Fifty years into the war on poverty, it's time to focus on one of our fastest-growing workforces.

Fifty years ago this month, President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty. At the time, the U.S. poverty rate was around 19 percent, and the president believed the government had a role to play in reducing that rate.

The war on poverty continued beyond Johnson's tenure under both Democratic and Republican administrations, improving the lives of millions of American families by creating, expanding or strengthening crucial education, job training, health care, nutrition assistance and income support programs to construct our social safety net. But there is much still to do to stop rising inequality and reduce poverty -- and there's no better place to start than with direct care workers.

Our nation's poverty rate is now 15 percent. That's lower than it was in LBJ's time, but it's still too high. In this unstable economy, our safety net is working overtime to help struggling individuals and families. Direct care workers like Elizabeth Castillo, a home care aide in El Paso, Texas, who makes less than $25,000 a year despite working two jobs, are falling further and further behind in this extended recession.

Direct care workers -- the nursing assistants, home care and home health aides, personal care assistants, direct support professionals and others who provide the bulk of the paid, hands-on personal assistance and long-term care to older adults and people with disabilities -- are the face of our new service economy and one of our country's largest and fastest-growing occupations. Two subsets of that group, personal and home care workers, are the fastest-growing job categories in the nation.

Even if we put aside the moral argument for supporting these hardworking people who do so much to help the rest of us, it's in our national interest to better compensate and support direct care workers. The challenges confronting this workforce send shock waves throughout our economy, as workers with low incomes spend less and often require taxpayer-funded assistance.

In other words, we can no longer afford to ignore the struggles of direct care workers.

*Poor Wages, Benefits and Opportunities for Advancement*

Despite the essential care, services and support they provide to us, our families and our friends, direct care workers are cresting the trend of low-paying service jobs with poor benefits.

For a start, they are among the most poorly compensated of all U.S. workers. Their median hourly wage was $10.63 in 2012, which was less than they earned 10 years earlier, after adjusting for inflation. It's no surprise, then, that almost half live in households that receive public benefits like Medicaid and food stamps, many of which stem from LBJ's war on poverty.

These workers are also underserved by, or left out of, many other important programs and benefits. Many direct care workers, for instance, do not get paid sick leave. Many are not entitled to the unpaid leave mandated by the Family Medical Leave Act, and those who are generally cannot afford to take leave without pay. And until next January, when a long-awaited rule will finally go into effect, home care workers are not even guaranteed federal minimum wage or overtime pay.

Then there's health care. Direct care workers have higher-than-average rates of diabetes, asthma and other chronic conditions that become more serious when untreated. They also have one of the nation's highest rates of on-the-job injuries. And yet, they have much lower-than-average rates of health coverage. In 2011, less than half of all direct care workers had health coverage through an employer, and 30 percent of direct care workers had no health insurance at all, often because they could not afford the premiums and copays.

Going without these benefits is obviously hard on direct care workers and their families -- and a bitter irony for workers who do so much to improve other people's health. It also has a strong ripple effect. Without paid sick leave, direct care workers often face a tough choice: Either stay home, thus losing wages that may make them unable to pay the bills, or go to work sick or injured, perhaps exposing consumers to the risk of infection or injury. Those with no insurance may wait until a health problem gets so bad that they must take a long absence from work, or get the kind of expensive intervention that can lead to serious debt or even bankruptcy, contributing to the ill health of the economy as a whole.

Finally, there's the issue of advancement. Direct care workers do not receive enough recognition or compensation for their expertise and experience, and they have few ways to advance without leaving the profession. This lack of opportunity and respect is a main contributor -- along with poor wages and benefits -- to the high turnover rates that plague the industry. And high turnover among direct care workers is a problem for those who rely on them, costing consumers, families and other employers time and money as they hire and train new workers, and disrupting the continuity and reliability that is such an important part of quality care and support.

*What We Can -- and Must -- Do*

The best way to dramatically cut poverty rates is to ensure that the economy works for everyone -- starting with our fastest-growing workforces. That includes investing in quality jobs and strong programs that support families when they're struggling.

Here are some current or proposed policy changes that would improve financial security and stability for direct care workers:

Wages:· Advocacy is needed to ensure that Congress does not derail the final home care rule that recently extended federal minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers nationwide. Direct Care Alliance and our allies will also be helping the Department of Labor educate workers, consumers, and other employers about the rule to make sure it is implemented properly.· We must urge Congress to pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which will give low-paid workers an urgently needed raise and boost the consumer spending that drives the U.S. economy.· We must urge Congress to enact immigration reform that creates a path to citizenship for undocumented direct care workers to reduce vulnerability to wage exploitation and abuse. (An estimated 20 to 24 percent of direct care workers are foreign-born, and many of them are undocumented.)
Affordable health insurance and other benefits:· The Affordable Care Act (ACA) takes important steps to make health care affordable and accessible, but we need to ensure that it is implemented properly. After the Supreme Court ruled that states may opt out of expanding their Medicaid programs under the new law, about half of the 50 states chose not to do so, leaving millions of low-income people stranded without an affordable option. Medicaid expansion was also the foundation upon which many of ACA's other initiatives were built. We need to urge states whose leaders are currently on the fence or have decided against expansion to expand their Medicaid programs.· The ACA is complicated, so most people need some assistance to understand their health care options under the new law and figure out how to get coverage. That help may come from individual navigators or from initiatives like Direct Care Alliance's Get Direct Care Workers Covered campaign, which is helping direct care workers and other low-income residents of New York state find the coverage that best fits their needs.· We must urge Congress to pass the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would make paid family and medical leave available to nearly all of America's workers.· We must also urge Congress to pass the Healthy Families Act, which will set a national paid sick days standard.
Safety net programs: We must urge Congress to oppose cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps), which offers nutrition assistance to more than 47 million low-income individuals, including many direct care workers and their families.

Career advancement within the profession: We must create career ladders for direct care workers so that they can advance and earn more without leaving the profession. Direct Care Alliance's Personal Care and Support Credential, a competency-based test for personal assistance workers in home- and community-based settings, gives workers a way to demonstrate their skills. It also provides a way of tying increased pay and responsibility to measurable skills and competencies.

As we work to advance the goals of the war on poverty, improving the economic security of direct care workers and their families should be at the top of the list, because improving direct care workers' wages, benefits and career advancement opportunities will let us accomplish three important goals. We can help ensure a stable, qualified direct care workforce large enough to meet growing demand. We can transform one of our fastest-growing job categories so that it bolsters our middle class and strengthens our economy instead of swelling the ranks of the working poor. And we can deliver on the promise of a nation where hard work is rewarded and respected. Reported by Huffington Post 2 days ago.

What to Expect in the Year of Health Reform Regulations

Park City, Utah (PRWEB) January 11, 2014

Today, Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, published new information on ObamaCare changes in 2014.

According to Zane Benefits’ website, 2014 is the year of ObamaCare, with major health reform regulations coming into play. The ten major health care changes to look for in 2014 include:
1. New Health Insurance Coverage Begins
2. Individual Mandate is a Reality
3. Health Insurance Exchanges
4. Health Insurance Discounts for Individuals
5. Medicaid Expansion (in Some States)
6. Small Businesses Skipping Health Care Tax Credit for Individual Exchanges, Defined Contribution
7. Ninety-Day Maximum Waiting Period
8. Out-of-Pocket Maximums
9. No More Annual or Life Time Limits
10. Greater Wellness Discounts

Click here to read the full article.

About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, was founded in 2006 to revolutionize the way employers provide employee health benefits in America. We empower employees to take control over their own healthcare, while helping employers recruit and retain the best talent. Our online solutions allow small and medium-sized businesses to successfully transition to a health benefits program that creates happier employees, reduces costs and frees up more time to serve their customers. For more information about ZaneHealth, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 23 hours ago.

