Biden Bits: “Hope & Confidence”

September 9, 2024 12:08 pm EDT Tiff Biden Tweets (Open Thread) Comments Off on Biden Bits: “Hope & Confidence”
Biden Tweets Logo. Image by Lenny Ghoul.

It’s Monday…

President Biden’s public schedule for 09/09/2024:

9:45 AM
Out-of-Town Pool
Out-of-Town Pool Call Time
10:00 AM
In-Town Pool
In-Town Pool Call Time
11:35 AM
Out-of-Town Pool

The President and The First Lady depart Wilmington, Delaware en route to Fort Lesley J. McNair
12:35 PM
In-Town Travel Pool

The President and The First Lady depart Fort Lesley J. McNair en route to the White House
12:45 PM
North Grounds In-Town Travel Pool

The President and The First Lady arrive to the White House
1:15 PM
Oval Office Closed Press

The President receives the President’s Daily Brief
1:30 PM
James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre
5:00 PM
South Lawn Open Press

The President delivers remarks to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act and to mark Disability Pride Month

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre @1:30 PM D.C., time:

President Biden Delivers Remarks Celebrating Disability Pride Month @5:00 PM D.C., time:


Jobs Report Tweets

From Friday…

From Saturday…

BLS.gov said Friday:

Payroll employment rises by 142,000 in August; unemployment rate changes little at 4.2%

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 142,000 in August, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in construction and health care.

[snip]

Construction employment rose by 34,000 in August, higher than the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, heavy and civil engineering construction added 14,000 jobs, and employment in nonresidential specialty trade contractors continued to trend up (+14,000).

Health care added 31,000 jobs in August, about half the average monthly gain of 60,000 over the prior 12 months. In August, employment rose in ambulatory health care services (+24,000) and hospitals (+10,000).

[snip]

In August, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 14 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $35.21. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.8 percent. In August, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 11 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $30.27. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

[snip]

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised down by 61,000, from +179,000 to +118,000, and the change for July was revised down by 25,000, from +114,000 to +89,000. With these revisions, employment in June and July combined is 86,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)

Payroll employment rises by 142,000 in August; unemployment rate changes little at 4.2%. 09/06/2024.

Statement from President Joe Biden on the August Jobs Report:

Today’s report showed unemployment fell to 4.2% and another 142,000 jobs were created last month. Thanks to our work to rescue the economy, nearly 16 million new jobs have been created, wages and incomes are rising faster than prices, businesses are investing in America, and millions of entrepreneurs are opening small businesses—acts of hope and confidence in our economy. With inflation back down close to normal levels, it is important to focus on sustaining the historic gains we have made for American workers.

The Vice President and I are fighting to expand opportunity and grow the middle class. We will keep working to support American workers and businesses, and to lower housing and health care costs for hardworking Americans. The last thing we should do is turn back to the failed trickle-down economics pushed by Congressional Republicans, like cutting taxes for the wealthy and large corporations, raising taxes on middle class families by nearly $4,000 per year, or cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act.

Statement from President Joe Biden on the August Jobs Report. 09/06/2024.

Economic Reporter for NYT Ben Casselman:

September’s jobs report will be released on 10/04/2024.

Executive Order/Rural Economy Tweets

From Friday…

The White House is still slow playing posting his remarks; the YouTube is 35 minute and 14 seconds long.

From the White House…

09/06/2024:

From Sunday…

From Saturday…

The below tweet is from;

The video is 38 seconds long.

From the White House…

09/05/2024:

Remarks by President Biden Highlighting How His Investing in America Agenda is Benefitting Communities Across Wisconsin and Ensuring Americans Have a Brighter, More Prosperous Future | Westby, WI; the YouTube is 27 minutes and 18 seconds long.

President Biden begins the clip facing the camera; Rural America is Making a comeback.

Today’s historic announcement of $7.3 billion for rural electric co-ops builds on those steps.  It means clean, affordable electricity for over 5 million rural households and businesses across 23 states.  It means 20,000 jobs — good-paying, high-quality jobs, including union jobs, so rural America is empowered to lead our clean energy future.  (Applause.) 

[snip]

Folks, all these investment means family farms can stay in the family, rural entrepreneurs can build their dreams, your children and grandchildren won’t have to leave home to make a living. 

[snip]

Because we’re spreading opportunities that benefit everyone, building a future where no one is left behind, growing an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down.  Because when you do that, everybody does well — everybody does well.

Remarks by President Biden Highlighting How His Investing in America Agenda is Benefitting Communities Across Wisconsin and Ensuring Americans Have a Brighter, More Prosperous Future | Westby, WI; the YouTube is 27 minutes and 18 seconds long. 09/05/2024.

Border Crossings Are Down Tweet

From Saturday…

Welcome to the White House Tweet

From Saturday…

Jack Schlossberg is the only grandson of former President John F. Kennedy (I didn’t know that, so I’m telling you in case you didn’t know that either)…

He posted on Instagram marking his visit to the White House…

Mental Health Tweet

From Monday…

The video is 59 seconds long.

From the White House…

07/25/2023:

Remarks by President Biden on Expanding Access to Mental Health Care; the YouTube is 26 minutes and 48 seconds long. President Biden begins his remarks at the 10 minute and 34 second mark.

I’ve heard from mental health professionals across the country describing a system that’s falling short.  One therapist wrote to me who primarily treats teenagers, including some who are having suicidal thoughts.  And he said when his patients need to be hospitalized to save their lives, insurance companies often deny the claims — often deny the claims. 

[snip]

As a result, folks with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, bipolar disorders, eating disorders, addiction, and other illnesses often go without care.  Period.  And you know how that ends, many times. 

