Federal Efforts to Combat Health Care Fraud and Abuse Yield Record Results

In FY 12, federal health care fraud investigations resulted in the recovery of $4.2 billion, according to the annual Health Fraud and Abuse Control Program report from the U.S. Justice and Health and Human Services departments.

According to the report, for every dollar spent on health care fraud and abuse investigations in the last three years, the government recovered $7.90. This is the highest three-year return rate in the program’s 16-year history.  Since 1997, the program has returned more than $23 billion to the Medicare Trust Funds.

Hot Report: Guide to Connecticut's Business Tax Credits

OLR Report 2013-R-0292 summarizes Connecticut's business tax credit programs to reflect changes made during the 2013 regular legislative session.

Connecticut offers over 30 tax credits for actions ranging from donating money to affordable housing programs to investing in fledgling high technology businesses. Some apply to money or assets businesses donate for public or charitable purposes, such as the Neighborhood Assistance tax credit. Most credits apply to one or more business taxes; a few apply to the personal income tax.

The report groups the credits by purpose and summarizes them in tables for each group.

The groups of tax credit programs are:

• Fixed Capital Investments
• Contributions and Donations
• Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection
• Human Capital Investment
• Real Estate Development
• Research and Development
• Targeted Area Development
• Targeted Industries Development
• Venture Capital Investments

For more information, read the full report.

Buying Health Insurance without a Traditional Bank Account

Starting January 1, 2014, federal health law will require most Americans to carry health insurance.  How do you sell a product to a customer who has no easy way to pay for it, such as a bank account?  That is the question that Sarah Varney asked in an article on NPR's website.

According to the article, one in five households in the U.S. has almost no interaction with a traditional bank. The lack of a bank account will pose problems for those without health coverage and for the companies trying to sell it to them through online exchanges. 

The article highlights the fact that customers without traditional bank accounts will need simple and affordable payment options to purchase health coverage, such as credit cards or cash-loaded, prepaid debit cards.  According to the article, the Affordable Care Act does not require health insurers to accept all forms of payment, and larger health insurance carriers are urging states to allow companies to set their own payment policies.   

Hartford Landfill Reused as Clean Energy Source

A recent edition of Environmental Headlines reports that the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA) has awarded an $11.6 million contract for the final phase of capping the Hartford landfill. As part of the project, photovoltaic panels will be mounted on top of a special artificial turf. The panels will be able to generate enough power to serve approximately 1,000 homes. CRRA expects the photovoltaics to be on-line by October 1 and to complete the landfill closure project in 2014. CRRA will receive zero-emission renewable energy credits for the electricity produced by the panels, which will be sold to Connecticut Light & Power.

Key Voting Rights Act Provision Struck Down

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder effectively ended a longstanding provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that requires certain jurisdictions to have election-related changes “precleared”. The Court’s decision reversed an appellate court decision that upheld the act’s requirements.

Section 5 of the Act requires certain state and local governments (“covered jurisdictions”) with a history of discriminatory voting practices to obtain approval from the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for D.C. before implementing any change affecting voting. Specifically, preclearance applies to any attempt to change “any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting...in any covered jurisdiction.”

The Court’s opinion did not address Section 5 itself, but rather a formula, found in Section 4 of the act, that determines which states Section 5 covers. However, without the formula, Section 5’s reach is limited to a small number of jurisdictions, not covered by the formula, that were “bailed in” under a separate provision of the act.

In striking down Section 4’s coverage formula, the Court held that it was unconstitutional in light of current conditions, writing that it was based on decades-old data and eradicated practices. It noted that the formula covered states that, as of the mid-1960s, had significantly low voter registration and turnout and recent use of certain voting tests (e.g., literacy tests). The Court’s opinion stated that such conditions are no longer present in the covered states, and thus could not be used as the basis for a coverage formula.

Hot Report: Affordable Care Act - Questions and Answers

OLR Report 2013-R-0300 answers a number of questions about the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The questions include:

• Under the ACA, will everyone have to enroll in a health insurance plan?
• What will you have to do if you are currently uninsured?
• What is the basic role of the exchange?
• How will the federal government know who is or is not enrolled in a health insurance plan?
• Will people be penalized for not obtaining health insurance?
• Up to what age are children allowed to stay on their parents' health insurance plan?
• How does the law affect people who are already enrolled in a health insurance plan?
• Are there additional benefits for the public under the ACA?

For the answers to these questions, read the full report.

Connecticut Law Firm Leads a High Profile Mental Health Parity Lawsuit

According to a recent Connecticut Law Tribune article, a state law firm filed a high-profile federal lawsuit in April accusing certain insurance companies of overcharging patients for mental health services causing many to avoid treatment. 

Murtha Cullina’s Hartford office filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New Haven on behalf of the American Psychiatric Association. The lawsuit alleges Anthem and its subsidiaries, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and Wellpoint, require extra pre-approval and charge higher co-payments for mental health services in violation of the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act.

This is the fourth lawsuit filed in the country since Congress amended the Act in 2008 to, among other things, require insurance companies to use the same billing standards for mental health and medical services. In 2012, the U.S. District Court in Vermont was the first to rule in favor of mental health patients who claimed to be treated differently than those seeking non-mental health services. Similar lawsuits are pending in California and New York.

The article notes that although Anthem hasn’t formally responded to the lawsuit, it has publically announced plans to change its fee schedule, reconsider 28,000 cases, and pay back approximately $400,000 in co-payments it collected.

Is 2013 the Year of State Tax Reform?

While Connecticut’s biennial budget made only a handful of state tax changes, the National Conference of State Legislatures reports that 31 states are considering significant tax reform measures in 2013 and three states – Alaska, New Mexico, and Virginia – have already enacted them.

• Alaska lowered its oil and gas production taxes.
• New Mexico is reducing its corporate income tax rate over five years and moving to combined reporting requirements and a single sales factor apportionment formula for certain corporations.
• Virginia adopted wide-ranging changes to its sales tax, gas tax, and some local taxes and fees to address state transportation funding.

The Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy has been monitoring these efforts and others and has compiled a list of proposals on its website.  It also identified the key trends in the 2013 state tax policy debates.

