NCL statement on bank data breach – National Consumers League

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August 29, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC-The National Consumers League reacted to the recent news that hackers infiltrated the security systems of the nation’s largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, as well as four additional smaller banks by reiterating the need for major legislative reforms to protect consumer information. This call to action is the mission of NCL’s latest campaign — the #DataInsecurity Project — to raise awareness about the impact of data breaches on consumer confidence in the marketplace.

NCL’s Executive Director, Sally Greenberg, stated “Like the rest of the public, we are just learning that yet another major American institution, this time one of the nation’s largest banks, has reportedly fallen victim to a sophisticated hacking scheme. This underscores the need for comprehensive federal legislation ondata security that includes a) breach notification to consumers whose accounts have been potentially compromised; b) requirements that companies use state of the art data security technologies, c)empowers federal enforcement agencies like the FTC,” NCL is calling for a national consensus to act and we need to agree on a roadmap to getting there. This involves consumers, business, government and law enforcement sitting down and committing to a process.

NCL has hosted meetings in Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago this summer and hopes to hold a similar meeting in Minneapolis to examine the impact of data breaches on consumers and what steps can be taken to address this massive and growing problem. “Consumers are asked to hand over more and more private financial and personal data to big institutions like banks, retail establishments and government.Consumers must be confident that their data receives the best possible protections to ensure that thisinformation is not getting into the wrong hands,” Greenberg said. NCL is calling on Congress, federal agencies, state attorneys general and other regulatory and law enforcement bodies to develop and adopt robust policies to protect the public’s information

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL applauds Microsoft disassociation with ALEC – National Consumers League

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August 27, 2014

Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (NCL) is applauding Microsoft and AstraZeneca’s recent decision to end its association with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director:

“ALEC has been at the forefront of efforts to roll back some of our nation’s most important consumer and worker protections on issues such as telecommunications deregulation, the Affordable Care Act, Wall Street reform, “right to work,” state usury caps, and more. We encourage other companies that express a commitment to consumer and worker protection to follow Microsoft and AstraZeneca’s lead and consider disassociating themselves from ALEC.”

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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Clinton’s “Hard Choices” a commitment to U.S. values when interacting with other nations – National Consumers League

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In Hillary Clinton’s fascinating new memoir “Hard Choices” about her work as Secretary of State under President Obama, she devotes a section to the issue of what she calls a “more open trading system,” arguing that it has lifted “more people out of poverty in the last thirty five years than any comparable time in history.” She quickly adds, knowing that the labor movement has looked with dismay at so called “free trade agreements” that have shipped jobs overseas to places where the pay is a fraction of ours, that she is “determined to do everything [she can] do to help American businesses and workers seize more of the legitimate opportunities already available.”

I was glad to read from the woman who may be the first viable female candidate for President that she puts a priority on raising standards in foreign markets on key issues like labor rights and environmental protection. She also notes that, “For too long we’d seen companies closing factories and leaving the United States because they could do business more cheaply in foreign countries where they didn’t have to pay workers a living wage or abide by U.S. rules on pollution.” In response, she believes that “using diplomacy and trade negotiations to raise standards abroad could help change that calculus.”

These are exactly the concerns that consumer groups have expressed through the Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue about the trade negotiations between the European Union Countries and the U.S.. We want our safety, health, and environmental regulations strengthened – not watered down – through the negotiation process.

Clinton feels “particularly passionate about improving working conditions around the world” and that she had met workers, “many of them women and even children, who labored under atrocious conditions.” Her observation that the most “heartbreaking were victims of human trafficking and forced labor that amounts to modern-day slavery,” hit close to home given NCL’s history of working to eradicate child labor. She talks about a meeting with women workers coordinated by the Solidarity Center in Cambodia. The Solidarity Center is an active member of the Child Labor Coalition, which NCL coordinates. She talked about children forced to “tend fields, bake bricks, and beg in the street,” and the scourge of child trafficking for sex. She event mentions her appointment of Ambassador Luis CdeBaca to “ramp up our global anti-trafficking efforts,” which he has done with a passion. Indeed, CdeBaca spoke at a recent CLC meeting about his work.

