Latest news with #384
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Maine lawmakers hope to combat rising student homelessness with new housing assistance fund
In Maine, the number of unhoused students has increased from 2,317 students in the 2021-22 school year to more than 5,000 in the 2023-24 school year, said Maine Rep. Kelly Murphy (D-Scarborough). (Photo by Getty Images) Legislation to establish a fund to financially help students avoid homelessness passed both chambers of the Maine Legislature this week. The bill, LD 384, would allocate up to $750 per academic year to the family or guardian of a student at risk of homelessness for housing-related needs, which could include rental assistance, utilities, critical home repairs and transportation. In light of increasing student homelessness, the disruptions to students' learning caused by housing insecurity, in addition to a lack of available assistance to prevent homelessness, the bill was 'perhaps one of the most impactful bills that the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee heard this session,' according to committee co-chair Rep. Kelly Murphy (D-Scarborough). The Maine Senate passed the bill on Wednesday with 28 members voting in favor and only six opposed. The House of Representatives had a narrower margin, with 81 members voting Thursday in favor of the bill and 62 opposed. The bill will go back to both chambers for final enactment votes. Sponsor Sen. Joe Rafferty (D-York), who also co-chairs the education committee, explained that the bill builds on a pilot program approved in the 131st Legislature, which succeeded in helping more than 800 students. Several administrators who spoke at the public hearing vouched for the support they were able to provide struggling students in their districts through the pilot program, which LD 384 would make permanent. 'It breaks my heart to know that there are students throughout Maine who are struggling with housing insecurity and don't know where they're going to sleep each night,' Rafferty said during the Senate floor discussion Wednesday. 'The bill before us today would continue with this good work by permanently establishing a program so that our students can grow up and learn without worrying about where they're going to sleep. It is the right thing to do.' In Maine, the number of unhoused students has increased from 2,317 students in the 2021-22 school year to more than 5,000 in the 2023-24 school year, Murphy said. Opponents of the bill in both chambers said the intent was noble, but took issue with the $1.5 million fiscal note. Rep. Barbara Bagshaw (R-Windham) also questioned how much the one-time payment would help families avoid homelessness in the long term. 'If a family is already on the brink, this amount is unlikely to provide lasting stability' she said. 'We're offering a temporary fix to a systematic problem without addressing the root causes.' During the public hearing, Mallory Cook, director of training and early educator engagement for the Maine Education Association, cited a Maine Housing Coalition report from 2020 that said a vast majority of Maine tenants only owed between $1,000 and $1,500 to their landlords, making the $750 per student annual allocation in LD 384 critical in preventing student homelessness. 'It's not a lot of money, but oftentimes when we've reached a crisis situation in these families, $750 does make the difference between being evicted or having your utility shut off,' Murphy said Thursday. 'This is one way to prevent student homelessness and to ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed.' Sen. James Libby (R- Cumberland) said given the current budget deficit the bill was not likely to be funded and would likely languish on the appropriations table, where bills not provided for in the budget compete for remaining funds. Under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, all students experiencing homelessness are entitled to a free, appropriate public education. But it does not allocate any money to prevent homelessness, Murphy pointed out. This week the Legislature also passed another bill, LD 747, which directs the Maine Housing Authority to develop a program to provide assistance to homeless students in coordination with the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong Turning Into Star Following Rookie Struggles
Pete Crow-Armstrong always had the makings of a star. The New York Mets selected the speedy center fielder in the first round of the 2020 amateur draft with the 19th pick from Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles. Two years later, the Chicago Cubs traded two major-league players, shortstop Javier Baez and right-hander Travis Williams, to the Mets for Crow-Armstrong. Crow-Armstrong had a 13-game stint with the Cubs in 2023 to start his major-league career. He then had a lackluster rookie season. However, this season, Crow-Armstrong has been one of the breakout stars in Major League Baseball as has turned his raw talent into production. The 23-year-old is one of the main reasons why the Cubs lead the National League Central with a 28-19 record, including five wins in the last six games, after missing the postseason each of the last four years. Crow-Armstrong is hitting .290/.325/.585 with 12 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 47 games. In a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox over the weekend, he went 8 for 14 with one double, two triples, one home run and eight RBIs. Add in his eight defensive runs saved and Armstrong-Crow is playing like an NL MVP candidate. That is quite a step up from his rookie year when he had a .237/.286/.384 slash line in 123 games with 10 homers and 27 steals. Cubs manager Craig Counsell says Crow-Armstrong does not have a magic formula for his improvement. It's basically experience and hard work. 