Public Policy

New Report from MyDirectives® Says Advance Care Planning Documents Can Help Boost Medicare Advantage Plans’ CMS Star Ratings

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Other Health, Professional Services, Data Management, Law Enforcement, Emergency Services, Technology, Public Policy, Hospitals, Health Technology, Health Insurance, Legal, Health, Government, Advance care planning, ACP, Patient, AHL, Patient satisfaction, Medicare, Marketing, CMS, Nursing

A new Industry Brief issued by MyDirectives ® reports there are promising indicators that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans can positively impact their CMS Star Ratings by offering members access to advance care planning (ACP) tools and documents.

Key Points: 
  • A new Industry Brief issued by MyDirectives ® reports there are promising indicators that Medicare Advantage (MA) plans can positively impact their CMS Star Ratings by offering members access to advance care planning (ACP) tools and documents.
  • According to the Industry Brief, making ACP solutions available to members has the potential to increase CMS Star Ratings by improving patient outcomes and satisfaction, enhancing customer experience, and boosting the quality of provider-patient interactions, all of which are integral to these ratings.
  • MA plans with superior Star Ratings are rewarded with higher reimbursement and bonuses.
  • “It also fosters long-term patient engagement in primary care, potentially driving down healthcare costs while improving care quality and patient satisfaction.

A native iOS App for First Responders: ESO Unveils Exciting Addition to Electronic Health Record Offering

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Apps, Applications, Technology, Law Enforcement, Emergency Services, Health Technology, Public Policy, Government, Software, General Health, Health, Data Management, Consumer Electronics, Dark, IPad, Documentation, Device, Prevalence, Patient, Hospital, IOS, ESO, Ecosystem, EHR, Nursing care plan, EMS, Emergency medical services, Video game

This addition to ESO's suite of offerings is poised to change the user experience for first responders.

Key Points: 
  • This addition to ESO's suite of offerings is poised to change the user experience for first responders.
  • The iOS app, slated for release this winter, will complement ESO's existing EHR Web and EHR Windows Mobile products, providing users with a seamless and intuitive interface for Apple iOS devices.
  • In an evolving landscape where market trends and customer demographics continually shift, ESO remains committed to staying ahead of the curve.
  • The decision to develop a native iOS app stems from a strategic initiative to meet the growing demand for more user-friendly, cost-effective, and versatile solutions in the field.

Avangrid Receives Federal Record of Decision for New England Wind

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Utilities, Environmental Policy, Sustainability, Alternative Energy, Energy, Other Construction & Property, White House, Federal Government, Construction & Property, Environment, Green Technology, Urban Planning, Climate Change, Public Policy, Government, Interior, FCEN, Climate, Wind, Carbon, Investment, DEIS, Inflation, Equivalence relation, Chairperson, ROD, Bureau, The Nature Conservancy, FTE, OCS, Commonwealth, BOEM, Record, Electricity, Foreign policy, Climate change, Vineyard Wind, COP, Communication, Sierra Club, Port, PLA, Construction, Town, FEIS, Cape Cod, AGR, Renewable energy

New England Wind, consisting of the New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2 projects, has the potential to create thousands of jobs and provide enough clean, reliable energy to power nearly 1 million homes and businesses in the region.

Key Points: 
  • New England Wind, consisting of the New England Wind 1 and New England Wind 2 projects, has the potential to create thousands of jobs and provide enough clean, reliable energy to power nearly 1 million homes and businesses in the region.
  • With this federal approval, New England Wind stands apart as the most advanced and shovel-ready offshore wind opportunity in the Northeast region.
  • “We applaud the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for issuing the Record of Decision for New England Wind.
  • BOEM’s Record of Decision for Avangrid’s New England Wind lease area represents a key and substantial step in the direction of moving forward on offshore wind.

The GEO Group Announces Senior Notes Offering

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Social Services, Construction & Property, Professional Services, Health, Law Enforcement, Emergency Services, State, Local, Building Systems, Mental Health, Other Professional Services, Public Policy, Government, Other Construction & Property, GEO Group, GEO, Person, Tranche, Sale, Regulation, News

The GEO Group (NYSE: GEO) ("GEO" or the "Company") announced today that it is proposing, subject to market and other customary conditions, to issue $1.2 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes, comprised of $700.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes due 2029 (the "Secured Notes") and $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due 2031 (the "Unsecured Notes" and together with the Secured Notes, the "notes"), in a private offering that is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act").

