The State of our Union

President Biden and the Democrats delivered and they will keep on doing so.  Stay tuned!

Stop the REACH program from taking over Medicare!

In 2020, the Trump Administration launched a new policy “experiment” designed to privatize Traditional Medicare.

Under this model, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has moved millions of Traditional Medicare beneficiaries into mostly commercial, for-profit plans called Direct Contracting Entities, without the enrollees’ full understanding or consent.

In ways similar to commercial Medicare Advantage plans, these entities have a financial incentive to interfere with care decisions and waste taxpayer dollars when compared with the efficiency of Traditional Medicare.

The Biden Administration has renamed this program “REACH” and made it even more generous to industry. But privatization by any name threatens the future of Medicare as we know it.

Stop REACH

What is ACO-Reach?

According to Republicans in congress, the ACO-Reach program is the answer to Medicare recipients’ woes. Not so, say Democrats! According the CMS.GOV, “The ACO Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH) Model encourages health care providers — including primary and specialty care doctors, hospitals, and others — to come together to form an Accountable Care Organization, or ACO. ACOs break down silos and deliver high-quality, coordinated care to their patients, improve health outcomes, and manage costs.” However, a closer analysis shows that more money will go to administrators of this plan and less to benefits. If you would like to learn more, here is a link to a video presentation. Have a watch! Exposing the profiteers behind Medicare REACH

Sissa Harris Elected to Chair the Lake County DCC for 2023-2024

Sissa Harris

Chair Lake County Democratic Central Committee

Sissa (it rhymes with Lisa) Harris moved to Lake County in 1980. She is the granddaughter of Swedish immigrants, born in the Midwest, but moved to California in childhood. Sissa’s career was primarily in Human Services. In Lake County, she worked for NCO Rural Communities’ Child Care where she was a Resource and Referral Specialist; AWARE (Abused Women A Recovery Environment) where she was a Teaching and Demonstrating Homemaker for residents under Family Maintenance contracts with CPS, Director of the Lake County Arts Council, and finally accepted a position that she held for 20 years in the Extended Opportunity Program and Services (EOPS) department of Woodland Community College.

In her off hours, and into retirement, Sissa also served as an adjunct professor of Sociology, Psychology and Human Services at both Woodland Community College and Mendocino College, and as a Teaching Assistant in the CSU Chico Sociology Department. Teaching was very rewarding; she says “Assisting students in understanding complex material is just the best!”

Sissa holds a Masters of Art from Sonoma State University in Depth Psychology. Her Bachelors of Art is from California State University Chico in Sociology. She obtained her Associates Degree from Yuba College, Clear Lake Campus (now the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College).

In her personal life, she has 6 grown kids and 11 grandchildren. Sissa enjoys keeping up with all of them and their educational and career pursuits. She also enjoys traveling, outdoor sports (kayaking in particular), making art and music, and being involved in making the Lake County community a better place to live. She appreciate learning about people’s stories, histories, and worldview – and other ways of being in the world.

As a Democrat, she was elected as the Chair of the Lake County Democratic Central Committee in 2023. Prior to that Sissa served on the Elections Committee, where she was appointed Chair for the 2021-2022 election cycle. She has been a delegate to the CADEM conventions since 2017, and is a member of the Women’s Caucus, Rural Caucus and Senior Caucus. She also is a past Ex-Officio alternate for John Garamendi.

Congratulations to our 2022 Endorsed Candidates for their successful campaigns

 

 

When the results were announced for the November 2022 election, we were thrilled to see that our endorsed candidates had all won their races.  Congratulations to:

Dirk Slooten, Clearlake City Council

Douglas Harris, District 7 Yuba Community College Board of Trustees

Rick Winer, Kelseyville USD Board

Larry Allen, Middletown USD Board

These candidates join our other endorsed candidates who were the top vote getters in their races in June.

Susan Krones, Lake County District Attorney

Patrick Sullivan, Lake County Treasurer – Tax Collector

Charise Reynolds, Middletown USD Board

Thank you to all who stepped up to run, to donate, to reach out to voters and who showed up and voted.  We continue to say, “We never get tired of winning!”

The full results can be viewed at: https://www.lakecountyca.gov/880/Final-Election-Results

If you are interested in exploring a run for office in Lake County, please contact Gillian Parrillo, Chair of the Elections Committee.  Email to: democratsoflakecounty@gmail.com.

We are eager to assist you in making a decision that is right for you.

Thank a Democrat!

How YOU will benefit from IRA