Enrollment Ends for Subsidized Health Plans – This weekend, the second enrollment period ends for the market of subsidized health insurance plans, established by the health reform law. The deadline is Sunday, February 15th. During the last days in California, the website has seen intense traffic and telephone lines have been saturated at Covered California, the organism that regulates the health insurance marketplace in the state. At the same time, the agency intensified its publicity campaigns to try to make sure more Latinos sign up. To make enrollment easier, the agency installed new promotion and enrollment centers. One of these centers was set up at a community college in Wilmington, a Latino city south of Los Angeles. There, our reporter Rubén Tapia interviewed young students who were among the last to enroll.
Republican War on Executive Immigration Action – Republicans are launching a war in Congress and in courts of law to try to stop President Obama’s immigration actions, including the protection of “dreamers.” A Republican bill stuck in the Senate would authorize funds for the Department of Homeland Security, under the condition that executive actions on immigration are annulled. President Obama has warned he will veto the bill if approved. On Radio Bilingüe’s national show Línea Abierta, our news director, Samuel Orozco, spoke about the issue with an influential Republican leader, Daniel Garza, executive director of the LIBRE Initiative, in Texas.
San Francisco Calls for Investigation into Disappearance of Missing Students – California’s Senate condemned the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico. Just days earlier, San Francisco’s board of supervisors made an energetic call for an international, independent investigation into the incident. On Radio Bilingüe’s public affairs show Línea Abierta, our news director, Samuel Orozco, spoke with David Campos, member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and author of the resolution that this important county approved.