Employer Healthcare Mandate Delayed

The Obama administration has announced that it is postponing the federal health care law’s insurance mandate for employers until 2015, Politico and the New York Times report.  Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees who do not provide health insurance coverage must pay a penalty.  Thus, for 2014, there will be no penalties assessed for businesses that do not cover their workers.  The U.S. Treasury, which is in charge of the so-called “employer mandate,” has said it will look to streamline the steps businesses have to take to show they are complying with the law to make it less burdensome.  The delay in implementing the employer mandate may increase the ACA costs, as potentially more workers seek coverage on the healthcare exchanges in order to receive federal subsidies toward premiums.

Federal Dollars for Small Businesses

Connecticut’s economic development agencies aren’t the only game in town for small businesses looking for the capital and technical assistance needed to grow.   The federal Small Business Administration (SBA) has been at this since the Great Depression, offering different forms of assistance for different businesses’ purposes. Ironically, the number of SBA programs could be a problem for legislative staff new to economic development policies and programs.

But a new, twenty-six-page Congressional Research Service report meets this need, describing the SBA’s history and summarizing its programs. The table of contents alone helps the reader see how SBA organizes and markets its services. For example, the report divides the programs into two general categories—disaster loans and financial programs. It introduces the latter by describing how the SBA defines small business, making it easier for researchers to determine if its programs are right for their constituents. Then it sorts the programs into meaningful categories.

The report concludes by bringing readers up to date on recent Congressional changes, programs the SBA discontinued, and current funding levels.

Hot Report: Comparison of Medical Marijuana Programs

OLR Report 2013-R-0271 compares the medical marijuana programs in Connecticut, California, Colorado, and Washington, including (1) their main features such as regulations on growing, distributing, and participating in the programs and (2) participation statistics. You also asked about the implications of the Connecticut Uniform Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act on Connecticut's medical marijuana program.

Connecticut, California, Colorado, and Washington are among the 18 states with laws allowing for medical marijuana use under specified conditions. Connecticut's medical marijuana program was established by PA 12-55 and is administered by the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). Patients are able to obtain temporary registration certificates until DCP regulations fully implementing the program are approved and enacted. DCP recently submitted revised proposed regulations to the Regulation Review Committee.

There are many similarities between these states' medical marijuana programs. For example, each state:

1. allows patients to use marijuana if a physician documents that the patient suffers from a condition or symptoms that could be treated with marijuana (Washington allows certain other medical providers to also document the need for medical marijuana);
2. provides protection under state laws for patients, as well as their primary caregivers and physicians, for specified actions relating to authorized medical marijuana use;
3. specifically provides that insurers are not required to cover medical marijuana;
4. prohibits the use of medical marijuana in certain settings; and
5. specifies which medical conditions qualify for medical marijuana use.

 There are also notable differences. For example:

1. Connecticut's list of qualifying conditions is the most restrictive (e.g., it is the only one of the four states that does not include chronic or severe pain as a separate qualifying condition).
2. Unlike the other three states, Connecticut's law does not (a) authorize a patient growing his or her own marijuana for medical use or (b) allow medical marijuana use by minors.
3. Colorado and Connecticut require dispensaries to be state-licensed (Connecticut's licensing regulations have yet to be enacted). California and Washington do not license dispensaries.
4. California, Connecticut, and Colorado issue patient registry or identification cards (registration is not mandatory in California). In 2011, Washington's governor vetoed a provision that would have created a patient registry.
5. The states also differ in the amount of marijuana that patients can possess.

Below, we compare significant feature of these states' medical marijuana programs. We also compare available patient statistics. The report does not discuss all aspects of the applicable laws.

The law creating Connecticut's program does not explicitly mention the state Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. But while the proposed regulations have separate manufacturing, storing, dispensing, and labeling requirements, they do reference the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The proposed regulations specifically require act compliance (1) in any area within a production facility where marijuana will be manufactured into an edible form (Proposed Conn. Agencies Reg. § 21a-408-53(b)) and (2) for producer labeling and packaging (Proposed Conn. Agencies Reg. § 21a-408-56(c)(9)).

The proposed regulations also require anyone who removes any sample or record from a dispensary facility for an investigatory purpose or as evidence, under the proposed regulations or the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, to provide a receipt, which must be kept for three years (Proposed Conn. Agencies Reg. § 21a-408-65(e)).

It is possible that other aspects of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act may apply in situations where the proposed regulations are silent.

 

For more information, read the full report.

Defense of Marriage Act Decision’s Impact on Connecticut Employers

Although Connecticut has recognized same-sex marriage for several years, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the federal Defense of Marriage Act could present the state’s employers with new complications to address.  According to a recent post in the Connecticut Employment Law Blog, employers should anticipate and accommodate employees in same-sex marriages wanting to change their filing tax status on their W-4 forms.  Also, a range of issues including tax withholding amounts and health and retirement benefits provided under federal ERISA law may also need to be addressed. 

In addition, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which applies to employers with at least 50 employees, will now allow employees leave to care for their same-sex spouses.  Similar benefits under the state’s FMLA law have been available to certain same-sex spouses for several years.  However, the state law only applies to employers with at least 75 employees in the state.

Report on U.S. Teacher Prep Programs: Connecticut Colleges Don’t Fare Well, But Neither Does Stanford

Sometimes it seems that in our zeal to quantify and rate everything, almost nothing is good enough. Take teacher preparation programs at our colleges and universities. The National Council on Teacher Quality’s (NCTQ) recently released a national study on teacher prep programs that found “the vast majority of teacher preparation programs do not give aspiring teachers adequate return on their investment of time and tuition dollars.” More than three quarters of the more than 2,400 programs earned two or fewer stars out of a possible four. Connecticut took its lumps. Here, only Southern Connecticut State University’s graduate secondary school program received three stars. UConn only received one and a half and one star for its graduate secondary program and graduate elementary program, respectively. Elsewhere, other schools didn’t do so well either. Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Massachusetts, to name a few, all failed to reach the three star (honor roll) threshold.

But there was also pushback. For example, Linda Darling-Hammond, chair of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, blasted the NCTQ report in The Washington Post’s The Answer Sheet blog as being based on partial and often inaccurate information. She criticized NCTQ’s methodology that relied on “a paper review of published course requirements and course syllabi against a check list that does not consider the actual quality of instruction that the programs offer, evidence of what their students learn, or whether graduates can actually teach.” She noted that concerns about the study’s methodology led many schools to opt not to participate.

