Health Insurance Reform passed in the State House!
Health insurance reform, passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in House Bill 2005, will help small businesses and individuals afford coverage. This bill limits the costs differences between plans to 33 percent. This means, the difference in costs between the lowest, average, and highest plans an insurer offers cannot exceed 33 percent. This bill also denies insurers the right to determine the costs of premiums based on demographic factors such as gender and pre-existing conditions.
House Bill 1137, which was amended in the House, is awaiting further consideration by the Pennsylvania Senate (as Senate Bill 1137). This legislation will lower health system costs by providing affordable health insurance to 250,000 uninsured individuals. Currently, the cost of medical care for the uninsured is shifted to people who have insurance and adds 6.5 percent to their annual premiums.
In our region:
Philadelphia City Budget to be voted on TOMORROW
The Philadelphia city budget will have its final vote tomorrow, May 22. Mayor Nutter's first budget and five-year financial plan were easily approved by a City Council committee on May 14. Included in this $4 billion budget is $2 million of additional funding proposed for the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, which provides general operating support to nonprofit cultural organizations. This $2 million increase will ensure that arts and cultural groups will continue to add to the strength of our city. For more information on the city budget and the impact of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, check out http://www.philly.com/inquirer/magazine/20080320_City_Cultural_Fund_grants_arts_groups__2_1_million.html
The Barnes Foundation still on track to move to Philadelphia
As reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer last week, a Montgomery County judge has thrown out an attempt to stop the Barnes Foundation's $5 billion art collection from moving to a new Philadelphia exhibition space. The decision is a major defeat for opponents of the move, who have been fighting in court since 2002 to keep the foundation's dozens of Renoirs, Cezannes and Picassos hanging where Albert C. Barnes left them in Lower Merion Township when he died in 1951. In the decision, Judge Stanley R. Ott found that neither the citizens' group, Friends of the neither Barnes Foundation, nor Montgomery County government has the legal standing to ask for a new hearing in the case. The two groups wanted Ott to reconsider his December 2004 opinion overturning Barnes' will and approving the move to Center City. For the full Inquirer article, go here: http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080515_Court_throws_out_suit_to_stop_Barnes_move.html
Rally for the Boyd Theater set for tomorrow
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has placed the art deco movie palace on its annual list of the 11 most endangered historic sites in America. The theatre, closed in 2002, was purchased by Live Nation (a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications) in 2005 with the intention of turning it into a venue for music shows. But the company, which has been consolidating operations, put the property back on the market. Live Nation has invited interested parties to submit bids by Friday.
In the hope of drumming up support for preservation, Friends of the Boyd have planned a rally in front of the theater from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday. For more information, visit the Friends of the Boyd at http://friendsoftheboyd.org/ .
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