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Friday, March 6, 2015
Alty News: The High Price of Deportation; GOP Presidential Hopeful Says Prison Can Make You Gay
Posted By Eric S. Peterson on March 6, 2015, 10:31 AM
Researchers believe the health effects of chemical pesticides in food to be $175 billion a year in Europe alone.
Top of the Alty World
"Chemical Exposure Linked to Billions in Health Care Costs "—National Geographic
More jobs are being created in the country, but wages aren't rising.—Slate
GOP darling Dr. Ben Carson explains that homosexuality is a choice because some people go into prison straight and come out gay.—Rolling Stone
A right-leaning group has estimated the cost to forcibly deport undocumented immigrants in the United States could exceed half a trillion dollars.—The Atlantic
Top of Alty Utah
A House committee voted down Gov. Herbert's proposal for Medicaid expansion.—Salt Lake City Weekly
Utah Politico Hub runs down the six big bills to watch in the session's final six days.—Utah Politico Hub
After much delay, a clean school bus bill advances on the hill.—Utah Political Capitol
Despite a few claims of running afoul of "God's law." a combined LGBT nondiscrimination and religious freedoms bill cleared a senate committee.—Salt Lake City Weekly
Rantosphere
City Weekly editor Jerre Wroble looks at what "affordable" actually mean when it comes to healthcare in today's world.
The Long View
ProPublica looks at how states have demolished worker's compensation programs, shifting burdens away from insurance companies and onto taxpayers.
Top of the Alty World
"Chemical Exposure Linked to Billions in Health Care Costs "—National Geographic
More jobs are being created in the country, but wages aren't rising.—Slate
GOP darling Dr. Ben Carson explains that homosexuality is a choice because some people go into prison straight and come out gay.—Rolling Stone
A right-leaning group has estimated the cost to forcibly deport undocumented immigrants in the United States could exceed half a trillion dollars.—The Atlantic
Top of Alty Utah
A House committee voted down Gov. Herbert's proposal for Medicaid expansion.—Salt Lake City Weekly
Utah Politico Hub runs down the six big bills to watch in the session's final six days.—Utah Politico Hub
After much delay, a clean school bus bill advances on the hill.—Utah Political Capitol
Despite a few claims of running afoul of "God's law." a combined LGBT nondiscrimination and religious freedoms bill cleared a senate committee.—Salt Lake City Weekly
Rantosphere
City Weekly editor Jerre Wroble looks at what "affordable" actually mean when it comes to healthcare in today's world.
Nowadays, most of us with employer-sponsored insurance pay a part of our monthly premium. Since it's deducted from our paychecks, we gradually adjust to the monthly bite. But, when you leave the company, try paying the entire premium under the COBRA program (designed to help you remain insured for up to 18 months after you leave your job). That's when you realize your actual insurance costs—and when you find yourself saying, "This is not affordable."
In the taxpayer-subsidized Marketplace, the majority of those enrolling have lower incomes and, as such, qualify for an advance premium tax credit. According to a 2015 Health and Human Services report, this keeps their average monthly premiums closer to $100/month. Now, that's what I call affordable, and I realize that all of us taxpayers are making it affordable.—Salt Lake City Weekly
The Long View
ProPublica looks at how states have demolished worker's compensation programs, shifting burdens away from insurance companies and onto taxpayers.
Over the past decade, state after state has been dismantling America’s workers’ comp system with disastrous consequences for many of the hundreds of thousands of people who suffer serious injuries at work each year, a ProPublica and NPR investigation has found.The cutbacks have been so drastic in some places that they virtually guarantee injured workers will plummet into poverty. Workers often battle insurance companies for years to get the surgeries, prescriptions and basic help their doctors recommend.
Two-and-a-half years after he lost his arm, [Dennis] Whedbee is still fighting with North Dakota’s insurance agency for the prosthesis that his doctor says would give him a semblance of his former life.
The changes, often passed under the banner of “reform,” have been pushed by big businesses and insurance companies on the false premise that costs are out of control. In fact, employers are paying the lowest rates for workers’ comp insurance since the 1970s. And in 2013, insurers had their most profitable year in over a decade, bringing in a hefty 18 percent return.—ProPublica
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