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The concept of an electric vehicle developed nearly 200 years ago, with European and U.S. inventors at the forefront. However, as the electric vehicle was sought after, so too was [...]

The US Army Corps of Engineers --Alaska District (USACE) is preparing for a productive 2024 construction season. The organization's robust workload includes major infrastructure construction efforts under the district's civil [...]

To operate as a nightclub for a quarter of a century is impressive. The legendary Hacienda managed 15 years, Studio 54 just 33 months. Fabric, however, is set to celebrate [...]

Objective: To examine whether the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) Medicaid expansions affected health insurance coverage for individuals in same-sex couples. Data Sources and Study Setting: We used data on adults aged 18-64 years in same-sex couples (n = 33,512) from the 2008-2018 American Community Survey (ACS). Study Design: To estimate the effect of the impact of the state Medicaid expansions under the ACA on health insurance coverage for sexual minorities, we utilize a standard difference-in-differences approach to leverage the variation across geography and time in expanding Medicaid. Data Collection: Secondary and publicly available ACS data were obtained from IPUMS at the University of Minnesota. Principal Findings: We find that Medicaid expansion significantly increased health insurance coverage among low-income men and women in same-sex couples by 4.9 (standard error [SE] = 1.75) and 6.5 (SE = 1.96) percentage points, respectively. We find increases in the likelihood of having Medicaid and reductions in private health insurance from an employer or privately purchased insurance. Effects on Medicaid take-up are consistently larger for low-income women in same-sex couples as compared to low-income men in same-sex couples. Conclusions: We provide the first evidence on the relationship between state Medicaid expansions under the ACA and health insurance coverage among sexual minority adults, a group that has been understudied in past research. Our results confirm that sexual minority adults benefitted from the ACA's Medicaid expansions with respect to increased health insurance coverage. KEYWORDS affordable care act, health insurance, LGBTQ, Medicaid expansion, sexual minority What is known on this topic * A growing body of research has examined the effects of public policies which specifically target sexual minorities (e.g., same-sex marriage bans and the subsequent legal recognition of same-sex marriage). * For instance, prior research found that same-sex marriage recognition laws are associated with increased health insurance coverage and better access to care for sexual minority couples. * Comparatively less research has examined the effects of broadly targeted population-based policies not specific to the sexual minority population. What this study adds * We provide the first evidence on the relationship between state Medicaid expansions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and health insurance coverage among sexual minority adults. * Low-income women in same-sex couples were especially more likely to have health insurance following the ACA's Medicaid expansions relative to low-income men in same-sex couples., 1 | INTRODUCTION A wide body of research has documented that sexual minorities (i.e., lesbians, gay men, bisexual individuals, queer [LGBTQ] and other non-heterosexual populations) have worse socio-economic outcomes than [...]

February 29, 2024 Disaster has struck. One of your employees was tricked into changing the account for payments to your biggest vendor, sending a series of payments to a fraudulent [...]

New Hampshire has joined 14 other states (and counting) and many prominent countries in adopting a comprehensive privacy law, which will be codified as RSA chapter 507-H. Because the law [...]

A note to the reader: In my teaching I seek to introduce my students to new ways of framing questions and answers we, as educators and academics, have grappled with [...]

The hurricane of cash that flooded South Florida during the pandemic may have slowed, but the real estate brokers who rule its pimped-out properties say the market is still flying [...]

When it comes to emerging technologies--both hardware, and digital technologies--it's likely that backflow isn't the first thing to come to your mind. As plumbing professionals, we like to get things [...]

Introduction One of the permanent changes in law practice likely to be wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic is the greater use of videoconferencing platforms to conduct a wide variety of [...]

As the world aspires to reach net zero, electrification continues to be a focus for all types of applications, especially mobile machinery. In many off-highway machines, the conventional system architecture [...]

Zusha Elinson and I are reporters for The Wall Street Journal. He works out of San Francisco; I work out of Atlanta. We've covered a lot of mass shootings--horrific events [...]

The Montessori Inspired Lifestyle® is, first and foremost, a person-centered approach to life. Based on the fundamental human values of respect, dignity, equality and trust it can be applied to [...]

NEARLY 30 YEARS AFTER MAKING HER debut in 'I leavenly Creatures,' Melanie Lynskey is finally getting the star treatment she deserves--whether she's ready for it or not. 'The other day. [...]

