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How California Proves That Obamacare Is Working

Illinois Bans Abstinence-Only Ed Because It Only Works In A 'Fantasy Land'

Five Egregious Examples Of How We Keep Shaming Teen Moms

NEWS FLASH

Catholic Bishops: Ryan Budget’s Cuts To Food Stamps Are ‘Unjustified And Wrong’ | The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is criticizing the House Republican budget for cutting various assistance programs for the poor, The Hill reported today. A letter to the House Agriculture Committee blasts the budget for cutting funding for food stamps and other programs that “serve poor and vulnerable people.” “Cuts to nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will hurt hungry children, poor families, vulnerable seniors and workers who cannot find employment,” the letter said. “These cuts are unjustified and wrong.” House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), who is Catholic, used the Church’s teaching to justify his budget last week despite the fact that it seems to ignore much of that teaching.

Update

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who is also Catholic, responded to the Bishops at a news conference today, the Huffington Post reports. “I want them to take a bigger look,” Boehner said. “And the bigger look is, if we don’t make decisions, these programs won’t exist, and then they’ll really have something to worry about. … What’s more of a concern to me is the fact that if we don’t begin to make some decisions about getting our fiscal house in order, there won’t be a safety net.”

NEWS FLASH

Blue Cross Blue Shield Becomes 11th Company To Drop ALEC | Despite ALEC’s announcement this morning that they will shut down a task force focused on “non-economic” issues like voter suppression or “stand your ground” gun laws, another major corporation is leaving the right-wing organization. Today, Blue Cross Blue Shield became the 11th company to drop ALEC after pressure from progressive groups like Color of Change. See who the other 10 companies are here. Still, major corporations like AT&T and State Farm have yet to pull their support from the conservative group.

NEWS FLASH

House Ways and Means Committee To Cut Obamacare Subsidies To Pay For Ryan Budget | The House Ways and Means Committee has announced plans to mark up legislation that would reduce the deficit by $53 billion between 2013 and 2022, following instructions in the GOP’s budget. Republicans are hoping to cut the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies by $43.9 billion over the next decade, making coverage less affordable for many middle class Americans. The provision would require people to “pay back insurance subsidies if the government determined they received too much based on their income threshold.” Other provisions would repeal social services block grants to states and require Social Security to claim child tax credit, amounting to an estimated savings of $7.6 billion.– Fatima Najiy

By Guest Blogger on Apr 17, 2012 at 4:10 pm

Economy

A Woman’s Lifetime Earnings Lost To Pay Gap Could Feed A Family Of Four For 37 Years

By Pat Garofalo posted from ThinkProgress Economy on Apr 17, 2012 at 3:01 pm

As of today — which is Equal Pay Day 2012 — women make 77 cents for every dollar that men earn. Over the course of a woman’s career, that disparity adds up to more than $430,000 in lost wages for an individual woman. As Center for American Progress economic analyst Matt Separa noted, the pay gap means that women fall behind economically in a number of ways:

Because of this gap women working full time are able to afford less education, housing, transportation, food, and health care for themselves and their families than their male counterparts. As a result women and female-headed households are more likely to be in poverty and less likely to have health insurance. The pay gap translates into a significant economic disadvantage for women and their families, especially when nearly two-thirds (63.9 percent) of women are now either the primary breadwinner or a co-breadwinner, bringing home at least 25 percent of their family’s income.

With the money lost over her lifetime, a woman could feed a family of four for 37 years, pay for seven four-year degrees at a public university, or simply save the money for retirement, boosting her quality of life when she leaves the workforce:

For some women, of course, the pay gap is even worse. According to a report from the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, Latina women face a pay gap of 40 percent.