Finally, I loved that Clinton gave inspiration to labor activists in Bangladesh by reflecting on our own U.S. labor history, noting “You go back to the 19th and early 20th century when labor unions were just getting started…we passed laws at the beginning of the 20th century against child labor, against too many hours for people to work, but that took time. It took time to develop a sense of political will to address those issues.”

Clinton has written an important book but it’s also a page-turner. I learned more about how the U.S. makes decisions about foreign policy from this one tome – at 600 pages it IS a tome – than from anything else I’ve read. But most satisfying for me was the acknowledgement she gives to keeping front and center some core U.S. values – workers’ rights, safety, and environmental protection concerns in our interactions with nations abroad.

 

 

Women and families to tell lawmakers: #WEmatter – National Consumers League

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August 22, 2014

For immediate release: August 22, 2014
Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC – A growing number of people are calling for action to promote the economic security of women and families, building on the momentum and activism seen at the local, state and national levels so far this year, including at the first ever White House Summit on Working Families. 

Under the umbrella #WEmatter, organizations and individuals nationwide are taking to social media on Women’s Equality Day, August 26 – the 94th anniversary of the day Congress stopped denying women the right to vote.  Together, the groups aim to send a message to lawmakers: Women’s economic issues – and their votes – matter. The groups believe economic security is intrinsically linked to community security and in the midst of the tragedy of Ferguson, #WEmatter raises an important vision of economic, gender, and racial justice.

#WEmatter represents a unified call for action and accountability that is not limited to a single issue or policy prescription. Instead, the effort recognizes that a range of policy changes, such as fair pay, paid leave, fair schedules, quality care and an end to gender and racial discrimination, are needed to strengthen families and the economy.  

#WEmatter brings together a large and diverse group of individuals, organizations and coalitions currently working on a spectrum of issues with one common goal: ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.

Groups joining the effort include: 9to5, National Association of Working Women; American Association of University Women; A Better Balance; AFSCME; Black Women’s Roundtable; Center on Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Color of Change; Family Values @ Work and its 21 state coalitions; Interfaith Worker Justice; Labor Project for Working Families; Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO; Make It Work; Mi Familia Vota; MomsRising; National Consumers League; National Council of Jewish Women; National Domestic Workers Alliance; National Employment Law Project; National Partnership for Women & Families; National Women’s Law Center; OUR Walmart; Reproductive Health Technologies Project; ROC-United; UltraViolet; USAction; Women’s Voices Women Vote Action Fund; Working America. (List in formation.)

Individuals interested in following the movement on social media or learning more should follow #WEmatter on Twitter.  

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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL applauds Sen. Rockefeller for investigating airline fees – National Consumers League

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August 20, 2014

For immediate release: August 20, 2014
Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League, the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization, today applauded Senator Jay Rockefeller for opening an inquiry into airline passenger fees and consumer data privacy policies.

Last year, NCL published a groundbreaking report examining the troubling correlation between rising cancellation/change fees, the high cost of refundable tickets and the misleading marketing of travel insurance products. Among the recommendations in the report was a call for Congressional oversight hearings to examine these issues. NCL is therefore particularly encouraged by Senator Rockefeller’s request for information from ten major U.S. airlines about cancellation and change fees and travel insurance revenues.

The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, National Consumers League (NCL) Executive Director:

“Consumers are fed up with the ever-growing list of add-on fees that airlines are piling on top of basic airfares. These fees are contributing to record airline industry profits at a time when consumers’ travel budgets remain strapped due to the sluggish economic recovery. To make matters worse, many of these fees are poorly disclosed and the sale of travel of travel insurance and the coverage it provides is deceptively advertised. This makes comparison-shopping all but impossible for millions of American travelers. We applaud Senator Rockefeller for launching this important investigation and look forward to a robust accounting of the impact of these fees and deceptive insurance products on consumers.”

