MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
PENN BRACKET SEE PAGE 6 CHECKING UP ON GOP For some, living far from campus is the best decision Students living outside of University City find comfort, excitement
HEALTH CARE REFORM Will vaccine coverage be required?
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Can they stay on their parents’ plan?
CATHERINE DE LUNA Staff Reporter
For many Penn students, areas west of 44th street or across the Schuylkill are dubbed ‘far away.’ And for the students who live outside the inner University City area, getting to campus often means taking Uber or SEPTA. College junior Nolan Wein is originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia and currently lives in Rittenhouse Square with her parents. “For me, I am an only child and I’ve always been sort of a homebody... so it really wasn’t that SEE LIVING PAGE 9
PENN STUDENTS FIGHT AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING PAGE 3
Will mental health coverage be included? Millions are expected to lose coverage, but taxes may drop KELLY HEINZERLING Staff Reporter
The 2016 presidential election has changed lives across the nation — and with new legislation that could replace the Affordable Care Act, it could even affect Penn students’ medical care. House Republicans, who revealed their plans to replace Obamacare on March 6, are in favor of a system of tax credits that would encourage people to buy insurance on the open market. The bill would also roll back Medicaid, which has provided health care coverage to more than 10 million low-income Americans. Although the legislation has not yet passed, it would have significant effects on many Americans. “I think that as we evaluate the current GOP plan, it’s important to keep in mind that nothing is certain yet,” Executive Director of Student Health Service Giang Nguyen said. “There’s still a lot of detail within
the bill that a number of Republican voices have concerns about. I don’t know what the ultimate shape of this will be.” The proposals in the GOP Health Care Plan is significantly different from Obamacare — but what would this mean both nationally and for Penn students? The Daily Pennsylvanian broke it down. Who does it hurt and who does it help? “[The bill] benefits young, healthy moderate-income individuals,” said Daniel Polksy, the executive director of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, an interdisciplinary venture at Penn that studies the national health system. “What this bill would do is make it much more difficult for people who already have difficulty getting insurance.” Nguyen said a number of Penn students have taken advantage of the expansion of Medicaid. If this coverage was reduced, they would be at risk to lose their health insurance. But Wharton Health Care Management Department Chair Scott Harrington pointed out the positive
benefits for many college students. “Generally people who graduate from college make enough money that they would have very limited support, if any, from the Affordable Care Act,” he said. “In fact, those who do have relatively low incomes will most likely get more from the Republican proposal in terms of tax credits than they would with premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.” This tax cut comes with a tradeoff, as another Health Care Management professor Mark Pauly, said. “For the average American who will not be taking one of the Obamacare plans, as a taxpayer they’ll have lower taxes but they may be, and I hope they will be, more concerned about the larger number of uninsured people,” Pauly said. A recent Congressional Budget Office report estimates that under the GOP plan, 24 million people would be at risk for losing health insurance by 2026. “Financing of care for low- to middle-income people is due to be fairly drastically reduced,” Pauly
SEE HEALTH PAGE 9
… like any good social policy, health care reform should come from a place of concern and empathy.” - Penn Democrats
No. 5 TEXAS A&M 63 61 No. 12 PENN
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WOMEN’S HOOPS SUFFERS HEARTBREAK
Penn falls in NCAA Tourney heartbreaker W. HOOPS | Quakers victim
of record 21-point comeback
BACKPAGE
WILL SNOW Senior Sports Editor
ZACH SHELDON | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR
Despite leading by 21 points with less than nine minutes left in the game, Penn women’s basketball crashed out of the NCAA Tournament to Texas A&M.
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LOS ANGELES — Heartbreak. Absolute heartbreak. There’s no other way to sum up Penn women’s basketball’s 63-61 loss to Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The No. 12 Quakers (22-8, 13-1 Ivy) led by 21 points with nine minutes to go. But in March Madness, no lead is safe. The No. 5 Aggies (23-11, 9-7 SEC) huffed, puffed, and blew Penn’s California dreams away in the final minute to complete the largest comeback in NCAA Women’s Tournament history. They ended the game on a 26-3 run, and stole victory right out of the Quakers’ hands. “I wish I knew where to start,”
coach Mike McLaughlin said. “I’m super proud of this group, it was probably one of the hardest ones I’ve ever been a part of. We just played so, so well and just didn’t finish the last eight minutes.” It seemed locked up with eight minutes left. Penn was coasting en route to a second round date with No. 4 UCLA, and Texas A&M was crashing out of the tournament with the upset. Multiple Aggies were melting down during the first three quarters, with guard Curtyce Knox and center Khaalia Hillsman even devolving into a shouting match in the middle of open play. The Quakers were up 58-37, courtesy of an offensive explosion from senior Sydney Stipanovich and juniors Michelle Nwokedi and Anna Ross. The three were dominating the floor, scoring a combined 41 of SEE HEARTBREAK PAGE 11
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