Health Insurance Open Enrollment Begins November 15

State and federal officials are reminding health insurance consumers that the annual open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act (often referred to as “Obamacare”) begins November 15 and runs until February 15. In Connecticut, Access Health CT announced that it will offer an auto-renewal option for 2015, according to the Hartford Courant. But not everyone who enrolled in coverage in 2014 will be eligible to auto-renew. For example, a person who ages out of coverage (e.g., reached the Medicare eligibility age of 65, or aged off of a parent’s plan at age 26) or becomes incarcerated will not be able to auto-renew.

A person eligible to auto-renew may still want to take the time to explore available coverage options to consider any plan changes, revised premiums, and revised advanced premium tax credits (i.e., premium subsidies). Even if a person is auto-renewed, he or she can make changes until the enrollment period closes on February 15.

The New York Times has more information about this year’s renewal process, and offers the following advice to consumers from Kevin Counihan, chief executive officer of the federal exchange:

1. Review your coverage
2. Log into your exchange account and update your household income and other information
3. Compare your current plan with other plans available in your area
4. Choose the health plan that best fits your budget and health needs
5. Enroll

OLR: 2014 Public Act Summary book

The Office of Legislative Research has released the 2014 Summary of Public Acts. This contains summaries of all of the acts passed in the 2014 legislative session.

What Are Other States Voting on Today? 2014 Ballot Measures

According to articles in Governing and the Washington Post, voters in 41 states and Washington D.C. will consider nearly 150 ballot measures today. The measures cover a wide variety of topics, including guns, elections, immigration, and labor law. For example, voters in:

• Massachusetts will consider whether to repeal its automatic gas tax increase, which is currently tied to the inflation rate;
• Arizona will decide whether terminally ill patients should have access to drugs that are potentially helpful but that the Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved;
• California will consider whether to require drug testing for doctors;
• Florida will decide whether to legalize medical marijuana; and
• Georgia will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment that would prohibit the legislature from increasing the income tax above its current rate of 6%.

About one-fourth of the measures resulted from direct initiative or referendum—processes under which citizens can petition to have questions placed on the ballot.  (For more information on direct initiative and referendum, see OLR Report 2001-R-0611.)

Connecticut does not authorize statewide direct initiative or referendum, but voters will consider a legislatively referred proposed constitutional amendment. If passed, it would give the General Assembly greater authority to pass a law allowing voters to cast their ballots without having to (1) appear at their polling place on election day or (2) provide a reason for voting by absentee ballot.  (For more information on the proposed amendment, see OLR Report 2014-R-0221.)

Prices, Like Leaves, Are Falling

According to MSN Money, three expenses will be lower for Americans this fall.  These include lower (1) mortgage rates, (2) gas prices, and (3) heating prices.

Mortgage rates have been falling, with rates being the lowest in over a year.  A 30-year fixed mortgage has fallen to below 4%.  The lower rate benefits homebuyers as well as those who wish to refinance their existing mortgages.

Gas prices have gone down an average of 50 cents per gallon since the end of June.  Compared to July 4th, most drivers are already spending $5 to $15 per fill up.

Finally, due to a forecast of a mild winter, heating costs should be lower.  This should offset the increase in natural gas and electricity costs and result in a lower bill when compared to last winter.  Additionally, due to the lower petroleum costs,  consumers using heating oil or propane may see a 15% drop in heating costs. 

U.S. Department of Transportation Encourages Parents to Talk to Teens About Safe Driving Habits

Nationally, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20 year olds.  To reduce the number of teen traffic fatalities, the U.S. Department of Transportation is stressing the importance of parents in teaching teens safe driving habits. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx recently lauded the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) “5 to Drive” campaign, which aims to address this issue by getting parents involved in educating their children about traffic safety. The campaign “teaches rules of the road to raise awareness of the dangerous choices teens make due to a lack of maturity, a penchant for taking risks, and their overall inexperience behind the wheel.”

The campaign suggests that parents discuss the following five topics with their children and educate them about the associated dangers.

1. No cellphone use while driving:  in 2012, 10% of people killed in teen driving crashes died when a teen driver was distracted.
2. No extra passengers:  NHTSA research found that a teen is 2.5 times more likely to engage in risky behavior with a teen passenger in the car.
3. No speeding:  in 2012, almost half of fatal teen crashes involved speeding.
4. No alcohol:  over a quarter of teen drivers killed in crashes in 2012 had been drinking at the time.
5. No driving or riding without a seatbelt:  more than half of 15 to 20 year olds killed in car crashes in 2012 were not wearing a seatbelt.