Feds Sue Florida over Institutionalized Children

The U.S. Justice Department has sued the state of Florida, alleging the state has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in administering its service system for children with significant medical needs. The complaint alleges that nearly 200 children have been kept segregated in nursing homes instead of being allowed to stay in their homes or other community-based settings. Both the ADA and the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Olmstead v. L.C. require states to eliminate unnecessary segregation of individuals with disabilities.

Almost a year ago, Justice notified the state that it was violating the ADA and identified numerous ways in which state policies and practices had limited the availability of access to medically necessary in-home services for children with significant medical needs. Justice also asserted that the state’s screening and transition planning processes were deficient and children were spending years in nursing facilities before receiving federally mandated screenings to determine whether they should be in such facilities.

The complaint requests both declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as compensatory damages for the affected children.

Annual Report on Judiciary Branch ADA compliance

The Judicial Branch Advisory Board on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) recently released its 2013 annual report.  The report highlights the advisory board’s accomplishments during the previous year, such as staff training, outreach, and creating a brochure on understanding the ADA. 

The report also includes 12 recommendations.  For example, the report recommends that the Judicial Branch:

1. identify the most visited ADA-related pages on its website and examine the feasibility of making those pages ADA accessible;
2. add a link on its website providing information for courts users about external resources for people with disabilities;
3. consider delivering information (such as ADA brochures) in an audio format and posting it online;
4. consider translating information about the ADA into languages other than English; and
5. seek grant funding for projects benefitting people with differing abilities.

The full list of recommendations is available in the report.

Consumer Complaints on Checking Accounts

According to The Pew Charitable Trusts, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been collecting consumer complaints on bank and credit products since March, 2012.

According to these complaints, checking accounts make up 15% of the complaints CFPB receives, which is third after mortgage and credit card related complaints.  These checking account complaints include problems with account openings, closings, deposits, and withdrawals.

Pew recommends that CFPB require financial institutions to make certain policy changes like summarizing key information on terms and fees, providing accountholders with clear pricing information on overdraft options, and making overdraft penalty fees reasonable and proportional, among others.

Hot Report: State Elderly Programs

OLR Report 2013-R-0251 describes select state programs for the elderly.

The state's principal elderly services programs provide cash assistance, energy assistance, health care, housing, legal assistance, long-term care, nutrition, property tax relief, and transportation. We have included programs where (1) age is one criterion for eligibility or (2) a large proportion of the clients are elderly even though the programs are not aimed solely at that group. Some of these programs are means tested. Some are funded, in part, with federal money. In addition to the internet links referenced in the report, additional information on many of these programs may be obtained by contacting the state's United Way 211 information line.

Areas covered include:

• Cash Assistance
• Energy Assistance
• Health Care
• CONNpace
• Housing
• Legal Assistance
• Long-Term Care
• Nutrition
• Property Tax Relief
• Transportation
• Volunteer and Employment Programs 

For more information, read the full report.

Same-Sex Couples Face Housing Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released the results of its study on housing discrimination against same-sex couples.  The study used paired testing and found that overall, both gay and lesbian couples receive less favorable treatment than heterosexual couples in the online rental housing market.
 
The research was based on 6,833 e-mail correspondence tests conducted in 50 U.S. metropolitan markets from June through October 2011. For each test, researchers sent two e-mails inquiring about the availability of an advertised rental unit: one from a same-sex couple and the other from a heterosexual couple.  Generally, the study found that same-sex couples received nearly 16% fewer responses to their inquiries than heterosexual couples.  And unexpectedly, states with protections against housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation showed slightly more adverse treatment of same-sex couples than states without these protections.

This CNNMoney.com article has more information on the study.

Veteran Suicide Rate Alarming

A 2013 report released by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) paints a bleak picture of suicide involving veterans. In the most comprehensive study of veteran suicides ever conducted by the VA, researchers found the percentage of all suicides reported as veterans has decreased slightly since 1999, but the estimated total number of veteran suicides has increased. The report found that an estimated 22 veterans committed suicide in America each day in 2010, almost one every hour.

The researchers found that the majority of veteran suicides (almost 70%) are committed by veterans age 50 or older. They determined that the period of highest risk for suicide is the first four weeks after someone leaves the military. They also concluded that Vietnam and female veterans are high risk demographic groups when it comes to suicide.

The most common means of committing suicide is drug overdose or poisoning, according to the study.

New Chinese Law Requires Children to Visit Elderly Parents

How often do you visit your parents? If they complain that it’s not often enough they can sue you – if you live in China, that is.

According to a recent CNN article, a new Chinese law requires children of parents older than age 60 to visit their parents “frequently” (which the law does not define) and ensure that their spiritual and financial needs are met. The law was enacted in response to China’s aging population and an increasing number of reports of elderly parents’ neglect by their children. 

Under the new law, children are prohibited from giving up their inheritance in order to avoid having to care for their parents. They are also required to pay their parents a monthly allowance if they refuse to care for them.

The law allows elderly parents to sue their children for failing to provide care, but does not specify any associated penalties. On July 2, a local court in Jiangsu ruled on the first lawsuit filed since the law took effect. The court ordered the daughter of the 77-year-old petitioner to visit her mother at least twice a month and provide financial support.

The article notes that the law’s introduction has been controversial, as opponents believe it distorts the parent-child relationship and places too much pressure on children who have moved away from home to pursue educational or professional opportunities.

DOT Wants To Hear From You

Do you think Connecticut needs more buses? Highway entrances and exits? Commuter blimps? The state Department of Transportation (DOT) would like to know.

According to a press release by the governor’s office, the DOT recently kicked off Transform CT to “help define the very future of Connecticut” by asking state residents, businesses, and transportation advocates about how the state can improve its transportation system.

DOT has launched a Transform CT website to solicit requests and advice about the transportation issues facing the state. In addition, DOT plans to hold meetings, conduct focus groups, and distribute surveys in order to get public input about what DOT Commissioner James Redeker calls “a strategic approach to connecting our cities and towns.”

“Most importantly,” Redeker says, “it gives the public a direct role in . . .  improving our transportation system [and making] Connecticut a more competitive, sustainable, and livable state.”

