Minnesota Health Insurance Laws For Students

Minnesota Catholic bishops object to contraception mandate

This just in from the 12th century. Andy Birkey at The Minnesota Independent reports: “ Minnesota’s Catholic bishops sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday urging her department to drop a mandate on health insurance companies to cover birth control as part of their health plans. The bishops argue that entities like Catholic Charities would have to offer insurance plans to their employees that offer coverage for contraceptives or else stop providing health benefits to employees. ‘While we support providing access to those services which can truly prevent disease or disability for woman such as pap smears and mammograms, we join other persons of good will who strenuously object to mandatory coverage for contraceptives and sterilization procedures,’ the bishops wrote in the letter.” The flux in No Child Left Behind , with Minnesota schools working to get waivers exempting them from standards, gets a look from Megan Boldt at the PiPress . She writes: “Minnesota Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius wrote a letter to parents this week saying not to worry if their children's schools show up on the state's watch list of schools that have failed to meet No Child Left Behind goals. The list of schools facing consequences will be released this morning, but soon it might not mean anything. Minnesota is one of several states that have requested a waiver from the controversial law, which requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014. ... there are some, particularly business leaders, who are disappointed that Minnesota is asking for a waiver from the No Child law. The premise of the law was to make sure all students —- no matter their race or socioeconomic background — were prepared for life after high school, said Jim Bartholomew, education policy director for the Minnesota Business Partnership. ‘Frankly, it's a very reasonable expectation. So are we going to put the brakes on that?' Bartholomew said.” And, frankly, it’s a reasonable expectation that schools be funded adequately enough to provide necessary remedies.

IRP Poverty Dispatch » Community College Enrollment - Michigan

Community colleges taking hits in Michigan , By David Jesse, September 30, 2011, Detroit Free Press : “Fewer students are enrolling and others are taking lighter class loads at Michigan’s community colleges, the result of federal worker retraining money drying up and health care reform that expanded a student exception to insurance rules. Federal health care law now allows part-time students to stay on their parents’ health insurance policies, which could account for a decline in credit hours as students look to save money by paring class loads. Enrollment at Michigan’s 28 community colleges is down 4% compared to last fall, and the number of credit hours taken is down 6%.

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