Enrollment Spike Before Obamacare Deadline Today
Exchange signups may hit 7M. Bloomberg: "The government last week said 6 million Americans had enrolled by March 27 and about 1 million people a day were visiting healthcare.gov. The sign-ups met a mark set by the Congressional Budget Office in February that was reduced from an initial 7 million estimate after the law’s troubled start in October. Republicans questioned the credibility of the numbers."
After Obamacare deadline, new battles loom. W. Post: "Democrats and insurance industry officials are already seeking ways to blunt what may be the next big controversy: an expected increase in monthly insurance premiums next year for the health plans sold through the federal and state marketplaces ... other questions will loom: How will Americans react when they get fined next year for not having insurance? Will more states expand Medicaid under the law? And will the federal courts make future changes to the law, including barring the use of government subsidies to help pay for coverage in the federal marketplace?"
Obamacare's volunteer navigators learn lessons for next year. National Journal: "Enroll America targeted a handful of states with large uninsured populations and political leaders who weren't going to help implement Obamacare. Ray Paultre, Florida organizing director [said] Enroll America targeted a handful of states with large uninsured populations and political leaders who weren't going to help implement Obamacare. Ray Paultre, Florida organizing director for Enroll America [said] 'If we could do it all over again, how would we do it different? ... I would say we were 80 to 90 percent door-to-door contact. But it wasn't so much that door-knocking didn't work, it was that commit cards worked so well.' ... pieces of paper where a person could indicate whether they were uninsured, had insurance they didn't like, or knew someone who fell into one of those two categories."
Former HW Bush administration HHS Sec claims credit of Obamacare. CPI's Wendell Potter: "'Many of the features of the Affordable Care Act are part of what we proposed back in 1991,' [Louis Sullivan] said, mentioning in particular the individual mandate ... 'If they were supportive of it then, why are they so opposed to it now?' he asked."
Christian Right Push For Immigration Reform
Ralph Reed backs immigration reform in WSJ oped: "...we also must remember that every individual is created in the image of God and precious in His sight. This means laws for how immigrants will enter the U.S. in the future and how those already here are dealt with should acknowledge each person's God-given dignity. That means a system that allows new Americans to find safe and legal work to support their immediate families ... The House should pass legislation that reflects conservative values of strong and secure borders, the rule of law, economic opportunity, and strengthening of the family."
Latinos may turn away from voting without action. NYT: "... immigrant-rights advocates report mounting disillusionment with both parties among Latinos, enough to threaten recent gains in voting participation that have reshaped politics to Democrats’ advantage nationally, and in states like Colorado with significant Latino populations."
New UN Report Warns Of Climate Impacts
UN reports sounds alarms on climate. Time's Bryan Walsh: "...the report predicts with high confidence that the negative impacts of warming on crop yields will outweigh any potential positive impacts; that violent conflict will exacerbate the effects of global warming; that glaciers will continue to shrink as the climate warms, which has major impacts for downstream water supplies; that species on land and in the sea are shifting their range in response to warming and that some will face an increased risk of extinction; that health impacts will be felt from heat waves and from floods in low-lying areas; that the seas will continue to acidify, destroying coral reefs."
"If This Terrifying Report Doesn't Wake You Up to the Realities of What We're Doing to This Planet, What Will?" says Mother Jones: "Heat waves and wildfires are major threats in North America ... food sources will become unpredictable ... Coastal communities will increasingly get hammered by flooding and erosion..."
But nations starting to act. NYT: "The experts did find a bright spot, however. Since the group issued its report in 2007, it has found growing evidence that governments and businesses around the world are starting extensive plans to adapt to climate disruptions."
"Cost of inaction is catastrophic" reacts Sec of State John Kerry, reports The Hill.
Enviros cautiously embrace WH methane regulation strategy. Politico: "Friday’s news drew applause from the Environmental Defense Fund, which has partnered with industry to slash methane emissions in the states ... But while more liberal green groups like the Sierra Club called the strategy an 'important step,' they also raised some red flags about the administration’s commitment to natural gas development ... The differing responses highlight the divide within the environmental community over natural gas — and they underscore the resistance the administration faces in supporting the fossil fuel as a cleaner alternative to coal."
De Blasio Wins Pre-K Funds
Mayor de Blasio wins big money for pre-K, but with a cost. NYT: "Mayor Bill de Blasio stumbled away from the first state budget battle of his administration with his mandate bruised and his political momentum stymied, but clutching a hard-fought prize: money, and a lot of it, for his signature plan to offer free prekindergarten classes in New York City ... [though] his authority over the use of public school space for charter schools had been diminished, jeopardizing his much-discussed efforts to slow their expansion in New York."
Poverty affects children throughout their life, notes Demos' Matt Bruenig: "Little to no enrichment activities, cognitive abilities stunted by poverty-related stress, and years of falling behind does what you would think it does ... Fifty-four percent of rich kids get a four-year degree by age 25, six times the percentage of poor kids who do so ... Class haunts people from womb to grave, limiting their ability to flourish and pursue the good life as they define it."
What skills gap? NYT's Paul Krugman: "... the belief that America suffers from a severe 'skills gap' is one of those things that everyone important knows must be true, because everyone they know says it’s true. It’s a prime example of a zombie idea — an idea that should have been killed by evidence, but refuses to die."