Hot Report: 2013 Veto Package

OLR Report 2013-R-0284 is OLR's Veto Package report. For each act the governor vetoed, it includes a summary of the act and an excerpt of the governor's veto message.

The vetoed acts are:

• PA 13-100, An Act Concerning Safety and Certification Standards for the Spray Foam Insulation Industry
• PA 13-158, An Act Concerning Bail Bonds
• PA 13-201, An Act Concerning the Recommendations of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission Regarding the Membership of the Commission
• PA 13-219, An Act Concerning Reemployment and the Municipal Employees' Retirement System
• PA 13-237, An Act Concerning All-Terrain Vehicles and the Certification of Household Goods Carriers
• PA 13-278, An Act Concerning Members of a Medical Foundation
• PA 13-284, An Act Concerning Medical Spa Facilities
• PA 13-309, An Act Concerning Employer Use of Noncompete Agreements

For more information, read the full report.

The Mortgage Shortening Trend

A recent article in the Hartford Courant reports that both locally and nationally, banks are experiencing an increased demand for 10-year mortgages.  These mortgages are especially appealing to baby boomers who want to pay off their mortgage before they retire.  10-year mortgages offer several benefits, including:

• very low interest rates,
• allowing borrowers to build equity quickly, and
• significantly reducing the amount paid in interest.

A Bankrate.com article provides an illustration of the savings associated with a 10-year mortgage: interest on a $250,000 10-year mortgage at 4% is approximately $53,000. In comparison, interest on a 30-year mortgage at 5% is approximately $233,000. 

Clark Howard notes that with 10-year mortgage rates as low as 2.375%, one can borrow at roughly the rate of inflation, which means the person is basically borrowing for free. 
However, a 10-year mortgage is not for everyone; the monthly payments are relatively large and that can mean trouble if the borrower’s financial situation is unstable. 

Students’ “Permanent Records” In the Cloud

A new nonprofit called “inBloom, Inc.” has created an online database service that stores student data.  Launched in March at the SXSWedu conference in Texas, this database stores what The Washington Post refers to as “an unprecedented amount of personal information about millions of students.” 

As CNNMoney reports, inBloom stores test scores and other student data in “the cloud,” an off-site storage system maintained by a third party, such as a remote server.  The Internet provides the connection between the computer and the remote server. 

The information that inBloom stores about individual students includes standardized test scores, learning disabilities, free or reduced price lunch eligibility, health records, and disciplinary records.  Data stored on inBloom’s remote servers cannot be shared by inBloom with third parties.  However, school districts can share the data.

Supporters of inBloom say that states already collect this information; the only difference is that inBloom stores it in a single place.  This, in turn, makes it easier for school districts and teachers to build personalized learning environments for students, tailoring specific curricula to each child.

Parents and nonprofit groups have become increasingly vocal in their opposition to inBloom.  Parents protest that school districts and states have not asked for their permission before participating in the project.  Many worry about who will have access to their children’s records, and whether any private data will be used to harm their children in the future.  The nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center has sued the U.S. Department of Education over inBloom, alleging that the database is “a serious threat to student privacy.”

According to inBloom’s website, currently participating states include New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, North Carolina, and Illinois.  The Washington Post reports that only New York, Illinois, and Colorado are actively involved, and Louisiana and Georgia have pulled back, with Georgia specifically asking to be removed from the site. 

How Smart are Smart Guns?

Smart guns, also know as childproof guns, personalized firearms, or user-authorized handguns, remain a subject of interest since their early development in the mid-1990s. There are no smart guns commercially available in the United States today but a U.S. Department of Justice study published in June 2013 indicated that two companies are planning to market them in the U.S. this year. The study reviews the safety and state of the technology.

Hot Report: Acts Affecting Energy and Technology

OLR Report 2013-R-0270 summarizes the acts passed in the 2013 session affecting people with disabilities.

Policy areas include:

• Department of Energy and Environmental Protection/Public Utilities Regulatory Authority
• Energy Efficiency
• Energy Taxes
• Financing Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy
• Microgrid Pilot Program
• Natural Gas System Expansion
• Renewable Energy
• Telecommunications
• Utility Rate-Setting
• Utility Tree-Trimming
• Water Utilities
• Miscellaneous Provisions

For more information, read the full report.

Wanted: Educated U.S. Workers to Capitalize on Job Creation and Baby Boomer Retirement

Who says a college degree is a bad investment?  Arguments about student loans and their accompanying interest rates aside, the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce has released a study that highlights the value of higher education (and simultaneously raises concerns about the future employability of many Americans). 

This nonprofit research and policy institute predicts that more jobs will be available for college graduates in 2020 than colleges and universities will likely turn out.  The nationwide projections look like this:

• Overall employment will grow from 140.6 million to 164.6 million between 2010 and 2020.
• By 2020, 65% of jobs will require a postsecondary degree.
• The U.S. will create 55 million new job openings by 2020.  Of these, 24 million will be for new jobs and 31 million will result from baby boomer retirement.
• There will likely be a shortage of 5 million workers with an education adequate to fill these positions.

In Connecticut, the study projections are as follows:

• By 2020, 70% of jobs in the state will require some postsecondary education.  26% will require a bachelor’s degree, and 16% will require a master’s degree or higher.
• Between 2010-2020, job openings will total 677,000, a 15% growth rate.
• There will likely be a 4% shortage of educated workers.

Georgetown predicts the following job openings in Connecticut by occupation:

Source: Recovery: Job Growth and Education Requirements Through 2020: State Report, p. 22.

How would Alexander Hamilton reduce today’s deficit?

Bake a bigger economic pie, opined Harvard Business School professor Thomas K. McCraw, in the November 11, 2012 New York Times.  That’s what Alexander Hamilton tried to do in 1789, when he became the nation’s first treasury secretary. The new federal government and the states were broke, together owning about $74 million, including $12 million to Dutch banks. So what did he do? 
First, Hamilton looked at the problem from a political perspective: To extinguish a Debt which exists and to avoid contracting more are ideas always favored by public feeling and opinion, but to pay Taxes for the one or the other purpose, which are the only way of avoiding the evil, is always more or less unpopular.

