tagged w/ politics news
-
The parents of a two-year-old girl in Colorado are unable to attain health insurance for their daughter because the insurer, United Healthcare Golden Rule, claims she is too small. In a letter sent to the family of the child, Aislin Bates, United Healthcare Golden Rule writes, "we are unable to provide coverage for Aislin because her height and weight do not meet our company standards." According to a Colorado news station, Aislin weighed six pounds, six ounces at birth, and now weighs 22 pounds.
When Robert Bates, the girl's father, left his former job to start his own business, he was forced to seek out his own health insurance, and enrolled his family in an insurance plan with United Healthcare Golden Rule. "It took me by surprise," Bates told ABC 7 in Denver. "I didn't think that her size was that abnormal and that it was something that you'd consider to be unhealthy." As ABC 7 reports:
A spokeswoman for United Healthcare Golden Rule said 89 percent of the people who apply for insurance get it. Ellen Laden, the company's public relations director, told the station that most insurers have their own propriety height and weight guidelines.
"Ours are based on several medical sources, including the Centers for Disease Control, and are well within industry standards," she said.
Laden said she couldn't talk about specific cases like the Bates's.
Robert Bates, however, isn't satisfied. "What we want to see is that insurance companies have legitimate reasons for denying coverage," he said.
Recently, another child in Colorado, Alex Lange, was also denied coverage (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/12/alex-lange-denied-health_n_317337.html), but for "preexisting obesity" instead of being underweight. In that instance, the insurer, Rocky Mountain Health Plans, reversed their policy (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/12/rocky-mountain-health-pla_n_317954.html) after the parents of the 17-pound infant gained media exposure. After the reversal, Rocky Mountain Health Plans attributed the boy's rejection for health coverage to a "flaw in our underwriting system."
The Bates family is hoping for a similar change in policy. In the meantime, Aislin Bates remains uninsured.The parents of a two-year-old girl in Colorado are unable to attain health insurance... more
-
-
30 members of the GOP opposed an amendment, earlier this month, to the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill, which would withhold defense contracts from companies, "if they restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court." Now -- as it turns out -- the Defense Department was also against the amendment.30 members of the GOP opposed an amendment, earlier this month, to the 2010 Defense... more
-
-
Maine activists have been working hard for five years to pass gay marriage, but events in the last few days now point to what should be an historic victory on November 3rd. With only 19 days left, what I'm seeing from the "Yes on 1" campaign reminds me of where "No on 8" was at this point last year - outgunned by the opposition, unable to control the message and at a loss about what to do. If Question 1 passes, it will be our fault for not having done more. But if Question 1 fails, those of us who get involved will have made historyMaine activists have been working hard for five years to pass gay marriage, but events... more
-
-
HAMMOND, La. - A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have.
Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
Neither Bardwell nor the couple immediately returned phone calls from The Associated Press. But Bardwell told the Daily Star of Hammond that he was not a racist. "I do ceremonies for black couples right here in my house," Bardwell said. "My main concern is for the children."
Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said. "I don't do interracial marriages because I don't want to put children in a situation they didn't bring on themselves," Bardwell said. "In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer." If he does an interracial marriage for one couple, he must do the same for all, he said. "I try to treat everyone equally," he said.
Thirty-year-old Beth Humphrey and 32-year-old Terence McKay, both of Hammond, say they will consult the U.S. Justice Department about filing a discrimination complaint.
Humphrey told the newspaper she called Bardwell on Oct. 6 to inquire about getting a marriage license signed. She says Bardwell's wife told her that Bardwell will not sign marriage licenses for interracial couples.
"It is really astonishing and disappointing to see this come up in 2009," said American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana attorney Katie Schwartzman. "The Supreme Court ruled as far back as 1963 that the government cannot tell people who they can and cannot marry."
end of excerpt
Source: MSNBC
For the children my ass.HAMMOND, La. - A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage... more
-
-
The Obama administration's point man on civil rights said Wednesday he will seek to fight discrimination against gays, an area in which the Justice Department has had only a small role in the past.
Tom Perez, the assistant attorney general in charge of the department's Civil Rights Division, said pending legislation in Congress will allow the department to attack discrimination against lesbian, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, a group often referred to by the acronym LGBT.
That would be new territory for the division that has historically gone after discrimination based on race, gender or religion. It would also be a major shift from the division's work during the Bush administration, which opposed expansion of the federal hate crimes law to prosecute those who attack gays.
Perez on Wednesday he gave his first speech to division employees, saying the division must be transformed "so that we are capable of tackling the civil rights challenges of the 21st century," include issues not historically addressed by the department.
