Blue Shield of California may be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in taxes owed each year to the state of California after the San Francisco-based insurer was stripped of its tax-exempt status back in August. Also, Starbucks’ new “Race Together” campaign wants baristas at its 4,700 stores to engage in conversations with customers about race in America. Then, we look at moderation versus abstinence for treating alcohol addiction.
California Blue Shield’s future as nonprofit unclear after losing tax-exempt status
Blue Shield of California may be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in taxes owed each year to the state of California after the San Francisco-based insurer was stripped of its tax-exempt status back in August.
An L.A. Times article says the news comes months after the California Franchise Tax Board actually made the decision, raising questions of why no one knew about this until now. There have also been concerns about the surplus of $4.2 billion the insurer ended 2014 with, since it’s four times as much as the company would need to cover future claims. Blue Shield says it believes it is fulfilling its mission as a nonprofit and is protesting the decision. For now, they will have to file tax returns back to 2013. Blue Shield insures 3.4 million Californians and employs 5,000 people.
How will premiums be affected by Blue Shield’s loss of tax exempt status? Does Blue Shield stand a chance against the state in its appeal? What would the implications be for the insurer and consumers if Blue Shield became a for-profit company?
Guests:
Anthony Wright, Executive Director for Health Access, a statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition based in Sacramento.
Yevgeniy Feyman, Fellow at the Center for Medical Progress at the Manhattan Institute
The chasm between intention and outcome: Starbucks’ ‘Race Together’ campaign
Starbucks’ new “Race Together” campaign wants baristas at its 4,700 stores to engage in conversations with customers about race in America. It didn’t take long for the Internet to react.
From the Washington Post to Twitter, everyone seems to have something to say about the coffee giant’s latest effort.
What do you think? Is something like this, however well-meaning, bound to fail? Or can it incite substantive conversation?
Guest:
Bryant Simon, author of "Everything But the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks" (University of California Press, 2011) and a professor of History at Temple University
Pay for play? 9th Circuit hears arguments in Ed O’Bannon case
The NCAA is continuing its battle to keep amateurism in college sports. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday on whether the NCAA should be allowed to prevent college athletes from earning money from their names, images, or likenesses.
The NCAA is challenging a ruling by a U.S. district judge that said the NCAA’s policies “unreasonably restrain trade” by preventing college athletes from earning money from things like TV broadcasts, advertisements, and video games. In her ruling last year, Judge Claudia Wilken ordered that some college athletes get deferred payments of $5,000 a year. The case was originally brought by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon.
Should college athletes get a slice of the action for the use of their name or image? What did the judge’s questions at Tuesday’s hearing show about the direction in which they might be leaning?
Guests:
, legal reporter for Reuters. He was at Tuesday’s 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing on the O’Bannon vs. NCAA case.
Alcohol abusers seek solace in resurgence of Moderation Management Network
The troubled history of the Moderation Management (MM) Network is fading slowly and allowing the program to reintroduce a nuanced approach to treating addiction.
Founded in 1994 as an alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous’s (AA) strict abstinence program, MM was derailed when its founder (who had since left MM and tried AA), Audrey Kishline, killed a father and daughter in a drunk driving car collision in 2012, and later took her own life. Marc Kern, MM's long-time director, says AA’s high relapse rate is a major reason he thinks a moderate approach should be explored by people who find themselves drinking (or smoking marijuana) to excess. The program advises 30 days sober to start then a slow reintroduction of alcohol and eventually no more than 14 drinks a week for men, nine for women, over no more than three or four days a week. There is no spirituality component that is a turn-off for some who turn to AA.
Are there some types of people better suited to MM? Does it work for people who might have family history of alcoholism? Have you or anyone you know tried MM? What was your experience? Does it simply turn people into functional alcoholics? Should MM start counseling chronic marijuana smokers?
Guest:
Marc Kern, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board, Moderation Management Network; Licensed Clinical Psychologist with Alternatives Addiction Treatment in Beverly Hills
France battles so-called planned obsolescence of consumer appliances
The joke goes if you want to know how long your new TV, phone or dishwasher will last, just check the warranty’s expiration.
Not so in France, where a new law mandates manufacturers to inform consumers how long their electronic appliances will last and how long repair parts will be made available. The decree aims to fight so-called planned obsolescence - when companies design strategies to limit the lifespan of appliances, so that consumers have to buy new ones.
Vendors say new product designs are not a conspiracy of planned obsolescence, simply advances in designs of parts such as tamper-proof screws and sealed-in batteries. Next year, the French government might up the ante by forcing manufacturers to repair products that break within two years of purchase.
What frustrations in time-sensitive design and manufacturing have you encountered?
Guests:
Drew Prindle, Writer for DigitalTrends.com news and review site focused on technology
James Moore, Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering