House Republicans have finally revealed their legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act - we dive into the "American Health Care Act;" we check in with Metro CEO Phil Washington on the latest measures and changes; Wendy's is replacing workers with self-serving kiosks - pros and cons?; and more.
Exploring the American Health Care Act, Congressional Republicans’ ACA replacement plan
After much anticipating and hand-wringing on both sides of the aisle, House Republicans have finally unveiled legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
The “American Health Care Act” would keep a couple of the most popular parts of the ACA -- the ability to stay on your parents’ health insurance until you’re 26 years old and preventing insurance companies from charging more or denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. The revised law would do away with the individual mandate, which imposed a penalty on Americans who chose not to purchase insurance, and instead tries to ensure people maintain coverage by letting insurance companies impose a surcharge if you have a gap between health plans.
The legislation has been met with mixed reviews from Republicans in Congress, and the bill’s plan to target Planned Parenthood isn’t doing much to get Democrats on board. The architects say the bill is designed to be readable by all Americans.
You can read the full text below:
American Healthcare Act by Southern California Public Radio on Scribd
Guests:
Dan Diamond, author of POLITICO Pulse, a daily briefing on health care politics and policy; he also hosts POLITICO’s Pulse Check podcast and tweets
Grace-Marie Turner, founder and president of the Galen Institute, a non-profit policy research organization focusing on health care and tax policy; she’s also a contributor to Forbes.com; she tweets
Kavita Patel, M.D., nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; she’s also a practicing primary care physician at Johns Hopkins Medicine and was previously a director of policy for The White House under President Obama; she tweets
Metro CEO Phil Washington weighs in on federal funding, system-wide policing and more
Since our last chat with Washington, Measure M was passed with nearly a quarter of voters checking ‘yes’ on their November ballot.
However, even with the successes of Measure M and the opening of new Gold Line stations and the Expo Line to Santa Monica, Metro ridership saw a 6 percent drop in 2016, thanks in large part to a sharp decline in annual bus ridership.
Metro’s Board also recently approved a plan worth almost $800 million that would shift responsibility of policing most of Metro to the Los Angeles and Long Beach Police Departments. The L.A. Sheriff’s Department would still oversee some of the system.
Back for his regular check-in with AirTalk and Larry Mantle, Metro Los Angeles CEO Phil Washington is in studio to chat about all this and other local transportation news, including the latest on whether Metro will be selling the naming rights to its trains and stations. Have a question? Post in the comments below or join the conversation at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Phil Washington, CEO of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)
Weighing the impact of sending ground troops to fight ISIS in Syria
Under the Obama Administration, military operations in Syria gave the U.S. a position to monitor the operations without intervention.
But President Trump may have other plans in the fight against ISIS. An official from the Defense Department last month told CNN that conventional forces could hit the ground in Syria. And the Washington Post reported that U.S. officials have cited a Pentagon plan for a forthcoming assault on Raqqa, ISIS’ Syrian capital. This would require adjustments to current restrictions on U.S. involvement in Syria, lifting a cap on military size in that country.
The proposal wouldn’t necessarily put more boots on the ground, it would mean more involvement in decisions from Washington, and President Trump did pledge during the presidential race that he would amp up military action to combat ISIS.
So how effective could it be to send troops to Syria? Larry weighs in with experts on the pros and cons.
Guests:
Jessica Ashooh, scholar at the Atlantic Council, specializing in Middle East task force strategy; she was a senior policy planning analyst in the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a participant in the Geneva II peace talks
Joshua Landis, professor of international and area studies and director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma; Landis’ blog is SyriaComment.com
Wendy’s to replace workers with self-service kiosks in some restaurants
Fast food joint Wendy’s has begun introducing self-service ordering kiosks to at least 1,000 locations -- or about 15 percent of its stores, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The move is seen by some analysts as a way to offset new minimum wage requirements that some places, including California, have voted in.
Is this an unintended consequence of the minimum wage hike?
Guests:
Ted Green, Co-Chair of the Labor and Employment Committee at the Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed)
Saru Jayaraman, Co-Director and Co-Founder, Restaurant Opportunities Center United (ROC United), a nonprofit working to improve wages and working conditions for restaurant workers. She is the author of “Forked: A New Standard For American Dining” (Oxford University Press, 2016)