Key Points: 
  • The GEO Group (NYSE: GEO) ("GEO" or the "Company") announced today that it is proposing, subject to market and other customary conditions, to issue $1.2 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes, comprised of $700.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes due 2029 (the "Secured Notes") and $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due 2031 (the "Unsecured Notes" and together with the Secured Notes, the "notes"), in a private offering that is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act").
  • The notes will be guaranteed by GEO's domestic subsidiaries that are guarantors under a new senior secured credit facility and outstanding senior notes.
  • The gross proceeds of the offering, borrowings under a contemplated new $400.0 million Term Loan B under a new senior secured credit facility, and cash on hand will be used to refinance approximately $1.5 billion of existing indebtedness, including to fund the repurchase, redemption or other discharge of the Company’s existing Tranche 1 Term Loan and Tranche 2 Term Loan under its existing senior credit facility, the 9.50% senior second lien secured notes, the 10.50% senior second lien secured notes, and the 6.00% senior notes due 2026, to pay related transaction fees and expenses, and for general corporate purposes of the Company.
  • The notes will be offered in the United States only to persons reasonably believed to be “qualified institutional buyers” pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act, and outside the United States only to non-U.S. persons pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act.

Acadia Healthcare Accelerates Access to Care With Uber Health

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Physical Therapy, Mental Health, Technology, Managed Care, Law Enforcement, Emergency Services, General Health, Public Policy, Government, Infectious Diseases, Hospitals, Delivery Services, Other Transport, Health, Health Technology, Transport, Apps, Applications, Retail, Other Health, Comprehensive, Opioid, Patient, MAT, Chinese, Addiction, Acadia Healthcare, Senior counsel, CTC, Nursing

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHC) today announced a collaboration with Uber Health (NYSE:UBER).

Key Points: 
  • Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHC) today announced a collaboration with Uber Health (NYSE:UBER).
  • The two companies are coming together to improve access to life-saving behavioral health care and addiction treatment by providing patients access to transportation, so they can begin treatment quickly and efficiently.
  • “By joining forces with Uber Health, Acadia Healthcare can quickly and easily connect patients with transportation to get the care they need, when they need it—and ultimately help improve patient outcomes at scale.”
    At many of its CTC facilities, Acadia has used Uber Health for the past few years to provide transportation for patients.
  • The Uber Health platform allows Acadia to deliver care early in the patient’s recovery cycle.

Echodyne Showcases MESA Radars at Milipol Asia-Pacific TechX Summit 2024 Amidst Expanding Footprint in the Asian Market

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Hardware, Other Defense, White House, Federal Government, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Government Technology, Technology, Law Enforcement, Emergency Services, Robotics, Homeland Security, Defense, Public Policy, Government, Military, Drones, Other Technology, MESA, Customer, Interior, Partner, Critical infrastructure protection, ESA, Swap, Epcot, ISR, Venetian Expo, Homeland security, Convention center, HTX, Radar, C-UAS, COTS

Echodyne , the radar platform company, is pleased to announce it will be exhibiting at the Milipol Asia-Pacific TechX Summit 2024 , Asia Pacific’s largest Homeland Security event taking place at Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore over April 3-5, 2024.

Key Points: 
  • Echodyne , the radar platform company, is pleased to announce it will be exhibiting at the Milipol Asia-Pacific TechX Summit 2024 , Asia Pacific’s largest Homeland Security event taking place at Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore over April 3-5, 2024.
  • Echodyne’s attendance at the event is marked by increasing regional demand for the company’s patented metamaterials electronically scanned array (MESA®) radar technology.
  • Echodyne has recently expanded its Asia team to serve an expanding customer base, meet rising interest, and assist with and accelerate integrations for Partners and Customers.
  • Customers are learning that spatial accuracy is critical to overall solution performance, and Echodyne radars offer class-leading airspace precision at commercial prices.

Texan by Nature Announces 2024 Conservation Wranglers

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 1, 2024
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Climate Change, Agriculture, Natural Resources, Outdoors, Other Energy, Public Policy, Government, Foundation, Energy, Science, Other Education, Other Philanthropy, Education, Other Science, Thought Leadership, Sports, Training, Sustainability, Family, Environment, Social Services, Teens, Consumer, Children, Environmental Issues, Other Professional Services, Environmental Health, Marketing, Communications, Professional Services, Philanthropy, State, Local, Other Natural Resources, Health, Organization, Farm, Partnership, San Antonio Bay, School, Lead, Strategic planning, PEEP, TXN, Love, Plastic, Creativity, Geography, Recreation, Wrangler

Texan by Nature (TxN), a conservation non-profit, today announces the selection of the 2024 TxN Conservation Wranglers.

