Out-of-network coverage in New York? We left it up to the insurers (from our archives)
In most of New York State, it doesn’t matter what “metal level” you pick: you can’t get an individual or family health insurance plan on the state’s exchange that provides coverage for out-of-network physician care. How did the exchange come to be designed without a requirement of such coverage?
Equally free to sleep under the bridge
Harvard economist Gregory Mankiw, writing in The New York Times, wants you to believe that a worker's acceptance of a job for no more than minimum wage and a person's acceptance of a pre-ACA, bare bones insurance policy reflect voluntary arrangements. Even a moment's consideration shows there is nothing genuinely voluntary about either of these arrangements.
Economic disaster for agriculture or proof of brutality of current system?
American Farm Bureau Federation study confirms agricultural sector's deep reliance on wildly underpaid workers. It warns that shrinking labor supply would spark "large-scale restructuring" of farm sector. But don't we need that if current system only survives by relying so heavily on unfree labor?
Getting community organizing right
Deep residential segregation underlies every major social inequity we have in New York City. The de Blasio administration promises a new era of activism and community participation, but will the energy generated ultimately reduce or perpetuate segregation? A great deal hinges on the nature of the community organizing that is encouraged.
Christie's bigger sins
Yes, he’s a thug. Yes, he’s trying to change the subject. But isn’t there a lot more to report on about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie? Like the fact that he’s been guilty of wildly irresponsible and sometimes lawless behavior before. Two prime examples: In 2010, he killed the long-planned construction of a new Hudson River transit tunnel, and he's spent years sabotaging New Jersey's Council on Affordable Housing.
Getting community organizing right
Deep residential segregation underlies every major social inequity we have in New York City. The de Blasio administration promises a new era of activism and community participation, but will the energy generated ultimately reduce or perpetuate segregation? A great deal hinges on the nature of the community organizing that is encouraged.
Why are taxpayers helping companies pay for all their litigation?
An important benefit to one class of litigants is deeply baked into the current system. The tax code provides that businesses may deduct all of their legal expenses (lawyer and expert fees, and discovery costs) in all cases — win or lose, meritorious or non-meritorious, plaintiff or defendant. First published in 2012.