The U.S. Supreme Court says federal tax subsidies for health care should stay. That's been perceived as good news for more than one hundred and thirty thousand Alabamians. That's how many people in our state afford insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
Ron Pollack is the Executive Director of Families USA, a national advocacy organization for health care consumers. He says today’s Supreme Court decision may encourage Alabama and other states to expand Medicaid…
“The governors and state legislators who have resisted it have resisted it because they didn’t like Obamacare. This court case sends a clear signal: The Affordable Care Act is here to stay. Hopefully the Governor and the state legislature will say ‘Ok. Let’s help the people in our state who could use it.’”
A study conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham suggests that if the state expanded Medicaid, an additional three hundred thousand Alabamians would receive health coverage.?
RELATED: http://apr.org/post/medicaid-expansion-alabama-battle-five-armies
A judge says the state of Alabama can't shut down a Macon County casino while letting similar businesses operate elsewhere.
Circuit Judge William Shashy issued the ruling today. He dismissed the state's attempt to keep 1,615 machines and more than $260,000 seized in a 2013 raid.
The judge says VictoryLand is shut down while three other, similar operations remain open elsewhere in the state. Shashy says that violates the principle of equal protection under the law. VictoryLand's owner says the decision clears the way for the gambling hall to reopen.
The group Coosa Riverkeeper wants to know how many people eat fish out of the Coosa.
Alabama has the reputation of having a large population of subsistence fishers. The Riverkeeper is heading out today to question fishermen on how often they fish, and whether they eat what they catch.
Justinn Overton** is Executive Director of Coosa Riverkeeper. She says the survey also asks how the fish is cooked…
“Because some of the contaminants they we’re working with…PCB’s and methyl mercury…PCB’s are fat soluble. So, how the fish is prepared can increase or decrease your risk of how your body absorbs these contaminants.”
Overton says re-using cooking oil can also increase the risk from these chemicals. Mercury from fish is considered a neurotoxin, and PCB’s are linked to certain types of cancer. The State has warnings out about eating striped bass or catfish from parts of the Coosa.