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Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

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JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Report Follows NY Campaign Money Trail to Health Care Reform Roadblock

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Thursday, September 11, 2008   

Albany, NY — Frustration with healthcare reform in New York has consumer watchdogs trying to map the roadblock, and a new report from Citizen Action follows the political "money trail" on the issue.

Karen Scharff, executive director of Citizen Action New York, says the health insurance lobby makes a substantial investment in lawmakers. At the same time, proposals to rein in health insurance rates - such as requiring companies to be transparent about expenses and profits - continue to 'stall out' in the State Senate.

"We would want to see our State Insurance Department regulating those rate increases - making sure that insurance companies aren't making excessive profits, making sure that consumers are getting a decent deal on their health insurance."

The report shows three times as much health insurance interest money has gone to Senate Republicans compared to Democrats, although that imbalance is usually the case, in favor of the party in power. Scharff says the report shows the importance of supporting publicly-financed elections in order to eliminate conflicts of interest, and the perception of conflicts.

The reports finds that New York health insurance premiums have increased by as much as 16 percent annually in recent years, and insurance companies are posting record profits. Scharff says those numbers look suspicious when compared to the amount of special interest money going to lawmakers.

"The health insurance industry is heavily funding the Senate Republicans and, in return, they're getting a lack of regulation of their premium increases."

Not everyone is a fan of regulating premium prices, however. Its critics argue that regulation removes the competitive factor that some think can bring lower prices. Scharff says one bill to regulate health insurance rates made it out of the State Assembly, eight years in a row - but every time, was shot down in the Senate.



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