NEWS FLASH

Study Finds Expensive Prostate Cancer Treatment As Effective As Cheaper Methods | A new study is claiming that an expensive, high-tech treatment for prostate cancer is no more effective than other options. The study examined treatment records for men who received proton beam radiation treatment compared to other therapies. The results indicated that the treatment was no more effective at stopping the cancer than the other methods examined, but did leave men at a higher risk for stomach-related side effects. One round of proton beam radiation can cost insurers $100,000, while the more-commonly used intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) costs about half that amount. According to researchers, those technologies have driven up the cost of treating prostate cancer by hundreds of millions of dollars. ThinkProgress reported in January that the Mayo Clinic had spend $360 million to build two proton beam facilities but did not cite any medical evidence to support the procedure’s effectiveness. Earlier this month, nine medical boards recommended that certain tests be used less often in an effort to rein in medical spending.

-Zachary Bernstein

By Guest Blogger on Apr 17, 2012 at 1:10 pm

NEWS FLASH

Health Insurance Brokers Eager To Take Advantage Of Health Reform’s $4 Billion Market | The health care reform law will allow private insurance companies to organize their own health insurance exchanges, and already insurance brokers are looking to profit from the provision. The move is a direct affront to the GOP’s unfounded claims of a comprehensive government takeover of the American health care industry, though some consumer advocates are concerned about what this will mean for the future of these exchanges. “It’s going to put these private Internet portals, the regional brokers, the EHealths, on steroids,” said Cindy Gillespie, head of health-care policy at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, a Washington law firm that advises brokers. “It’s no longer going to be a marketplace exclusive to the state-run exchanges, and that’s a game-changer, big time.” With 22 million people expected to buy insurance through the exchanges and a “conservative” $15 per person per month commission for private brokers, the health industry’s annual take will reach an estimated $4 billion. The state-based marketplaces are expected to be up-and-running by 2014. — Fatima Najiy

By Guest Blogger on Apr 17, 2012 at 12:07 pm

Chicago Cardinal Claims Obama’s Contraception Rule Results In ‘Theft Of Identity’ For Church

By Igor Volsky on Apr 17, 2012 at 10:04 am

Cardinal Francis George

The Catholic Church is ramping up its opposition to the administration’s regulation requiring insurers to offer preventive health services — including contraception — without additional co-pays. Yesterday, Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George sought to explain the Church’s concerns by claiming that the coverage requirement could lead to a “theft of identity” for religious groups and the growing secularization of society:

But the contraceptive mandate violates the First Amendment’s free exercise of religion, which applies as much to institutions as individuals, he said. George bemoaned the government’s attempts to limit the definition of religious institutions and deny protection to church entities that educate and provide medical care to the general public.

The issue is more than religious freedom, George said. It’s “theft of identity,” he said.

But most importantly, the cardinal said, the legislation highlights a growing cultural conundrum. “What is the place of church in society that is secularizing itself very, very rapidly?” he said. “‘If the use of religious pluralism is to remove all religious institutions from public life, it’s going to be a very different society than what we have now.”

The comments reinforce the notion that the Church isn’t interested in finding a reasonable accommodation with the administration — one in which religious institutions are exempt from providing birth control (as is already the case), while women can decide for themselves whether or not to take advantage of the benefit. Rather, religious leaders won’t be satisfied until contraception coverage is completely removed from the Affordable Care Act and women — particularly lower-ince women — struggle to afford reproductive health services.

But this goal is unpopular with most Americans and Catholics, the majority of whom reject the Church’s teachings against contraception. As Timothy Cardinal Dolan of New York admitted during a recent Fox News interview, “It’s a tough battle because of that and our opponents are very shrewd because they’ve chosen an issue that they know we don’t — we’re not very popular on.”

Anti-Women Surrogate Trump Hosts Birthday Fundraiser For Ann Romney

By Igor Volsky on Apr 17, 2012 at 8:30 am

Last week, Ann Romney became her husband’s point-person on the so-called “war on women” when she accused Democrats of not valuing the work of stay-at-home moms and went after CNN contributor Hilary Rosen (who is not an Obama adviser, but is a CAPAF board member) for saying that she hadn’t worked outside of the domestic sphere. The campaign went into overdrive trying to paint all Democrats as insensitive to women who choose to raise their children, only to admit hours later that Mrs. Romney saw the barb as a political “gift” she could exploit in order to help Mr. Romney close his widening gap among women voters.