The government's much-maligned health insurance website is getting a new outside contractor to steer the revamped portal through the remainder of open enrollment season. Reported by NY Daily News 5 hours ago.

After 3,118 Attempts, Man Finally Has Health Insurance
Headlines
Health

Obtaining health insurance is not an easy task. Just ask Lew Garrett, an Ohio contractor who, after 3,118 attempts online and speaking with nearly 50 people, finally got health insurance.

Lew Garrett is a self-employed independent contractor whose insurance plan was amongst those being cancelled with the new Obamacare insurance changes, reports Yahoo News.  Knowing he needed to have health insurance, Garrett set out to secure a new policy through the healthcare.gov site in October 2013.  

His quest led him to becoming one of the millions trying to log-on and sign-up on the website, without positive results. Garrett tried day and night without success. He thought it was his computer, so he tried another. The same problems occurred. He then decided to keep a log chronicling his progress, including how many times he tried and if he was actually able to speak with someone on the help line, reports WKYC.

“It was 3,118 attempts. I had spoken to 49 people and only three of which I would trust with my order at the McDonald's drive-through,” Garrett says.

On December 17, Garrett finally claimed success and had a health insurance plan in place. An email he received from the Federal Marketplace claimed he still had not signed up, but it proved to just be a glitch.  He called to make sure, and while there were a couple things wrong his insurance plan was in place.

Garrett's old plan cost him $500 a month.

"My new plan, which is much more encompassing than the last one, costs me a little more than $13 a month. It's truly affordable," Lew says.

His persistence seems to have paid off.
 

http://s23.postimg.org/8nn9x2s3v/insurance.jpg
Likes: 
1 Reported by Opposing Views 1 day ago.

When millions of health-insurance plans were canceled last fall, the Obama administration tried to be reassuring, saying the terminations affected only the small minority of Americans who bought individual policies. Reported by Washington Post 6 hours ago.

President Obama’s support among young Americans ages 18 to 29 has plunged from 61 percent in December 2012 to last month’s low of 46 percent.

A survey by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics found that 57 percent of young people disapprove of Obamacare, 51 percent said the law would increase the amount they pay for health coverage, and just 18 percent believe their quality of health care will improve under the law.

Breitbart News visited two universities in Florida’s state capital, Tallahassee, to gauge students’ opinions about the high costs of the Affordable Care Act.

Specifically, this reporter interviewed students at Florida A&M University (FAMU), one of America’s largest and oldest historically black universities, and Florida State University (FSU) about what they thought of the new healthcare law and its rollout.

Alexandra, 21, an electronics engineer and technology major at FAMU, said that “her mom and dad are pissed” about their insurance premiums going up. “They are really upset about their insurance right now. I’m surprised they haven’t taken me off yet,” Alexandra continued.

When I explained to Alexandra how much an uninsured FAMU student would have to pay in fines, she was shocked. “$95 to $395? Are you serious?” she asked. I explained that the fines would increase every year and are administered through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). “If I can’t afford to pay for the damn insurance, what makes them think I can pay them?” Alexandra asked.

I asked a student named Franiqua who is studying elementary education at FAMU about the ACA’s online exchange website, HealthCare.gov. She said, “Yeah, I heard it doesn’t work.”

“Well, I knew the website was having trouble,” echoed Jon, a junior at Florida State.

For education majors like Franiqua, it is university policy that she have health insurance. However, that rule does not apply for all majors for FAMU students, many of whom do not have health coverage.

Florida State University (FSU) requires that every student have health insurance or that they purchase coverage through the University.

I asked Michael, 22, an international affairs major who has health insurance through Florida State, what he thought of the individual mandate. “I think the people who can’t afford it would obviously say that this is unfair, a burden, the government interfering in our lives. And the wealthier elites would probably not have as much of an issue with it,” said Michael.

Will, 21, also said that he heard the website wasn’t “doing too good.” A junior majoring in journalism at FAMU, Will has health coverage through his mother, a doctor.

Will was aware of the health law’s individual mandate and said that he “finds it stupid.” He added, “Once you reach adult age you should have your own choice, you shouldn’t be forced to buy it.” A fulltime student, Will works at a local restaurant where he has seen his hours cut from 38 to 25 a week. “It’s cheaper for [my employer] to cut me down on my hours, because at 30 hours, starting soon, they’re going to have to give you full benefits.”

Many students said they were happy to have health coverage under their parents' plans and hoped that by the time they graduated, they could land a job and receive coverage from their employers.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus might see young people’s reactions found in the Harvard survey as proof that ObamaCare was a law “intentionally designed to screw over young people.”

In Florida, Obama’s approval has cratered to an all-time low. A November Quinnipiac poll showed that voters in the Sunshine State disapprove of President Obama by a margin of 57 to 40 percent. Floridians also oppose the Affordable Care Act 54 to 39 percent, with 44 percent saying they believe the law will make their healthcare worse in 2014.

 
 
 
  Reported by Breitbart 18 hours ago.

IRS Governs Which Health Insurance Premiums Can Be Reimbursed Through a Section 105 Plan

Park City, Utah (PRWEB) January 12, 2014

Today, Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, published new information on Section 105 health insurance premium reimbursement.

According to Zane Benefits’ website, it's becoming mainstream for small employers to offer defined contribution allowances instead of offering a small group health insurance plan. With a defined contribution strategy, the employer offers healthcare allowances that employees can use to reimburse themselves for qualified health insurance premiums. The most common way to set up the allowances is with a limited-purpose Section 105 medical reimbursement plan.

According to Zane Benefits’ website, there are certain types of health insurance that can, and cannot, be reimbursed through a Section 105 Plan.

Section 105 medical reimbursement plans can reimburse the following types of insurance premiums provided they were not already paid with pre-tax dollars:· Major medical individual health insurance premiums
· Limited benefit individual health insurance premiums
· Dental care and vision care premiums
· Qualified ancillary premiums (e.g. accident policies)
· Medicare Part A or B, Medicare HMO, and employer-sponsored health insurance premiums
· Medicare Advantage and Supplement premiums
· COBRA premiums
· Long-term care premiums

Click here to read the full article.

--

About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, was founded in 2006 to revolutionize the way employers provide employee health benefits in America. We empower employees to take control over their own healthcare, while helping employers recruit and retain the best talent. Our online solutions allow small and medium-sized businesses to successfully transition to a health benefits program that creates happier employees, reduces costs and frees up more time to serve their customers. For more information about ZaneHealth, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 8 hours ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A cutoff of benefits for the long-term unemployed has left more than 1.3 million Americans with a stressful decision:

What now?

Without their unemployment checks, many will abandon what had been a futile search and will no longer look for a job — an exodus that could dwarf the 347,000 Americans who stopped seeking work in December. Beneficiaries have been required to look for work to receive unemployment checks.

Some who lost their benefits say they'll begin an early and unplanned retirement. Others will pile on debt to pay for school and an eventual second career. Many will likely lean on family, friends, and other government programs to get by.

They're people like Stan Osnowitz, a 67-year-old electrician in Baltimore who lost his state unemployment benefits of $430 a week. The money put gasoline in his car to help him look for work.

Osnowitz says an extra three months of benefits — one option Congress is debating to restore the program —would enable his job search to continue into spring, when construction activity usually increases and more electrical jobs become available.

He says he's sought low-paid work at stores like Lowe's or Home Depot. But he acknowledges that at his age, the prospect of a minimum-wage job is depressing.

"I have two choices," Osnowitz says. "I can take a job at McDonald's or something and give up everything I've studied and everything I've worked for and all the experience that I have. Or I can go to retirement."

The emergency federal aid ran out last month, a casualty of deficit-minded lawmakers who argue that the government can't afford to fund it indefinitely and that unemployment benefits do little to put people back to work. Since their introduction during the 2008 financial crisis, extended benefits have gone to millions who had exhausted their regular state unemployment checks, typically after six months.

