Dr. Joyce Beatty named new Ohio House Democratic Leader

[liberalnurse]

From "The Ohio Democratic Party web site:

http://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:3596.182829096/rid:22435834d3d240a65b29eabb56cad7c3

Ohio House Democrats on Wednesday named Rep. Joyce Beatty as the next House Democratic Leader. She is believed to be the first woman ever elected to the post.

Beatty, of Columbus, is expected to be sworn in next week. She will replace Rep. Chris Redfern, who on Dec. 19 was named chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party and will be resigning his leadership post in the 39-member caucus.

Also Wednesday, House Democrats selected Todd Book, of Portsmouth, to serve as Assistant Minority Leader. Book will fill the vacancy created when Beatty was named to lead the caucus.

Beatty, of Columbus, is a small businesswoman who owns Joyce Beatty & Associates, Inc., a strategic planning and diversity training firm, and Pieces to Wear, an upmarket clothing store in downtown Columbus. A strong advocate for Ohio, she is a vigorous champion of healthcare and education issues and has worked diligently to expand business creation and opportunity. Beatty, who grew up in Dayton, is married to former state representative Otto Beatty, Jr.

Book, 37, is an attorney and small businessman who lives in Portsmouth. He and his father co-own Old Hickory Golf Co., Ltd., which conducts old fashioned golf outings using hickory shafted clubs, period clothing and old style golf balls. He has also served at Shawnee State University as an adjunct faculty member. He is married with two children.

Beatty is the first leader of the Ohio House Democratic Caucus to live south of the Ohio Turnpike since Speaker Vern Riffe, the Scioto County native who led the caucus from 1975-95. She said Wednesday she is committed to continuing the caucus’ efforts to work on behalf of all citizens of Ohio.

“We’re all in this together. It doesn’t matter if you are from a red county or a blue county if you can’t afford to pay the mortgage, or send your daughter to college, or see the doctor,” Beatty said. “After hundreds of thousands of lost jobs, it’s clear we need change. I’m honored to be able to lead that fight for change in the Statehouse.”

Beatty said she is committed to working in a bipartisan manner with Speaker Jon Husted on policies that will move Ohio forward. But she added the caucus will not shy away from stating loudly and clearly where Democrats part company on the direction Ohio has taken over the past dozen years of one-party rule.

“As Democrats, we stand for schools our communities can be proud of, colleges our children can afford, and health care plans that don’t push families into foreclosures and bankruptcy court,” she said. “We stand for clean, honest leadership that puts families’ interests ahead of special interests. We stand for a government that’s lean but not mean, and that offers a hand up to the least among us.”

[geiger]

1. Wow

Thanks so much for this update, especially the background information. I love the details of Beatty's resume; it looks like she can be especially helpful to the women running this time. That Book is young and from Portsmouth is encouraging. It says here that Book is 37, do you know how old Beatty is?

Another good sign that we are moving forward....

[OzarkDem]

2. Needs more experience and/or commitment

I've found her to be extremely weak on health care when it comes to women. She's very old school, supporting only women with children or those who are over 65. To be fair, that's a flaw that many Ohio state house Dems seem to have - their POV on health care issues is right out of the 1970's.

My hope is that some day we'll get a crop of Dems in Columbus who have a more current, and understanding of health care issues.

[liberalnurse]

3. Well, from where I'm sitting....

as a Legislative Liaison for Ohio Nursing Association....I have found her 100% behind Nursing and Health Care. She has always taken the lead in any issue we facilitate. Always!

[OzarkDem]

4. She has a poor record

on issues related to health care for women whose children have grown, but are under age 65. She also has an incredibly poor record on breast cancer treatment coverage issues. Not surprising that Ohio has the 5th highest rate of breast cancer mortality in the US.

I guess that also means your organization is also ignoring those issues, also not a surprise. As I said, women in Ohio are being hurt by those whose ideas of women's health care are still firmly rooted in the 1970's.

[liberalnurse]

5. You really need to back that up. Which you certainly can not.

That is false information. Additionally, if it were not for ONA health care issues would ignore.

Tell me; What have you done for Ohio Health Care issues? You seem to find it easy to attack real activist who actually attend State House Committee Meetings and who testify at Hearings. Tell us all how much you have done and for how long?

[OzarkDem]

6. Breast & Cervical Cancer Treatment Program

There's a federal program called the breast & cervical cancer treatment program that provides Medicaid coverage to uninsured women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer. Ohio had a choice to opt into the program when it became effective in 2000.

In 2001, breast cancer advocacy groups attempted to get bipartisan support from state reps and senators for Ohio to opt-into the program. Ohio Dems supported it, but R's didn't. Two guys came to the rescue - Congressmen Ted Strickland and Sherrod Brown. They went on a promotional tour around the state, doing press events, making speeches, etc. to shame Gov. Taft into supporting the program. Some of the state reps & senators helped out, including Eric Fingerhut, Erin Sullivan, Dean DePiero, Peter Lawson Jones, Mary Rose Oakar, Catherine Barrett and Mark Mallory. All members of the Ohio House and Senate were asked personally to help, Joyce Beatty chose not to help.