"We must fight for fairness and basic equality for our LGBT brothers and sisters who so frequently are being left in the shadows," he said, and to "ensure that there's a level playing field in which our LGBT brothers and sisters are judged by the content of their character."
Allison Herwitt, legislative director for Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group, called Perez's words "fantastic."The Obama administration's point man on civil rights said Wednesday he will seek... more
-
-
President Barack Obama has nominated a Minnesota policewoman to become the first openly gay person to serve as a U.S. marshal.
Sharon Lubinski is an assistant chief in the Minneapolis Police Department, where she has worked for 20 years.President Barack Obama has nominated a Minnesota policewoman to become the first... more
-
-
-
Last week, House Republican Leader John Boehner objected to House passage of a bill that would expand hate crime laws and make it a federal crime to assault people on the basis of their sexual orientation.
"All violent crimes should be prosecuted vigorously, no matter what the circumstance," he said. "The Democrats' 'thought crimes' legislation, however, places a higher value on some lives than others. Republicans believe that all lives are created equal, and should be defended with equal vigilance."Last week, House Republican Leader John Boehner objected to House passage of a bill... more
-
-
The “Birther queen” has been slapped with a five-figure fine for “wasting the judicial resources” of the Middle District of Georgia, where she’d filed one of her numerous lawsuits demanding that President Obama prove his citizenship before deploying soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan. The judgment, which calls Taitz’s case and tactics “delusional”The “Birther queen” has been slapped with a five-figure fine for... more
-
-
Health insurance stocks took a dive Tuesday, with the S&P Health Care Sector index becoming the worst-performing segment of the S&P 500, largely because of health insurance companies.
That followed a public declaration of war by the health insurance industry's lobbying arm against the White House's health care reform efforts.Health insurance stocks took a dive Tuesday, with the S&P Health Care Sector index... more
-
-
Just hours before the Senate Finance Committee is set to vote (and likely pass) its version of health care reform legislation, the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org has announced a new television advertisement slamming the final product.
Narrated by former health insurance executive Wendell Potter, the spot accuses private insurance of trying to "kill health reform" and whacks the committee for not including a public option to keep the industry honest.
"Take it from me," Potter says, "the Senate Finance bill is a dream come true of the health insurance industry. If there is no public option insurance companies aren't going to change. The choice of a public health insurance option is the only way to keep insurance companies honest."Just hours before the Senate Finance Committee is set to vote (and likely pass) its... more
-
-
t is time to clarify the debate over Iran and its nuclear program. It's easy to criticize the current course adopted by the United States and its allies, to huff and puff about Iranian mendacity, to point out that Russia and China won't agree to tougher measures against Tehran, and to detail the leaks in the sanctions already in place. But what, then, should the United States do? The critics are eager to denounce the administration from the sidelines for being weak but rarely detail what they would do to be "tough." Would they attack Iran today? If not, then what should we do? It is time to put up or shut up on Iran.
There are three basic options that the United States and its allies have regarding Iran's nuclear program. We can bomb Iran, engage it diplomatically, or contain and deter the threat it poses. Let me outline what each would entail and then explain why I favor containment and deterrenct is time to clarify the debate over Iran and its nuclear program. It's easy to... more
-
-
In this video Canadians Defend Their Health Care System
and some alive and old at the same time who is also Canadian
and did not get killed by a death panel.In this video Canadians Defend Their Health Care System
and some alive and old at the... more
-
-
macfan
-
added this
-
2 years ago
- |
-
The Second amendment has got to go!
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. ..... How long before some RON PAUL freak pulls the trigger. How many people are scared- no matter what you think of Obama the politician- how many people think he does not survive his first term.
Tags
Gun At Obama Event, Health Care Bill, Health Care Reform, Health Care Town Hall, Health Care Town Hall Protests, Obama Arizona, Obama Rally Gun, Politics News, President Obama, Town Hall, Town Hall Protests, Town Hall Violence, Veterans Of Foreign Wars, William Kostric, Politics NewsThe Second amendment has got to go!
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the... more
-
-
We've embarked on a national attempt to find something redeeming in the Gates-Crowley affair - to find the "teachable moment."We've embarked on a national attempt to find something redeeming in the... more
-
-
Katrina vanden Heuvel Editor of The Nation
Posted: July 27, 2009 01:43 PM
At this moment -- when 72 percent of the nation supports a public plan option and 14,000 people lose their healthcare every day -- the House Blue Dogs and conservative Democratic Senators are doing just about everything they can to cripple real health care reform.
So why does the media keep ceding them the label of "centrist" or "moderate" as if they are the guardians of mainstream values?Katrina vanden Heuvel Editor of The Nation
Posted: July 27, 2009 01:43 PM
At this... more
-
