Government

The Obama administration is asking state insurance regulators to take a closer look at rate requests before granting them. Under the Affordable Care Act, state agencies largely retain the right to regulate premiums in their states. In a letter sent to insurance commissioners in every state and DC the CEO of healthcare.gov said recent data suggest that rates should not go up as much as some insurers are proposing for plans sold to individuals on the health exchanges.   more »

From fiscal years 2009 through 2014, DHS apprehended more than 200,000 Unaccompanied Alien Children, and the number of UAC apprehended in fiscal year 2014 (about 74,000) was more than four times larger than that for fiscal year 2011 (about 17,000). On the journey to the United States, many UAC have traveled thousands of miles under dangerous conditions. Developing and implementing processes to help ensure agents and officers record UAC care actions would provide greater assurance that DHS is meeting its care and custody requirements. more »

President Obama announced that the Department of Labor will propose extending overtime pay to nearly 5 million workers. The proposal would guarantee overtime pay to most salaried workers earning less than an estimated $50,440 next year. The number of workers in each state who would be affected by this proposal can be found here. more »

Today the Supreme Court has affirmed what Americans already believe; that same-sex couples deserve the right to marry and marriage equality should be the law of the land. Since the introduction of the Equality Act in 1974, only 17 states plus the District of Columbia have passed laws protecting all LGBT residents in employment, housing, and public accommodations — meaning that a majority of the states and the federal government still lack the basic protections for LGBT Americans that are afforded other populations. more »