Obamacare

Missoulian: Obama promotes health exchanges ahead of kickoff

A Better Bargain for the Middle Class

HealthCare.gov

Lolo Ski Resort/ Stamp Price Increase/ Benghazi Audit/ ATF Audit/ Haelth Insurance Marketplace

Missoulian: Lolo, Bitterroot national forests say no to Lolo Peak ski resort
Bitterroot Resort Special Use Permit Proposal
“The Bitterroot and Lolo National Forest received a proposal from the Bitterroot Resort on May 24, 2013 to develop a ski area on the Bitterroot and Lolo National Forests.”

Missoulian: USPS seeks 3-cent increase for first-class mail

U.S. Postal Service Announces New Prices for 2014
“The United States Postal Service today announced proposed price changes, including an increase in the price of a First-Class Mail single-piece letter from 46 cents to 49 cents. The proposed changes, which would go into effect in January 2014, are intended to generate $2 billion in incremental annual revenue for the Postal Service.”

Missoulian: State Dept audit: Benghazi review wasn't biased

Special Review of the Accountability Review Board Process

“In conducting this inspection, the inspectors: reviewed pertinent records; as appropriate, circulated, reviewed, and compiled the results of survey instruments; conducted on-site interviews; and reviewed the substance of the report and its findings and recommendations with offices, individuals, organizations, and activities affected by this review.”

Missoulian: US: ATF misplaced 420 million cigarettes in stings
Audit of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and ...

“We found that ATF proceeded with churning investigations without proper approval, misused the proceeds from churning investigations, and failed to account properly for cigarettes and assets purchased during churning investigations.”

Missoulian: Premiums unveiled for health overhaul plans

Significant choice and lower than expected premiums available in the new Health Insurance Marketplace
“Today’s report finds that individuals in the 36 states where HHS will fully or partly run the Marketplace will have an average of 53 qualified health plan choices.  Plans in the Marketplace will be categorized as either “gold,” “silver,” or “bronze,” depending on the share of costs covered.  Young adults will also have the option of purchasing a “catastrophic” plan, increasing their number of choices to 57 on average. About 95 percent of consumers will have a choice of two or more health insurance issuers, often many more.  About 1 in 4 of these insurance companies is offering health plans in the individual market for the first time in 2014, a sign of healthy competition.”

Wildlife Baiting/ Obamacare & Small Business/ Mideast Peace/ Syria

Missoulian: Bait hunts cause host of problems for wildlife, habitat and ethical hunters Can you help?
What to do about salt block on public land?

MT 2013 Deer, Elk, Antelope Regulations
Baiting
• It is illegal for anyone to hunt or attempt  to hunt by the aid of or with the use of any bait, salt lick, trap, snare or set gun.

• Baiting shall mean the placing, exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering of food sources or salt so as to constitute a lure or attraction.

Missoulian: Too many unknowns: Health care law perplexing to small-business owners         

What do small businesses need to know?
“Starting in 2014, businesses with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees can use SHOP to offer coverage to their employees. This applies to non-profit organizations as well. You control the coverage you offer and how much you pay toward premium costs.”

Montana Health Insurance Rates

Missoulian: Obama: time to press for Mideast peace

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
“The time has come -- the time has come to re-launch negotiations without preconditions that address the permanent status issues:  security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees, and Jerusalem.  And the goal is clear:  Two states living side by side in peace and security -- a Jewish state of Israel, with true security for all Israelis; and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967, and realizes the potential of the Palestinian people.”

Missoulian: Obama: UN must enforce ban on Syrian chem weapons
United States of America, General Debate, 68th Session

Gun Violence

Missoulian:  Obama: To honor victims, we 'have to change'

President Obama at the Memorial Service for Victims of the Navy Yard Shooting: “We Can’t Accept This”

“I do not accept that we cannot find a common-sense way to preserve our traditions, including our basic Second Amendment freedoms and the rights of law-abiding gun owners, while at the same time reducing the gun violence that unleashes so much mayhem on a regular basis. And it may not happen tomorrow and it may not happen next week, it may not happen next month -- but it will happen. Because it's the change that we need, and it's a change overwhelmingly supported by the majority of Americans.”