The duration of the federal benefits has varied from state to state up to 47 weeks. As a result, the long-term unemployed in Rhode Island, for example, could receive a total of 73 weeks — 26 weeks of regular benefits, plus 47 weeks from the now-expired federal program.

Outside Cincinnati, Tammy Blevins, 57, fears that welfare is her next step. She was let go as a machine operator at a printing plant in May. Her unemployment check and a small inheritance from her father helped cover her $1,000-a-month mortgage and $650 health insurance premium. With her benefits cut off and few openings in manufacturing, she dreads what could be next.

"I'm going to have to try the welfare thing, I guess," Blevins says. "I don't know. I'm lost."

Others plan to switch careers. After being laid off this summer as a high school history teacher, Jada Urquhart enrolled at Ohio State University to become a social worker.

Urquhart, 58, has already borrowed against her house, canceled cable-TV and turned down the thermostat despite the winter chill. Without an unemployment check, she plans to max out her credit cards and take on student loans to complete her degree by 2015.

"I'll be 60 when I graduate," she says. "If I do one-on-one or family counseling, I can work forever."

Urquhart finds herself in sympathy with members of Congress who want to limit government spending. She does in theory, at least.

"It's just hard when you're the one getting shrunk," she says.

The percentage of Americans in the workforce has reached its lowest monthly level in nearly 36 years, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate fell in December to 6.7 percent from 7 percent. But that drop occurred mainly because more Americans stopped looking for jobs. Once people without jobs stop looking for one, the government no longer counts them as unemployed.

Because unemployment benefits require recipients to look for work, many who would have given up kept seeking a job. The federal benefits eased their financial hardship. But the fundamental problem goes beyond unemployment aid: A shortage of decent-paying jobs for those still coping with the aftermath of the Great Recession.

Jesse Rothstein, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, who has studied the long-term unemployed, has found that extended benefits help both the recipients and the economy — by fueling consumer spending.

"A Band-Aid doesn't heal a serious wound, but that isn't much of a reason not to use one," Rothstein says.

The trend of people ending their job hunts once their benefits expire has already emerged in North Carolina, which started cutting off aid in July. North Carolina's unemployment rate sank from 8.8 percent in June to 7.4 percent in November, but mainly because people stopped their job searches.

But some congressional Republicans argue that guaranteed unemployment checks that go on for more than a year lead many workers to take excessive time to try to land an ideal job, instead of settling for whatever they can find.

Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama have pushed to restore the program. But they need to agree on how to pay for it— a key demand from Republicans concerned about a potential $20 billion hit to the deficit.

The longer people remain jobless, the more likely their skills are to erode and the more likely employers are to ignore their resumes, according to economic research. The result is that many eventually stop looking for work and turn instead to other government programs such as Social Security Disability Insurance.

"If those workers don't ever get back, they're not going to be earning income, they're not going to be paying taxes," says Josh Mitchell, an economic researcher at the Urban Institute.

Compared with people who've been out of work for weeks, the long-term unemployed tend to be older and more concentrated in manufacturing and construction, according to research by Mitchell.

A majority of the long-term unemployed have children. An increasing share — 28.6 percent vs. 24.2 percent in 2007 —attended college but didn't receive a degree. And most live in the South and West, where the housing bust that sparked the recession was most intense.

About 37 percent of all unemployed workers — or 4.1 million — have been out of a job six months or more. That's nearly double the proportion it was when Congress previously ended emergency benefits in 2003 and in 1994, notes Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

But many workers say they would rather have jobs than more benefits.

"It's just been a struggle forever," says Blevins, the laid-off machine operator. "I don't want nothing for free." Reported by Huffington Post 4 hours ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A cutoff of benefits for the long-term unemployed has left more than 1.3 million Americans with a stressful decision:

What now? Without their unemployment checks, many will abandon what had been a futile search and will no longer look for a job — an exodus that could dwarf the 347,000 Americans who stopped seeking work in December. Beneficiaries have been required to look for work to receive unemployment checks.

Some who lost their benefits say they'll begin an early and unplanned retirement. Others will pile on debt to pay for school and an eventual second career. Many will likely lean on family, friends, and other government programs to get by.

They're people like Stan Osnowitz, a 67-year-old electrician in Baltimore who lost his state unemployment benefits of $430 a week. The money put gasoline in his car to help him look for work.

Osnowitz says an extra three months of benefits — one option Congress is debating to restore the program —would enable his job search to continue into spring, when construction activity usually increases and more electrical jobs become available.

He says he's sought low-paid work at stores like Lowe's or Home Depot. But he acknowledges that at his age, the prospect of a minimum-wage job is depressing.

"I have two choices," Osnowitz says. "I can take a job at McDonald's or something and give up everything I've studied and everything I've worked for and all the experience that I have. Or I can go to retirement."

The emergency federal aid ran out last month, a casualty of deficit-minded lawmakers who argue that the government can't afford to fund it indefinitely and that unemployment benefits do little to put people back to work. Since their introduction during the 2008 financial crisis, extended benefits have gone to millions who had exhausted their regular state unemployment checks, typically after six months.

The duration of the federal benefits has varied from state to state up to 47 weeks. As a result, the long-term unemployed in Rhode Island, for example, could receive a total of 73 weeks — 26 weeks of regular benefits, plus 47 weeks from the now-expired federal program.

Outside Cincinnati, Tammy Blevins, 57, fears that welfare is her next step. She was let go as a machine operator at a printing plant in May. Her unemployment check and a small inheritance from her father helped cover her $1,000-a-month mortgage and $650 health insurance premium. With her benefits cut off and few openings in manufacturing, she dreads what could be next.

"I'm going to have to try the welfare thing, I guess," Blevins says. "I don't know. I'm lost."

Others plan to switch careers. After being laid off this summer as a high school history teacher, Jada Urquhart enrolled at Ohio State University to become a social worker.

Urquhart, 58, has already borrowed against her house, canceled cable-TV and turned down the thermostat despite the winter chill. Without an unemployment check, she plans to max out her credit cards and take on student loans to complete her degree by 2015.

"I'll be 60 when I graduate," she says. "If I do one-on-one or family counseling, I can work forever."

Urquhart finds herself in sympathy with members of Congress who want to limit government spending. She does in theory, at least.

"It's just hard when you're the one getting shrunk," she says.

The percentage of Americans in the workforce has reached its lowest monthly level in nearly 36 years, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate fell in December to 6.7 percent from 7 percent. But that drop occurred mainly because more Americans stopped looking for jobs. Once people without jobs stop looking for one, the government no longer counts them as unemployed.

Because unemployment benefits require recipients to look for work, many who would have given up kept seeking a job. The federal benefits eased their financial hardship. But the fundamental problem goes beyond unemployment aid: A shortage of decent-paying jobs for those still coping with the aftermath of the Great Recession.

Jesse Rothstein, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, who has studied the long-term unemployed, has found that extended benefits help both the recipients and the economy — by fueling consumer spending.

"A Band-Aid doesn't heal a serious wound, but that isn't much of a reason not to use one," Rothstein says.

The trend of people ending their job hunts once their benefits expire has already emerged in North Carolina, which started cutting off aid in July. North Carolina's unemployment rate sank from 8.8 percent in June to 7.4 percent in November, but mainly because people stopped their job searches.

But some congressional Republicans argue that guaranteed unemployment checks that go on for more than a year lead many workers to take excessive time to try to land an ideal job, instead of settling for whatever they can find.

Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama have pushed to restore the program. But they need to agree on how to pay for it— a key demand from Republicans concerned about a potential $20 billion hit to the deficit.

The longer people remain jobless, the more likely their skills are to erode and the more likely employers are to ignore their resumes, according to economic research. The result is that many eventually stop looking for work and turn instead to other government programs such as Social Security Disability Insurance.