The “5 to Drive” campaign also encourages parents to lead by example and practice safe driving habits, because teens often mimic their parents’ behavior when they begin to drive.

A Walkable City is a Healthy City

Sometimes studies confirm what seems logical and such is the case with a new study from UConn and the University of Colorado-Denver. Older, compact cities allow for more walking and biking than newer, more spread out cities and lead to healthier citizens, according to the new study.
Researchers examined 24 California cities with populations between 30,000 and 100,000 and correlated street patterns and intersection density with data citizens provided in response to a health survey.

Higher intersection density was associated with lower levels of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Cities with wider streets and more lanes were associated with higher incidences of obesity and diabetes.

Prior studies linked compact cities with people walking more but this study links such cities to better overall health.

Twenty-six of Connecticut’s towns and cities fall within the range of 30,000 to 100,000 people. The researchers noted:

“[C]ities like Hartford and West Hartford reflect the denser, older street design supporting pedestrian movement, while newly developed places like Avon and parts of Mansfield are examples of the more open design featuring sparse major arteries and cul-de-sacs.”

Researchers Look at the Children’s Health Insurance Program’s Impact

The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, a bipartisan advisory group of national leaders and experts in health care and public policy, recently issued a brief that examines the impact of the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  As the brief explains, “CHIP was established in 1997 to provide coverage for uninsured children who are low-income but above the cut-off for Medicaid eligibility.”  Combined, CHIP and Medicaid provide coverage to more than one out of three U.S. children.

 

Some of the brief’s notable findings include:

• From 1997 (i.e., the program’s inception) to 2012, the percentage of uninsured children dropped from 14% to 7% and among those below 200% of the federal poverty level, the percentage dropped from 25% to 15%.
• CHIP and Medicaid have reduced racial and ethnic disparities in children’s health care coverage.
• Children with CHIP and Medicaid have comparable access to primary and preventive care as privately insured children, but privately insured children have greater access to specialist and dental care.
• Some evidence suggests that CHIP and Medicaid have had positive impacts on various health outcomes, including reductions in child mortality and avoidable hospitalizations, while other studies have shown no such impact.
• Children on Medicaid and CHIP visit the emergency department more frequently than other children, which researchers speculate may be due in part to barriers to accessing primary care providers, such as the lack of after-hours care.
• “A large and consistent body of evidence shows that, following enrollment in Medicaid or CHIP, children are more likely to have a usual source of care, visits to physicians and dentists, and use of preventive care, and less likely to have unmet needs for physician services, prescription drugs, and dental, specialty, and hospital care.”
• “In nine of ten studies cited in the Congressionally-mandated evaluation of CHIP, rates of unmet need were reduced by 50% or more.”

This 2013 OLR Report on Medicaid and HUSKY B, the state’s CHIP provides additional information.

GAO Report Examines Election Day Wait Times

With Election Day approaching, voters may be wondering how long they can expect to wait in line to cast ballots. For most jurisdictions, the answer, according to a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), is that such data do not exist.

GAO recently surveyed election administrators nationwide about Election Day wait times. According to the survey results, about 78% of local jurisdictions did not collect, receive, or have available information about polling place wait times for Election Day in 2012. Most of these jurisdictions (79%) indicated that the reason for not having the data was that lengthy wait times had not been an issue.

With relatively few jurisdictions having data, GAO asked survey respondents to estimate average wait times for Election Day 2012 at three points in the day: the first and last hour that the polls were open and lunchtime. GAO found that, depending on the time of day, (1) 45%-51% of the respondents estimated the average wait time to be between 0 and 10 minutes and (2) 5%-8% of the respondents estimated the average wait time to be longer than 20 minutes. Approximately one-third of the respondents were unable to estimate average wait times.

What Will Gigabit/Second Connectivity Bring to the Future?

Companies around the country are starting to roll out broadband connections with speeds in the gigabit per second range.  Currently, typical speeds are about 10 megabits per second and a gigabit per second would be 100 times faster – 1,000 megabits per second.  What will that mean?  The Pew Research Internet Project wanted to know just that, so they asked thousands of experts how the jump in connection speed would change things by 2025.

