camps for youth wrestlers in grades 4-8 across the City of Boston," said José Valenzuela, President of Boston Youth Wrestling. "Thanks to their leadership, our clinics and mini-camps reached over 150 new youth across 4 sites, exposing them to fun and dynamic wrestling workouts that inspired them to participate in more active and healthy habits. These are opportunities that would not have existed for these children without the support of the Mayor's Summer Jobs Fund." "The funding provided by the Mayor's office has made it possible to have one of our most successful and productive Hyde Park Green Team seasons," said Mat Thall, Executive Director of the Southwest Boston CDC. "The additional funding has allowed us to introduce the 21 youngsters in the program to environmentally responsible, landscaping with goats. We have also been able to make great progress in our five year partnership with the Boston Parks Department to build recreational trails in Sherrin Woods. The grant helped us hire Green Team members from previous who were eager to return to the Green Team, but could only be waitlisted earlier this year." "Mayor Walsh's support of Youth Jobs provided us with the resources needed to provide six additional youth who had lost a friend, sibling and/or parent to street violence with a safe space to learn and heal from the aftermath of their lost, while earning money and learning the importance of civic leadership," said Monalisa Smith, President and CEO at Mothers for Justice and Equality. "We believe the Mayor's leadership in youth employment is key in support of our efforts in ending street violence." "Experience has shown us that the opportunity to work at an early age is a powerful tool to addressing a host of economic, health and social issues that impact our city," said Michael Curry, President of the Boston NAACP.  "The Mayor's investment in our young people through the Jobs Fund will pay dividends for the City of Boston and is certain to deliver the next generation of business and civic leaders." Corporations interested in supporting youth employment may contact the Mayor's Office of Health and Human Services at summerjobs@boston.gov or 617-635-1845. Organization Mayor's Summer Jobs Fund Grant Award Number of Jobs Created by Funding ABCD SummerWorks $100,000 91 Boston Youth Wrestling $3,000 3 Eliot Church $23,320 28 Mothers for Justice $9,450 6 NAACP Boston Branch $11,950 7 Phillips Brooks House Assoc. $20,000 10 Smart from the Start $12,500 5 Southwest Boston CDC $8,605 3 TAG Latino Program, UMass Boston $41,995 22

全美余風采堂第廿五屆懇親大會八月二日揭幕

全美余風采堂第廿五屆懇親大會，宗親們在開幕後合影。（菊子攝）

全美余風采堂第二十五屆懇親大會昨(二)日在僑委會副委員長呂元榮親自道賀中，隆重揭幕。來自十四個城市的二百多名余氏宗親將在波士頓歡聚五日，並推選新一屆總長。

全美余風采堂第廿五屆懇親大會，宗親們在祭祖後合影。（菊子攝）

            全美余風采堂成立已有129年，從1924年起每年輪流在美東，美西舉辦全美懇親大會。來自三藩市的余氏元老習文指出，紐英崙余風采堂今年第四度承辦全美余氏懇親大會，之前在1928年，1966年，1997年都曾承辦，今年承辦的場面格外風光。

        昨日有分別來自加州，波士頓的余氏女性豪傑，為余氏增光。其中的Betty T. Yee，現為加州Controller，是該州三名亞裔民選官員之一，管理加州1570億元預算。另一人是邦克丘（Bunker Hill）社區學院校長余慕潔。

僑委會副委員長呂元榮（右五）和紐英崙余風采堂主席余國華（左一）
，余建興（右起），以及顧問余文博，總長余超群，紐約元老余景新，
紐英崙顧問余景新，元老余習文，余仕昂（左三）等人在開幕前打招呼。
（菊子攝）

 全美余風采堂的元老，總長，各地主席祭祖後，在紐英崙余風采堂
會所前合影。 （菊子攝）

余氏宗親在八月一日陸續抵達後，昨（二）日下午兩點到波士頓華埠乞臣街上的余風采堂會所祭祖，下午四點在凱悅酒店舉行開幕式，晚上在帝苑大酒樓公宴，三，四兩日開會，接受紐英崙僑社公宴後閉幕。

            昨日下午，來自全美各地的余氏宗長在隸屬於紐英崙余風采堂的總長余超群，元老余仕昂，主席余國華，余建興等人招呼下，由前任主席余景新擔任司儀，余建興，余積炎司禮，一起祭祖，獻花，上香，獻酒，進財寶，奉上八隻金豬，由余超群恭讀祭祖文，向忠襄公太祖像行三鞠躬禮，鳴鑼，完成祭祖儀式。

            余氏宗親為隆重其事，昨日下午申請了封街，宗親們祭祖後在乞臣街上安排了余氏宗親女師父余翠梅的華林功夫太極學校，以及元老余仕昂麾下的美東國術總會武術團隊，黃強醒獅隊，胡清白鶴派在街上金銀雙龍齊舞，虹彩金獅飛動，鑼鼓聲震如雷，鞭炮煙硝漫天的熱鬧中，率隊遊行到凱悅酒店舉行開幕儀式。

全美余風采堂祭祖後，舞獅舞龍慶祝。（菊子攝）

            顧問余文博擔任開幕式司儀，在陳余寶愛領唱美國國歌後，由婦女組派員護送主要嘉賓一一就座，架式十足。

            懇親會由元老文勁、 習文，總長超群、以信，以及主任國華揭幕，向忠襄公太祖像行三鞠躬禮，再一一致詞，並由余厚利宣讀各界中文賀詞。

昨日的開幕式，不但有大波士頓各僑團首長，應邀上台致詞的僑務委員梅錫銳，大波士頓種人尊敬的陳毓禮，黃氏宗親會美東總長黃國威，波士頓市議員吳弭等人。僑委會副委員長呂元榮也在波士頓僑教中心主任郭大文陪同中專程來賀。

