Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including news from the Census Bureau that, although record numbers of poor people persist, the number of uninsured Americans dropped by 1.3 million.
: Number Of Uninsured Americans Drops By 1.3 Million, Census Report Shows
One spot of good news in the census data released Wednesday was on the health-care front: For the first time in three years, the share of Americans without health insurance declined, with the number of uninsured dropping by 1.3 million people from 2010 to 2011. A major factor was an influx of newly insured young adults, many of whom benefitted from a provision in the 2010 health-care law requiring insurers to let parents keep adult children on their plans up to age 26 (Aizenman, 9/12).
: US Poverty Rate At 15 Percent In 2011; Record Numbers Of Poor Persist
The share of Americans without health coverage fell from 16.3 percent to 15.7 percent, or 48.6 million people. It was the biggest decline in the number of uninsured since 1999, helped in part by increased coverage for young adults under the new health care law that allows them to be covered under their parents health insurance until age 26. The number of people covered by employment-based health plans also edged up from 169.4 million to 170.1 million, the first time in 10 years that the rate of private insurance coverage did not fall. Meanwhile, government health insurance including Medicaid, Medicare and the Childrens Health Insurance Program increased for the fifth consecutive year, adding coverage to more than three million people (9/12).
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: Household Income Sinks To 95 Level
Other measures of well-being in the report were more positive. The poverty rate, which had risen in the past four years, held steady in 2011, and the number and share of people without health insurance fell. The shift in health coverage is in large part due to more Americans getting covered by government programs, such as Medicare. Health care is one area where Americans on the whole notched gains in 2011. However, the rise in insurance coverage is likely to fuel the debate about the government’s growing role in health care and the expanding budget deficits that have accompanied increases in entitlement spending (Dougherty and Mathews, 9/12).
: U.S. Incomes Dropped Last Year, Census Bureau Says
There was a bright spot for President Obama. The share of 19- to 25-year-olds who were uninsured declined by 2.2 percentage points in 2011, a decrease that administration officials are likely to promote as an early success of its health care law (Tavernise, 9/12).
: Clinton Sticks To Domestic Issues While Campaigning For Obama
Instead, much as he had on Tuesday in Miami before 2,300 people, Mr. Clinton defended and promoted Mr. Obamas health care law, his initiatives to make college more affordable and his response to the economic crisis that Mr. Obama inherited in 2009 despite what Mr. Clinton characterized as constant obstructions from Republicans (Calmes, 9/12).
: Bill Clinton Focuses On Economy, Ignores Libya
Based on audience responses at his initial post-convention appearances on Obamas behalf, its clear that several other bits of that Charlotte speech have become a lasting part of the 2012 campaign lexicon, including his use of arithmetic to deride Mitt Romneys economic policies and his broadside at Romney running mate Paul Ryans brass for attacking Obama over the $716 billion in Medicare cuts that were also in Ryans House GOP budget (West, 9/12).
: New Obama Ads In Virginia Hit Romney On Taxes, Medicare
One, titled Wont Say, criticizes Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for not releasing more of his income tax records. The second ad, titled Guide, is based on the American Association of Retired Persons guide. It goes after Romney based on changes to Medicare that his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, has proposed (Vozzella, 9/12).
: Romney Team Preps To Fill A Cabinet
The transition team is looking at the Department of Health and Human Services with an eye toward fulfilling Mr. Romney’s promise to repeal the president’s health-care law. It is considering regulatory issues at the Department of the Interior with the goal of expediting drilling. The team’s goal is to identify the most important roles at various agencies, and potential staff members to fill them, but also to evaluate which policy changes require congressional support and which Mr. Romney could put in place with executive powers (Murray and Paletta, 9/11).
: HHS Secretary Sebelius Found To Have Violated Law That Restricts Political Activity
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius violated a federal law that restricts political activity by government officials, a federal ethics office said in a report Wednesday. Off-the-cuff remarks by Sebelius during a speech earlier this year to a gay rights group in North Carolina violated the Hatch Act, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said in a report to the White House (9/12).
: Health Secretary Broke Law That Limits Campaigning
An Obama cabinet secretary violated the federal law meant to restrict partisan political activity on the part of government officials, according to a federal investigative agency Wednesday. The agency forwarded its report to the White House for possible disciplinary action. A White House spokesman said Wednesday that Ms. Sebelius wouldn’t be penalized, and that she and her department have already taken steps that put the matter to rest. The Democratic National Committee said on Wednesday that it has reimbursed taxpayers for the $2,515 cost of Ms. Sebelius’s trip, a standard remedy for such violations (Nicholas, 9/12).
: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebeliuss Comments Violated Hatch Act, OSC Concludes
The special counsels office said it found no evidence that Secretary Sebelius made any other political statements in her official capacity (Haberkorn, 9/12).
: Hobby Lobby Sues Over Morning-After Pill Coverage Requirement In Health Reform Law
Christian-oriented Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging a mandate in the nations health care overhaul law that requires employers to provide coverage for the morning-after pill and similar drugs. The lawsuit by the Oklahoma City-based chain claims the government mandate is forcing the companys owners to violate their deeply held religious beliefs under threat of heavy fines, penalties and lawsuits (9/12).
: McDonalds To Post Calorie Count In Restaurants Nationwide
Calorie counts will be posted alongside images of juicy burgers on McDonald’s menu boards nationwide starting next week, much as they have been in California for more than a year (Hsu, 9/12).
: Highest-Calorie Menu Item At McDonalds? Not A Burger
The push is part of an effort to get out ahead of federal menu-labeling requirements. There is a market need to it tooMcDonald’s want to convey to customers that its not just selling junk food. The company last year added apples to all of its kids’ meals and made the servings of fries smaller (Jargon and Tomson, 9/12).
: McDonalds To Post Calories For Items On Menu Boards
In an action likely to rock the fast-food industry, McDonald’s Wednesday said it will post calories for all items on its menu boards and drive-thru menus in the U.S. The move by the world’s largest fast-food chain comes as consumers, regulators and activists are pressuring the industry to improve food quality and share more nutritional information with consumers (Horovitz, 9/12).