The answers clumped around several themes, including:

• Person-to-person connections will happen in virtual space.  A lot of socializing and business meetings will take place in fully immersive virtual spaces.
• Real space will be augmented.  Experiences in real, physical space will change as a result of connectivity.  For example, a simple game of hide-and-seek could take place in an augmented real space.
• Medicine will change with the ability to have a constant stream of information available, along with the ability to visit a doctor without having to physically go to his or her office.  Some experts expect telesurgery and robotic surgery to become commonplace by 2025.
• The digital divide will become greater.  Lower-income people will fall further behind in their access to technology.
• No one really knows because predicting the future is very difficult and more than a few experts were pessimistic about the chances for major changes.

How Might Climate Change Impact the Military?

The U.S. military is actively planning for the effects of climate change. During an interview with National Public Radio (NPR) about a new Pentagon report on climate change as a national security threat, retired U.S. Navy Admiral David Titley explained that climate change can cause or worsen crises such as food or water shortages or energy instability, which may require the military to respond.

The Pentagon’s report specifically refers to climate change as a “threat multiplier,” because it may aggravate existing global challenges, such as food instability, infectious disease, and terrorism. And it cites increasing global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather events as climate change problems that will impact national security.  

As examples, Admiral Titley (1) cited droughts in several of the world’s large wheat growing regions and a rapid increase in the cost of basic foodstuff as a contributing factor to the Arab Spring and (2) said changes to the Arctic region also require the military to rethink their operations. According to Admiral Titley, there has been a fivefold increase in the number of ships traveling the Bering Strait between Russia and the United States. Oil and gas production and increased tourism in the Arctic Ocean may require a military presence similar to other oceans. Some of the things the military must consider when working in the Artic include whether the military has (1) the proper types of ships and other equipment and (2) sailors trained to work in the region, particularly under the sea and ice conditions.

Nature Versus Nurture and Innovation Districts

In an earlier posting, we asked if state governments could replicate Silicon Valley, a region bubbling with innovative and entrepreneurial people, businesses, and research universities. We looked at Deborah Perry Piscione’s The Secrets of Silicon Valley: What Everyone Else Can Learn From the Innovation Capital of the World, which outlines many unique and intangible things that stimulate and sustain innovation in the Silicon Valley region.

image: Rocky Mountain Institute

The Brookings Institute’s Bruce Katz asked a similar question about the federal government’s role in supporting “innovation districts,” relatively dense urban areas where research institutions, R&D intensive companies, entrepreneurial firms, and business incubators cluster together, feeding off each other’s ideas and concepts. Sustaining this feeding frenzy are land use practices that make these areas “livable, walkable, bike-able, and transit connected.”

Innovations districts tend to spring up from the “collaborative efforts of local institutions and leaders and organic market dynamics,” Katz stated. Consequently, there’s no need for the federal government to play a leading role. After all, “emerging districts around the country differ markedly in their leadership structure, sector orientation, and existing economic, physical and networking assets—obviating any ‘one size fits all’ response.”

What the federal government should do, according to Katz, is:

1. keep funding basic and applied research at the major research institutions in the heart of the districts;
2. “encourage a more robust school-to-work pipeline for sub baccalaureate workers in science, technology, engineering, and math fields”; and
3. fund mass transit, affordable housing, and mixed use development projects in the districts.

In short, the federal government should act as a catalyst, spurring the initiatives that are already happening in these districts. But it “should do so in a humble way—doing what cities and metro areas can’t (e.g., providing a strong national platform for research and innovation) and providing support that is respectful of local variation and supportive of local networks and ecosystems,” Katz opined.

New Report: Medical Marijuana Dispensary Facilities and Producers

OLR Report 2014-R-0249 answers the following questions:

• Which companies have permission to distribute marijuana through the medical marijuana program?
• Which companies have received permission to grow marijuana through the program?
• What does one need to apply for a dispensary facility or producer license?
• What are the criteria and methodology DCP used to grant a license to grow and distribute marijuana?
• Do the regulations limit the number of dispensary facility or producer licenses DCP issues?
• Do state bidding and contracting laws apply to the program?
• Does the dispensary facility or producer application ask for the owner’s gender and ethnicity?