"If those workers don't ever get back, they're not going to be earning income, they're not going to be paying taxes," says Josh Mitchell, an economic researcher at the Urban Institute.

Compared with people who've been out of work for weeks, the long-term unemployed tend to be older and more concentrated in manufacturing and construction, according to research by Mitchell.

A majority of the long-term unemployed have children. An increasing share — 28.6 percent vs. 24.2 percent in 2007 —attended college but didn't receive a degree. And most live in the South and West, where the housing bust that sparked the recession was most intense.

About 37 percent of all unemployed workers — or 4.1 million — have been out of a job six months or more. That's nearly double the proportion it was when Congress previously ended emergency benefits in 2003 and in 1994, notes Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

But many workers say they would rather have jobs than more benefits.

"It's just been a struggle forever," says Blevins, the laid-off machine operator. "I don't want nothing for free." Reported by Huffington Post 6 hours ago.

Racial disparities in health and healthcare are a persistent and troubling problem for the U.S.

There are a number of reasons minority patients experience disparities in care, but new research suggests the hospital death disparity related to bypass surgery is more a reflection on the quality of the hospital than barriers like language and lack of health insurance. According to research published in JAMA Surgery, minority patients had a 33 percent higher death rate after bypass surgery than white patients, and hospital quality is a major contributing factor.

Out of 170,000 Medicare patients who had bypass surgery, approximately 9 percent were of an ethnicity other than non-Hispanic white. Researchers found hospital quality, socioeconomic status and patient factors accounted for 53 percent of the disparity between minority and non-Hispanic white patients.

Of the hospitals with the highest death rates post bypass surgery, the death rate was 4.8 percent for minority patients and 3.8 percent for non-Hispanic white patients.

Researchers believe a lack of access to quality hospitals is often to blame for deaths post-major surgery, but the focus tends to be on why minority patients lack access to care rather than why the quality of care at certain facilities is lacking.

*Why does the quality of hospitals vary?*

In a nation where technology is easily accessible and the latest and greatest medical techniques are often pioneered, it seems difficult to comprehend why some medical facilities lack in quality compared to others across the country.

Unfortunately, experts indicate much of this has to do with supply and demand; hospitals in certain regions will attract higher-educated professionals than will others.

In 2011, a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, found small rural hospitals in the United States provided a lower quality of care and had worse patient outcomes than larger hospitals. Much of this had to do with financial support from the community; facilities in rural America were less likely to be able to support an intensive care unit, advanced life-saving technologies, or even basic electronic medical records.

Not only were these hospital underfunded for supplies, they also lacked the level of trained staff that would pull in referrals from other regions. If anything, small hospitals were sending patients elsewhere because they were not equipped to handle advanced conditions.

But hospitals in country locations are not the only ones suffering when it comes to quality of care; inner-city hospitals, or those serving an overwhelming number of patients also experience a lack of care. In Ohio, for example, the Coshocton Tribune reports 17 hospitals in the state had unacceptably high readmission rates. These repeat cases were not just the result of location or financial barriers, but also demonstrated a possible breakdown in the process of patient care.

Experts point out a quality hospital not only treats a patient, but provides that patient with the means to have a successful recovery while at home. This may mean putting that individual in touch with home health professionals, or setting up rehabilitative appointments in other facilities.

The Affordable Care Act provisions are expected to help improve the quality of care throughout hospitals around the country, potentially eliminating the racial disparities seen on many levels of health care.

“Once the single biggest payer in health care (Medicare) says it starts caring about something, hospitals really respond,” said Erik Johnson, senior vice president at Avalere Health, a D.C.-based health care consulting firm, to the Coshocton Tribune. “Hospitals are being forced in a very explicit way to think about about the entire continuum of care — what happens to the patient when they arrive in the (emergency department) and what happens to them when they leave.”

This article originally appeared on VOXXI under the title "Racial disparities seen in hospital deaths indicative of hospital quality, study." Reported by Huffington Post 6 hours ago.

Mirroring problems with the federal health care website, people around the nation attempting to navigate the Spanish version have discovered their own set of difficulties. The site, CuidadoDeSalud.gov, launched more than two months late. Reported by msnbc.com 6 hours ago.

Healthcare insurance companies are announcing that they are having trouble getting paid by the thousands of new policy holders who signed up through the new healthcare exchanges, resulting in far fewer enrollees than expected.

Despite this news, Obama's former campaign sent out a fundraising email urging supporters to "Spread the good news! " and claiming that six million Americans had "already signed up for coverage thanks to health reform."

"More than six million Americans already have coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act--including 2.1 million who signed up for private plans on the health insurance marketplace. Nobody can deny that fact," Erin Hannigan said in a January 10 Organizing For Action email.

Despite the bravado that "no one can deny" OFA's claims, well-known statistician Sean Trende noted that at least one of the administration's claims is suspect. Obama has said that four million Americans had enrolled in Medicaid. Trende says this is "doubtful."

In a lengthy January 7 piece at RealClearPolitics, Trende wrote, "It s a virtual certainty that the number of enrollments attributable to Obamacare is an order of magnitude less than the 4 million sign-ups implied, and the number of people [on Medicaid] who would actually lose their insurance if Obamacare were repealed is probably around 200,000 to 300,000."

It is sure that the administration is counting many who signed up for a plan through the exchanges, but this hardly counts for actual, paid policies.

Regardless of what the real numbers are or are not, insurers have not received actual payments to assure that policies have really been bought. 

As the Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 10, "A big gap between the roughly two million people the government said selected plans in the marketplaces and those who actually pay--the final step to getting coverage--could pose a fresh challenge for the Obama administration."

One of the major stumbling blocks that insurance companies are facing is that the various exchange websites are still not working well enough to finish enrollments. Further, in many parts of the business sector, confusion over Obamacare still reigns.

Finally, the Associated Press reported on January 2 that millions of Americans who thought they signed up for Obamacare are still unsure if they have a new policy.

 
 
 
  Reported by Breitbart 5 hours ago.

New Mexico officials say the state is facing its worst shortage of primary care providers at a time when thousands are expected to enroll in state and federal health insurance exchanges. Reported by ajc.com 5 hours ago.

CBS Baltimore (con't)Affordable Care Act Updates:CBSBaltimore.com/ACAHealth News & Information:CBSBaltimore.com/HealthWASHINGTON (AP) — Gov. Martin O’Malley is acknowledging a troubled start for Maryland’s online health insurance exchange, Reported by CapitalBay 2 hours ago.

New Mexico officials say the state is facing its worst shortage of primary care providers at a time when thousands are expected to enroll in state and federal health insurance exchanges. Reported by ajc.com 3 hours ago.

The former owner of a third-party insurance administration agency is headed to prison for stealing nearly $500,000 from a trust fund that administered health insurance policies and prescription coverage. Reported by ajc.com 52 minutes ago.

God, I wish I were poor.

And unemployed. That's the good life. Poor and unemployed.

I mean, just look at all the cool stuff you get. Medicaid and welfare. Food stamps and unemployment insurance. And don't forget public housing.

This stuff is so awesome that it's like a "hammock that lulls able-bodied people to lives of dependency and complacency, that drains them of their will and their incentive to make the most of their lives." That's what Paul Ryan says, at least, and as the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, he's supposed to know these things, right?

According to Ryan and his fellow Republicans, if I have unemployment insurance, I'll never want to work again. Senator Rand Paul says it will cause me "to become part of this perpetual unemployed group." With an average benefit of $269 per week, I'll be living on Easy Street.

This is a common belief. There's an email making the rounds from a 54-year-old consulting engineer who makes $60,000 a year and has to pay $482 a month for health insurance under Obamacare, but that's not his biggest complaint. He's really upset that his 61-year-old girlfriend who makes $18,000 a year only has to pay $1 a month for health insurance.

