Data Reporting and Analytics Master's Intern

Encompass announces grand opening of Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center in Watsonville. Encompass Community Services | May 06, 2026 Encompass Community Services is proud to announce the official Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony has been scheduled for the new Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center, a substance use disorder (SUD) and mental health outpatient and residential treatment facility in South Santa Cruz County. The celebration will take place on Friday, June 12, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the new center's location: 161 Miles Lane in Watsonville, CA. The event will feature a program of speakers, followed by the ceremonial ribbon cutting, light refreshments, and guided tours of the new campus, including both the outpatient and residential treatment facilities. The Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center represents a significant investment in the health and wellbeing of the community, particularly for Medi-Cal beneficiaries and uninsured individuals who must rely on limited capacity at Medi-Cal certified programs. Increasing access to trauma-informed, high-quality care for individuals and families seeking mental health and substance use recovery services is especially urgent for its historically underserved and predominantly Latinx community of Watsonville. "We are thrilled to open the doors of the Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center to the South County community," said Kim Morrison, CEO of Encompass Community Services. "This facility reflects years of planning, partnership, and commitment to expanding access to life-saving care. We know that when people have access to treatment and support, they can heal, recover, and thrive. Our Sí Se Puede program has a rich history of serving residents for more than 20 years, and we cannot wait to build on its success." Encompass has served Santa Cruz County for over 50 years, providing behavioral health care, substance use recovery, and housing support services to thousands of individuals and families each year. Encompass provides integrated services for co-occurring SUD and mental health disorders resulting in comprehensive, individualized "whole person" care. Encompass provides the tools, therapies, resources, and medications to meet each individual where they are, in an atmosphere of dignity and respect. "This is a proud and hopeful moment for Encompass and for our entire community," said Elaine Johnson, Chair of the Encompass Board of Trustees. "The Sí Se Puede Center stands as a testament to what is possible when we invest in people, partnerships, and long-term solutions for community health. We are excited to see the positive impact this facility will have for generations to come." The Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Watsonville Chamber of Commerce, are facilitating the ribbon-cutting portion of the program. Encompass is sincerely grateful to have received funding for the project through public and private grants from the California Department of Health Care Services (via the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program grant), Central California Alliance for Health, Monterey Peninsula Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, The City of Watsonville, and Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, as well as generous donations from community philanthropists. To support the Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center, donations can be made at https://encompasscs.org/donate.

FFLC settles COVID lawsuits against Kaiser Permanente. The lawsuit filed by the Founding Freedoms Law Center (FFLC) last year against Kaiser Permanente on behalf of three women fired because of their religious objections to taking the COVID-19 shot has now been settled for all three plaintiffs. While the terms of the settlement are confidential, FLLC and its clients are pleased with the results. Each of the women - Marisol Gates, Moira David, and Zena Reeves - is a faithful adherent to Protestant or Catholic religious beliefs, which prevented them from taking the COVID shot that was mandated by their former employer. It should have been easy for Kaiser Permanente to accommodate their faith as required by state and federal law, as they each worked from home and posed no risk to their employer. Nevertheless, their religious accommodation requests were denied, and they were fired. With their case now settled, its clients are able to finally put this behind them and move forward. FFLC was honored to represent them, and Founding Freedoms Law Center stand ready to represent others who have faced unlawful discrimination because of their faith.