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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL releases consumer guide to buying fall concert, NFL tickets online – National Consumers League

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August 19, 2014

For immediate release: August 19, 2014
Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323

Washington, DC – With many of the top recording artists on tour through the fall and the NFL season about to kickoff, the National Consumers League (NCL) today released a “Practical Guide to Buying Live Event and Sports Tickets” to help fans navigate the often confusing and cumbersome process of buying tickets online.

Once as easy as going to the box office, stadium, or the local record store, buying tickets to live event and sporting events has become a maze of ticket websites, resellers, online classified ads, and street vendors all competing for consumer dollars.

“We want to make sure fans have the information they need to make the best ticket buying decisions; we also want to raise awareness about anti-consumer practices in the ticketing industry,” said NCL’s Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud John Breyault. “For example, fans should be on the lookout for restricted ticketing, undisclosed price floors, and deceptive websites that lure unsuspecting fans into buying resale tickets. NCL has developed a list of tips that will help consumers find their way through this thicket of potential problems.”  

Restricted ticketing, which ties the consumer’s ticket to their credit card and ID, makes it difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to transfer their tickets or share them. And the 30 million Americans who do not have a credit or debit card can’t even purchase this type of ticket in the first place.

“We think consumers should have the right to choose what they do with their tickets after purchase. If plans change, no one should have to lose 100 percent of the ticket value because they can’t give it away or resell it,” added Breyault.

In addition, some resale marketplaces, such as Ticketmaster’s TicketExchange, limit how low a ticket can be priced. That’s an outrageous practice. This price floor is not disclosed to consumers, who might think they’re getting a reasonable deal; in reality, there may be cheaper tickets available on other sites that don’t control prices.

However, when shopping for tickets online, particularly when doing an Internet search, consumers should be sure they know where they are buying their tickets from and whether it is a reseller or the box office that they are doing business with.

“Some ticket resellers create websites that pose as a box office or the official ticket seller. These are deceptive, and consumers should take the time to make sure they know if they are buying a resale ticket or not,” said Breyault.

To avoid these pitfalls and others, NCL suggests following these seven steps:

  1. Read the Fine Print: Artists are increasingly selling restricted tickets, also known as paperless or Credit Card Entry tickets, which require the buyer to show up at the stadium and present the purchasing credit card and photo ID. The premise for creation of the restricted ticket is to prevent scalping; the unintended consequence for consumers is that they cannot even give or resell a ticket to a friend since the buyer’s credit card is required to get the ticket at the venue. The fine print indicates these tickets are nontransferable and cannot be given away as gifts or resold. Consumers can easily miss this important information unless they pay close attention during the ticket buying process.
  2. Look into Presales: Popular artists, venues, and ticket vendors tend to allocate large blocks of tickets to fan club members, VIPs, premium credit card holders, and personal acquaintances, leaving only a small portion of tickets to the general public. For example, a 2011 Justin Bieber concert in Nashville, only made 1,001 out of 14,000 seats available to the general public.
  3. Beware of Hidden Price Floors: When purchasing resale tickets on secondary sites, check multiple sources to make sure you get the best price. Some teams and ticket vendors dictate the minimum price that tickets can be sold for, preventing consumers from buying tickets at the cheapest price possible.
  4. Use Reliable Sellers: If you’re unsure whether a company is legitimate, check its ratings with the Better Business Bureau. Also be sure to be certain as to whether you are buying tickets from the box office, official ticket agent, or a reseller. Some ticket resellers hide the fact that they are a reseller or even pose to look like the official ticket agent. If purchasing from a ticket broker, check to see if it is a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers, whose Code of Ethics requires members to adhere to basic consumer protections. Be careful buying tickets from Craigslist or resellers on the street since these outlets do not have refund policies or any solid consumer protections.
  5. Check your ticket vendor’s guarantee policy: For example, websites like StubHub, TicketExchange, Ace Tickets, and members of the National Association of Ticket Brokers guarantee every ticket sold on their sites and will replace them or provide refunds to consumers if the event that they receive the wrong tickets, their tickets are invalid, or an event is cancelled.
  6. Buy with a Credit Card: Regardless of where you buy tickets, be sure to use a credit card so you can dispute any unfair or unauthorized charges. Before entering your credit card information online, double check the company’s URL to ensure you don’t get duped by an imposter and be sure the site has “https://” at the beginning of its address.
  7. Check if the Price Includes Additional Fees: Unlike airline tickets, which are now required by law to disclose all taxes and additional fees upfront, the ticket price listed at the start of the purchasing process will likely not be your final price. If you are shopping between multiple websites to compare prices, make sure you know if you are comparing ticket prices that include fees.