Objective: To describe the design, implementation, and plans to evaluate the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) Caring Letters intervention. Data Sources: Veterans with VCL contact and VHA service utilization. Study Design: Caring Letters is an evidence-based post-acute care suicide prevention intervention in which brief messages are mailed to individuals at high risk of suicide repeatedly over time to communicate that people care about them and are concerned for their well-being. An effectiveness-implementation hybrid type 1 trial using the RE-AIM evaluation framework is underway to examine the use of Caring Letters with veterans who contact the VCL. A team of suicide prevention subject matter experts, researchers, and operational partners from the VCL will evaluate the effects of Caring Letters on clinical outcomes and Department of Veterans Affairs - Veterans Health Administration (VHA) clinical utilization rates and examine facilitators and barriers to implementing the Caring Letters campaign. Data Collection Methods: Veterans who contact the VCL are linked with national administrative VHA data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted as part of a qualitative formative evaluation. Principal Findings: In the first 12 months of the intervention, Caring Letters have been sent to over 100,000 veterans with VCL contact (over 500,000 letters mailed). A formative qualitative evaluation early in implementation revealed a variety of positive veteran perspectives on the intervention. Conclusions: Partnered program design and evaluation with a high level of stakeholder engagement and participant feedback can result in a rigorous and feasible evaluation plan that improves implementation processes and produces actionable results. The initial results of this evaluation will be used to better inform care in the VHA and, specifically, the VCL. KEYWORDS program evaluation, psychology, VA Health Care System What is known on this topic * The Caring Letters Suicide Prevention Intervention has been recommended in some clinical practice guidelines after a psychiatric hospitalization for suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt. * Although the potential value of the intervention for crisis line callers has been highlighted by the U.S. Surgeon General, Caring Letters have not been tested with this population. What this study adds * This is the first test of Caring Letters with crisis line callers. * This is the largest evaluation of Caring Letters ever conducted., 1 | INTRODUCTION Suicide prevention is one of the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) highest priorities. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, (1) and veterans [...]

Characterization of dry and cure is very important in the development of paints, coatings, and adhesives. It can be challenging to assess dry and cure of these products on a [...]

USSTRATCOM (US Strategic Command) is one of eleven Unified Combatant Commands under the Department of Defense. STRATCOM's primary mission is to deter strategic attack and employ forces, as directed, to [...]

How the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Implements Monetary Policy This Bulletin provides an overview of how the Reserve Bank of New Zealand implements monetary policy and manages settlement cash [...]

A paradigm is typically defined as an outstandingly clear or typical example--a well-established and broadly understood pattern. A paradigm shift is a fundamental change in the basic concepts and practices [...]

Look for South America, Far East/South Asia and Western Europe to lead with signifcant mprovement. Ofshore drilling will set a faster pace than onshore activity. Following a tumultuous 2020, global [...]

A fundamental shift is necessary in the way we view dementia and care provided for persons living with dementia. By any objective measure, the medical approach to dementia has been [...]

Objective: The Affordable Care Act allows insurers to charge up to 50% higher premiums to tobacco users, making tobacco use the only behavioral factor that can be used to rate premiums in the nongroup insurance market. Some states have set more restrictive limits on rating for tobacco use, and several states have outlawed tobacco premium surcharges altogether. We examined the impact of state level tobacco surcharge policy on health insurance enrollment decisions among smokers. Study Design: We compared insurance enrollment in states that did and did not allow tobacco surcharges, using a difference-in-difference approach to compare the policy effects among smokers and nonsmokers. We also used geographic variation in tobacco surcharges to examine how the size of the surcharge affects insurance coverage, again comparing smokers to nonsmokers. Data Collection: We linked data from two components of the Current Population Survey-the 2015 and 2019 Annual Social and Economic Supplement and the Tobacco Use Supplement, which we combined with data on marketplace plan premiums. We also collected qualitative data from a survey of smokers who did not have insurance through an employer or public program. Principal Findings: Allowing a tobacco surcharge reduced insurance enrollment among smokers by 4.0 percentage points (P = .01). Further, smokers without insurance through an employer or public program were 9.0 percentage points less likely (P < .01) to enroll in a nongroup plan if they were subject to a tobacco surcharge. In states with surcharges, enrollment among smokers was 3.4 percentage points lower (P < .01) for every 10 percentage point increase in the tobacco surcharge. Conclusions: Tobacco use is the largest cause of preventable illness in the United States. State tobacco surcharge policy may have a substantial impact on whether tobacco users choose to remain insured and consequently their ability to receive care critical for preventing and treating tobacco-related disease. KEYWORDS affordable care act, enrollment, health insurance, marketplace, premiums, smoking, tobacco surcharge, 1 | INTRODUCTION One of the most important aspects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was the introduction of modified community rating in the nongroup insurance market, which drastically changed [...]

A FEW DAYS after San Francisco's shelter-in-place order began on March 17, Mathilde Collin awoke to an anxiety attack. She felt a pain in her chest. That little ball of [...]

The global upstream industry has gone through unprecedented financial and operating conditions, generated by last springs double-hit of the Covid-19 pandemic and the oil dumping exercise/price war engaged in by [...]

Increasing awareness of environmental, health, and food safety issues, as well as increasing regulations on substances with potential health effects, are major driving forces for consumer behavioral changes. These behavioral [...]

Lyfe Marketing's founders have been growing their startup at breakneck speed--and now their hiring strategy is showing signs of wear. So fellow Atlantan and Kabbage CEO Rob Frohwein shared some [...]

'I wish there were books that were in between YA and adult' is something I hear and see online constantly. I always stare at my screen for a second and [...]