'I think Pete's just a very talented young player that needed experience, he needed to play. he needed the struggle, he needed to go through it,' Counsell said. 'Now he has just kind of come through the challenge and some of the trial and error with some things hitting-wise and it's starting to bear fruit. 'I think the defense is a level up this year as well. He's just showing more consistency in his all-round game. You've got to make mistakes to learn. No one wants to see it, hear it or go through it, but making mistakes is still the best way to learn.' Crow-Armstrong believes experience is the best teacher. He learned some tough lessons last season during his struggles but believes they are paying off in 2025. 'I think it's the natural evolution of my career,' Crow-Armstrong said. 'It's obviously no secret that the beginning of last year was hard, but at the end of the year before that was also hard. It was important for me to go through that. 'The whole time, though, it was always making the focus on going out and being ready to play for nine innings. I still find myself with the same focus but I'm having more success.' Crow-Armstrong also came to spring training with more of a comfort level following a strong finish to last season, He had a .191 batting average on Aug. 1 but then hit .289/.342/.474 in his last 51 games. 'I definitely put the work in, and I went through a bunch of different attempts at finding the right routine and I think in the second half that I did,' Crow-Armstrong said. 'It felt rewarding to be able to help make an impact from an offensive standpoint and that's something that I felt like I was missing a lot of time last year, so it definitely gave me the confidence coming into this year, feeling like myself, the guy who I've always known I am.' Sparkplug would be a good word to describe Crow-Armstrong, and he has been that for the Cubs this season. Counsell had been hitting Crow-Armstrong in the lower third of the order until moving him to the leadoff spot a little more than a week ago. Crow-Armstrong has hit .394/.400/.818 in eight games since the switch. 'That word has always been thrown around,' Crow-Armstrong said. 'I just like playing baseball with a high-energy level and I guess that's the picture I fit. Wherever I'm hitting in the lineup, whatever position I'm playing, I've been blessed with speed and the ability to go make an impact on both sides of the baseball. 'So, it is definitely my duty to put that to use and I'm in a great setup to do so here with the Cubs," Pete Crow-Armstrong added. I just love where I'm at in my career and the people I'm around and it's all letting me go be myself, so it's cool.'
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Covered California pushes for better healthcare as federal spending cuts loom
Faced with potential federal spending cuts that threaten health coverage and falling childhood vaccination rates, Monica Soni, the chief medical officer of Covered California, has a lot on her plate — and on her mind. California's Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange covers nearly 2 million residents and 89% of them receive federal subsidies that reduce their premiums. Many middle-income households got subsidies for the first time after Congress expanded them in 2021, which helped generate a boom in enrollment in ACA exchanges nationwide. From the original and enhanced subsidies, Covered California enrollees currently get $563 a month onaverage, lowering the average monthly out-of-pocket premium from $698 to $135, according to data from Covered California. The 2021 subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress renews them. If they lapse, enrollees would be on the hook to pay an average of $101 a month more for health insurance — not counting any premium hikes in 2026 and beyond. And those middle-income earners who did not qualify for subsidies before would lose all financial assistance — $384 a month, on average — which Soni fears could prompt them to drop out. At the same time, vaccination rates for children 2 and under declined among 7 of the 10 Covered California health plans subject to its new quality-of-care requirements. Soni, a Los Angeles native who came to Covered California in May 2023, oversees that program, in which health plans must meet performance targets on blood pressure control, diabetes management, colorectal cancer screening and childhood vaccinations — or pay a financial penalty. Lack of access to such key aspects of care disproportionately affects underserved communities, making Covered California's effort one of health equity as well. Soni, a Harvard-trained primary care doctor who sees patients one day a week at an urgent care clinic in Los Angeles County's public safety net health system, is familiar with the challenges those communities face. Covered California reported last November