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About the National Consumers League
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Practical guide to buying live event and sports tickets – National Consumers League

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With fall concert series being announced, the NFL season ready to kick off, and MLB playoffs just around the corner, it is a great time to be a live music and sports fan. However, ticket sellers such as Ticketmaster, artists, sports teams, and venues do not always have consumers’ best interests at heart. NCL wants to make sure fans have the information they need to make the best ticket buying decisions they can.

Below are just a few of the anti-consumer practices we want consumers to be aware of.

Restricted ticketing

A growing number of artists, including Eric Church, Arcade Fire, and The Black Keys are using credit card entry or “paperless” ticketing this summer and fall for the most desirable seats in the house. Garth Brooks, who is going back on the road for the first time in 12 years, is using restricted ticketing for his upcoming tour.

This ticketing system replaces a paper ticket, a PDF, or a print-at-home ticket with the original purchaser’s credit card and photo ID and the tickets are non-transferable.  If you purchased tickets to your favorite concert and then had to change your plans because of a work or family emergency, you are now stuck with tickets you cannot use, resell, or even give away. And if you are one of the 30 million Americans who do not have a credit or debit card, you won’t be able to purchase this type of ticket in the first place.

In addition, because restricted ticketing may only apply to the best seats, it decreases the supply of tickets available on the secondary market, inevitably leading to higher prices.

Undisclosed price floors

Often times the secondary market can provide consumers with great deals on sports tickets. Unfortunately, some ticket resale websites, such as Ticketmaster’s TicketExchange, set an arbitrary minimum on the price of tickets. For example, the Buffalo Bills TicketExchange sets its price floor at face value, even for pre-season games. For the pre-season game against the Detroit Lions, a ticket in Section 139 with a face value of $58 can only be listed on TicketExchange for $58, while SeatGeek showed other resale sites selling tickets for as low as $3. And of course, there is no notice to unsuspecting fans that such a price floor exists.

In addition, last year, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim opted out of Major League Baseball’s deal with StubHub because the resale website would not allow the teams to set a price floor.

Deceptive websites

For too long, unscrupulous ticket resellers have been taking advantage of unsuspecting consumers and deceiving consumers into believing they are purchasing a ticket from the box office website or official primary ticket seller at face value. These resellers use Internet ads or other advertising, along with pictures of the venue and descriptions such as “official” tickets, to dupe consumers.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Connecticut Attorney General recently settled a $1.4 million case with a group of ticket resale websites for violating the FTC Act and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.

This is a strong step in the right direction towards protecting consumers from unfair practices, while still allowing good actors in the secondary market to offer consumers choices and flexibility when purchasing live event and sports tickets.

To help fans avoid these, and other common, ticket-buying pitfalls, the National Consumers League (NCL) developed the following tips and suggestions.

