Anticipated 2006 Statewide Initiatives; Hospitals Dumping Ill Patients on Skid Row; Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage; The Politics of Country Music
Anticipated 2006 Statewide Initiatives
Larry Mantle talks with LA Times staff writer Jordan Rau, State Senator Chuck Poochigian and political consultant Dave Gilliard about next year's anticipated statewide initiatives.
Hospitals Dumping Ill Patients on Skid Row
Some local Los Angeles area hospitals have been depositing still-sick indigent patients in downtown's skid row. Why is this happening, and what can be done to stop it? Larry Mantle talks with Union Rescue Mission President Andy Bales, Jim Lott of the Hospital Association of Southern California, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Burke.
Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage
Starting January 1st, Medicare will begin providing prescription drug coverage for seniors and those with disabilities. Larry talks with Jeff Flick, Regional Administrator at the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Bill Vaughn, policy analyst with the Consumers Union, to help sort out whether the new plan is right for you.
The Politics of Country Music
Larry Mantle talks with veteran music journalist Chris Willman about the politics of country music. In his new book Rednecks and Bluenecks: The Politics of Country Music, he examines how country music’s increasing popularity and conservative drift parallels the transformation of the Democratic South into the heart of the Republican mainstream.