Taft finally agreed to adopt Option 1, which provides Medicaid coverage only to women diagnosed through the Breast & Cervical Cancer Screening program, which is funded by the CDC. Taft moved as slowly as possible in setting up the program and has since operated it in a way that allows as few women as possible to be eligible, only about 90 women a year of about 1100 who need it.

Since then, breast cancer advocates have gone to Columbus every year and asked both Dems and R's in both houses to amend the program to include Option 3, which provides Medicaid coverage to all uninsured women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, including those who were diagnosed in other cancer screening programs funded with private donations, etc. They made specific appeals to the Dem women's caucus and the Ohio Black caucus, as AA women in Ohio have very high mortality rates. Appeals have also been made to the nursing and oncology professionals organizations, with no luck.

Instead, Joyce Beatty and other members of the women's caucus have chosen to use their influence to get funding for podiatry, chiropractic and dental services instead of cancer treatment. Joyce Beatty has received many phone calls, letters and emails asking to meet with breast cancer advocates and has refused to respond. No nursing associations responded.

When advocates were pushing for a bill for the breast cancer license plate in Ohio with funds to be used to help low income patients with emergency housing and medical expenses, she fought them vigorously, insisting that the small amount of money raised be designated for research (advocates already get over $1 billion every year for bc research). She even went as far as giving blistering speeches on the House floor denouncing the used of funds to help patients pay rent and utilities when they can't work during treatment (most breast cancer patients are ineligible for disability assistance)and criticizing the women advocates, most of whom were also AA women. I know, I watched from the gallery.

I can't offer you any explanation for her behavior or that of the nursing associations. At best its irrational and uninformed. But what the heck, its only women dying.

As for mortality stats, here ya go. Choose breast cancer, then click on females, death rates

http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/uscs/Table.aspx?Group=4fa&Year=2002&Display=n

[liberalnurse]

7. That was in 2002...and

do you know how legislation is introduced? We, the Minority can't introduce the legislation without republican support. We ultimately have to advocate or defend republican agenda's. I'm at work right now and can not share supporting documentation...but I will.

Tell me, what have YOU done at the State House for Breast Cancer?

[OzarkDem]

9. 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005

Lobbying, calling , emailing, testifiying in committee. Ignorance persists.

You need to learn a little more about the politics of statehouse budgeting. Minority leaders always have the opportunity to get some funding in exchange for votes on the budget, usually when the GOP is divided on budget. There is a lot of bargaining that goes on behind closed doors and during conference committee. Dem leaders usually have a list of budget priorities they can introduce that R's will compromise on. Dental, podiatry, chiropractic care, all took precedence.

Ohio Dems should also hold their statehouse members accountable to the same standards to which we hold congressional Dems - they need to stand up and make themselves heard, get the message out and make some attempt to introduce legislation whether they win or not.

Seems strange that those who would rail against Sherrod Brown, who has been an outspoken and active advocate on health care issues in Congress is criticized by those who are also willing to look the other way when Ohio Statehouse dems sit on their hands and do nothing.

I think what we're dealing with here has nothing to do with good policy or politics, but geographic political rivalry. Southern and central Ohio Dems vs. northern Ohio Dems. Pretty childish.

[OzarkDem]

10. What have you done?

Have you or any of your fellow members done anything to advance the cause for breast or cervical or any women's cancer at the state level?

None of these organizations seem to have any agenda even remotely related to cancer, let alone women's cancers.

[OzarkDem]

11. Still waiting n/t

[OzarkDem]

8. As for advocacy & testimony

I've been working on this issue at the state level since 2000, testifying in many hearings, and lobbying in Columbus. I pay for travel and lodging expenses for myself and others out of my own pocket.

Ohio health care advocacy groups and the Ohio Dem caucus are very much in the dark when it comes to quality health care policy. They're easily duped by special interest groups who advocate for raising reimbursement rates for pharma, medical supply companies and professional associations without bothering to see if those remedies will benefit patients. They usually don't. They also ignore the fact that women as a population are aging and need more than birth control and abortion services. There's a funding and eligibility gap as big as the Grand Canyon for women who have no minor children at home and are under age 65. They get nothing, zero, nada, zilch.

I'd love to see them develop better health care policy programs, but I don't anticipate seeing it happen any time soon.

[geiger]

12. We have to start somewhere

If you think she has a poor record, go talk to her. You're obviously in the "right" profession, lobbying, if that's what you're inferring. You can give her the information she needs; quit whining to your fellow liberals. She's in the very demographics you're preaching about. Go get her.

We need her as a positive face for the Democratic Party. Not only has the Party slid back into becoming another tired good old boys club, minorities are also under-represented.

[OzarkDem]

13. Already have

The standing joke has always been that Dems often lose 20 IQ points when they enter the city limits of Columbus. My point is, we need new and improved Dem leadership in Ohio.

If we're willing to call for it at the federal level, we should call for it at the state level, too.