that its health plans improved on three of the four measures in the first year of the program. But childhood immunizations for those under 2 declined by 4%. The decline is in line with a national trend, which Soni attributed to postpandemic mistrust of vaccines and 'more skepticism of the entire medical industry.' Most parents have heard at least one untrue statement about measles or the vaccine for it, and many don't know what to believe, according to an April KFF poll. Health plans improved on the other three measures, but not enough to avoid penalties, which yielded $15 million. The exchange is using that money to fund another effort Soni manages, which helps 6,900 Covered California households buy groceries and contributes to more than 250 savings accounts for children who get routine checkups and vaccines. Some of the penalty money will also be used to support primary care practices around California. In addition to her bifurcated professional duties, Soni is the mother of two children, ages 4 and 7. KFF Health News senior correspondent Bernard J. Wolfson spoke with Soni about the impact of possible federal cuts and the exchange's initiative to improve care for its enrollees. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q: Covered California has record enrollment of nearly 2 million, boosted by the expanded federal subsidies passed under the Biden administration, which end after this year. What if Congress does not renew them? A: Our estimates are that it will approach 400,000 Californians who would drop coverage hear every day from our folks that they're really living on the margins. Until they got some of those subsidies, they could not afford coverage. As a primary care doctor, I am the one to treat folks who show up with preventable cancers because they were too afraid to think about what their out-of-pocket costs would be. I don't want to go back to those days. Q: Congress is considering billions in cuts to Medicaid. How would that affect Covered California and the state's population more broadly, given that more than 1 in 3 Californians are on Medi-Cal, the state's version of Medicaid? A: Those are our neighbors, our friends. Those are the people working in the restaurants we eat at. Earlier cancer screenings, better chronic disease control, lower maternal mortality, more substance use disorder treatment: We know that Medicaid saves lives. We know it helps people live longer and better. As a physician, I would be hard-pressed to argue for rolling back anything that saves lives. It would be very distressing to watch that come to California. Q: Why did Covered California undertake the Quality Transformation Initiative? A: We were incredibly successful at covering nearly 2 million, but frankly we didn't see improvements in quality, and we continue to see gaps for certain populations in terms of outcomes. So, I think the question became much more imperative: Are we getting our money's worth out of this coverage? Are we making sure people are living longer and better, and if not, how do we up the ante to make sure they are? Q: There's a penalty for not meeting the targets, but no bonuses for meeting them: You meet the goals or else, right? A: We don't say it like that, but that is true. And we didn't make it complicated. It's only four measures. It's things that as a primary care doctor I know are important, that I take care of when I see people in mypractice. We said get to the 66th percentile on these four measures, and there's no dollars that you have to pay. If you don't, then we collect those funds. Q: And you use the penalty money to fund the grocery assistance and child savings accounts. A: That's exactly right. We had this opportunity to think about what would we use these dollars for and how we actually make a difference in people's lives. So, we cold-called hundreds of people, we sent surveys out to thousands of folks, and what we heard overwhelmingly was how expensive it is to live in California; that folks are making trade-offs between food and transportation, between child care and food — just impossible decisions. Q: You will put up to $1,000 a child into those savings accounts, right? A: That's right. It's tied to doing those healthy behaviors, going to child well visits and getting recommended vaccines. We looked at the literature, and once you get to even just $500 in an account, the likelihood of a kid going to a two- or four-year school increases significantly. It's actually because they're hopeful about their future, and it changes their path of upward mobility, which we know changes their health outcome. Q: Given the rise in vaccine skepticism, are you worried that the recent measles outbreak could grow? A: I am very concerned about it. I was actually reading some posts from a physician colleague who trained decades earlier and was talking about all the diseases that my generation of physicians have never seen. We don't actually know how to diagnose and take care of a number of infectious diseases because they mostly have been eradicated or outbreaks have been really contained. So, I feel worried. I've been brushing off my old textbooks. Wolfson writes for KFF Health News, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
26-04-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Covered California pushes for better healthcare as federal spending cuts loom