Instead, as McCraw explained, Hamilton “essentially bet that the country’s prosperity would be strong enough to grow it out of the crisis, provided he could create a climate of predictability and promote the release of pent-up economic energy.”

McCraw went on to describe Hamilton’s strategy, which included paying off foreign debt by rolling it into new loans from abroad, persuading Congress to issue new bonds to replace existing obligations, and establishing the for-profit Bank of the United States, a move that injected the capital would be entrepreneurs needed to start new enterprises.

It would be interesting to know what Nate Silver, author of the 2012 New York Times bestseller, The Signal and the Noise, would have to say about applying Hamilton’s strategy today. In a January 16, 2013 New York Times article, he sorted out the things government spends money on and found that social security and health care have been increasing faster than the gross domestic product and considerably faster than inflation.

What are our options? “…if we can’t slow the rate of growth in health care expenditures, we’ll either have to raise taxes, cut other government spending or continue to run huge deficits. Or we could hope to grow our way out of the problem, but health care expenditures may be impeding private sector growth.”

Okay, so why don’t we just cut entitlement spending? We could but “on a political level, cuts in entitlement programs are liable to be more noticeable to individual voters than cuts to things like infrastructure spending. A 10 percent reduction in the amount allocated to bridge repair, or in the amount of government-sponsored energy research will affect individual citizens less directly (even if they are perhaps ultimately more economically damaging)….”  Hmm…this sounds familiar.

Recent State Action on Compounding Pharmacies

A NCSL article reports that a fungal meningitis outbreak in a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy led lawmakers in 15 states to introduced 25 bills addressing the authority to regulate these facilities, which make customized drugs for specific individuals who cannot use a drug in its common form. States are responsible for regulating pharmacies, but, as the article explains, overseeing large compounding pharmacies is a problem because they function more like a drug distributors. The lawmakers in the 15 states are trying to figure out the best way to regulate these pharmacies to prevent future tragedies without overregulating the industry.  

For more information on Compounding Pharmacies, see OLR 2013-R-0009.

An Innovative Idea to Combat Blight

Communities across the country are plagued with abandoned factories, crumbling mills, and ghostly strip malls that are not just environmental hazards and eyesores, but also drag down the value of the property around them.  The Atlantic Cities’ Emily Badger recently wrote about two Michigan State University researchers that have proposed an innovative policy solution to address this problem – life insurance for commercial buildings.

The researchers--Rex LaMore and Michelle LeBlanc--have proposed requiring private sector entities to secure financial instruments, such as insurance and guarantee bonds, on newly constructed commercial and industrial structures.  These instruments would ensure that at the end of a structure’s useful life, its host community would have the financial resources available to fund the structures deconstruction.  This, in turn, the researchers stated, would end the current practice of private property abandonment and alleviate the hardships placed on a community to finance the removal of blighted structures.

Badger points out that “force[ing] companies to financially plan for a property’s end-game…could change how they think about every stage of the building’s life.”  The system may even prompt developers to use building techniques and materials that leave a lighter footprint on the land.

Hot Report: Common Law Marriage

OLR Report 2013-R-0264 provides (1) an overview of common-law marriage under Connecticut law, including palimony matters and (2) a summary of all states that allow common-law marriage.

Generally, a common-law marriage is a relationship involving two people who (1) agree that they are married, (2) live together, and (3) present themselves as spouses.
Connecticut law does not recognize common-law marriages. But, a common-law marriage entered into in a state that recognizes such marriages will be recognized in Connecticut if it was valid under the other state's law.

Connecticut law does not address “palimony” matters (i.e. court-ordered support following the termination of nonmarital relationships).

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 10 states (Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah) and the District of Columbia recognize common-law marriages, although some impose certain restrictions. An additional five states (Georgia, Idaho, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania) allow only those established before a certain date to be recognized.
For more information, read the full report.

Interns Suing Over Wages: Are They the New Exploited Underclass or Being Allowed to Get Their Foot in Job Market’s Door?

Are internships the new way for some employers to maximize sub-minimum wage labor or are today’s young people just a bunch of complainers?

Recently two former interns filed a lawsuit against publishing giant Condé Nast for failing to pay them minimum wage at their summer jobs at The New Yorker and W Magazine. Other media companies are also being sued in separate actions.

The former interns argue they were paid way below minimum wage, in some cases $1 an hour, and that this is a violation of New York State and federal labor law.

Generally, federal labor law considers an unpaid internship legal if it is part of an educational training program, is not used to replace existing employees, and the work experience benefits the intern. Employers point to the benefits of internships as a way for young people to get their “foot in the door” of a highly competitive workplace.

So far at least one case, against the Charlie Rose Show, was settled out of court, while others are still pending.

Nix on Legislative Prayers?

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review a controversial Establishment Clause case that asks whether—and if so, how—local governments may begin public meetings with prayers (Town of Greece v. Galloway) The issue is particularly significant for state legislatures because it has the potential to invalidate their nearly universal practice of opening each session day with a prayer.  Connecticut has another strong interest in the case’s outcome because its courts must  now analyze all Establishment Clause cases under Galloway’s standard.

In Galloway, two residents of Greece, New York claimed  that the town board’s practice of opening monthly meetings with a prayer violated the 1st Amendment’s Establishment Clause.  Town officials countered that members of all faiths and atheists were welcome to give the opening prayer.  In practice, almost all of the prayer-givers were Christian and a substantial majority of the prayers contained uniquely Christian language.  The trial court dismissed the case, but the 2nd Circuit reversed, holding that, based on the facts,  the legislative prayer practice constituted an endorsement of the Christian beliefs. 

In reaching its decision, the appellate court departed  from the deferential approach the Supreme Court took in the only legislative prayer case that has come before it.  In that case, the Court upheld the constitutionality of the Nebraska legislature’s prayer practices, indicating that judges need not examine a prayer’s content unless they found evidence that the government’s motive was improper. In contrast, the 2nd circuit’s  standard is intensively fact-based.  It requires courts to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether, under the totality of circumstances, an ordinary, reasonable observer could interpret the practice, including the prayer’s content, as an endorsement of a particular faith or creed over another. 

