California explores private insurance for...

for 20 years. “It’s frustrating because we pay our taxes, but we can’t reap any of the benefits of where our taxes are going,” she added.

While many Californians who earn too much to be eligible for Medi-Cal can get subsidized coverage through Covered California, an estimated 460,000 residents aren’t allowed to buy insurance through staterun insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act because they lack legal status. One Democratic lawmaker says it’s a small but glaring gap and is crafting a bill that could test Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s commitment to reach universal health care.

“If we truly stand for democracy, let us face the future by making our sense of community and patriotism the defining cornerstones of our society and the overarching goals of all our efforts in nationbuilding. I wish everyone a meaningful commemoration,” he added.

The Social Weather Stations on Thursday, February 23 reported that 62% of Filipino adults feel that the spirit of EDSA People Power is still alive, even after Marcos’ 2022 win and the widespead misinformation that supported his candidacy. n

Reopened flights from Clark to boost...

The airline company has said three of its aircraft would be based in Clark.

Flag-carrier Philippine Airlines has also announced that it would commence flights from Clark to Caticlan on April 1 and Clark to Busuanga on April 2.

The newly reopened routes will surely boost the country’s domestic and international tourism as they will provide added connectivity to the country’s indemand destinations, according to Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco.

“After months of our continuous discussions with relevant aviation agencies and stakeholders such as the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines, we welcome these additional flights as they serve the Marcos administration’s efforts to vastly improve tourism connectivity and spread economic opportunity nationwide,” Frasco said.

“These flights will further invigorate the growing interest in our destinations among both domestic and international tourists, and further add to livelihood and employment opportunities for our tourism stakeholders and frontliners,” she added. The tourism chief also highlighted that the reopening of the flights are “very timely” for the coming Holy Week.

“The DOT has been working with the DOTr in pushing for the maximization of the Clark International Airport with the goal of establishing it as a viable alternate airport, so it will be utilized to its full potential,” Frasco said.

“With the additional flights, we meet a number of objectives: the decongestion of the NAIA and minimizing crowding in other airports, as well as the further development of the region and attraction of more tourism activities and businesses in the area,” she added. n

“We’re going to need to figure out how to provide universal coverage for all who call this state home,” said the bill’s author, Assembly member Joaquin Arambula. “It’s an area our state has not leaned into enough, to provide coverage for those who are undocumented.”

Arambula’s bill would direct the state to ask the federal government to allow immigrants living in the state without authorization to get insurance through Covered California. Arambula sees the move as the critical first step to expand coverage. If approved, the Fresno lawmaker intends to push for state subsidies to help pay for insurance.

Both elements are essential for immigrants lacking legal status, said Jose Torres Casillas, a policy and legislative advocate with Health Access California, a consumer health group working with Arambula’s office on the measure.

“Access is one thing, but affordability is another,” Torres Casillas said.

Since taking office in 2019, Newsom has approved expanding Medi-Cal to all qualified residents regardless of immigration status. In doing so, the politician continuously rumored to be preparing for a presidential bid described the state as moving “one step closer” toward universal health care. But in January, Newsom announced a $22.5 billion state deficit and made no mention of new proposals for the state’s estimated 3 million uninsured residents.

Newsom’s health secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, acknowledged the pressure to go further but he would not commit to a timeline.

“Up until now we’ve had so many other things to focus on,” Ghaly said. “This will become, frankly speaking, one of the most important next issues that we take on.”

California needs permission from the federal government to open Covered California to immigrants without legal residency because it is currently closed to them, and Arambula said he is in talks with Newsom administration officials about how to structure the bill.

Once the federal government opens Covered California up to all migrants, the state could set aside funding for subsidies. About 90% of enrollees in Covered California qualify for financial assistance, which is paid for with both state and federal funds. Since 2020, the state has spent $20 million a year on those subsidies, a fraction of the cost, because Congress has given states an infusion of money during the pandemic.

Previously, lawmakers had allocated roughly $300 million to lower insurance premiums for Covered California enrollees. Any financial assistance to people living in the state without authorization would likely have to come from state funds, and the costs could vary widely.

For instance, Colorado enrolled 10,000 such immigrants into a new insurance program designed solely for them at a cost of $57.8 million in state funds, said Adam Fox, deputy director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. The program covered the full cost of insurance for enrollees.

In Washington state, immigrants who lack legal status can take advantage of a state fund next year to help all income-eligible state residents pay for insurance, said Michael Marchand, chief marketing officer for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. State lawmakers have added $5 million to the fund for immigrants without legal authorization.