Faced with potential federal spending cuts that threaten health coverage and falling childhood vaccination rates, Monica Soni, the chief medical officer of Covered California, has a lot on her plate — and on her mind. California's Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange covers nearly 2 million residents and 89% of them receive federal subsidies that reduce their premiums. Many middle-income households got subsidies for the first time after Congress expanded them in 2021, which helped generate a boom in enrollment in ACA exchanges nationwide. From the original and enhanced subsidies, Covered California enrollees currently get $563 a month onaverage, lowering the average monthly out-of-pocket premium from $698 to $135, according to data from Covered California. The 2021 subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress renews them. If they lapse, enrollees would be on the hook to pay an average of $101 a month more for health insurance — not counting any premium hikes in 2026 and beyond. And those middle-income earners who did not qualify for subsidies before would lose all financial assistance — $384 a month, on average — which Soni fears could prompt them to drop out. At the same time, vaccination rates for children 2 and under declined among 7 of the 10 Covered California health plans subject to its new quality-of-care requirements. Soni, a Los Angeles native who came to Covered California in May 2023, oversees that program, in which health plans must meet performance targets on blood pressure control, diabetes management, colorectal cancer screening and childhood vaccinations — or pay a financial penalty. Lack of access to such key aspects of care disproportionately affects underserved communities, making Covered California's effort one of health equity as well. Soni, a Harvard-trained primary care doctor who sees patients one day a week at an urgent care clinic in Los Angeles County's public safety net health system, is familiar with the challenges those communities face. Covered California reported last November that its health plans improved on three of the four measures in the first year of the program. But childhood immunizations for those under 2 declined by 4%. The decline is in line with a national trend, which Soni attributed to postpandemic mistrust of vaccines and 'more skepticism of the entire medical industry.' Most parents have heard at least one untrue statement about measles or the vaccine for it, and many don't know what to believe, according to an April KFF poll. Health plans improved on the other three measures, but not enough to avoid penalties, which yielded $15 million. The exchange is using that money to fund another effort Soni manages, which helps 6,900 Covered California households buy groceries and contributes to more than 250 savings accounts for children who get routine checkups and vaccines. Some of the penalty money will also be used to support primary care practices around California. In addition to her bifurcated professional duties, Soni is the mother of two children, ages 4 and 7. KFF Health News senior correspondent Bernard J. Wolfson spoke with Soni about the impact of possible federal cuts and the exchange's initiative to improve care for its enrollees. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q: Covered California has record enrollment of nearly 2 million, boosted by the expanded federal subsidies passed under the Biden administration, which end after this year. What if Congress does not renew them? A: Our estimates are that it will approach 400,000 Californians who would drop coverage hear every day from our folks that they're really living on the margins. Until they got some of those subsidies, they could not afford coverage. As a primary care doctor, I am the one to treat folks who show up with preventable cancers because they were too afraid to think about what their out-of-pocket costs would be. I don't want to go back to those days. Q: Congress is considering billions in cuts to Medicaid. How would that affect Covered California and the state's population more broadly, given that more than 1 in 3 Californians are on Medi-Cal, the state's version of Medicaid? A: Those are our neighbors, our friends. Those are the people working in the restaurants we eat at. Earlier cancer screenings, better chronic disease control, lower maternal mortality, more substance use disorder treatment: We know that Medicaid saves lives. We know it helps people live longer and better. As a physician, I would be hard-pressed to argue for rolling back anything that saves lives. It would be very distressing to watch that come to California. Q: Why did Covered California undertake the Quality Transformation Initiative? A: We were incredibly successful at covering nearly 2 million, but frankly we didn't see improvements in quality, and we continue to see gaps for certain populations in terms of outcomes. So, I think the question became much more imperative: Are we getting our money's worth out of this coverage? Are we making sure people are living longer and better, and if not, how do we up the ante to make sure they are? Q: There's a penalty for not meeting the targets, but no bonuses for meeting them: You meet the goals or else, right? A: We don't say it like that, but that is true. And we didn't make it complicated. It's only four