16 minute read
From The Editor
Last spring, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first new Alzheimer’s disease therapy since 2003. For the 6 million-plus people living with the fatal disease in the U.S., the availability of a medicine designed to treat the underlying cause of their ailment was a significant breakthrough.
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However, it appears very few of those 6 million Alzheimer’s patients will receive this promising new treatment because of regulators at the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
CMS is the federal government office that oversees health coverage of more than 100 million people through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Health Insurance Marketplace. One of the agency’s main functions is strengthening and modernizing the nation’s health care system to provide access to high quality care at lower costs.
In January, CMS launched a process called a National Coverage Determination (NCD) to decide if Medicare would pay for this newly approved Alzheimer’s therapy. Their draft decision: Medicare, the insurer of roughly 62 million Americans, would not cover this medicine.
The proposed NCD applies to an entire class of Alzheimer’s drugs, which could impact the current FDA approved drug, aducanumab, as well as future drug therapies in this class. Given the regulatory governance granted to the FDA by Congressional order, it is my opinion this element of the NCD is over-reaching and creates a divisive relationship between two of the most critical federal agencies in the country, FDA and CMS.
This decision would also require certain Alzheimer drugs already in development (which may have different demographic and efficacy profiles) to be subjected to a CED process that lacks its own data and does not take into consideration diversity, inclusion, and efficacy.
Furthermore, and most important, the proposed NCD betrays the commitment articulated by President Joe Biden in his Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.
“Equal opportunity is the bedrock of American democracy, and our diversity is one of our country’s greatest strengths. But for too many, the American Dream remains out of reach. Entrenched disparities in our laws and public policies, and in our public and private institutions, have often denied that equal opportunity to individuals and communities,” Biden states in the document.
“Our country faces converging economic, health, and climate crises that have exposed and exacerbated inequities, while a historic movement for justice has highlighted the unbearable human costs of systemic racism,” the president’s statement continued.
“Our Nation deserves an ambitious whole-of-government equity agenda that matches the scale of the opportunities and challenges that we face. It is therefore the policy of my Administration that the Federal Government should pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”
I know that CMS is fully aware that Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating disease that affects more than 6 million Americans, 80% of whom are Medicare beneficiaries. Among Americans 65 and older, Blacks have the highest percentage of Alzheimer’s disease, 13.8%, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In fact, the Alzheimer’s Association reports that older Blacks are twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s disease than whites.
African Americans are also mostly likely to be undiagnosed for Alzheimer’s Disease, according to the National Institutes of Health. Therefore, we are also most likely to be untreated.
This issue is very personal for me.
My grandmother lost her fight to Alzheimer’s Disease in 2017. I often watched her feeling helpless as she suffered from this horrifying and painful disease.
Like my grandma, millions of other grandparents, parents and loved ones bear the burdens of this disease and die from it every day.
What would it take for us to do right by them? For us to make sure that as we search for a cure, people who are living with it are receiving the best possible treatments?
CMS must modify its proposed determination to cover all FDA-approved Alzheimer’s therapies. This would give patients, social workers and physicians the ability to make collaborative decisions in the best interests of those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Isadore Hall is a former California State Senator and Assemblymember from the Los Angeles Area. He currently sits on the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board.
“Riding in Limos With A King"
Last month I had the occasion to be honored by the SCLC with the MLK Community Service award at the 6th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Sacrifice Community/Labor
Luncheon, Aside from it being a privilege, it brought me full circle with a very idyllic part of my past I rarely share. =Ironic too, given that part of my childhood was spent running around the SCLC’s first headquarters on Western Avenue where my Dad was executive director, serving with the late Thomas Kilgore. In his position, my Dad was responsible for orchestrating all of
Dr. Martin Luther King’s trips to the west coast and because of it, the civil rights icon was a frequent visitor at our home and a family friend.
I recalled the last time I saw Dr. King, having awakened late one Saturday morning to find him sitting at our kitchen table putting the finishing touches on what was probably the last speech he would give in
Los Angeles. My Dad had taken my brothers somewhere and it was just Dr. King and I. He looked up, greeted me and then told me where my Dad had left breakfast. He went back to his work and I went back to my room.”
I don’t recall when Dr. King came into our lives.
He was just that much a part of the fabric of my childhood and yet while I might have been too young to understand the magnitude of just how he was changing the world, I was keenly aware of his celebrity.
My brothers and I had arrived with him years earlier to what has been described at one of the largest civil rights rallies in the country, drawing somewhere between 20,000-40,000 depending upon what news account you read. It is one of my most vivid earliest memories with Dr. King. The limousine we were riding in was directed to the middle of this huge stadium that I now know to have been Wrigley Field. I remember Sammy Davis Jr. coming to the car to escort Dr. King to the stage. We were not allowed to get out of the car.
