skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina s congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Health Care in CO: A Drag on the Biz Bottom-Line?

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 16, 2009   

Pueblo - Colorado small business owners report feeling trapped by the modern realities of health insurance. Complaining about rising costs and shrinking coverage, many are joining the push for health care reform and today plan what they are calling a "mini marcha" in Pueblo.

Bob Montoya, owner of Cedar Ridge Landscaping in Pueblo, says most of his employees can't afford the offered group insurance plan, but his company still pays $36,000 a year to insure two families and one individual employee.

"We had to take a less-expensive plan with fewer benefits and the price is still costly. It just seems like you're paying a lot and you're not getting anything out of it."

Montoya says most of his employees wish they could afford insurance, but are instead having to go without.

"God forbid anything happen to them seriously. They'd have to make arrangements with the hospital to make their payments."

Montoya says he and his employees would prefer paying more in taxes for health care reform than for an insurance policy with shrinking benefits.

"They would understand where that tax comes from and I think they'd feel better knowing that they have health insurance for their families."

Critics of the types of health care reform being discussed nationally say the cost could hurt the economy and would be unfair to private insurers, but President Obama has called fixing the health care system an important part of economic recovery. Montoya and hundreds of others will take their "mini marcha" to the offices of Senator Bennet and Congressman Salazar where they plan to deliver over one thousand postcards demanding “Health Care for America Now!”

The Marcha (Spanish for March) starts at the parking lot of 215 S. Victoria Avenue at 3:30 p.m.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021