  1. Read the Fine Print: Artists are increasingly selling restricted tickets, also known as paperless or Credit Card Entry tickets, which require the buyer to show up at the stadium and present the purchasing credit card and photo ID. The fine print indicates these tickets are nontransferable and cannot be given away as gifts or resold. Consumers can easily miss this important information unless they pay close attention during the ticket buying process.
  2. Look into Presales: Popular artists, venues, and ticket vendors tend to allocate large blocks of tickets to fan club members, VIPs, premium credit card holders, and personal acquaintances, leaving only a small portion of tickets to the general public. For example, a 2011 Justin Bieber concert in Nashville, only made 1,001 out of 14,000 seats available to the general public.
  3. Beware of Hidden Price Floors: When purchasing resale tickets on secondary sites, check multiple sources to make sure you get the best price. Some teams and ticket vendors dictate the minimum price that tickets can be sold for, preventing consumers from buying tickets at the cheapest price possible.
  4. Use Reliable Sellers: If you’re unsure whether a company is legitimate, check its ratings with the Better Business Bureau. Also be sure to be certain as to whether you are buying tickets from the box office, official ticket agent, or a reseller. Some ticket resellers hide the fact that they are a reseller or even pose to look like the official ticket agent. If purchasing from a ticket broker, check to see if it is a member of the National Association of Ticket Brokers, whose Code of Ethics requires members to adhere to basic consumer protections. Be especially careful buying tickets from Craigslist or resellers on the street since they offer no refund guarantees.
  5. Check your ticket vendor’s guarantee policy: For example, websites like StubHub, TicketExchange, Ace Tickets, and members of the National Association of Ticket Brokers guarantee every ticket sold on their sites and will replace them or provide refunds to consumers if the event that they receive the wrong tickets, their tickets are invalid, or an event is cancelled.
  6. Buy with a Credit Card: Regardless of where you buy tickets, be sure to use a credit card so you can dispute any unfair or unauthorized charges. Before entering your credit card information online, double check the company’s URL to ensure you don’t get duped by an imposter and be sure the site has “https://” at the beginning of its address.
  7. Check if the Price Includes Additional Fees: Unlike airline tickets, which are now required by law to disclose all taxes and additional fees upfront, the ticket price listed at the start of the purchasing process will likely not be your final price. If you are shopping between multiple websites to compare prices, make sure you know if you are comparing ticket prices that include fees.

Judge’s decision could mean big changes lie ahead for college athletes – National Consumers League

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In March I wrote a blog about the NCAA TV advertising juggernaut during the March Madness tournament. I suggested that the millions pouring into NCAA and university coffers from the blood, sweat, and tears of unpaid college athletes was wrong and that these athletes deserved to be paid a fair wage. 

We’re not quite there yet, but federal Judge Claudia Wilken ruled last week that college athletes have a rightful interest in advertising that exploits their names and images. Wilken reached a compromise on giving athletes the right to be paid for their time. Wilken ruled that the NCAA can cap players at $5,000 a year and keep the payments in trust until graduation or until players leave rather than opening up the free market to college athletes, which would mean the richest schools would have the best teams.

Wilken’s decision opens the door – but just a crack – to student athletes getting a piece of the profits that the NCAA and its member schools make off of their labor. But it’s a decent start and a wake up call to the NCAA to begin to share the wealth with the very athletes that make them so much money. 

Corner grocery stores: where convenience and junk food meet – National Consumers League

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Many of us take for granted the ability to make trips to a full size grocery store. For 23.5 million Americans, accessing a full-size supermarket is a challenge. In some areas, small corner stores are often the only source of food for underserved communities. They act as the main source of groceries, which can be problematic, considering many corner stores stock mainly processed foods that are high in calories, fat, and salt.

Areas that lack convenient, affordable access to traditional grocery stores are often called “Food deserts,” defined by the USDA as low-income, low-access communities with a poverty rate of 20+ percent and at least 500 people who are more than a mile away from a large grocery store in urban areas (or more than 10 miles away in rural areas). Impoverished residents living far from a grocery store are at a higher risk of becoming overweight or obese.

The National Consumers League (NCL) has advocated for strong food policies since its founding in 1899. Pursuing improved food opportunities for consumers around the nation and in Washington, DC, where NCL is headquartered, is a top priority as food policy is a cornerstone of NCL’s mission to promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers. The District of Columbia’s City Council passed the FEED DC Act in 2010 in an effort to improve access to healthy food in low-income neighborhoods. The FEED DC Act awards grants to grocery store projects, such as the “Healthy Corners” program run by D.C. Central Kitchen.