邦克丘社區學院校長余慕潔（中）昨日介紹紐英崙中華公所主席阮鴻燦
（右）也是該校董事。左為昨日領唱美國國歌的陳余寶愛。（菊子攝）

余文博在主持儀式時表示，過去二年多來，余氏宗親為籌辦這全美懇親大會，耗費心思，開過許多次會，期間他們有時意見一致，有時意見分歧，最終能皆大歡喜。

波士頓市議員吳弭（左二）昨日應邀出席余風采堂懇親會，
坐在來自加州的財務長（Controller）Betty Ｔ. Yee(左一)。(菊子攝)

僑委會副委員長呂元榮（中）送出“宗誼永固”掛軸。紐英崙余風采堂
主席余國華（左二），余建興（右一）等人代表接受。（菊子攝）

            

            

           

            

            

        

紐英崙洪秀柱後援會成立 二、三百人出席 籌款逾一萬四千

馬滌凡（左八），張韻蘭（左十）和支持“洪秀柱後援會“的主要人士。（菊子攝）

二，三百名來自各地的華人，昨（二）日中午匯聚在牛頓市海德社區中心，由馬滌凡和張韻蘭宣佈成立“支持洪秀柱參選中華民國總統後援會”，現場籌得8660元。

 馬滌凡（左）介紹張韻蘭（右）是大波士頓“洪秀柱後援會“會長。
（菊子攝）

            發起，並統籌成立後援會的馬滌凡，昨日宣佈張韻蘭當會長，感謝社區大眾熱烈出席，甚至有人從康州，新罕布夏州趕來。她表示，早前曾有人預言最多不過五十人會出席，但昨日會場的人頭湧湧，讓她感動十分。

            張韻蘭表示，從去年十一月的九合一選舉以來，藍營支持者士氣低迷，但洪秀柱的宣佈參選總統，有如給人打了一劑強心針。

會中有人熱情地即席捐款，座中人紛紛鼓掌讚許。（菊子攝）

            張韻蘭指台灣自從李登輝做總統後，再加上接任的陳水扁，都竄改歷史，教科書，才造成太陽花世代，有些政客的為了個人私利，不惜撕裂族群，製造社會不安，還在嚴肅問題上閃爍其詞，更是令人痛心。他們成立“洪秀柱後援會”是因為他們欣賞洪秀柱的直言不諱，不掩飾自己是外省籍，不遮掩自己出身貧窮，父親曾受白色恐怖壓迫，中華民國需要一個像洪秀柱這樣，在政治上沒有汙點的好總統。

            昨日的這場“後援會”，放映了三段影片，包括洪秀柱的參選政見，七月十九日她在國民黨中常會的爭取提名致詞，以及後來的趙少康戰情報導節目專訪。

前排右起，蔣宗壬，柯乃南，李庚仁等人是“洪秀柱後援會”
的捐款先行者。（菊子攝）

            洪秀柱在這幾段影片中陳述她的治國理念是4G，四個給，給人民信心，希望，方便，美好未來，她重視說明真相，肯堅毅的為理想努力，以及她坦言如果說台灣選民喜新厭舊，過一陣子就換人做做看，那她和已經參選過兩次總統的蔡英文來比，也是比較新的那個等，都讓座中不少還未看過這些片段的人叫好。

            馬滌凡昨日還在會中敦請社區中以好寫打油詩聞名的李庚仁，為支持洪秀柱一是寫了一篇打油詩，

            根據會場唸出的名單，在成立大會之前已分別捐款五百元不等者，包括李庚仁，蔣宗壬，周健夫，陳永茂，陳永貴，龍俐麗，鄭洪，謝肇金，周仙梅，以及馬滌凡等。

 李庚仁解釋他寫的打油詩，並指出其中幾個打錯字的地方。（菊子攝）

由於洪秀柱在競選時聲言不拿國民黨的錢來競選，馬滌凡等人籲請各界踴躍捐款，以給支持台灣的未來希望。他說明了捐款帳戶，也在螢幕上打出回台灣投票辦法說明。

根據馬滌凡早前發出的洪秀全後援會聲明，住在牛頓市的馬滌凡，布魯克蘭鎮的張韻蘭，羅爾市的李庚仁，蔚藍市的蔣宗壬，貝爾蒙市的王世輝，屋本市的梁玲娜，昆士市的王競芳，安多福市的張振洪，勒星頓鎮的牛正基，新罕布夏州曼徹斯特市的殷尚堅，康州哈特福市的白鋼等人都是後援會發起人。昨日馬滌凡表示，該會不設幹部成員，歡迎各界加入後續活動。

馬滌凡在會後表示，她昨日在活動開始時說明的已募款八千元，包括昨日在活動開始時捐出的兩千元，因此實際募款情況應為後援會成立之前募得六千元，昨日現場募得八千六百六十元。大陳同鄉會會長梁玲娜也在會中報告，該會捐款共約二千五百元。張韻蘭透露，昨日有一名自稱來自中國大陸人士，經過會場，好奇探問後，竟從褲袋裡掏出一百一十元現金，也要捐款支持洪秀柱。