“It would serve as an incentive for additional undocumented immigration into our country,” said Sally Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, a think tank that advocated against Medi-Cal expansion to immigrants without legal standing. “And put taxpayers on the hook for additional government health care costs and the inevitable higher tax bills to pay for them.”

California officials have previously considered allowing all immigrants to buy insurance from its state-run program before, submitting a request to the federal government in 2016. But the state rescinded its application after President Donald Trump took office, given his antiimmigration rhetoric and policies.

The Biden administration in December approved an exception to federal law for Washington state — a game changer in the eyes of immigration advocates, said Rachel Linn Gish, a spokesperson for Health Access.

“Seeing what other states have done and the waivers that are happening under Biden, it makes a huge difference in our approach,” she said.

But even if lawmakers pass a plan to open California’s insurance marketplace to all immigrants regardless of status, advocates said the state will have to wait until Jan. 1, 2024, to ask the federal government for permission, and it could take half a year or longer to get a response. That means it could be years before Becerril can get coverage. Instead, she’s preparing for the worst.

“I’m paying for funeral coverage,” she said. “It’s more economical than paying the health coverage premium.”

(Rachel Bluth/Kaiser Health News)

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

Developing the maritime industry

WITH 7,641 islands and one of the world’s most extensive coastlines, the Philippines should have a robust maritime industry. Instead the country has an abundance of deadly maritime accidents even in fine weather and a domestic shipbuilding industry that is so underdeveloped it cannot even produce enough vessels for the coast guard and navy.

The Philippines is the world’s largest source of commercial seafarers, but their jobs are currently threatened by the failure of local maritime schools to meet international standards on training and accreditation. On Tuesday, February 28 President Marcos vowed to make the maritime industry “once again a top priority.” But the industry has never really enjoyed top priority in any administration. And the ills plaguing the industry are symptomatic of the problems hobbling national development.

Editorial

– as affirmed by an international arbitration court – over disputed areas in the South China Sea. Instead the country continues to rely on allies for protecting its maritime entitlements and has yet to fully achieve credible defense capability.

Addressing the Philippine Maritime Industry Summit 2023 on Tuesday, President Marcos committed to support aspirations for developing a domestic maritime industry “that will be looked upon with admiration by the region and the rest of the world.”

Philippine education in general is in crisis.

Developing a robust domestic shipbuilding, repair and maintenance industry requires strong competencies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics or STEM, which are the weakest areas for the average Filipino student. The country also lacks the innovation ecosystem that is indispensable in designing ships for both commercial and defense purposes.

A strong maritime patrol capability could have enabled the country to uphold its sovereignty

THE recent incident at sea between the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Chinese Coast Guard, when the latter used military grade lasers against the PCG and its crew amid reports of continued harassment of Filipino fishermen within our territorial waters, once again highlights the threat posed by China to Philippine interest, sovereignty, and territory in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

While the incident involving lasers may be a first, the harassment and shadowing of Filipino fishermen and the PCG are a constant reality. While our country pursues constructive

FIRST, the context. The Marcos family has a long history of friendship with China. Hate her or love her, former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos made history when she traveled to China in 1978 and met with the late Mao Zedong that led to the declaration of our country's support for the One China policy by the late President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos in 1979.

The Marcoses and the Chinese

The Marcoses have fond memories of the Chinese. All these years, they have maintained friendly relations and are respectful of Chinese leaders, past and present. After the defeat of Bongbong Marcos in the vice presidential race to Leni Robredo in 2019, it was his FilipinoChinese friends who stood by him during his hour of agony when everybody else shunned him.

The Marcoses and the Americans Marcos Jr. is no stranger to realpolitik and the dangers small and weak countries face against the designs of the more powerful country like the United States. He and his family had a taste of it during the EDSA revolution in 1986, when the Americans helped the coup plotters topple his father. And instead of bringing them to Paoay as originally agreed, hijacked them instead to Hawaii.

But that's only the tip of the "ice cream" as former president Erap Estrada would hilariously put it. The Americans, to gain favor from

This includes full support for the Maritime Industry Development Plan 2028, which covers priority programs to expand and promote an environmentally sustainable industry, adopt an efficient system of maritime governance, enhance maritime transport security, innovate and digitalize the industry, promote a competitive workforce and develop shipbuilding and repair.

Those are ambitious goals, but with political will and full government support, they should not prove impossible to achieve within six years. (Philstar.com)