The appeals court stressed it was not (1) ruling that government bodies could never open meetings with prayers, or (2) adopting a specific test that allows prayer in theory but makes it impossible in reality.  Nevertheless, it acknowledged that the standard would be extremely hard to apply and suggested that, given these constitutional difficulties, those seeking to formulate legislative prayer practices might be prompted to “pause and think carefully before adopting them.” 

Hot Report: Acts Affecting People with Disabilities

OLR Report 2013-R-0270 summarizes the acts passed in the 2013 session affecting people with disabilities.

Policy areas include:

• Alcohol and Drug Dependence
• Cash Assistance and Residential Care Homes
• Criminal Justice and Probate
• Education
• Employment
• Health Care
• Public Safety
• Veterans

 For more information, read the full report.

New Federal Emissions Rules

Last April, The New York Times reported on proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules tightening the limits on sulfur in gasoline, a change that would allow automobiles’ catalytic converters to capture more pollutants.  The new rules will be phased in gradually and cover only a fraction of new cars and trucks each model year.  The article points out that making the internal combustion engine more efficient will cause the conventional automobile to survive longer.  Alternative vehicles (those run on batteries, advanced biofuels, or hydrogen) are promising, expensive technologies, but are far from being in the mainstream. 

Decreasing Driving Trend

A New York Times (NYT) article highlighted the findings of a report by U.S. PIRG, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, on the recent downward trend in driving rates. According to the report, since the mid 2000’s the number of miles driven has dropped, both in total miles and per capita. Some of the reasons for the trend, specifically among younger Americans, included:

1. the Internet and other technological changes that make virtual contact more accessible and may reduce the need for actual contact;
2. changes in driving laws that make obtaining a driver’s license more difficult, such as Graduated Drivers’ Licensing laws and additional training requirements; and
3. the cost of automobile ownership, particularly increased fuel costs.

In addition, baby boomers’ (age 50 to 65) commuting needs are decreasing as they age out of the daily work force.

But other groups quoted in the NYT article, including the Reason Foundation, Inc., believe the decrease in driving may be temporary. Arguments made against the decline’s permanence include (1) as younger drivers age, they are more likely to move to areas that require traveling greater distances or are less accessible by public transport and (2) as the economy improves, young drivers will be more likely to purchase vehicles. Further, if self-driving cars become common, elderly people may use such vehicles later on in their lives than they are currently able to do.

The article mentions the effects of decreased driving rates on financing transportation investment. As driving declines, the revenue generated from gasoline taxes correspondingly decreases, a trend that could cause policymakers to think differently about how to fund transportation projects.

New Guidelines on Antibiotic Treatment for Sinus Infections in Children

As reported in NRP’s Shots health news blog, the American Academy of Pediatrics has revised its clinical practice guidelines for how long to wait before treating a child’s sinus infection with antibiotics. The new guidelines, published in Pediatrics, recommend waiting 13 days, rather than 10.
As noted in the NPR article, the doctors are trying to balance individual patients’ needs with the desire to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, which can reduce effectiveness.

Among other things, the revised guidelines also advise against the use of X-rays or other imaging to distinguish acute bacterial sinusitis from viral upper respiratory tract infections. 

The guidelines were last revised in 2001.

Federal Efforts to Combat Health Care Fraud and Abuse Yield Record Results

In FY 12, federal health care fraud investigations resulted in the recovery of $4.2 billion, according to the annual Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program report from the departments of justice and health and human services.

According to the report, for every dollar spent on health care fraud and abuse investigations in the last three years, the government recovered $7.90. This is the highest three-year return rate in the program’s 16-year history.  Since 1997, the program has returned over $23 billion to the Medicare Trust Funds.

Approximately One Out Of Every Ten U.S. Children Diagnosed with ADHD

New data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that approximately 6.4 million children ages 4 through 17 in the United States are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at some point in their lives.

According to the New York Times, which obtained the data from the CDC and compiled the results, this represents a 16% increase since 2007 and a 41% increase in the past decade. According to the data, 11% of school-age children have received an ADHD diagnosis, compared with previous estimates of 3% to 7%. The data also indicates that 14% of school-age children on Medicaid have been diagnosed with ADHD.

The cause for the rise in diagnoses is unclear. While some doctors and advocates argue that the rise is due to increased recognition and acceptance of the disorder, critics argue that some children are being misdiagnosed for what is simple inattention and normal childhood behavior.

The article also notes that sales of stimulants to treat ADHD have more than doubled from $4 billion in 2007 to $9 billion in 2012. According to CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden, “[t]he right medications for ADHD, given to the right people, can make a huge difference. Unfortunately, misuse appears to be growing at an alarming rate.”

The Challenge of Mental Health Insurance Parity

An online article in The Atlantic notes that the federal law that requires group health insurance plans that offer coverage for mental illness and substance use disorders to provide those benefits in no more restrictive way than all other treatments, was signed into law almost five years ago. But significant hurdles are preventing it from taking effect. Final rules for the act have not yet been adopted and it is not clear when they will be.

According to the article, the major issues include (1) which specific mental health and substance abuse services must be covered by an employer who offers these benefits, (2) whether the law applies to medical management strategies that insurers use to decide whether services are necessary and assemble provider networks, and (3) how the law will be enforced.

Beginning next year, the parity law's reach will become even broader. At that time, 32.1 million  people, including those who newly enroll in state Medicaid programs and those who purchase healthcare coverage through exchanges will start to gain mental health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Mental health parity will be required for all insurance policies of this kind, including those already in force.

Hot Report: Hospital Regulation in Connecticut

OLR Report 2013-R-0266 gives a brief summary of how Connecticut's acute care hospitals are regulated. It also describes what actions nonprofit acute care hospitals must take to maintain their 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

Several state agencies provide oversight of Connecticut's acute care hospitals, including the departments of public health (DPH), social services (DSS), consumer protection, energy and environmental protection, labor, and insurance. Hospitals are primarily regulated by DPH and DSS through licensure, the certificate of need (CON) process, data collection, and the disproportionate share hospital (DSH) program.

Hospitals are also regulated by various federal agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), among others.  Most hospitals also comply with accreditation rules from private organizations, such as the Joint Commission, to receive Medicare and Medicaid certification (i.e., deemed status).