measures. It's things that as a primary care doctor I know are important, that I take care of when I see people in mypractice. We said get to the 66th percentile on these four measures, and there's no dollars that you have to pay. If you don't, then we collect those funds. Q: And you use the penalty money to fund the grocery assistance and child savings accounts. A: That's exactly right. We had this opportunity to think about what would we use these dollars for and how we actually make a difference in people's lives. So, we cold-called hundreds of people, we sent surveys out to thousands of folks, and what we heard overwhelmingly was how expensive it is to live in California; that folks are making trade-offs between food and transportation, between child care and food — just impossible decisions. Q: You will put up to $1,000 a child into those savings accounts, right? A: That's right. It's tied to doing those healthy behaviors, going to child well visits and getting recommended vaccines. We looked at the literature, and once you get to even just $500 in an account, the likelihood of a kid going to a two- or four-year school increases significantly. It's actually because they're hopeful about their future, and it changes their path of upward mobility, which we know changes their health outcome. Q: Given the rise in vaccine skepticism, are you worried that the recent measles outbreak could grow? A: I am very concerned about it. I was actually reading some posts from a physician colleague who trained decades earlier and was talking about all the diseases that my generation of physicians have never seen. We don't actually know how to diagnose and take care of a number of infectious diseases because they mostly have been eradicated or outbreaks have been really contained. So, I feel worried. I've been brushing off my old textbooks. Wolfson writes for KFF Health News, a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.
Express Tribune
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Lacking quorum again, NA session put off
National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Friday expressed regrets over the opposition's walkout from the proceedings of the lower house of parliament and subsequently pointing out of a lack of quorum that led to the adjournment of the sitting. The speaker stated that the opposition chose to walk out from the house at a time when important issues were on the agenda. He stressed that the most of the questions on the Question Hour agenda were submitted by opposition members. "It is disappointing that the opposition chose to walk out during proceeding when the house was discussing important national issues," he said. "It is regrettable that the opposition distances itself from parliament's core responsibilities," he added. The speaker said, 30 members participated in a debate on water canals issue, but most of the opposition parties, except for the Jamiat JUI-F were absent on that day. Due to a lack of quorum on Friday, Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah adjourned the session until Monday. Sadiq also clarified that the PPP had submitted a resolution on the canals issue on April 7, and the matter was discussed in detail on the same day. However, another similar resolution was again submitted by the opposition on April 10. Addressing the broader concerns raised by the opposition parties, the speaker continued, those who frequently spoke out on issues such as Palestine and border security often failed to show up when these matters were scheduled for debate in the house. The National Assembly session started with Speaker Ayaz Sadiq in the chair. However, the sitting was interrupted when Iqbal Afridi of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) pointed out the lack of quorum. The session was suspended for 30 minutes, and later adjourned due to insufficient attendance. Meanwhile, the energy ministry informed the house in a written reply that "thanks to the government's efforts", the circular debt declined by Rs9 billion during the first six months of the current fiscal year – from Rs2,393 billion in June 2024 to Rs2,384 billion in December The energy ministry said that the recovery of power distribution companies (DISCOs) had improved. The ministry presented some aspects of the government's strategic roadmap for 2025-29, including initiatives to identify power losses, and real-time monitoring to pinpoint unauthorised consumption. "In order to identify localities with high power losses, a computerised energy audit of distributors and transformers will be carried out," the response read. "An advanced metering infrastructure system will be implemented for real-time monitoring and loss assessment to identify unauthorised consumption." The ministry said that this strategy required that all consumers had electricity meters, thus consumers without them would need to have them installed. "The strategy includes recovery action against defaulters who are permanently disconnected under the Land Revenue Act [and] and area bundle contractors will be installed in areas with high power theft," the energy ministry wrote. The ministry added that under the government's strategy, tube wells would be solarised to reduce dependence on grid electricity and a recovery scheme would be introduced for local administrations and Discos to collect arrears.