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

President Signs Executive Order on Identify Theft

As reported by CBS News, President Obama recently signed an executive order intended to enhance protections against identity theft.  According to the article, one aspect of the initiative is “to expedite the transition away from debit and credit cards with magnetic strips, a dated technology that's more vulnerable to intrusion, and toward cards with microchips and PIN numbers, which are considered more secure.”

The order requires cards issued by the federal government to use the newer technology starting next year.

The initiative will include upgrades to payment terminals at government facilities such as national parks, so they can accept cards that use the more secure technology.  The article notes that “a number of large retailers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot have agreed to follow suit.”

Among other things, the order requires certain actions aimed at reducing the time consumers spend dealing with the consequences of an identify theft incident, including enhancements to the IdentityTheft.gov website. 

Status of Connecticut Airbnb Rentals

The Hartford Courant recently reported on municipal officials’ attitudes toward Airbnb rentals, of which there are nearly 700 in the state.  Airbnb is a website that allows travelers across the globe to connect with private homeowners and contract to rent a room or their entire home for several days or weeks.  As the OLReporter previously reported, while these short-term rentals may qualify as lodging facilities under existing statutory definitions, many state and municipal authorities do not enforce applicable laws.

According to the Hartford Courant, “[m]any Connecticut officials say their town zoning codes don't take short-term rentals into account, leaving Airbnb hosts in a sort of ambiguous legal limbo.”  This is a nationwide problem, NPR reports.  But as the number of Airbnb rentals in major cities grows, officials are starting to respond.  Recently, San Francisco legalized such rentals (with restrictions), while New York’s attorney general announced that about three-quarters of such New York City rentals are operating illegally.

Example of Airbnb listing.  The owner was interviewed by the Hartford Courant and recommended municipal officials authorize such rentals, as they may bring travelers into communities that might otherwise go unvisited, providing an economic boost.
Photo Source: Airbnb

Rethinking Financial Literacy

Many states, including Connecticut, statutorily require or encourage higher education institutions to make financial education programs available to students.  These programs generally include providing information about (1) responsible credit card use, (2) student loan debt, (3) obtaining and interpreting credit history information, and (4) the importance of maintaining good credit. 

A recent U.S. News and World Report article suggests that these measures may not be enough to save future generations from financial illiteracy.  According to the article, the answer lies in introducing young children, using age-based teaching methods, to the concept of saving and progressing to more complex topics as they grow older.  These lessons should take place in the classroom and at home.  According to the article, the growing role of technology should make this easier.

The article describes examples of conceptual and experimental teaching methods, including:

1. instilling fundamental financial values in elementary school-aged children by using apps that require users as young as age seven to make saving, spending, donating, and investment decisions;
2. leveraging students’ interest in money by teaching financial topics in traditional classes like social studies, science, and math (e.g., assigning a project requiring students to build a community garden or improve air quality with private and public financing); and
3. providing a practical experience, such as parents giving children a bimonthly allowance on a prepaid card linked to an online budgeting tool and requiring them to pay some of their own expenses when they reach high school. 

The article concludes that rethinking the role of money management in a restructured education system is what it will take for future generations to be financially literate.  This will require the combined effort of parents, teachers, and government regulators, according to the article. 

Restaurants Cutting Calories in New Menu Items

As reported on NPR, a recent study of large restaurant chains found that new menu items in 2013 had almost 60 fewer calories on average than new 2012 offerings.  The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, included an analysis of 66 of the 100 largest restaurant chains, including fast food, fast casual, and full service restaurants.

The study found that overall, new menu items in 2013 had about 56 fewer calories, on average, compared to new items from 2012.  By category, the largest reduction was in new main courses, which averaged about 67 fewer calories in 2013.  New children’s items had about 46 fewer calories in 2013.  By contrast, some categories had increases.  For example, new appetizers and sides had about 61 more calories in 2013.  The study also found that among those restaurants with a primary food focus (such as burgers), “declines in calories in new items were larger among menu items not core to the business of the chain restaurant.”

There was no change in calorie counts among menu items available in both years.

There Should Be a Roundabout ’Roundabout Here

Studies show that replacing a traffic signal or stop sign with a roundabout increases traffic safety at intersections “because the roundabout’s tight circle forces drivers to slow down, and traffic flows in the same direction,” the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports.

