AirTalk parses through the impact on California healthcare after President Trump announced he will stop paying subsidies to health insurance companies that help pay medical costs for low-income patients. We also preview the Dodgers’s National League Championship Series opener against the Chicago Cubs Saturday; review this week’s new releases on FilmWeek; and more.
Following executive order undoing ACA insurance rules, Trump goes after key subsidies
Thursday, President Trump announced that he will stop paying subsidies to health insurance companies which help pay medical costs for people who are low-income.
After failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration has taken various regulatory actions to undermine the ACA. According to the New York Times, these also include an executive order that rolled back health insurance requirements, cutting spending on enrollment advertising and loosening individual mandate enforcement.
Ending these subsidies, which are currently costing the government $7 billion annually, is the latest move in the Trump administration’s efforts to unravel the ACA. Some insurers have said that without government support, they will charge higher premiums and might withdraw from ACA insurance exchanges. Trump said that ending subsidies will lower costs and diversify health care insurance options for Americans.
This news comes on the heels of Covered CA announcing Wednesday that their Silver-tier plans will face an additional surcharge “due to the ongoing uncertainty at the federal level.”
How will this subsidy rollback affect Covered California? Is this a step forward or backward for health coverage in the U.S.? And what does this news mean for insurance exchanges and the future of the Affordable Care Act?
Guests:
Gerald Kominski, professor of health policy and management at UCLA and director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
Sally C. Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, a nonprofit think tank focused on free-market solutions to policy problems
Coming soon to a Senate race near you: Dianne Feinstein v. Kevin de León?
Longtime state Senator Dianne Feinstein’s announcement to seek a sixth term has reshaped political ambitions in California.
An open race could have brought younger blood to CA politics, as well as infuse energy to a beleaguered Democratic Party.
Feinstein’s declaration has apparently not deterred one person from thinking about entering the race. And that’s CA Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, according to sources close to the lawmaker.
Los Angeles Times reporter Melanie Mason and Capital Public Radio’s Ben Bradford join Larry to discuss the potential matchup.
Guests:
Melanie Mason, reporter for the LA Times covering state government and politics in Sacramento; her piece for the paper today looks at de León’s potential run; she tweets
Ben Bradford, state government reporter for Capital Public Radio; he tweets
Triple play: Larry, Nick and A on the National League Championship Series
The Dodgers are ready to open the National League Champion Series in LA on Saturday.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the team earned a few days off after finishing a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this week. The Dodgers will also be able to set their own rotation, and the first two of seven games will be at home.
Clayton Kershaw was unsurprisingly announced to start for game one. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hasn’t revealed any more about the rotation. The Washington Nationals and the Chicago Cubs played game five of their division series on Thursday night with the Cubs surviving 9-8.
It wasn’t long ago that there was a conversation about the Dodgers’ losing streak and what a bad sign it could be for their playoff push, so what are the predictions for Saturday’s NLCS opener? Larry Mantle speaks to KPCC’s All Things Considered Host Nick Roman and Take Two’s A Martinez for a check-in on the team.
Guests:
A Martinez, host of KPCC’s Take Two; he tweets
Nick Roman, host of KPCC All Things Considered; he tweets
FilmWeek: ‘The Foreigner,’ ‘Marshall,’ ‘Happy Death Day’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Amy Nicholson, Wade Major and Andy Klein review this weekend’s new movie releases.
"The Foreigner" in wide release
"Marshall" in wide release
"Happy Death Day" in wide release
"Professor Marston and the Wonder Women" in wide release
"Goodbye Christopher Robin" at ArcLight Hollywood and The Landmark
"The Meyerowitz Stories" on Netflix; also playing at The Landmark and Laemmle's NoHo
"Una" at ArcLight Hollywood
"Breathe" at ArcLight Hollywood and The Landmark
"Faces Places" at Laemmle's Playhouse, Laemmle's Royal and Laemmle's Town Center
"Rat Film" at Downtown Independent Theater
"Dina" at Nuart Theatre
"Paradise" at Laemmle's Monica Film Center and Laemmle's Town Center
Critics' Hits
Amy: "Rat Film"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-kpMAKc0l4
Wade: "The Meyerowitz Stories," "Marshall" & "Paradise"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czyMIIm12JY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfvzEXhhWNk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzIthDhMjC4
Andy: "Happy Death Day" & "Una"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NTaDm3atkc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSpZBmnamhg&t=68s
Mixed Feelings
Amy: "Professor Marston and the Wonder Women"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r991pr4Fohk&t=11s
Andy & Wade: "Goodbye Christopher Robin"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPNM86JZsu0
Misses!
Wade: "The Foreigner"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33iuQu3UtjI
Guests:
Amy Nicholson, film critic for KPCC and host of The Canon podcast; she tweets
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com
Andy Klein, KPCC film critic
Will the revelations about Harvey Weinstein change Hollywood culture?
Since news broke last week about Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment allegations, numerous women have come to the fore, accusing the movie mogul of similar indiscretions.
Weinstein’s behavior has been described as an open secret in Hollywood, and that’s raised criticisms regarding the nature of Hollywood and its tendency to turn a blind eye to mysogynistic behavior.
High profile actresses like Ashley Judd and Gwyneth Paltrow are speaking out publicly for the first time and other actors have been called out for harassing women. Ben Affleck condemned Weinstein’s behavior in a
— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) October 10, 2017
, but this prompted his own scandal with women accusing Affleck of sexually harassing them. One Tree Hill actress Hilarie Burton tweeted that Affleck groped her on TRL. She gave her account on-camera in a clip of TRL: Uncensored when the incident happened.
But will shedding light on the longstanding ‘casting couch’ situation actually change anything? Will it empower people who’ve been harassed to come forward? Or will this be a short-lived shaming of inappropriate behavior in the entertainment industry?
Guests:
Amy Nicholson, film critic for KPCC and host of The Canon podcast; she tweets
Wade Major, film critic for KPCC and CineGods.com
Andy Klein, KPCC film critic