Key Points: 
  • Texan by Nature (TxN), a conservation non-profit, today announces the selection of the 2024 TxN Conservation Wranglers.
  • Conservation Wrangler is an accelerator program that catalyzes the very best Texan-led conservation projects occurring in the state.
  • The Texan by Nature team will work with the four 2024 Conservation Wranglers and provide 12-18 months of tailored support in program management, strategic planning, marketing strategy, metrics capture and analysis including the production of a Return on Conservation™ Index for select projects, professional content creation, and partnership development – whatever is needed to accelerate the project.
  • We look forward to sharing progress and opportunities to engage with these outstanding programs.”
    Texan by Nature will recognize the 2024 Conservation Wranglers at the annual Conservation Summit on October 23, 2024, in Dallas, TX at the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

TrueMedia.org Launches Free AI-Enabled Deepfake Detector to Help Newsrooms Across the Country

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Technology, White House, Federal Government, State, Local, Communications, Social Media, Security, Photography, Software, Artificial Intelligence, Audio, Video, Public Policy, Government, News, Organization, University, News Literacy Project, Social media, Deepfake, University of Washington, AI, Google Drive, University at Buffalo, Military personnel, Clemson University, Stanford University, Allen Institute, Multimedia, Pew

View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240401746492/en/

Key Points: 
  • View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240401746492/en/
    The free tool is currently available to government officials, fact checkers, campaign staff, universities, non-profits, and reporters of accredited news organizations – from progressive to conservative and everyone in between.
  • The organization has partnered with best-in-class technology providers, researchers, and leading academic labs to create a useful, easy to use, and highly accurate tool.
  • TrueMedia.org’s technology has the ability to analyze suspicious media and identify deepfakes over 90% of the time across audio, images, and videos.
  • “Generative AI has made it harder for experts like journalists, academics, researchers and misinformation specialists to recognize real content from fakes.

Ayodele Okeowo, Senior Commerce Department and CHIPS Program Office Official, Joins Tusk Strategies to Further Grow Federal Capabilities and CHIPS Act Practice

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 1, 2024
Consulting, Public Relations, Investor Relations, Fintech, Public Policy, Government, Communications, Professional Services, White House, Federal Government, Data Analytics, State, Local, CHIPS, Socialization, Organization, White, Internet, Ayodele, Policy, MD, Bloomberg, Commerce, Creativity, Democrat

He will be a senior member of Tusk’s DC office and CHIPS Act Practice .

Key Points: 
  • He will be a senior member of Tusk’s DC office and CHIPS Act Practice .
  • Ayodele also served as a spokesperson for the program, engaging in nationwide events, on-the-record interviews, podcasts, and other efforts with press, media, and stakeholders.
  • Said Bernadette Carrillo , MD + Head of the CHIPS Act Practice, “Ayodele has been a leading figure in implementing one of the country’s most ambitious industrial policy rollouts.
  • I have seen firsthand the impact of his work through collaborating on strategy and executing it while working together at Commerce.

YesCare has Joined Leading Multiagency Initiative on Opioid Use

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Public Policy, Government, Law Enforcement, Emergency Services, Mental Health, State, Local, Health, Managed Care, General Health, Mental health, Policy, SAMHSA, Partnership, ADOC, Prison, MAT, Public, Patient, Recidivism, Psychological abuse, Opioid use disorder, Federal Prison Camp, Pensacola, Senior counsel, Lean Six Sigma, Opioid, Substance Abuse, Nursing

This multiagency initiative focused on Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in prisons will be a collaboration led by SAMHSA (the federal agency charged with advancing behavioral health since 1992) along with YesCare, ADOC, the Alabama Department of Mental Health, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole, and the State Opioid Treatment Authority.

Key Points: 
  • This multiagency initiative focused on Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in prisons will be a collaboration led by SAMHSA (the federal agency charged with advancing behavioral health since 1992) along with YesCare, ADOC, the Alabama Department of Mental Health, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole, and the State Opioid Treatment Authority.
  • The Policy Academy is a part of the Biden-Harris Administration's efforts to address the opioid overdose epidemic and to support recovery among Americans experiencing substance use disorders.
  • “Through this partnership, Alabama will be on the leading edge of MAT implementation, and success here will allow for an optimized roll out of improved programs nationwide,” said Jeff Sholey, CEO of YesCare.
  • “To be selected by SAMHSA for this initiative reflects a true testament to the partnership we share with ADOC, and the common dedication we have in helping those with Opioid Use Disorders.