Washington, DC food deserts are most commonly located in wards (the formal term for political sections here in the nation’s capital) 5, 7, and 8. Even in areas of the District that are not food deserts, corner stores serve as convenient neighborhood hubs where residents stop in to make quick, small purchases for snacks or meals. Corner stores offering healthier options could mean a major step in combating obesity among individuals living in lower income neighborhoods.

DC corner stores: How do they measure up?

This summer, the National Consumers League conducted a survey of corner stores in wards 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the District of Columbia. Twenty corner stores throughout the district were included in the survey, primarily near the Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, U-Street, Columbia Heights, and Petworth neighborhoods. The stores surveyed ranged in the goods that they sold from those that offered alcohol and food, to others that focused mainly on food, and some that were simply convenience stores offering a variety of products.

Researchers were pleased to find that every corner store surveyed had some form of fresh produce available. Bananas were by far the most common, with apples and oranges taking a close second and third. It is likely bananas were so commonplace because they cost around $0.60 per pound versus pricier fruits like grapes which cost $2.53 per pound of cherries coming in around $4.50 per pound—not to mention their relatively long shelf life. Fruits that are cheaper, easily portable, require no packaging, and have a long shelf life are the most likely to be sold at corner stores.

Forty percent of stores had more than three different types of produce available, making them good options for consumers in search of healthy choices. There is still plenty of room for improvement. All corner stores should start offering a wider breadth of produce and healthy snacks. Having some fruit in stock is good, but bananas, apples, and oranges alone do not constitute a large enough selection for consumers.

Researchers were also pleased to find that 70 percent of the stores surveyed had produce available either in the front of the store or near the cash register. Putting produce in highly visible places—especially in place of the unhealthy impulse-buys that usually sit closest to cash registers—encourages consumers to choose healthy foods over those processed foods that are high in sugar and fat. Though 70 percent is a good number, advocates would love to see it even higher. Thirty percent of corner stores may appear to have no produce available as it is not visible upon entering the store. Ideally all corner stores would display produce near the front of the shop. Changing where produce is displayed is an easy and inexpensive way to make nutritional foods appeal to consumers.

Healthy Corners Program

In NCL’s survey, researchers encountered one corner store that was affiliated with a program called “Healthy Corners” run by D.C. Central Kitchen. This program, which builds on the Healthy Corner Store Program run by D.C. Hunger Solutions, distributes healthy foods to corner stores in neighborhoods that lack grocery stores or other means of getting healthy food. It provides a small stipend to store owners and routinely delivers produce and other healthy snacks. Through the program, storeowners can buy produce at wholesale prices and in smaller quantities than they would be able to get through conventional distributors. They are then able to sell produce at below-market prices, making it an even more appealing option for customers.

The role of programs like this in bettering the health of low-income communities is vital. As of 2013, 33 stores participated in Healthy Corners, grossing more than $40,000 in annual sales. The produce provided to corner stores through Healthy Corners is not going uneaten; 7,500+ health conscious snacks are served to DC residents each month.

Researchers didn’t survey wards 5,7, and 8—where they would have been even more likely to find stores participating in the Healthy Corners program, because those wards are home to food deserts. The demonstrated success of these programs, where they are put in use, begs for expansion, starting with communities most in need and ultimately branching out across the city.

Update:  Since this article was posted DC Central Kitchen announced that it expanded its Healthy Corners program from 32 to 62 corner stores, nearly doubling outreach to neighborhoods that need healthy options most.  A grant from the DC Department of Small and Local Business Development made this possible.  

Looking Forward

When it comes to providing produce access to low-income residents of the district, there is always room for improvement. The FEED DC Act, which helps fund the aforementioned Healthy Corners Program, also aims to encourage green technology in food stores and create jobs in areas of high unemployment. Additionally, the Cottage Food Act of 2013 lifts health department license requirements that very small business owners, bringing in less than $25,000 in revenue annually and likely just starting out, would typically need to abide by.  Both of these laws serve low-income communities by supporting businesses’ ability to provide healthier foods in unique ways. A continued push for legislation that eases restrictions on small business owners and aids in their distribution of healthy choices is necessary to ensure progress continues in the most underserved communities.