Administrative failures may be driving up the cost of Medicare. April 12, 202615:25 hs Reading 4 min New findings highlight structural pressures within a major federal program, raising concerns about long-term cost sustainability. The long-standing promise of Medicare Advantage has been simple: expanded benefits at a lower cost to taxpayers. But new analysis suggests that the reality may be moving in the opposite direction. A recent report from the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) indicates that administrative practices within private Medicare plans are contributing to higher overall program costs - costs that are ultimately being passed on to beneficiaries. At the center of the issue is a growing gap between the cost of Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare. According to the report, private plans are now costing the federal government approximately 20% more per enrollee than original Medicare for comparable coverage. This discrepancy is not only affecting federal spending but is also directly influencing the premiums paid by millions of Americans. How overpayments are passed to beneficiaries. The JEC's study, titled "The Part B Premium Pass-Through," outlines how increased spending within Medicare Advantage translates into higher costs for all enrollees. Because Medicare Part B premiums are designed to cover roughly 25% of total program costs, any rise in spending - including overpayments to private plans - automatically results in higher premiums. In 2025, these overpayments increased Part B premiums by an average of $212 per enrollee, adding approximately $13.4 billion in total premium costs. Importantly, these increases affect all beneficiaries, regardless of whether they are enrolled in Medicare Advantage or traditional Medicare. For most seniors, who have their Part B premiums deducted directly from Social Security payments, this dynamic effectively reduces their monthly income. The financial impact is therefore not abstract - it is immediately felt in reduced take-home benefits. Looking ahead, the JEC warns that this "premium pass-through" effect could intensify. By 2035, projections suggest that as much as $450 of an individual's annual Part B premium could be attributed solely to Medicare Advantage overpayments. Administrative drivers behind rising costs. The report identifies two key administrative practices contributing to these higher costs: coding intensity and favorable selection. Coding intensity - often referred to as "upcoding" - occurs when insurers document additional or more severe diagnoses for enrollees, which increases the risk-adjusted payments they receive from the government. Favorable selection, on the other hand, reflects the tendency of Medicare Advantage plans to attract healthier individuals while still receiving payments benchmarked against the higher average costs of traditional Medicare populations. These practices have drawn increasing scrutiny from regulators. In January 2026, affiliates of Kaiser Permanente agreed to a $556 million settlement to resolve allegations brought under the False Claims Act. The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that the organization inflated Medicare Advantage reimbursements by submitting unsupported diagnosis codes and encouraging retrospective documentation adjustments. While the case was settled, no admission of wrongdoing was made. The JEC report suggests that these types of administrative behaviors are central to understanding why Medicare Advantage costs have diverged from expectations. Uneven impact across states. Although Part B premiums are standardized nationwide, the distribution of costs linked to Medicare Advantage varies regionally. States with higher enrollment in private plans - such as Florida (56%), Alabama (59%), and Michigan (62%) - generate a larger share of total overpayments. At the same time, residents in states with lower participation rates, including Wyoming (18%), Vermont (32%), and Alaska (3%), still pay the same premium increases. This creates what the report describes as a form of financial redistribution, where individuals in lower-enrollment states effectively subsidize the enhanced benefits offered in higher-enrollment regions. This imbalance underscores a broader policy concern: while the cost per person remains consistent, the underlying financial flows differ significantly depending on geographic participation patterns. Long-Term implications for Medicare sustainability. The widening gap between Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare spending raises questions about the long-term sustainability of the program. Without structural changes, the JEC projects that the financial pressure on Part B premiums will continue to grow. This trend is already visible. Part B premiums rose nearly 10% between 2025 and 2026, and projections from the Medicare Trustees suggest premiums could reach $347.50 by 2034. As these costs rise, they place increasing strain not only on beneficiaries but also on the Supplemental Medical Insurance trust fund, which relies on both premiums and general tax revenue. For retirees living on fixed incomes, the stakes are particularly high. Rising premiums directly reduce available income, while broader fiscal pressures may limit future policy flexibility. The findings from the Joint Economic Committee point to a system in need of reassessment. While Medicare Advantage continues to offer expanded benefits and remains popular among enrollees, its current cost structure may be undermining broader program stability. Addressing these challenges will likely require policy changes aimed at aligning payments more closely with actual care costs. Until then, the financial burden associated with administrative inefficiencies may continue to fall on beneficiaries - both directly through premiums and indirectly through the broader tax system. Visit its website for more news __________________________ Disclosure: Some images used in this article were created with artificial intelligence and are for illustrative purposes only. They do not depict real products, brands, or specific situations. Irma León has eight years of professional experience, consolidating four years of experience in in-depth analysis of personal finances and the US economy. She has a bachelor's degree in investigative journalism, giving her a rigorous foundation for documenting and verifying complex data and news. Her field experience is grounded in direct coverage of national and local issues crucial to the American public, including monitoring Social Security policies, the impact of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, the Fed, Central Bank, and White House, tariffs and consumer prices and regulations, as well as key adjustments to the Medicare, Medigap, and ObamaCare systems, among other healthcare coverage. This commitment is also reflected in immigration issues related to USCIS, personal finances, technology, current events, and direct issues related to mortgages, credit, loans, credit cards, retirement accounts such as Roth plans, 401(k)s, and IRAs, investments, stimulus checks and social programs, travel, discounts and offers, and, of course, the automotive sector. León stands out for his focus on interacting with readers and addressing direct questions from the audience, using these inquiries to guide his in-depth research on policies related to the family economy and what truly interests millions of readers.