Democratic-led States Websites Get Health Law Fix

Although the new policy fix is available to any state, Republican governors basically defaulted to federal control of online sign-ups in their states.

Associated Press
By Associated Press
Teresa Fryer

WASHINGTON (AP) — States that have experienced technical problems running their own health care enrollment websites are getting some help from the Obama administration. The administration quietly issued a health law fix Thursday to help those states. Several Democratic-led states, including Oregon, Maryland, Massachusetts and Hawaii, are still

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States Push Back Against Warrantless Surveillance

State-by-state, legislation is being created to ensure Americans’ rights to privacy and guarantee other civil liberties in the wake of NSA revelations of federal surveillance programs.

Katie Rucke
By Katie Rucke
Eric Friedberg

In the post-Snowden, National Security Agency revelations in the United States, it appears states have stepped up to the plate to offer their constituents protections against warrantless surveillance. With the federal government yet to implement any sort of protection following the NSA revelations, states are issuing legislation intended to thwart

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Breaking Away: Top Public Universities Push for ‘Autonomy’ From States

Oregon’s three largest state schools are breaking away from the rest of the public system for greater freedoms.

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang

  The chancellor of Oregon’s higher-education system currently oversees all seven of the state’s public colleges and universities. But as of July next year, she’ll be chancellor of four. The schools aren’t closing. Rather, Oregon’s three largest state schools are in the process of breaking away from the rest of the public

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Monsanto Wheat Not Approved For Consumption? No Big Deal, Says USDA

It is not clear how the seeds, which had not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, ended up in Oregon crops.

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak

When the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered illegal genetically modified wheat in an Oregon field earlier this year, it began a domino effect of concern throughout the world. It starts with local farmers who purchased the wheat seeds without knowledge that they were, in fact, not approved for human consumption. And it’s not just a few

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Oregon Senate Passes Bill On Vaccination Education

The bill is intended to persuade more Oregon parents to take their kids to doctors for shots and get over their mistrust of conventional medicine.

Associated Press
By Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. — A bill that is intended to persuade more Oregon parents to take their kids to doctors for shots and get over their mistrust of conventional medicine has taken a big step in the Legislature with passage by the state Senate. Oregon has the nation's highest rate of parents refusing vaccinations for their kindergartners for nonmedical

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Florida Proposes That Poor Pay Three Times More For Health Insurance Than Legislators

Members of the Florida House only pay $8.34 a month for individual health care coverage, or $30 a month to cover their family.

Frederick Reese
By Frederick Reese

According to the 2010 Census, 16.7 percent of all Americans do not have health insurance. Of this population, six in 10 uninsured households have at least one adult working full time, per the Kaiser Family Foundation. With the average cost of single-coverage health insurance at $5,615 per year in the United States, and $15,745 for family coverage,

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