He thinks she has it so easy that she can afford to pay more, but he's wrong.

On average, Americans earning $18,000 a year pay more than $3,000 in taxes, so she really only has $15,000 leftover to pay her expenses. She lives in Monterey, CA, where the average rent and utilities add up to $15,000 a year. So, after paying taxes, rent, and utilities, she's completely broke. She doesn't have money for food, let alone health insurance.

The consulting engineer thinks people will choose her lifestyle over his. "Heck, why study engineering when I can be a schlub for $20K per year?" he asks. (Nice way to talk about your girlfriend, by the way.) To which I'd like to reply: If being a "schlub" is so attractive, why don't you do it? Why don't you quit your engineering job and join the "$20K per year" club?

For that matter, why don't we all quit our jobs right now and start collecting unemployment insurance? How far do you honestly think we can stretch $269 a week?

I'll tell you how far: It would cover less than half of the basic necessities for the average American family.

That's why unemployment makes you more likely to have to borrow money from a friend, withdraw money from your retirement savings, and have trouble paying your medical bills, rent, and mortgage. It makes you more likely to have a stroke or heart attack, lose self-respect, have difficulty sleeping, and seek professional help for anxiety and depression. It makes you more likely to kill yourself, kill others, and drink yourself to death.

And if you've been unemployed for more than a few months, most employers won't even look at your résumé. It doesn't matter how qualified you are. It's like you don't exist anymore.

The last time it was this bad, with long-term unemployment close to 3 percent of the workforce, was the peak of the 1980-81 recession. Back then, the federal government kept extended unemployment insurance in place for almost two more years, until the long-term unemployment rate fell close to 1 percent. In fact, that's been standard operating procedure for every recession in the modern era, including 1990-91 and 2001. But now, with long-term unemployment as high as it's been since World War II, Republicans have killed the emergency unemployment insurance program, and they're fighting Democrats' efforts to restore it.

They don't seem to care that there are 2.9 applicants for every job opening. They don't seem to care that people on unemployment insurance actually spend more time searching for work than their fellow unemployed who are ineligible for benefits. They're sticking to their story.

On the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty, many Americans are still operating under the assumption that people choose to be poor and unemployed, that they'd rather be lazy than rich, that they can afford the basic necessities of life. But the numbers tell a different story.

I don't wish I were poor. Or unemployed. And I sure don't wish it on anyone else. If you did the math, neither would you.

This op-ed was originally published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Reported by Huffington Post 8 minutes ago.

Good morning, AdLand. Here's what you need to know today:

There were many winners and losers at last night's *Golden Globes* award ceremony, but nobody triumphed quite like the upcoming *Muppets Most Wanted *movie. The movie ran a hilarious ad during the broadcast that made light of the silliness of online arguments by including a (likely staged) dialogue between the Twitter users @HotFudge1218 and @Babybean1128 over why The Muppets weren't nominated for any awards. Take a look below to see why "critics across the internet are outraged":

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the long-running legal fight between the major broadcast television networks and *Aereo*, a service that has allowed users to stream or record live broadcast TV content despite not having the broadcasters' permission to do so. *Time's* Sam Gustin writes that a ruling in Aereo's favor could  "\upend the highly lucrative broadcast TV business model."

The ad-tech firm *Turn* announced an $80 million investment, which it will use to invest in its data platform.

*Publicis Groupe* purchased *Qorvis Communications*, a D.C. public affairs and crisis management firm.

The U.S. federal government will target local TV audiences during the *2014 Winter Olympics* with ads encouraging young people to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, health insurers are expected to spend upwards of $500 million on advertising this year to capitalize on the ACA's mandate that nearly all Americans sign up for insurance.

*Adap.tv* will create a private video advertising marketplace for *The Guardian*, allowing the British news organization to sell premium video inventory to select trading desks and agencies via programmatic buying.

Advertising industry self-regulatory agency *The National Advertising Division* recommended that *Shape Magazine* more clearly mark content promoting Shape-branded products as advertisements. The NAD cited an article promoting Shape Water Boosters that was preceded by the headline "News" and touted the benefits of the Shape-branded flavored water supplements.

*Lay's* potato chips is once again soliciting the public to submit ideas for a new flavor, with the person who contributes the winning idea getting a $1 million prize. The promotion will be supported by TV and digital advertising from *Energy BBDO* and *Deep* *Focus*, as well as the comedian Wayne Brady, who will act out various flavor submissions that are tweeted at the Lay's Twitter handle tomorrow.

*Digiday *took a look at some brands that did last night's *Golden Globes* award show right.

*Previously on Business Insider Advertising:*

· 7 Junk Food Brands With Awkwardly Unconvincing Athlete Endorsements

· Bud And Bud Light Are In Freefall — And Now Their Parent Company Is Making A Change

· The 15 Worst Corporate Logo Fails

· Apple Has A New, Super Serious Ad For The iPad That Premiered During NFL Games And The Golden Globes

· Here's The Miller Lite Commercial Featuring The Real Wolf Of Wall Street's Ex-Wife

· This Ad Imagines A World Where Guide Dogs Are Replaced With Ducks, Sheep, And Yaks

· Warby Parker's Interactive Annual Report Is Basically An Intricate, Shareable Ad

Join the conversation about this story »

 
 
 
  Reported by Business Insider 8 hours ago.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- On a balmy day last August, Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) stood at a makeshift kitchen in the Alaska Native Medical Center and gleefully watched a chef whisk a bowl of reindeer fat.

"I'd rather have this than Jell-O!" the first-term lawmaker gushed, watching his instructor beat away at the bowl of rapidly congealing triglycerides. "It'd make a great dip."

Begich was filming a PSA on nutritious ways to prepare indigenous Alaskan dishes, and his enthusiasm contrasted sharply with the sanitized meeting room where the video was being shot, not to mention the gutted and cleaned remains of a creature best known as Santa's chauffeur.

Grinding Rudolph into snack food might upset Americans in the lower 48. But in Alaska, where native peoples comprise a whopping 20 percent of the state's population, the optics are fabulous -- particularly for Begich, who doesn't exactly fit the mold of rugged Alaskan outdoorsman.

Friends describe the 51-year-old lawmaker as a "city kid," who's more at home wearing pleated pants and reading economic briefs than decked out in Thinsulate scaling a glacier. By most accounts, his ideal lunch involves a soggy, Saran-wrapped cheese sandwich, a folder of documents to review and a car ferrying him to his next constituent meeting.

Yet here was this champion of the Kraft Single, extolling the gastronomic virtues of reindeer flesh. Just as politicians in the heartland are all too eager to nosh on fried butter at state fairs, Alaska's lawmakers never miss an opportunity to honor local customs. And with Begich's first reelection campaign looming, there aren't enough hours in the day or cuddly arctic animals to pulverize.

"This counts as your aerobics for the day!" declared Begich, really putting his back into the operation.

The PSA served another purpose, too. Acting as Begich's sous chef was Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who had recently been named chairwoman of the Indian Affairs Committee -- a comparatively low-profile assignment within the Beltway, but one of tremendous significance to Alaska's natives.

She was one in a long line of senators, cabinet secretaries, FCC commissioners and agency directors invited up to the 49th State to witness its idiosyncrasies firsthand. Costs are higher here -- transporting goods and services to towns without road access isn't easy -- and federal regulations can run afoul of local customs, particularly native ones.

Committee chairs like Cantwell have helped Begich craft some of his biggest legislative achievements, like securing automatic reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Act and expanding mental health services for veterans. Today, Begich's goal was far more modest: to revise federal law to accommodate Native Alaskans' diets by allowing public facilities like hospitals to serve traditional Alaskan dishes.