Roundabouts (not to be confused with traffic circles or rotaries, see below) “essentially eliminate” the most dangerous types of intersection crashes – right-angle, left turn, and head-on collisions,” IIHS says. “And the low speed rear end crashes and side swipes that sometimes do occur are unlikely to result in serious injury.”

Roundabouts, which are more common in Europe than the U.S., also improve traffic flow and reduce idling, thereby reducing fuel consumption and emissions. In addition, they are safer for pedestrians.

A roundabout, like a traffic circle or rotary, is a circular intersection where drivers travel counterclockwise around a center island. But unlike a traffic circle or rotary, a roundabout has no traffic signals; drivers entering it must yield to traffic already there. Traffic circles and rotaries often have traffic signals or stop signs, and drivers entering them do not have to yield to traffic already there.

More information on roundabouts can be found at the IIHS website. A Federal Highway Administration study on roundabouts is available on its website.

Socio-Emotional Impacts of Violent Crime

A new study from the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics finds that 68% of victims of serious violent crimes suffer socio-emotional problems as a result of the victimization.  These problems include moderate to severe emotional distress, increased relationship problems, and disruptions at school or work.  The study looked at data on victims of crimes such as sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault from 2009 to 2012.

Among the study’s other findings:

• victims of violence from their intimate partners were five times more likely to have socio-emotional problems than those who were victims of violence by strangers and
• about three-quarters of victims who suffered serious physical injury (such as sexual assault, robbery, violence with a firearm, or violence requiring medical treatment) experienced socio-emotional problems, compared to 51% of simple assault victims (which does not involve serious injuries).

For more information, read the full report.

Researching Investments and Investment Professionals

Investor.gov, a site for investors from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, offers a number of valuable tools to help people understand the different types of investment products available for purchase and the investment professionals who offer them. 

For example, one page offers tips on how to research brokers and advisors and questions to ask before hiring one.

Another useful page highlights the Internet tools that are available to learn about investment professionals, many of whom are licensed by the states or the federal government.

The site highlights these tools as a way for investors to research and verify information before engaging an investment professional.

California Joins Connecticut as the Only States to Require Paid Sick Leave

Last month California became the second state to require employers to provide employees with paid sick leave; Connecticut was the first.

Both NCSL and the San Francisco Chronicle report that Governor Jerry Brown signed the measure into law last month. The law will affect about 40% of California’s workforce (about 6.5 million people) and give them up to three paid sick days a year.

The bill, which has been controversial, had failed for a number of years following the 2006 vote in San Francisco when voters there passed a city sick leave law.

In Connecticut, the law passed in 2011 after being debated for years. It guarantees service workers up to five days of paid sick leave a year after the employee accrues the sick time and meets other requirements.

New Report: Tuition Assistance for Active-Duty Service Members in Other States

OLR Report 2014-R-0242 answers the question: What states provide higher education tuition assistance for active-duty service members?

The majority of states provide tuition assistance for active-duty service members from or stationed in their state.  This can be in the form of allowing these students to pay the lower in-state tuition rate; granting tuition waivers, credits, or refunds; or providing specific grants or scholarships.  The report focuses on state tuition assistance programs for states that provide aid to active-duty service members of the armed forces, including reserves called to active-duty, but does not include the National Guard.
Based on Westlaw searches and discussions with the National Conference of State Legislatures, we found that (1) 32 states, including Connecticut, allow active-duty service members stationed in the state to pay the lower in-state tuition rate; (2) five states (Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma) have some type of waiver, credit, or refund for active-duty service members; and (3) two states (Colorado and Maryland) provide grants or scholarships for specific service members.

For more information, read the full report.

Underemployment a Problem for Recent Graduates

In September, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate among people with at least a bachelor’s degree was 2.9%, significantly lower than the overall 5.9% unemployment rate. The difference is consistent with previous reports that have found unemployment rates among people with a college degree to be lower than the overall rates.

However, a recent blog post in The Chronicle of Higher Education notes that many of these graduates are underemployed. The post includes survey data from PayScale, a compensation research company, which found that nine college majors had unemployment rates of 50% or higher. In the survey, underemployment included people who are underpaid, not using their education or training, or working part-time when they want to be working full-time.