Pursuing new ideas to provide access to healthy foods is also vital. Mobile produce vans are increasingly popular. New York City has employed them to bring low-cost produce to some of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city. Likewise, the District has a “Mobile Market” provided by Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture. Similar to many of today’s farmers markets, the Mobile Market accepts and even encourages using SNAP/EBT benefits to purchase produce. The “Bonus Bucks” program doubles the purchasing power of food assistance benefits.

Efforts such as these aren’t going unnoticed. They serve as a vital resource for many District residents. Continued support and expansion of existing programs in conjunction with new efforts are a major step toward turning around poor health consequences in low-income areas. The first step in getting DC residents to eat healthier is giving them a choice.

Who wants my health data and what are they going to do with it? The paradox of data privacy – National Consumers League

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Do we really know how our health information is being used?  While patients want to know that their personal health information is protected by the HIPAA privacy rule, patient information is one of the best ways for the health system to improve care by learning from the patient experience.

At a recent annual meeting of Consumers United for Evidence Based Health Care (CUE), a national coalition of health and consumer advocacy organizations committed to empowering consumers to make the best use of evidence-based healthcare,  a panel of speakers discussed issues around patient privacy and the availability of data for research.

As HIPAA currently operates, patient consent is needed for formal research that “contributes to the general knowledge.” But the internal use of personal health information for health care operations and to improve care , is NOT covered by HIPAA and thus patient informed consent is not required. In other words, as Deven McGraw from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips explained, if a health care organization uses research for its own internal use, then they are not subject to HIPAA requirements, but if an organization wants to share what is learned with the outside world to improve public health, then HIPAA applies. If we want to encourage sharing of research findings shouldn’t we make it easier, and not harder, to do so?  It seems that under the current paradigm we do not incentivize the sharing of knowledge.

Nancy Kass, of Johns Hopkins Bloomsburg School of Public Health, stated that it is time for a new ethical framework for a learning healthcare system that will increase the likelihood of continuous learning, and in which participants’ rights are protected. According to Kass, what happens in clinical practice should be used to learn about how we can improve health care for our own practices as well as others. While we may be concerned about use of our health information for research purposes, our personal health information is already being used in many ways – ranging from ensuring quality of care to licensing and certification purposes. With the advent of electronic health records, how clinical practices use our data has drastically changed. “You want to protect patients from risk but also have good research,” said Kass. The reality is that there already is a systematic collection of patient data (without informed consent), which is used for internal operations – and patients have no idea.

How do we create a trusted data collection system?  One way is to get patients more involved in research. PCORI, a government agency, was initiated by the Affordable Care Act to involve patients in a meaningful way in research. Research results should be shared with the patients who participate in the research in an accessible format, where hopefully conclusions are made based on a common data model.  We should also improve patient consent forms so that they are understandable and accessible to patients. Right now the consent forms are complicated and full of legal terms that make you wonder if the form is designed to protect the patient or the research. Peter Doshi, University of Maryland, explained that current consent forms do not say that if your data will or will not be used by others for the good of public health. Informed consent forms should change and FDA has recently developed a model consent form.

Experiences with researchers failing to obtain informed consent and not being transparent about research goals, such as with the Tuskegee experiment, demonstrate the importance of both informed consent and transparency in the collection of data. The dilemma is how we balance the need for those protections, while encouraging research to improve clinical care.

In this age of electronic health records and ongoing collection of our personal data wherever we turn, both patients and health care providers and organizations have a responsibility to promote and engage in continuous learning activities to improve the quality of clinical care. We need to increase the likelihood of continuous learning, while ensuring that learning proceeds in an ethically acceptable fashion and that participants’ rights are protected.   Health care providers and organizations have a responsibility to be transparent and disclose all the ways data are being used, and the patient has an obligation to participate in these learning activities so that clinical care can be improved for all of us.