As Begich and Cantwell made small talk about the leanness of caribou and the tenderness of seal ribs, about a dozen hospital administrators anxiously stood off-camera. The visit wasn't only about securing Begich's future, but theirs as well. Nowhere is the procurement of federal resources more central to a state's survival than in Alaska, where Washington props up about one-third of the state's economy and a similar percentage of its jobs.

Already that day, Begich and Cantwell had been given a breathless tour of the medical center, accompanied by the standard cadre of harried aides making sure the senators kept to their schedule, and grant-hungry administrators, making sure they didn't.

Out of earshot, hospital staff groused about sequestration's effects on preventive health initiatives, and worried whether Congress' frugality would undermine their ability to medevac patients from the remote towns that dot the landscape.
Sen. Mark Begich laughs while aboard a boat docked at Galena, AlaskaFor decades, Alaska was defined by politicians like the late Sen. Ted Stevens, whom Begich defeated in 2008, and Rep. Don Young. Cheered on by Alaska's close-knit political class, the two Republicans brazenly exploited their positions atop key congressional committees to steer billions of dollars to America's largest and least-developed state.

"If he's the chief porker, I'm upset," Young once quipped about Stevens' renown for procuring federal earmarks. "I'd like to be a little oinker, myself."

But with oil production declining, its future in natural gas undercut by finds in the lower 48 and Congress gripped by austerity fever, Alaska's position has rarely been so tenuous. As the effects of the 2009 stimulus wear off -- which, along with high oil prices, helped shield Alaska from the ravages of the Great Recession -- residents fret with increasing alarm about the state's long-term prospects.

To make matters worse, Congress has put the kibosh on earmarks, which were crucial to Alaska's modernization in the second half of the 20th century. And so, officials from all corners of the state are scrambling to procure what they can from their congressional delegation.

Begich's allies say his understated style and diplomatic approach are well-suited to a Congress marked by partisanship and extreme fiscal austerity.

"Sen. Stevens and others had to roll up their sleeves and start swinging," said Bill Popp, a longtime Begich confidante who previously worked for Stevens and is currently president and CEO of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation. "They had to be very blunt, they had to be very aggressive. Now, it's a little more diplomatic."

Begich agrees, saying he tries to use such aggressive tactics sparingly.

"It's great media, people like to cover that, but that's not really results-oriented," he says, adding that excessive posturing can lead to eye rolls from colleagues and observers.

"It's not 'Oh, jeez, here he goes again with another rant.' They know I'm serious."

*THE SPECTER OF 'FOR SALE' SIGNS*

If Ted Stevens was most responsible for building today's Alaska, it may be up to Mark Begich to keep it from falling apart.

Alaska's economy has fared well during Begich's term in the Senate, and his work on the 2009 stimulus package quickly established him as a viable successor to Stevens in the role of the state's chief appropriator. Per capita, Alaska benefited more from the Recovery Act than any other state. Now, as Begich travels around the state with an eye toward his reelection campaign, he is quick to point out his rapid ascension in Senate seniority and his seat on the Appropriations Committee.

Still, he's faced with a far more tightfisted Congress than his predecessors were, and a state economy that is flirting with catastrophe.

Washington spending and the oil industry are responsible for a combined two-thirds of Alaska's economy and jobs, and in some communities 71 percent of personal income derives from government funding. A dramatic change in the status quo could be disastrous, transforming Alaska from one of the country's most economically crucial states -- one where each resident receives an annual dividend check from the state's oil revenue -- to something amounting to a glorified territory.

Gregg Erickson, an economist who has worked extensively on state issues, predicted that Alaska's declining fortunes could cause an economic downturn that would eclipse the one visited upon Michigan after the auto industry's collapse.

"The specter of 'For Sale' signs looms large," Erickson told HuffPost.

"Think Appalachia with seven months of winter," Alaska-based journalists Amanda Coyne and Tony Hopfinger wrote, rather bluntly, in their book "Crude Awakening."

With earmarks, it was easier for lawmakers to address specific constituent needs -- and for them to do so much more brazenly. Now, finesse and creativity are musts.

Begich cited his efforts to court Republicans and committee chairs like Cantwell in order to secure long-term funding for as many crucial programs as possible, like the permanent reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Act. He also placed a hold on a three-star general's promotion to keep a squadron of F-16s stationed in Fairbanks.

"I love earmarks, I'd love them back, but I'm focused on language and legislation that ensures sustainability and permanency," Begich said.

He's bullish about the state's future and anticipates growth in mining, tourism and shipping, thanks -- in one of the global economy's more bittersweet developments -- to expanded Arctic sea lanes created by global warming. He also speaks of possible growth in oil and gas production stemming from increased energy exploration, and another military buildup, as the Obama administration shifts the country's military and diplomatic focus to East Asia.

Begich comes to such optimism naturally. But pointing to a future full of growth and prosperity doesn't hurt in an election year, if only because predictions of economic malaise and crushed dreams make for lousy bumper stickers.

Democrats want Begich to remain upbeat. Their Senate majority depends in no small part on his reelection, and Republicans are planning to target him with every weapon in their arsenal.Boats float on the river with a view of Buckland, Alaska.History suggests that Begich's seat should be an easy get for the GOP in 2014. Alaska has traditionally hewed conservative, and Begich was elected by the thinnest of margins in 2008. He won only after Stevens was found guilty on corruption charges eight days before Election Day. (The conviction was later overturned.)

On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell has already announced his candidacy, as has former Attorney General Dan Sullivan. Joe Miller, who beat out Sen. Lisa Murkowski to become the GOP nominee in 2010, only to lose to her write-in campaign, is also running again.

And because nothing gets cable news hosts and web editors as hot and bothered, questions about a Sarah Palin candidacy refuse to die, despite lukewarm interest from the former governor and vice presidential candidate.

Begich's campaign won't shy away from Palin, whose standing with the public couldn't be worse if she proposed opening up Mount McKinley to mountaintop removal mining.

"I'm not even sure if she still lives in the state," Begich said.

"She would be a formidable opponent in the Republican [primary], but I have no worry or fear of her," he added. "I think she is so disconnected from Alaska now that I'm not sure she even knows what's going on."

Begich, who was born in Anchorage, will likely highlight his Alaskan roots to draw a contrast with the eventual Republican nominee. All three major announced candidates were born and raised out of state.

Still, he is keenly aware of the state's political leanings, and so he's broken with his party on a number of matters -- most notably his vote against expanding background checks on gun purchasers and his support for expanded oil and gas exploration.

The botched rollout of HealthCare.gov, the federal portal to health insurance exchanges in Alaska and 35 other states, has forced Begich to distance himself from both President Barack Obama and the Affordable Care Act. Begich voted for the health care law, which remains unpopular among Alaskans.

"I've always said it's not a perfect bill," Begich said. "I did vote for it, but I never said it was perfect, and I've recommended changes."

In one recent Oval Office meeting, Begich excoriated the president for the website's failed launch. Afterwards, Begich's office quickly released a statement decrying the administration’s "mismanagement" of the law's implementation. More recently he introduced a proposal to add "copper" health plans to Obamacare's health exchanges, which would feature lower premiums but higher out-of-pocket costs.

The GOP won't let Begich off so easily, aiming to align him so closely with Obamacare that voters would be forgiven for thinking their junior senator had programmed HealthCare.gov himself.

"Mark Begich was the deciding vote for Obamacare, which most Alaskans would like dismantled," said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Brook Hougesen. "The fact is that without Mark Begich in the Senate, Obamacare wouldn't exist."

Begich responded to the attack with a chuckle. "There are sixty 60th votes!" he said.

Outside money will also play a major role in the race. In November, Americans for Prosperity, the conservative super PAC financed by the Koch brothers, ran an ad criticizing Begich for his Obamacare vote. The ad was panned for featuring a Maryland-based actress and, more conspicuously, for being set in a decidedly un-Alaskan Provençal-style kitchen.

