St Paul Health Insurance Rates

"Next Up!" summit begins

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis welcomed delegates to the AFL-CIO’s second “Next Up!” summit for young workers in Minneapolis last night, taking the opportunity to promote the jobs bill President Obama introduced to Congress earlier this month.

Holding up a copy of the president’s American Jobs Act, Solis urged a ballroom packed with hundreds of young union activists to “have my back and have my boss’ back” by pressuring their members of Congress to pass the bill.

“Will you help us move the Congress? Will you help us make those calls? Will you tweet, blog or Facebook?” Solis asked. “Because that’s what it’s going to take.”

Solis addressed the summit of young workers during its opening session at the Minneapolis Hilton. Billed as an opportunity for young workers to advance and help shape the labor movement’s agenda, “Next Up!” will run through Oct. 2.

More than 800 people are registered, according to AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, who also took the stage to welcome delegates during the opening session.

“This summit has been planned by young workers for young workers,” Shuler said, calling it an opportunity to “give voice to the issues young workers are facing.

“Do you want to wake up Washington and make them pay attention to you? That’s why we’re here.”

Solis told delegates she’s one leader in Washington who already is paying attention.

The recipient of a federal Pell Grant that helped her afford her college education, Solis warned delegates that Pell Grants and other federal initiatives aimed at boosting opportunities for young Americans are “under attack” by Tea Party Republicans.

“I feel like there are a lot of young people who are feeling very distressed right now, that the opportunities aren’t there right now, that those doors (to opportunity) are closing,” Solis said. “I want to stick my foot out there because that door has got to stay open.

Minnesota Bishops object to contraceptives in health care reform ...

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 ( PDF ).

In August, the Obama administration announced that it would mandate that private health insurance cover women’s health care services such as cancer screenings, domestic violence support and birth control. The Catholic Church believes that birth control methods other than the rhythm method are sinful.

The bishops said the rule would “require taxpayers and providers to act against deeply-held convictions regarding the sanctity of life, as the promotion and provision of drugs like “Ella” (ulipristal acetate) and other abortifacient agents are enabled by this mandate.”

Coverage of abortion services is not included in the mandate. Calling drugs like Ella abortifacients is not the legal definition; they don’t actually cause abortions. However, as Christianity Today noted , the Catholic Church and other conservative Christians view the drug as abortion-inducing from a moral perspective.

The bishops also object to the current “conscience clause” in the mandate.

A religious organization is exempt from the mandate so long as it “has as the inculcation of religious values as its purpose, primarily employs persons who share its religious tenets, and primarily serves persons who share its religious tenets.

Paul

Paul, in fresh perspective

Natural Health, Natural Medicine, The Complete Guide to Wellness and Self-Care for Optimum Health

Paul, A Man of Grace and Grit

Insurance for Dummies