In Connecticut and most other northeastern states, the vast majority of hospitals are nonprofit. To qualify for tax-exempt status, nonprofit hospitals must meet various requirements under federal law, including, among other things, (1) being organized and operated exclusively for charitable or other specified purposes, (2) having no net earnings benefitting any private shareholder or individual, (3) restricting political activity, and (4) providing community benefits sufficient to justify their tax-exempt status.

The 2010 federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) added to the requirements for nonprofit hospitals to maintain their nonprofit status.  Specifically, it requires nonprofit hospitals to conduct community health needs assessments at least once every three years and make the assessments widely available to the public.  It also adds requirements regarding financial assistance policies and billing and collection practices.

For more information, read the full report.

Few Jobs, Not High Housing Costs, Driving Exodus of Recent College Grads

New England colleges attract a large number of students from other parts of the country, but lose them and others, not because of high housing costs, but for job-related reasons, according to an article in the May 2013 Policy Brief of the New England Public Policy Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

“Contrary to the usual reasons offered to explain the exodus of graduates,” it said, “recent college graduates appear to be moving primarily to seek the best job opportunities.” The article found that nearly 60% of recent college graduates leaving New England said they were doing so for job-related reasons, compared to 2% who cited housing-related reasons.

The article suggested states could best retain this demographic group by “building stronger ties between colleges and local employers, to help graduates,” particularly those who came to New England colleges from elsewhere, “learn about local job opportunities and form local networks.”  “Internships and co-ops can be particularly effective because they provide work experience for students, lower recruiting costs for employers, and enhance the reputation of a college or university,” it said.
The complete article can be on-line at: http://www.bostonfed.org/economic/neppc/briefs/2013/pb132.htm.

Changes to the Rules of Appellate Procedure

New court-adopted Rules of Appellate Procedure went into effect on July 1, 2013.  A June 28, 2013 Connecticut Law Tribune article highlights some of the significant changes, including requiring:

1. parties (primarily the appellant), rather than the clerk’s office, to compile the documents necessary for a proper presentation of the issues on appeal, formerly known as the “yellow record;”
2. filing these documents in a two part appendix with the initial brief (referred to as Parts I and II) and specifying mandatory and optional contents of each part; and
3. counsel to separately certify that all protected personal information has been redacted from both the brief and appendix.

According to the article, there are important exceptions to the new rules for criminal and habeas corpus appeals filed by self-represented inmates.  Also, additional specific rules apply to administrative appeals.

The article emphasizes that the old rules remain in effect for appeals pending on July 1, 2013 but a lawyer wishing to follow the new rules in appeals filed before that date can file a motion requesting permission to do so.

Clearing up the VA’s Disability Claim Backlog

The revelation that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) currently has 570,000 disability claims that have not been processed within its 120-day benchmark for timeliness has subjected it to harsh national criticism and calls for widespread reform.  The New York Times reports on one strategy the VA is testing to reduce that backlog.  The VA implemented a six-month plan to make eligibility decisions on 250,000 claims filed by veterans who have been waiting for rulings and benefit payments for more than a year.  The plan requires regional VA benefit offices to issue “provisional rulings” if a claimant provides a minimum amount of supporting evidence.  Veterans issued favorable rulings will start receiving benefits immediately. 

VA officials predict the plan’s focus on issuing decisions in older cases will temporarily increase the average time (now 286 days) it takes to process new claims.  But it will not interfere with the expedited processing required for some claims, such as those filed by former prisoners of war and veterans who are terminally ill, homeless, or in financial distress.  

In recent testimony before a skeptical U.S. House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki stated that the backlog will be eliminated in 2015, primarily due to the VA’s planned development of an electronic claims processing system capable of carrying out tasks that are currently done manually.

Track Mortgage Activity in New England

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston collects a wealth of information on how the mortgage industry is functioning in New England.  The federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requires the Federal Reserve banks to collect this data.  According to the bank, this data can help determine whether banks are serving their communities’ housing needs, identify discriminatory lending patterns, and help public officials direct investments to where they are needed.

See the bank’s website for data from 1999 to 2011 as well as articles and discussion papers on the data.

Global Competition for Shale Gas & Oil

While much has been made of the impact of vast new shale gas and oil reserves in the U.S., a new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration takes a look at potential shale resources throughout the rest of the world.  It finds that Russia and China, among several other countries, also have large shale gas and oil reserves that could be recovered with technologies like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) that are creating a shale gas and oil boom in the U.S. 

The report estimates that Russia has 75 billion barrels of shale oil resources, compared to the U.S.’s 58 billion, China’s 32 billion, Argentina’s 27 billion, and Libya’s 26 billion barrels.  China leads in estimated shale gas resources (1,115 trillion cubic feet) followed by Argentina (802), Algeria (707), the U.S. (665), and Canada (573).

While these other countries may have great amounts of technologically recoverable shale gas and oil resources, it remains to be seen if they can be profitably produced under current market conditions.  Above-ground factors such as existing expertise with new technologies, existing pipeline infrastructures, and the availability of water resources could all help determine if getting the gas and oil out of the ground would cost more than it’s worth. 

Racial Preferences Still Permissible for University Admissions

Ten years after its most recent decisions involving the role of race in college and university admissions, the U.S. Supreme Court revisited the issue this year in a closely-watched case (Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (UT)), prompting speculation that it would reverse previous cases permitting racial considerations. However, in a 7-1 decision, the Court declined to reverse its previous decisions and instead further defined the strict scrutiny standard that racial preferences are subject to. It remanded the case to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which had granted UT summary judgment, vacating its decision and instructing it to properly apply strict scrutiny.

The Court’s opinion focused not on the permissibility of considering race, but rather the Fifth Circuit’s application of strict scrutiny. Under strict scrutiny, the use of certain classifications (e.g., race) must serve a compelling state interest and be narrowly tailored to achieving that interest. The Court noted that, in demonstrating that diversity is a compelling interest, UT is entitled to some deference from the courts, but this deference does not extend to determining whether the means of achieving diversity is narrowly tailored. The Fifth Circuit, the Court ruled, improperly deferred to UT in determining whether the university’s program was narrowly tailored, and thus the program must be reviewed again under a proper strict scrutiny application.

What are the Chances of a Sinkhole Swallowing Someone in Connecticut?