The last thing my Dad wanted to be concerned about–next to the safety of Dr. King– was the safety of his three kids. Instead, people surrounded the car and took pictures of us, surmising that we must be Dr. King’s kids.
Sometime later, Dr. King, Rev. Bernard Lee (Uncle Bernard to us) my Dad and Wyatt T. Walker got back into the car and for a moment, I was terrified as throngs of people surrounded the limo and wouldn’t allow it to move. My Dad motioned to me not to cry. I looked over at Dr. King who was cool as a cucumber laughing, chatting away with the other pastors. Finally, a police escort was sent to clear the way.
Celebrity aside, I didn’t know the civil rights icon. I knew the man. I knew that if Dr. King was in town, our house would be filled with pastors and laughter and lots of joke telling. There would be lots of soul food and Dr. King loved a good fatburger. Our phones were tapped, and because of death threats we were routinely followed by local feds whenever Dr. King was in town. My Dad would say it was because they didn’t want him to be assassinated in Los Angeles, but they knew he would be assassinated somewhere.
Because of Dr. King, we had a billiards table in our house so he could shoot pool. We got to go to movie premieres for SCLC with Dr. King. We had Xernona Clayton as a pseudo godmother and frequent babysitter and we got to meet people like Sammy Davis Jr. and Marlon Brando.
Even now, when I think about it I am struck by how a man who came to be a national monument was so human. He used to joke about a Mr. Flunk. After an
event in the car or at the house or with a group of preachers, Mr. Flunk would be a frequent topic of conversation. They’d say did you see Flunk? Then Bernard Lee or someone else would say, ‘He was there, but we beat him’. I never ever saw this Mr. Flunk though and for a long time–even with them talking about him so much–he remained a mystery. Then one day, my brothers and I went with my Dad to drop Dr. King off at the airport. Back then, my Dad would send us kids ahead to tell them to hold the plane for Dr. King and they would. This time I stayed behind, and overheard Dr. King telling my Dad, ‘Mansfield, I think flunk has got us this time. I don’t think we’re going to make this plane. I don’t know how old I was, but in that moment, I knew that Mr. Flunk wasn’t a man at all, and I came to understand that no matter how famous we are, how much we’ve accomplished and how noble our cause, we are still human enough to fail if we allow Mr. Flunk to L.A. Focus/ May 2022 have the upper hand. Fast forward to today. It’s difficult to convey the impact of growing up in the presence of great men. Hard not to dream big when you’re surrounded by people who do. It is with a great deal of gratitude that I can sayI am who I am because of a foundation I was privileged to have experienced and been inspired by. 4 Keep the faith. LISA COLLINS Publisher
UpFront
President Biden Issues First Pardons, Details New Steps for Criminal Justice Reform
STACY M BROWN
NNPA Newswire
President Joe Biden announced he’s using his clemency powers for the first time, issuing commutations for 75 drug offenders.
Biden also issued three pardons, including to the first Black Secret Service agent to work on a presidential detail, who had long professed his innocence.
“Helping those who served their time return to their families and become contributing members of their communities is one of the most effective ways to reduce recidivism and decrease crime,” Biden stated.
The president added that those receiving clemency had “demonstrated their commitment to rehabilitation and are striving every day to give back and contribute to their communities.”
The clemency recipients include Abraham Bolden, an 86-year-old former U.S. Secret Service agent and the first African American to serve on a presidential detail.
In 1964, authorities charged Bolden with offenses related to attempting to sell a copy of a Secret Service file.
His first trial resulted in a hung jury.
Following his conviction at a second trial, even though crucial witnesses against him admitted to lying at the prosecutor’s request, the court denied Bolden a new trial.
He has maintained his innocence, arguing that he was targeted for prosecution in retaliation for exposing unprofessional and racist behavior within the U.S. Secret Service.
Bolden has received numerous honors and awards for his ongoing work to speak out against the racism he faced in the Secret Service in the 1960s and his courage in challenging injustice.
Betty Jo Bogans also counted among those cleared by Biden.
A jury convicted the 51-year-old in 1998 for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in the Southern District of Texas.
Authorities said she attempted to transport drugs for her boyfriend and his accomplice, neither of whom were detained or arrested.
At the time of her conviction, the White House said Bogans was a single mother with no prior record who accepted responsibility for her limited role in the offense.
“Because of the harsh penalties in place at the time she was convicted, Ms. Bogan received a seven-year sentence,” the White House said in a statement. In the nearly two decades since her release from custody, Bogans has held consistent employment, even while undergoing treatment for cancer, and has focused on raising her son.
Administration officials signaled that the president would no longer wait on Congress for needed criminal justice reform.
Biden announced a $145 million plan to provide job skills training to federal inmates to help them gain work when they are released.
He added the implementation of new steps to support those re-entering society after incarceration.
Those steps include a new collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Labor to provide job training; new grants for workforce development programs; greater opportunities to serve in the federal government; expanded access to capital for people with convictions trying to start a small business; improved reentry services for veterans; and more support for health care, housing, and educational opportunities.