"Did you see that Maryland actress?" Begich asked. "I know Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers will like to play onto one issue, but voters in Alaska like to look at the whole package."

Left-leaning advocates have also targeted Begich for his more moderate and conservative positions. Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the group co-chaired by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has already pilloried him for his vote against expanded background checks. Begich, who briefly belonged to the group when he was mayor of Anchorage, all but encourages such attacks from his left flank, believing they help brand him as a political maverick.

"It's not difficult for me!" Begich said about whether his vote has become a political liability. "You press people think it's difficult."

Nonetheless, it will be a tough needle for Begich to thread. Alaska's often contradictory politics -- solidly Republican yet strongly receptive to government money -- will require him to cast himself as both politically independent and connected enough to his party apparatus to secure federal funds for the state.

So far, at least, he seems to be succeeding. Polling shows Begich defeating all of the declared Republican candidates in 2014, a fact the senator attributes to his focus on Alaskan issues.

"At the end of the day, Alaskans are worried about what the economy is doing," he said. "Will they still have a job, is the military going to be here, is the oil and gas flowing?"

*A BREAK WITH TRADITION*

For much of Alaska's history, such essentials were rarely in question. And so, emboldened by skyrocketing oil revenues and a Washington all too happy to dole out earmarks, Alaskans focused on far-fetched ideas and lavish projects instead.

Alaska's governing elite sought federal dollars to build things like an $8 billion dam that would provide 20 times the state's electricity needs. There were also failed attempts to cultivate a thriving agricultural sector, despite a prohibitively short growing season. In the 1970s, Sen. Mike Gravel, a Democrat, vigorously lobbied for the construction of "Denali City," a domed city that would draw tourists from the world over.

Alaska became defined by egos and personalities as large as the state itself. Not a year went by without stories of corruption, favoritism, nepotism and pie-in-the-sky idealism. Take Bill Allen, former CEO of energy contractor VECO Corporation and arguably Alaska's most powerful businessman. When Allen wasn't going on fishing trips with his good friend Ted Stevens, or setting up shop in the Juneau hotel where federal prosecutors say he bribed state lawmakers, he was spending time with one of his closest companions, a teenage runaway named Bambi.

Or Wally Hickel, a onetime governor and interior secretary under Richard Nixon. Hickel ran for governor again in 1990 as the nominee of the Alaska Independence Party, which was founded for the express purpose of seceding from the union. He won.

And, of course, Sarah Palin, whose rollout as a national politician was such a disaster that within weeks of her debut as John McCain's running mate, "Saturday Night Live" writers were blockquoting her in lieu of an original script.

Alaska's two most effective legislators, Stevens and Young, could be notoriously tone-deaf. Stevens once complained that Alaskans didn't fully appreciate the sacrifices he made for them, grousing, "I could go out and make $1 million a year without any question" instead of serving in the Senate. Young, meanwhile, drew condemnations from both sides of the aisle recently when he referred to Mexican laborers as "wetbacks."

Put another way, Alaska has suffered a string of bad exes. Enter Mark Begich, whose appearance, demeanor and outlook are those of the sensible rebound. He might well provide Alaska's jilted electorate the measure of stability it has sorely lacked.An aerial view of the Ruth Glacier along the Great Gorge in Denali National Park, Alaska.With his upbeat but somewhat bland personality, and his standard-issue Trent Lott haircut brushed sideways into a neatly contained mass, Begich appears fresh off the senatorial assembly line. And whereas the often surly Young and Stevens cut their teeth in remote and rough frontiers, like Fairbanks and Fort Yukon, Begich was raised in Anchorage's relative comfort and urbanity.

"He's just a regular guy," said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), one of Begich's closest friends in the Senate. "He's easy to talk to."

That amiability aided Begich in his earliest professional pursuits. By the time he graduated high school, he was already a thriving businessman. At 18, he had obtained a business license to sell jewelry and was helping his mother manage a number of real estate properties. So abundant were his opportunities in Anchorage that he opted to skip college. Today Begich is the only member of the Senate -- and his family -- without a college degree.

"It was a pretty optimistic time in Alaska," said Bill Popp. "The pipeline had just wrapped up and the money was starting to flow. There were a lot of opportunities, especially for kids."

Begich's most impressive adolescent undertaking was an 18-and-under club called The Motherlode. Many other teenagers, finding themselves young, free and owning a profitable nightclub in the disco era, might have descended into a hedonistic spiral, like some kind of subarctic Steve Rubell. But Begich was methodical, going to great lengths to keep alcohol and drugs off the premises and, characteristically, spending far more time with the club's books than on its dance floor.

"He ran The Motherlode with very high standards," said Popp, who also DJed at the club. "They had high-quality bouncers at the front door. It was the talk of the town."

Politics was the last thing on Begich's mind, thanks in no small part to his late father, Nick Begich, who had served as Alaska's at-large representative to Congress. When Begich was 10, his father was killed when the twin engine Cessna 310 carrying him and House Majority Leader Hale Boggs crashed in the Gulf of Alaska.

"Why would I do something that took my dad away at 10 years old?" Begich said, recalling how his father's death affected him. "Politics was not of interest to me."

That all changed when The Motherlode's landlord canceled its lease to make way for a strip club. Begich tried desperately to keep his establishment open. In his view, the decision would not only shutter a safe haven for Anchorage's entertainment-starved youth, but would bring yet another adults-only establishment to a boomtown already teeming with vice.

"He had every right to cancel the lease," Begich said of the landlord, "but he was destroying not just a business, but a pretty important thing for the community."

Begich and his business partner petitioned the neighborhood about blocking the strip club, later taking their grievances to the city council -- a move that ultimately delayed the establishment's opening.

"That was the first time I had ever seen something like that happen," Begich said of his introduction to governance. "I got interested in being involved."

Begich was well-positioned. In the ever-changing landscape of Alaska society -- awash with oil speculators, seasonal employees and cultural refugees from the lower 48 -- the Begiches were the closest thing to nobility that Anchorage had.

"Everybody knew the Begich family," Popp said.

Begich's mother, Pegge, ran the family's real estate company and remained active in politics, serving on a number of local boards and task forces. She would later stage two unsuccessful runs for her late husband's congressional seat. Begich is the fourth of six children, and his oldest brother, Nick Jr., ultimately became president of the Alaska Federation of Teachers.

"Mark was a networker. He never had a problem talking to anybody," Popp said.

Begich brought the same hyper-ambitious approach to politics that he had to business, and his ascent was a speedy one. At 19, he landed a job in the city's health department and later became the driver for Anchorage Mayor Tony Knowles, who would go on to serve two terms as governor. In 1988, at 26, Begich won a spot on the Anchorage Assembly and was eventually elevated to the role of Assembly chair. In 2003, after two unsuccessful attempts, he was elected mayor of Anchorage, the first Democrat to serve in that role since Knowles.

All the while, Begich helped expand and manage his family's real estate holdings, while starting a vending machine company on the side.

"He has a different energy level than normal people," said Mike Abbott, chief operating officer of the Anchorage school district and city manager during Begich's term as mayor. "He just has a big motor."

That motor will have Begich and his team crisscrossing Alaska's wild and wooly environs for the next year. They'll make their case in lonesome villages on the edge of the Arctic tundra and huddled beside North Slope oil workers in below-zero conditions. They'll travel on rickety fishing boats in the Kenai Peninsula and aboard turbulence-rattled prop planes, many departing from Ted Stevens International Airport, an imposing 4,500-acre reminder of what Begich has to live up to.

*'DON'T YOU WANT TO MOVE?'*

Despite Begich's pragmatic outlook, there are signs that Alaska's status quo isn't changing without a fight. Much of the state's power structure remains intact -- the so-called "good old boys" whom Palin relentlessly attacked during her populist campaign for governor. Old habits, like the legislature's cozy relationship with big oil, are dying hard.

