ACCESS

Health Insurance Lottery

Uninsured residents of Oregon may win access to health insurance through a state-sponsored lottery, the Associated Press reports. A computer will draw the names of 3,000 people out of the 90,000 who have signed up for the lottery. Winners will be eligible for the Oregon Health Plan, a state-sponsored insurance package for individuals who do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance. Winners will have to meet the plan’s income guidelines. The plan covers medications and basic health services, including diagnostics, physician visits and maternity, as well as some dental and hospitalization services. The state stopped adding people to the plan in 2004 due to budget restrictions, but was able to find additional funds this year to cover approximately 3,000 more people. Currently, the 18,000 Oregonians who are enrolled in the program pay between zero and $20 per month in premiums. Federal law prohibits discriminating between applicants, necessitating the randomness of the lottery. Currently, 600,000 Beaver State residents are without health insurance.

COVERAGE

Paid Sick Leave

New Jersey may become the third state in the nation to require businesses to offer paid family leave, under a bill (AB 873) now on its way to the governor. The legislation offers workers leave at two-thirds of their salary, up to $504 per week, for six weeks. Paid leave would be financed through the Temporary Disability Insurance Fund, as well as payroll deductions, estimated to cost each employee $33 per year. Workers could take one leave per 12-month period. Federal law allows full-time employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave; employers with fewer than 50 employees are exempt. Proponents of the bill, which is intended to enable employees to care for sick family members and newborn or adopted children, have fought for the provision for more than a decade. During the last legislative session, a paid family-leave bill that would have offered up to 10 weeks of leave failed to clear the Legislature. “Far too many individuals have had to make the tough decision between caring for a loved one and being able to maintain their income,” bill sponsor Sen. Barbara Buono told the Philadephia Enquirer. Governor John Corzine has said if the General Assembly approves the bill, he will sign it into law. California adopted paid family leave in 2004; Washington's paid family leave will take effect in October 2009.

ROAD SAFETY

Adolescent Passengers At Risk

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for tweens and teens, says a new study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. The three biggest risk factors for drivers and passengers ages 8 to 17: (1) riding unbuckled with (2) recently licensed teen drivers on (3) high-speed roads. The six-year study focused on nearly 10,000 child passengers who were killed in car crashes. More than half—54 percent—were riding with a teen driver. Also, more than three-quarters of the fatal crashes occurred on roads with speed limits higher than 45 mph, and nearly two-thirds of the young passengers were not wearing seat belts. Other dangerous circumstances for young passengers included drivers who'd been drinking alcohol, male teen drivers, and driving on weekends. The researchers examined national data on serious car crashes that occurred between 2000 and 2005, including those resulting in death. During that time, 2.5 million children ages 8 to 17 were involved in crashes and 9,807 died. The risk of death for kids riding with drivers 16- to 19-years old was at least double that of those riding with drivers aged 25 and older. Thirty-four states restrict the number of teen passengers that drivers younger than 18 may transport, and only a handful of states set the minimum age for a learner’s permit at 16 years of age. Nine states grant learner’s permits to 14-year-olds and at least 30 others give them to 15-year-olds.