“As I laid out in my comprehensive strategy to reduce gun crime, helping those who served their time return to their families and become contributing members of their communities is one of the most effective ways to reduce recidivism and decrease crime,” Biden remarked. “While (this) announcement marks important progress, my Administration will continue to review clemency petitions and deliver reforms that advance equity and justice, provide second chances, and enhance the wellbeing and safety of all Americans.”
Dodgers Dreamteam is Rebranded with Renewed Commitment to Underserved Communities
KEITH DELAWDER
Contributor
The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) is launching the rebrand of one of their tent-pole programs, Dodgers Dreamteam (formerly Dodgers RBI), with their continued commitment to bring barrier-free sports-based youth development programs— which are typically reserved for the elite— to communities of color across the greater Los Angeles area. The program, which launched nearly a decade ago by giving 2,000 kids in the city of L.A. the opportunity to play baseball and softball, now serves over 12,000 kids in 88 different locations across the region.
LADF C.E.O. Nichol Whiteman, who was responsible for founding the program back in 2013, tells L.A. Focus that Dodgers Dreamteam remains focused on bringing high-quality programming to the kids that is “bigger than baseball” and aims to provide an outlet for holistic selfimprovement.
“We know that our families come to us because they want to play the game of baseball,” says Whiteman. “But also, changing the lives and the trajectory of the youth that we serve is most important to us and giving them access and opportunity so that they can thrive is our mission. We want to have an impact on a child by building self-confidence, giving them the opportunities to grow– it's
CEO Nichol White with Dreamteam youth. about creating the next generation of leaders, regardless of what zip code you live in.”
In order to accomplish their goals, Whiteman says they first had to assess the obstacles that typically plague lowerincome urban families from playing baseball.
“We talked to coaches and people in the baseball world here in L.A. and found that there was a severe lack of coaches because volunteer coaching in our communities can look very different than in wealthy communities,” says Whiteman. “We heard baseball was a really expensive sport so a lot of kids did not play because they could not access the equipment. We heard that field space was a problem and there was a lack of quality baseball fields in the communities that we serve. So we had this long list of the impediments to entry for baseball in our communities and we came to the table and said, if we can be the big partner, the big sponsor, the big supporter, the big advocate, who removes all these barriers to a child playing sports, think about all of the social, emotional learning and just all of the skills they can gain from participating in sports that can help move them in a different direction.”
From the beginning Whiteman and LADF have been very intentional about bringing the game of baseball to black communities who have seen a waning of popularity for the sport in recent years.
“A lot of it has to do with access given the challenges that we found when we were launching Dodgers RBI in the first place,” says Whiteman. “A lot of it has to do with money, with exposure, with-seeing yourself in coaches. A lot has to do with the game historically not looking like it's for us even as you watch it on TV, so a big part of our goals are increasing the percentage of black kids that come out for baseball,” says Whiteman.
“We have done that year over year with both black youth and with girls. We believe that if you can actually put it in front of a community that may not feel like it is for them, then you can change
State Audit Confirms Bias in Five California Police Agencies
A report recently released by the California state auditor found that officers in five of the state’s law enforcement agencies–the L.A. Sheriff; the police departments of San Bernardino, San José, and Stockton; and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation–had engaged in biased conduct either during their on-duty interactions with individuals or online through their social media posts.
“What we found is that these five departments have not adequately guarded against biased conduct among their officers,” Acting California State Auditor Michael Tilden stated in a follow up letter to Governor Gavin Newsom.
The report was undertaken to assess their efforts to guard against officers' biased conduct. Among the findings: • They have not used sufficient strategies to achieve diversity in hiring. • They have not implemented robust community engagement strategies or employee training practices. • They have not conducted adequate investigations of biased behavior.
The report offered specific recommendations about steps each department could take to better ensure fair and impartial policing services, including screening for bias in applicants, better tracking and identifying instances of bias, and installing more cameras in police facilities.
New Breath Test Detects COVID in Less Than Three Minutes
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of diagnos- tics and drugs to test and treat it have led a revolution in medical research and a deluge of new therapies in the pipeline. Among them is a breath test that can detect the coronavirus in less than three minutes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency use authorization for the InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer that must be performed by a qualified, trained operator. “Today’s authorization is yet another example of the rapid innovation occurring with diagnostic tests for COVID19,” said Jeff Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “The FDA continues to support the development of novel COVID-19 tests with the goal of advancing technologies that can help address the current pandemic and better position the U.S. for the next public health emergency.” The test was found to have 91.2% accurate in the identification of positive test samples and 99.3% accurate in correctly identifying negative samples which is expected to increase testing capacity by approximately 64,000 samples per month. It will take time for the devices to be produced in mass quantity, but they are projected to hit the market by midsummer.
