It has been a busy week and is about to be a busier weekend as most in the world set their sights on the Super Bowl. So before you begin your team chants or your 48-hour prayer circle until the game we wanted to share this week’s good news with you.
There’s always discussion about the correlation between religion and sports and this weekend it’s all about faith and football. Check out one Seattle Seahawks player’s encouragement to viewers to embrace Christ. (America Preachers)
Since it’s a new year we here at UrbanFaith figured that we would try something new. Today will be the start of a weekly section entitled “The Good News” where we will round up some of positive headlines from the week as a way to ease our readers into the weekend. We hope that you’ll like this section. We also hope that you will share positive headlines from the African and African-American community you’ve come across during the week on the UrbanFaith Facebook page so that maybe your selection will pop up in the Good News for the week.
So without further ado, here is this week’s Good News:
President Barack Obama only met Nelson Mandela once but his words came across as one who has known the prolific leader all his life. His speech was “Ubuntu,” the South African word that means “I am because you are,” at work. President Obama is because Mandela was. We are, bound together, because of Mandela and leaders like him. Rest in peace and power Madiba.
For four years “Shark Tank” has taken a bite out of small businesses in the best way possible. The non-scripted reality show created by Mark Burnett gives entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their business in front of a group of potential investors—sharks—in hopes that a shark will invest in them. The “Tank” has found a home in many households, but has experienced particular success with African-American and female viewers. Given this, Burnett and his team sought to respond to their diverse viewership by paying attention to the demographics of the entrepreneurs on the show and this is where our bishop comes in.
Bishop Rodney Sampson, a consecrated bishop in the Old Holy Catholic Church in intercommunion with the International Bishop’s conference, is the Executive-in-Charge of Diversity and Inclusivity for Shark Tank as well as several other Burnett shows. As such he is responsible for ensuring that what we see Friday after Friday is a reflection of the world we live in. In a talk with UrbanFaith, Sampson stated that he took the position because he saw it as an opportunity to influence culture and where else could one best do that but with Mark Burnett, one of the top producers of non-scripted reality shows. Sampson is particularly good fit because he has a history of entrepreneurial victories. He was co-founder of Streaming Faith—the earliest online video platform that made a way for YouTube—as well as co-founder of Intellect, Intellect Inspire and the Legacy Opportunity Fund. His experience as an entrepreneur lead him to write the bestselling book “Kingonomics” which is inspired by the economic ideals of Martin Luther King, Jr and will be the focal point of Friday night’s Shark Tank. But lest anyone think that Sampson’s work is just a new-fangled prosperity gospel, he is ready to debunk it and clarify what he’s about. Education, empowerment, creativity, dreaming big…This is what Sampson is about and through his book and the Kingonomics program he wants to train up a legion of leaders who are ready not to make a dollar but affect real change. This is what people will see on Friday night as Sampson gives the world a look at the Kingonomics conference that coincided with the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. We will see Sampson, Cuban, and others cutting through the rhetoric that stymies conversations about job creation and discussing real ways that people can participate in changing the economic tide of our country.
Be sure to tune in to ABC on Friday at 9PM Eastern standard time to learn more about Kingonomics and see Bishop Rodney Sampson and the sharks in action.
The Affordable Care Act will help make health insurance coverage more affordable and accessible for millions of Americans. For African Americans, like other racial and ethnic minorities, the law will address inequities and will increase access to quality, affordable health coverage, invest in prevention and wellness, and give individuals and families more control over their care.
African Americans suffer from obesity, heart disease, and diabetes at higher levels than the general population. For example, in 2010, 37 percent of African Americans were obese, compared to 26% of whites. Expanding opportunities for coverage can improve health outcomes for African Americans.
Already, the Affordable Care Act has benefitted the nearly 85% of Americans who already have insurance:
3.1 million young adults have gained coverage through the parents’ plans
6.6 million seniors are paying less for prescription drugs
105 million Americans are paying less for preventative care & no longer face lifetime coverage limits
13.1 million Americans have received rebates from insurance companies
17 million children with pre-existing conditions no longer denied coverage or charged extra
Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act will provide 6.8 million uninsured African Americans an opportunity to get affordable health insurance coverage. The following provides an overview of the coverage and benefits available to African Americans today and those made possible by the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Happening Now:
An estimated 7.3 million African Americans with private insurance now have access to expanded preventive services with no cost sharing. These services include well-child visits, blood pressure and cholesterol screenings, Pap tests and mammograms for women, and flu shots for children and adults.
The 4.5 million elderly and disabled African Americans who receive health coverage from Medicare also have access to many preventive services with no cost-sharing, including annual wellness visits with personalized prevention plans, diabetes and colorectal cancer screening, bone mass measurement and mammograms.
More than 500,000 young African-American adults between ages 19 and 25 who would otherwise have been uninsured now have coverage under their parent’s employer-sponsored or individually purchased health plan.
Major federal investments to improve quality of care are improving management of chronic diseases more prevalent among African Americans.
The health care workforce will be more diverse due to a near tripling of the National Health Service Corps. African-American physicians make up about 17 percent of Corps physicians, a percentage that greatly exceeds their 6 percent share of the national physician workforce.
Investments in data collection and research will help us better understand the causes of health care disparities and develop effective programs to eliminate them.
Targeted interventions, such as Community Transformation Grants, will promote healthy lifestyles, lower health care costs, and reduce health disparities.
Increased funding available to more than 1,100 community health centers will increase the number of patients served. One of every five patients at a health center is African American.
Coming Soon:
6.8 million uninsured African Americans will have new opportunities for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Of the 6.8 million uninsured African Americans who are eligible for coverage through the Marketplace, 56 percent are men.
The Marketplace is a destination where consumers can compare insurance options in simple, easy to understand language. At the Marketplace, consumers will be able to compare insurance options based on price, benefits, quality and other factors with a clear picture of premiums and cost-sharing amounts to help them choose the insurance that best fits their needs.
Consumers may be eligible for free or low cost coverage, or advance premium tax credits that lower monthly premiums right away. Individuals with higher incomes (up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, or $94,200 for a family of four) will be eligible to purchase subsidized coverage from the Health Insurance Marketplace.
States have new opportunities to expand Medicaid coverage to include Americans with family incomes at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level (generally $31,322 for a family of four in 2013). This expansion includes adults without dependent children living at home, who have not previously been eligible in most states.
New Report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on lower than expected premiums available in the new Health Insurance Marketplace:
A new report released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finds that in state after state, consumers will see increased competition in the Health Insurance Marketplace, leading to new and affordable choices for consumers. According to the report, consumers will be able to choose from an average of 53 health plans in the Marketplace, and the vast majority of consumers will have a choice of at least two different health insurance companies – usually more. Premiums nationwide will also be around 16 percent lower than originally expected – with about 95 percent of eligible uninsured live in states with lower than expected premiums – before taking into account financial assistance.
To read the report on health insurance rates, visit: http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2013/MarketplacePremiums/ib_marketplace_premiums.cfm.
To view the data on rates, visit: http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2013/MarketplacePremiums/datasheet_home.cfm.
Visit HERE for helpful resources to get more information on the Affordable Care Act and the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Information provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