At one point during their tour of the medical center, Begich and his aides were accosted by representatives of one of Alaska's village corporations, which are tasked with managing tribal resources.

"You guys are stalkers!" Begich joked as he and his staff beat a hasty retreat.

The group was hoping to discuss fishing rights, an issue they claimed Begich had promised to address months before. Another, smaller village corporation, they explained, had been granted more fishing rights. Dejected, they made for the exits.

Asked why a smaller village would be given preferential treatment, one representative sighed. His response could have well been the title of a textbook on Alaskan politics.

"Their chief is friends with Don Young."

Such economic and political uncertainty is beginning to cast a pall over the Last Frontier. The very same week Begich and Cantwell toured the state, the town council of Ketchikan, population 8,000, voted to expand daily ferry service to its airport and a smattering of homes. Funding for a bridge had failed to materialize in Washington, and residents would have to make do with a less desirable alternative.

The significance was lost on no one. This was the "Bridge to Nowhere," the infamous road link that had become nationally synonymous with bloated federal budgets. It solidified Alaska's reputation as one of the country's deepest money pits.

The expanded ferry service didn't just herald the demise of a large-scale infrastructure project, but perhaps foreshadowed a more widespread decline in the state's fortunes. Ted Stevens was dead. The future of the energy industry, which for decades had provided the state with more political and economic leverage than it knew what to do with, was uncertain. The state that had once wielded more relative influence than any other might soon be struggling to validate its very existence.

“Uncle Ted is no longer with us," one Ketchikan assembly member lamented.""The moon and the stars are no longer in alignment.”

Eleven-hundred miles away, Begich and Cantwell touched down in Galena, another remote Alaskan town learning to temper its expectations. Flooding had devastated the 500-person bush community that spring when the Yukon river jammed with melting ice, causing it to swell up and spill over into the town. Cars were abandoned, residents frantically shepherded onto planes and sled dog teams mushed onto boats.

Begich and his aides had come bearing supplies. In addition to a replacement part for the town's sanitation truck -- a delivery that would have otherwise taken several weeks to arrive -- the group had brought fruit and other perishables, veritable luxuries in such an isolated and barren place. The job of Alaskan appropriator, it seemed, never ends.Sens. Maria Cantwell (left) and Mark Begich (center) speak to constituents at a fishing camp on the outskirts of Galena, Alaska.Galena's history closely mirrors Alaska's economic rise and current uncertainty. The town was once home to a military installation, which helped fuel its development and kept it in the good graces of Washington lawmakers. But in the late 2000s, the facility was slated to be closed, leading to an exodus of residents and, more pressingly, budget shortfalls.

In 2009, with its future uncertain and the Recovery Act being hammered out in Congress, Galena spent $40,000 of its minuscule budget on lobbying. In 2010, it spent $60,000 -- more money per capita than any other municipal, county or state government in the United States. (Los Angeles, for comparison, also spent $60,000.) Galena received $1.5 million in federal grants in return.

Such a sum would suggest that the town would be bursting at the seams by now with glittering municipal buildings and commercial activity.

But even setting aside the recent flooding, Galena is far from a robust and prosperous community. What buildings remain are faded and drab, and the roads are pockmarked and muddy. The town's airport consists of a tiny ramshackle building, inside which travelers listen to their flight statuses via an old transistor radio patched into the cockpits of inbound planes. Apart from the gorgeous expanse of rolling hills and wild flowers encircling the town, Galena is not a terribly attractive or vibrant place.

Signs of a recovery were few and far between during Begich and Cantwell's visit. One local law enforcement official tried to remain upbeat as he sifted through papers in the back of his banged-up pickup truck. His patrol car, the officer explained, was destroyed in the flooding.

After being given a tour of the wreckage, and taking a 30-minute trip downriver to a fishing camp, the senators and their staffs assembled in a community center to discuss town business.

There was no talk that day of domed cities or billion-dollar dams. Instead, discussions centered around far more practical concerns, like how red tape had prevented local FEMA officials from responding in a timely manner to the disaster, and how rising temperatures were affecting the annual fishing harvest.

Begich responded with a characteristic mix of technocratic curiosity and political savvy, referring questioners to relevant officials but also touting his own efforts on their behalf.

"We're trying to show our committees what you know," he said of his work in Congress, "that it's more expensive here."

But earmarks were out of the question, and it was unclear whether Begich's discussion of his spot on a Commerce subcommittee provided much comfort. Evacuation planes were initially so sparse during the flooding, one elderly woman recalled, that only tribal elders could be speedily removed. The rest of the town -- including most of its children -- had to wait much longer to leave.

There was a sad kind of poetry to her story. Just as the majority of Galena's residents were left behind, the majority of Alaska's native peoples would be the ones to bear the brunt of a major economic collapse.

The state's population is mostly composed of people whose historical ties to it are thin. If the energy sector were to shrink, it's not a stretch to assume that most of its employees would relocate, perhaps to the Dakotas or Texas, deep though their love for the Alaska may be. There would be plenty of folks left -- working in shipping, tourism and mining, and stationed at any number of military installations -- but the most profitable industry would be gone.

But there would be few lifelines for most of the 20 percent of Alaskans whose ancestors were here long before 1867, when Secretary of State William H. Seward paid the Tsar of Russia $7.2 million for 660,000 square miles of untamed real estate at the northwestern-most corner of the continent. They would be the ones left to scrape together an existence with far less support than they enjoyed in the 20th century, when the oil boom and Alaska's political dominance brought about unprecedented growth and prosperity. State trust funds have been set up to ensure oil funds continue to pay dividends for years, but budget shortfalls, declining services and anemic job markets could well become the norm.

Begich remains unflinchingly optimistic about his state's ability to cobble together a future, but even he's aware of the economic and political challenges that lie ahead. He may have his finger on the pulse of what Alaskans worry about most, but actually answering the question of how the economy will fare is far more challenging.

"It's the most frustrating question to figure out here in Alaska," he said, adding that the rest of the country's perception of the state and its inhabitants doesn't help.

"A lot of people from out of state might look at Galena and say, 'Don't you want to move?' Well, the answer is 'no.' It's their home. It's where they live." Reported by Huffington Post 8 hours ago.

New infographic provides a rundown of items we don’t like to think about but should if we don’t want to leave a financial burden on our heirs.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) January 13, 2014

To help people begin the process of thinking about how they can leave their loved ones behind without a financial mess, credit card comparison and financial education website CreditDonkey.com has published Last Wishes. This helpful infographic is filled with facts and tips about items they need to address so that they can avoid placing a financial burden on those left behind.

Infographic: http://www.creditdonkey.com/death.html

Whoever penned the adage “nothing is certain but death and taxes” must have lived before the era of credit cards, insurance, and other survivors’ benefits. Today, spouses, parents, and other relatives need to put many parts of their financial lives in order before everyone can truly rest in peace.

“Because people would rather not think about dying, many postpone the planning process until it’s too late,” said Charles Tran, founder of CreditDonkey.com. “Unfortunately, procrastination doesn’t postpone death, so it’s best to address these post-mortem matters while you’re still very much alive.”

Some of these matters include:·     Credit Card Debt: Death is no excuse for failing to pay credit card debt. The deceased’s credit card debt must be paid by any co-signers of the accounts and the estate.
·     Survivor Benefits: Will your heirs be entitled to your Social Security, veteran, or employment benefits? Be sure the information about your beneficiaries is always up to date.
·     Medical Insurance: Will you be leaving the loved ones who rely on you with health insurance?

“At CreditDonkey, we strongly advise people to hire an attorney to assist with this planning,” added Tran. “While we hope the new infographic will inspire people to start the planning process, this information is not a substitute for competent legal counsel and professional financial-planning advice.”

Visit http://www.creditdonkey.com/death.html to view the full infographic on financial items to consider before death. Reported by PRWeb 8 hours ago.