The Chronicle also notes that underemployment is more prevalent among recent graduates than among the overall population of college graduates. The post cites data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which found that the underemployment rate in June 2014 among recent graduates (those ages 22-27) was 46%, compared to an overall college graduate underemployment rate of 34.6%. Further, the underemployment rate for recent graduates has increased in recent years; it was 41.5% in March 2008.  By contrast, the overall rate for graduates has been relatively steady in that period.

Streets: Not Just for Cars

A new report encourages people to change how they think about streets. Streets, the authors say, aren’t just for cars. According to the authors, “good streets are good places, too–public places where people meet, sit and socialize, conduct business, wander about, play, and more.”

The report, from researchers at the University of Oregon, looks at already-completed projects that use streets differently, and discusses how other cities can use those ideas.

Examples discussed in the report include redesigning lanes, streetscapes, and lighting, and adding pedestrian and bicycling lanes. The use of art is also highlighted as a means of improving streets. According to the authors, results include safer streets, more walkers and bicyclists, and increased retail development, often done without a decrease in the street’s traffic level.

Federal Department of Education Encourages Equal Access to Resources

The National School Boards Association reports that the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has released a “Dear Colleague Letter” addressing equal access to educational resources for all students.  Standards for such access were established in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Title VI requires that “all students have equal access to comparable resources in light of their educational needs.”

The letter describes various examples of education inequalities.  For instance, schools with greater numbers of minority students are less likely to offer Advanced Placement or gifted and talented courses.

The DOE’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released the letter to provide guidance to superintendents and school district officials for correcting such disparities. The letter instructs administrators about (1) education resource requirements, (2) how OCR investigates resource disparities, and (3) how to meet obligations to all students.

College 2 Career Expo at Rentschler Field

On Wednesday, October 22, 2014, Rentschler Field will host the 11th annual College 2 Career Expo.  The expo, which provides college students with a chance to meet with potential employers and receive career advice, is sponsored by the Hartford Springfield Economic partnership, Enterprise Holdings, the Connecticut Department of Labor (DOL), and local colleges and universities.
 
Roughly 50 companies will have exhibits at the expo, including Frontier Communications, Prudential Financial, the state Department of Revenue Services, MTU Aero Engines of North America, Source4teachers, AFLAC, TTM Technologies, FedEx Ground, and the New Haven Police
Department.  In addition, DOL employees will conduct workshops on using LinkedIn and certified professional résumé writers will be available to review and critique résumés. 

Admission to the expo is free.  It will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

New Report: State Medical Assistance for Non-Citizens

OLR Report 2014-R-0247 answers several questions: What is the legislative history of the law that eliminated the State Medical Assistance for Non-Citizens Program (SMANC)?  Prior to the program’s elimination, how much did it cost the state to pay for services to eligible individuals through SMANC?  How many lawfully present immigrants are currently affected by the program’s elimination?

In 1997, the state, through SMANC, began offering state-funded health insurance coverage to qualified immigrants who were ineligible for Medicaid because they had lived in the country for less than five years (see sidebar). In 2009, the legislature eliminated most of the program. Court challenges temporarily halted the termination on constitutional grounds, but the state Supreme Court upheld the state’s right to terminate these benefits.

A 2009 federal law allowed states to provide exceptions to this Medicaid ban for pregnant women and children up to age 21.  Connecticut provides such exceptions to the ban.

According to the Office of Fiscal Analysis, the state spent approximately $24 million per year on SMANC before the program was eliminated.

According to the Department of Social Services (DSS), when the program was eliminated in 2011, 4,889 individuals lost health insurance coverage.  However, we were unable to obtain data on the number of lawful immigrants currently residing in Connecticut who would qualify for SMANC had it not been eliminated.

Certain individuals who would have been eligible for SMANC may be eligible for other medical coverage under certain circumstances. Federal Medicaid is available to lawful immigrants as well as undocumented non-citizens if they require emergency medical assistance. Additionally, certain lawfully present immigrants can qualify for health insurance coverage with tax credit and cost sharing reductions through Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange, even if they have lived in the United States for less than five years.
For more information, read the full report.

New Federal Veterans’ Affairs Secretary Recruits Medical Students

At an event in Vermont, the recently confirmed federal Veterans’ Affairs (VA) secretary, Robert McDonald, urged medical and nursing students to consider careers in the VA.  He has made similar recruiting appeals in several other states. 

McDonald took over the agency with the mission of lowering the long waiting times for veterans seeking health care. 