On February 28, 2013, a sinkhole opened beneath the home of a Florida man. The man, who was in his bedroom, was sucked into the sinkhole, buried, and presumed dead. Only a few weeks later, a man on an Illinois golf course was swallowed into a sinkhole, but was rescued with only a shoulder injury.

Geologically, sinkholes are depressions in the ground with no natural external surface drainage. According to a March New York Times article, there have been numerous reports of sinkholes from all over the United States this past spring. Randall Orndorff, the director of the Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) explained that sinkholes are common.

But based on information from USGS, Connecticut residents should not lose sleep over whether they will disappear into the earth via a sinkhole. Sinkholes are most common in areas of “karst terrain” which is where the rock under the land surface can naturally dissolve by circulating groundwater. Such rock includes salt beds and domes, gypsum, limestone, and other carbonate rocks. About 20% of the U.S. is susceptible to a sinkhole event with most sinkhole damage occurring in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.

For more information about sinkholes, watch Randall Orndorff briefly describe them in this YouTube video.

DOJ Report and Recommendations on Victim Services

The Office for Victims of Crime within the Department of Justice recently released Vision 21: Transforming Victim Services Final Report.  As part of the Vision 21 initiative, five organizations received federal funding to examine the current state of the victim assistance field, and five stakeholder forums were held in different regions of the country.

The report includes a comprehension examination of the victim assistance field, and recommendations falling into four broad categories:

1. conducting continuous, rather than episodic, strategic planning;
2. supporting the development of research to expand evidence-based knowledge;
3. ensuring the statutory, policy, and programmatic flexibility to address enduring and emerging victim issues; and
4. building capacity through technology, training, and innovation to ensure that the field is equipped to meet the demands of the 21st century.

Recent Drill to Prepare for Future Storms

Governor Malloy recently announced that the state conducted a two-day storm preparedness drill to (1) improve communication between the state and utility companies, (2) activate local emergency operations centers, (3) establish coordinated emergency shelters, and (4) review regional emergency support plans.

The statewide exercise included nearly 160 municipalities and tribal nations and was conducted by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.

This year’s drill simulated a severe ice storm in western Connecticut.  In the past, the state has conducted drills simulating hurricanes.

Several States Opting Out of Medicaid Expansion

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, as of June 20, 2013, 21 states are opting out of the federal Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Medicaid expansion next year and another six states are still weighing their options.  Those states, including Connecticut, that have opted in to the expansion must cover childless adults with incomes up to 133% of the federal poverty level (FPL) beginning January 1, 2014. Approximately 11.5 million uninsured, non-elderly, poor adults currently live in states that have opted out, according to Kaiser.

According to a CNN Money article, governors in several of the states that have opted out have cited concerns about the added financial burden associated with expanded coverage despite the fact that enhanced federal matching funds will cover 100% of the expansion for the first three years. The enhanced funding will gradually decrease to 90% coverage of the expansion by 2020.

A June report by Rand Corporation, a nonpartisan research institution,  found that the 14 states opting out of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion as of April 2013 (1) would receive $8.4 billion less in federal payments, (2) could spend $1 billion more on uncompensated care in 2016, and (3) would have 3.6 million fewer people newly insured.

A “Facelift” for ATMs

Imagine interfacing with an ATM machine that, with a simple swipe of your driver’s license or touch of your fingers, enables you to video chat with a live teller on a 19-inch screen - an ATM with a face.  Blake Ellis, writing for CNN Money on April 22, 2013, indicates that this is the direction in which most of the nation’s big banks are going.  Ellis states that these banks are investing in next-generation ATMs in order to keep customers coming back and cut costs.  According to the article, the average cost to a bank to conduct an ATM transaction is $1.25, while a single transaction with a teller at a branch costs $4.50.  It is therefore no surprise that at least one of the banks has indicated in the article that their new ATMs will be able to perform about 80% of the services that a traditional teller does.

The new features of the next-generation ATMs, some of which have already been launched in other countries, include: 

1. video chatting with a live teller;
2. cashing checks, receiving exact change down to the penny;
3. splitting deposits between accounts;
4. making loan and credit card payments;
5. logging in using fingerprints; and
6. personalized screens based on customers' banking patterns.

Hot Report: Auto Liability Insurance Requirements in Other States

OLR Report 2013-R-0258 summarizes which states require people to purchase (1) auto liability insurance, (2) uninsured motorist coverage, and (3) underinsured motorist coverage. In states that require auto liability insurance, you want to know the minimum levels of insurance required.
Information for the report comes from the Insurance Information Institute's June 2013 report titled Compulsory Auto/Uninsured Motorists.

Auto liability insurance is mandatory in 49 states and the District of Columbia. New Hampshire, the only state that does not require auto liability insurance, requires drivers to show that they are able to provide sufficient funds in the case of an at-fault accident (i.e., financial responsibility). Liability insurance generally pays another driver's medical, vehicle repair, and other costs when the policyholder is the at-fault driver in an accident. It covers (1) bodily injury (BI) per person and per accident and (2) property damage (PD). (Table 1 below lists the minimum liability limits required in each jurisdiction.)

Twenty two jurisdictions require uninsured motorist coverage (UM): Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. UM compensates policyholders when another driver who is at fault for the accident (1) has no auto liability insurance or (2) is a hit-and-run driver.

Fourteen states require underinsured motorist coverage (UIM): Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. UIM compensates a policyholder when the at-fault driver has an insufficient amount of auto liability insurance.

For a more detailed look at Connecticut's auto insurance requirements, see OLR Report 2008-R-0493.

For more information, including a table detailing each state's requirements, read the full report.

Utilities for Dummies

An article in the May 21 edition of Grist notes that utility regulation is a subject that is

"excruciatingly boring, a thicket of obscure institutions and processes, opaque jargon, and acronyms out the wazoo. Whether PURPA allows IOUs to customize RFPs for low-carbon QFs is actually quite important, but you, dear reader, don’t know it, because you fell asleep halfway through this sentence."

The article seeks to address this situation by describing, at a high level, how utilities work and why, the challenges facing them, and what a utility suited to the 21st century might look like. It describes a very brief history of the electric industry and discusses the “regulatory compact” that underlies utility regulation. The article argues that this model no longer makes sense when electric sales are flat or declining and technologies have evolved to allow for on-site generation.