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Disney Noncommittal On Adding Characters With Disabilities
TIOCH, Calif. — The mother of a toddler with Down syndrome has made good on her promise to hand deliver a petition to The Walt Disney Studios asking the company to include more characters with disabilities in its movies. But the…
Half Of Medicaid Providers Unavailable, Report Finds
A significant number of doctors purportedly accepting Medicaid are not actually offering treatment to the program’s beneficiaries, a new investigation finds. More than half of primary care providers and specialists polled were not able to offer appointments to patients on Medicaid,…
Consumers still pay bigger share for healthcare than government and businesses
U.S. households continued to see medical bills and premiums erode their financial footing last year, even as consumer spending on healthcare and insurance slowed, the results of two recent reports suggest. Households spent $824 billion last year on insurance premiums…
A Breakdown of How Your Social Security Tax Dollars Are Spent
There are few issues that are more polarizing for Americans than Social Security. Social Security is designed to be a program that protects lower-income retirees, as well as family members of deceased workers and the disabled, from financial hardship. However, Social…
Senate Prepares to Approve Surgeon General Nomination; Groups Offer Medicare Suggestions
The Senate, after passing the fiscal 2015 omnibus funding bill on Saturday, does not want to leave too quickly. A few items remain on the agenda over the next two days. Today, senators will vote to confirm the nomination of…
Special Ed, Disability Programs Unscathed In Budget Deal
A spending plan making its way through Congress is a win for people with disabilities, advocates say, more for what it doesn’t do than what it does Most federal programs supporting people with disabilities will maintain level funding under the $1.1…
President’s push to cover America’s uninsured faces big test today.
President Barack Obama’s push to cover America’s uninsured faces another big test today. This time, it’s not only how the website functions, but how well the program itself works for millions who are starting to count on it. Midnight today, Pacific…
Retiring congressmen, senators: What color is their parachute?
Free health care for life? Nope. But most of the congressmen and senators from Iowa and Nebraska stepping down this election cycle will walk away with pretty solid pensions — some greater than others, based upon their years of service and when…
Reed reveals 2015 agenda
Even members of Congress have New Year’s resolutions, some want to lose weight, others to be better people, but Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) is aiming to tackle Social Security reform. On Monday, Reed announced that he was chosen to serve…
Senate averts shutdown fears; fights over nominees
Their power ebbing, Senate Democrats launched a last-minute drive Saturday to confirm roughly 20 of President Barack Obama’s nominees, and several Republicans blamed tea party-backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for creating an opening for the outgoing majority party to exploit. Lawmakers…