The secretary believes that besides filling an immediate need of reducing wait times, the increase in medical personnel will be a long-term way to improve the system.  He also told students of other benefits, such as a new law that allows the VA to provide up to $120,000 in debt forgiveness to medical professionals.

The VA has about 150 medical centers and 820 community-based outpatient clinics throughout the country.  The department is seeking to recruit between 20,000 and 30,000 doctors and nurses.

CT Gets Good Grades in 2014 Digital States Survey

The Center for Digital Government recently awarded Connecticut an “A-” in its biennial Digital States Survey.  The survey examines state governments’ practices, policies, and progress in using digital technologies “to better serve their citizens and streamline operations.” It evaluates states based on criteria that include “actions supporting state priorities and policies to improve operations or services, hard- and soft-dollar savings/benefits, progress since the last survey, innovative solutions, and effective collaboration.”

Connecticut, which received a “C” in the 2012 survey, was one of the most improved states.  Among other things, the survey cites the state’s Enterprise IT Investment Fund and the successful rollout of Access Health CT as key reasons behind its high grade. 

Based on the survey results, the center also named Connecticut its 2014 Best Practice Leader in the “Adaptive Leadership” category, which measures how well a state’s technology initiatives match its governor’s policy priorities. 

GDP: An Indicator Whose Time has Passed?

Everyone who has taken Economics 100 knows what GDP is. And, even for those that didn’t, they know from reading the papers or listening to the Sunday morning talking heads. GDP generally measures how much we spend and invest. But did you know that this most popular of economic indicators was devised during the Roosevelt Administration to see if the New Deal was lifting the economy out of the Great Depression?


Source: http://bit.ly/1CKP5KZ

It’s been around that long, and it proved to be a valuable planning tool when the nation headed into World War II, the New York Times’ Fred Andrews wrote last spring.  GDP helped war planners “decide how to apportion [the nation’s] scarce resources between wartime and civilian priorities.” Okay, so it’s been around a long time. What’s the point?  Change, economic change.

GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product, accent on “product.” “GDP is a measure best fitted to mass production of handgoods,” Andrews wrote. Consequently, it doesn’t do so well when it comes to measuring services, which, as Andrews pointed out, “have swollen to dominate today’s economy.” And that’s not all—GDP doesn’t “count the underground economy, conducted out of sight of regulators and tax collectors, even though this unofficial sector provides many jobs and is often highly entrepreneurial.”

Andrews was commenting on British economist Diane Coyle’s book, GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History (2014). Coyle took a 360° look at GDP and found other shortcomings. One of those shortcomings Andrews emphasized was that “GDP tells us nothing about whether we are eating our own corn,” meaning, “does today’s growth come at the expense of tomorrow’s? Are we consuming our natural—and human—resources without replacing them?”

According to Andrews, Coyle believes that “while imperfect, the GDP is good enough as a measure of how fast the economy is growing and better than any alternative.” And, as Paul Simon put it in verse, “When times are mysterious serious numbers will speak to us always.”

Reducing Domestic Violence

In recent years, state legislators have authorized general measures to reduce domestic violence, such as broadening the definition of abuse, creating jobs and employment protections for domestic violence victims, and ensuring the confidentiality of domestic violence shelters and counselors.  However, according to a recent Pew Charitable Trusts Stateline Magazine article, these measures have not focused enough on the specific domestic violence problem of different demographic groups.

Given the complexities of cultural differences, generic measures may not be the most effective way to reduce domestic violence.  To be more effective, measures must address how race, culture, and other demographic factors influence domestic violence, the article states. The article cites the following cultural distinctions:

• African-American women are most likely to be killed by an intimate partner,
• domestic abuse often involves multiple family members in Asian/Pacific Islander communities,
• Latinas are less likely to seek help from a shelter, and
• gay and lesbian victims experience barriers to treatment or resources (e.g., denial of services by certain domestic violence shelters).

At the federal level, Congress has begun tailoring domestic violence legislation to reflect address demographic factors.  For example, the Violence Against Women Act (42 USC §§ 13925, et. seq.) was amended in 2013 to (1) include domestic violence protections for gays and lesbians and (2) authorize tribes to criminally prosecute non-Indians for domestic and dating violence.  Nonprofit organizations, often with federal funding, have been addressing some of these concerns by developing culturally specific domestic violence programs aimed at individual demographic groups, the article states.