This afternoon, just five days after the “controversy,” the Romneys will be participating in a special birthday fundraiser at the home of top campaign surrogate Donald Trump, further eroding their credibility in the “war on women.” Trump, after all, has a long history of misogynistic rhetoric and behavior that is far more offensive than even the least generous interpretations of Rosen’s comments. Below are Trump’s most sexist comments:

1. “I think [Attorney] Gloria [Allred] would be very very impressed with [my penis].” [2012]

2. “[Rosie O'Donnell is] not a smart person,” “a stone cold loser,” “a bully” “a slob,” “disgusting,” “an animal” and a “very unattractive woman both inside and out.” [ 2007]

3. “[Angelina Jolie's] been with so many guys she makes me look like a baby, OK, with the other side. And, I just don’t even find her attractive.” [2006]

4. “You know, it doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of [expletive].” [1991]

5. “Well, you know ‘The National Enquirer’ did a story they said, ‘Who’s had more supermodels than any man ever in history?’ ‘Let’s name ‘em, let’s each of us name ‘em’ ‘I’ve had a lot of them, I’ll tell you that.” [2011]

6. “All of the women on ‘The Apprentice’ flirted with me- consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.” [ 2011 ]

7. “I think the only difference between me and the other candidates is that I’m more honest and my women are more beautiful.” [ 2000]

The birthday luncheon has already netted over $600,000 for the Romney campaign, a Trump spokesman tells CBS News, and the campaign has asked the businessman to “host a similar fundraiser when Romney secures the Republican presidential nomination.” “[T]ickets to that event would sell for $50,000 and 50 donors have already expressed interest in attending.”

Morning CheckUp: April 17, 2012

By Igor Volsky on Apr 17, 2012 at 7:00 am

Small businesses concerned about regulations: “Small-business concerns about over-regulation are as high as they’ve been over the past 12 months, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Q1 Small Business Survey, with more than half (52 percent) identifying it as the greatest threat to the success of their business. Healthcare regulations were by far the top concern (38 percent), far ahead of environmental regs (21 percent).” [Healthwatch]

Barney Franks says Dems should have backed off on health care reform: “Retiring Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) says with the benefit of hindsight that Democrats should have slowed their push for health care reform in 2009 and 2010, to prioritize other issues, and paid a huge political price for their persistence. In so doing, he’s allowed Republicans to box in vulnerable Dems who voted for what ultimately became ‘Obamacare.” [TPM]

Wash. abortion coverage bill is on hold: “A bill that would require insurers to cover abortion services is off the table this year in Washington state. A special session of the Washington legislature ended Wednesday without the Reproductive Parity Act reaching a vote. The bill would require private insurers that provide maternity coverage to also cover abortion.” [Kaiser Health News]

Mississippi may be abortion free by July 1: Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant will sign into law Monday “the state’s new bill requiring all abortion providers to be registered OB-GYNs with admission privileges to a local hospital. The new regulations, which could possibly stop the state’s only clinic from operating, will go into effect on July 1st unless it is stopped by a judicial injunction.” [RH Reality Check]

Van Hollen decries GOP direction on safety net programs: “The ranking member of the House Budget Committee said a Tuesday hearing of that panel to examine the nation’s safety net programs will defend a House Republican budget blueprint that “shreds the safety net.” In a conference call with reporters Monday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said chances are ‘very remote’ that the budget plan unveiled last month by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) will be approved by the Senate or signed by the president.” [Modern Healthcare]

Abortion foes gear-up in Ohio: “Supporters of an Ohio bill that would impose the nation’s strictest abortion limit are preparing stepped-up attacks as lawmakers return to Columbus.” [AP]

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