[snip]

Here is what it means.  Almost 15 years ago, the bipartisan Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act became law.  It called for health insurance companies to cover mental healthcare and treatment for substance abuse at the same levels of physical healthcare.  Because just like when you break your bone — a bone or have a heart attack, when you’re having a mental health crisis, you should be able to get help — medical help, professional help.   

[snip]

Folks, this mental health crisis is something we need to face together as a country.  We have a moral obligation, in my view, to be there for each other, to reach out — reach to our neighbors in grief and stress and trauma and despair.  Reach out to them to offer help or just a listening ear; to have the courage to ask for help when we need it.  And it’s hard, because we know that even when it feels as dark as it can get, we aren’t alone.  It’s important for people to realize they’re not alone. 

That’s what I want everyone — that’s what I want for everyone in America: not to feel isolated and alone, to know their country has their back and their President has their back.

Remarks by President Biden on Expanding Access to Mental Health Care; the YouTube is 26 minutes and 48 seconds long. President Biden begins his remarks at the 10 minute and 34 second mark. 07/25/2023.

09/09/2024:

FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Lowers Mental Health Care Costs by Improving Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Care

President Biden and Vice President Harris announce historic final rule that will ensure mental health care coverage for 175 million Americans is on par with their physical health care coverage

President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that health care is a right, not a privilege, and that mental health care is health care – period. But for millions of Americans, care for mental health and substance use conditions is still hard to find and hard to afford. Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is taking a step toward changing that, by placing new requirements on health plans that will improve and strengthen access to mental health care for 175 million Americans with private health insurance.
 
Statement from the President: “Mental health care is health care. But for far too many Americans, critical care and treatments are out of reach. Today, my Administration is taking action to address our nation’s mental health crisis by ensuring mental health coverage will be covered at the same level as other health care for Americans. There is no reason that breaking your arm should be treated differently than having a mental health condition. The steps my Administration is taking today will dramatically expand access to mental health care in America.”
 
Statement from the Vice President: “President Biden and I are committed to ensuring that every person in our country has the mental health care they need to thrive. That is why we made the largest investment in youth mental health in history and are transforming how mental health is understood, perceived, and treated for all Americans. Today, we are building on this lifesaving and lifechanging work by announcing the finalization of a historic rule that will expand mental health care across our nation so more of our loved ones, neighbors, coworkers, and classmates receive the care they deserve. As someone who has spent my entire career fighting to improve the health and well-being of all Americans, I will never stop working to ensure that health care is a right – not just a privilege for those who can afford it.”
 
For over 15 years, robust access to mental health care has been a bipartisan priority. Thanks to the 2008 enactment of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), which was further strengthened in 2020 on a bipartisan basis, health plans that cover mental health and substance use care benefits must do so at the same level as physical health care benefits. But despite this landmark law, too many Americans still struggle to find and afford the care they need. In 2020, less than half of all adults with mental illness received treatment.  For children, the numbers are even worse: nearly 70 percent of our kids who seek care for mental health or substance use cannot get it. That’s in part because insurers too often make it difficult to access mental health treatment, causing millions of consumers to have high out-of-pocket costs because they go out-of-network, or defer care altogether. One study shows that insured people are nearly four times as likely go out-of-network and pay higher fees for mental health care than for physical health care. And the problem is getting worse: in recent years, the gap between usage of out-of-network care for mental health and substance use disorder benefits versus physical health benefits increased 85 percent. 
 
Today’s final rule strengthens consumer protections by reinforcing MHPAEA’s fundamental purpose that all Americans should have the same access to mental health and substance use benefits as they do physical health benefits. And it will help lower families’ health care costs by making it easier to access mental health and substance use care and getting rid of barriers that keep people from getting the care they need, when they need it, for a price they can afford.  Specifically, the final rule will:

FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Lowers Mental Health Care Costs by Improving Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Care. 09/09/2024.
  • Require health plans to make changes when they are providing inadequate access to mental health and substance use care. In 2020, Congress made changes to MHPAEA that require health plans to conduct meaningful comparative analyses to make sure that they are not making it harder for individuals to access mental health and substance use benefits than it is to access medical benefits.  Today’s new requirements make it clear that health plans need to evaluate their provider networks, how much they pay out-of-network providers, and how often they require – and deny – prior authorizations. The outcomes of these evaluations will show plans where they are failing to meet the law’s requirements, and where they will need to make changes to come into compliance, like adding more mental health and substance use professionals to their networks or reducing red tape for providers to deliver care.
  • Make it clear what health plans can and cannot do. Health plans cannot use more restrictive prior authorization, or other medical management techniques, or narrower networks to make it harder for people to access mental health and substance use disorder benefits than their medical benefits. Health plans also have to use similar factors in setting out-of-network payment rates for mental health and substance use disorder providers as they do for medical providers.
  • Close existing loopholes. When MHPAEA was first enacted, it did not require non-federal governmental health plans, like those offered to state and local government employees, to comply with its requirements. Today’s final rule closes that loophole, and now requires more than 200 additional health plans to comply with MHPAEA, providing critical protections to 120,000 consumers. 

Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, these new requirements will help more people get the mental health and substance use care they need while also making sure that mental health and substance use care professionals are paid fairly, likely incentivizing more people to join the mental health workforce.  In addition to today’s final rule, the Department of Health and Human Services is also releasing new tools for states to ensure compliance with MHPAEA’s critical protections for the millions of Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in private Medicaid health plans.

FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Lowers Mental Health Care Costs by Improving Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Care. 09/09/2024.

“New” from the White House…

09/09/2024:

09/07/2024:

09/06/2024:

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About Tiff 3036 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.