Nearly five months after Hurricane Maria upended life for everyone in its path, Puerto Rico remains in critical condition. Power has not been completely restored to the island—and some areas are not expected to have power until May. An estimated 200,000 people have left the island for Florida. Those that remain face a broken infrastructure, food shortages, power shortages, and unrelenting stress.

Late last month, the White House proposed new rules that would make it easier for small businesses, sole proprietors, and individuals to group together in “association” to buy insurance in the large group market. These association plans, as they are known, would be exempt from many of the consumer protections—including required mental health coverage—that are mandated by the Affordable Care Act, which now provides coverage for some of the same types of customers.

According to recent press reports, officials at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have been told to not use the terms “diversity,” “transgender,” “evidence-based,” and “science-based,” among others, in the upcoming budget request for 2019. This prompted American Counseling Association Chief Executive Officer Richard Yep to write the Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) about the directive.

The House and Senate have approved different versions of tax reform and now the conference committee is preparing to release the final compromise version, which both houses must then pass before the measure goes to the President for signature. There has been a strong effort to move these bills through the legislative process in order to put a bill on the President's desk by December 25.

A bill proposing revisions to the nation’s tax structure is now in the Senate. That measure contains a provision that would negatively affect the clients professional counselors serve, in terms of their access to early intervention, preventative care, and affordable insurance and mental health care costs. Ultimately, that provision would affect the ability of clients and prospective clients to see professional counselors and to obtain mental health care.