Confusion about the Affordable Care Act continues as the enrollment deadline nears. Next, a look inside California's private foster care system and Montana Senator Max Baucus' apportionment to China ambassador. Then, we explore Canada's prostitution laws and discuss how to handle holiday huggers in the workplace.
Affordable Care Act changes add confusion as healthcare signup deadline looms
A health insurance lifeline has been thrown to thousands of Americans whose policies were cancelled due to the Affordable Care Act.
Following a decision to extend the deadline, tomorrow is the last day people can apply for health coverage to start on January 1, both federally and through Covered California.
The White House has issued a temporary hardship exemption meaning those with canceled plans won't be hit with stiff tax penalties for non-compliance. Anyone in this category is also eligible to apply for bare-bones catastrophic coverage which is usually reserved from the under 30s.
Republican critics say this latest amendment to Obamacare is further evidence that the law is unworkable and should be scrapped. Democrats argue the latest step is a common-sense solution to a difficult situation.
The Department of Health and Human Services has set up a dedicated hotline to help consumers with cancelled policies - 1866-837-0677.
What is your experience of securing healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act? Are you confused with the changes? If you have a policy starting on January 1, how will it differ from the healthcare coverage you currently have?
Guests:
Gerald Kominski, Director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
Yevgeniy Feyman, Fellow at the Center for Medical Progress at the Manhattan Institute
Jennifer Haberkorn, Health Reporter with Politico
California’s private foster care system is more dangerous than the public system
The nation’s largest private foster care system, begun 27 years ago here in California, is a $400 million dollar a year industry.
15,000 children are now a part of that system, and in LA County itself, 5 of 6 kids that aren’t placed with relatives go into the private care system.
An analysis by the Los Angeles Times shows that over a 3-year period, children are a third more likely to be abused in private foster care, and over a 5-year period, 4 children have died in private care, while none in public.
Who should be responsible for this massive oversight in child care? How is the government responding to this appalling situation, and how did we get here in the first place?
Guests:
Philip Browning, head of Department of Children and Family Services for LA County
Jill Duerr Berrick, PhD, co-director of the Center for Child and Youth Policy at UC Berkeley
Sen. Max Baucus tapped to serve as US ambassador to China
Max Baucus, the senior Democratic Senator from Montana who has served since 1978, was set to retire at the end of his 2014 term. But President Obama announced on Friday that Baucus would be appointed the US Ambassador to China to replace current ambassador and former Gov of Washington Gary Locke, who is stepping down.
Baucus’ departure from the Senate removes the second-most-senior member of the chamber, and his absence raises numerous questions.
Who will fill the Democratic power vacuum, particularly as chair of the Senate Finance Committee? Who will the Governor of Montana appoint to his seat in the interim, largely considered a political boon? How well is Baucus, an old-school Midwesterner, suited to representing the United States in China?
Guests:
Chuck Johnson, chief of the Lee Newspapers State Bureau in Helena, Montana
Clayton Dube, Executive Director, USC US-China Institute
Canada’s Supreme Court strikes down anti-prostitution laws
Canada’s Supreme Court unanimously voted to strike down a ban on three laws against prostitution, including bans on brothels and street solicitation.
The December 20th decision ruled that the legislation denied prostitutes their guaranteed rights to safety. Prostitution was already legal in Canada, but laws preventing its practice were deemed “overly broad,” and went beyond protecting communities.
Though laws against profiting from a prostitute’s income were aimed at criminalizing pimping, Friday’s decision argues that they unjustly targeted bodyguards, drivers, and security who keep sex workers safe.
How should the law protect sex workers and those who profit from their business? Is it fair to criminalize acts that profit from or enable sex trade? How will this ruling impact Canadian sex workers and Canadian communities?
Guest:
Sean Fine, reporter for The Globe and Mail in Canada that covers the Supreme Court of Canada and other legal issues
How do you handle holiday huggers and assertive well-wishers at work?
The holidays have a way of bringing out the joie de vivre in people, but what's acceptable behaviors at a family holiday celebration might not translate as well in a work-related setting.
We've all met the indiscriminate holiday hugger, or the inebriated co-worker that tends to over share at the company Christmas party.
With the explosion of holiday and New Year's eve parties around this time of the year, where work and leisure tend to collide more and more, what should we be mindful of so we don't overstep certain social boundaries?
Guests:
Alison Green, founder and advice columnist at Ask a Manager, a popular blog that deals with workplace issues. She is also a contributing writer at U.S. News & World Report
Peggy Drexler, Assistant Professor at Weill Medical College at Cornell University and the author of “Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughter, Fathers, and the Changing American Family” (Rodale Books, 2011).