UNLUCKY ’DOGS
LUCKY DOG
North Bend drops overtime decision, B1
Pooch among those rescued from floodwaters, A6
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2013
Serving Oregon’s South Coast Since 1878
Akre loses cancer battle
theworldlink.com
■
$1.50
Mosquito battle begins
Reedsport community icon and legendary sports coach dies ■
BY JOHN GUNTHER The World
BY JEFF BARNARD The Associated Press GRANTS PASS — An agreement between the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will keep shipping channels open at small ports on the Oregon coast after federal funding for dredging dried up. Corps of Engineers spokeswoman Michelle Helms said the agreement calls for Oregon to provide up to $5 million a year for the next four years for a Corps dredge to handle the work. Silt flowing down rivers fills in the shipping channels at small ports unless they are dredged. Dredging had been paid by budget appropriations known as earmarks, which members of Congress can add to benefit their home states. But those were eliminated by Republicans controlling the U.S. House as a way to reduce the
Clearing the air on health care BY EMILY THORNTON
vendor list now. People also may call 1855-COVEROR to enroll. After Oct. 15, Cover Oregon will open Health care insurance in America is online enrollment for those who want to changing forever — at least for some of try going through the process on their own. us. Folks who decide to not sign up for The Affordable Care Act goes into effect at the start of the new year. Every- coverage face a $95 fine per person or one one must have health insurance by Jan. 1, percent of the their income, whichever is greater, from the Internal Revor face an ever-increasing enue Service. The fee per uninpenalty. sured child is $47.50. The most For most of us it won’t be an a family would pay in 2014 is issue. The majority of folks $285. The fine for an individual already have some form of goes up to $325 in 2015 and health care insurance. grows to $695 or 2.5 percent of But about 19 percent of Coos the person’s income in 2016. County residents are uninsured. For more information, visit Beginning Oct. 1 that can www.irs.gov. change. AFFORDABLE “It's important to remember Open enrollment for the state’s exchange, Cover Oregon, HEALTH CARE that someone who pays the fee won't get any health insurance begins Oct. 1 and ends March 15, coverage. They still will be 2014. So, what do you do if you want to get responsible for 100 percent of the cost of their medical care,” Cox said. coverage under the Act? For those without health insurance, the choice is relatively simple: visit Determining your best option The exchange site has a calculator so coveroregon.com or a registered agent and get enrolled. Coveroregon.com is the residents may determine their best state exchange website and is the go-to option. For instance, the average size source for information about the new family in Coos County is 2.78, according to the 2010 census. The median age is program. “It’s the only place Oregonians can 48.3 and the median household income is shop for plans and choose the plan that’s $37,789. With these numbers in the best for them,” said Michael Cox, exchange’s calculator, a household of two adults (age 21 and above) and one child spokesman for Cover Oregon. The remaining population can decide would face a monthly premium of $983. That sounds like a big bill, but wait. the best route to take — remain with their current provider or check to see if they’re Federal tax credits would actually cut the eligible for reduced rates and tax credits estimated cost to the household down to $188, so this household would only pay 19 or if they now qualify for Medicaid. From Oct. 1 to Oct. 15, anyone wanting percent of its actual premium. The online calculator estimates that to get enrolled will have to work with one of the 1,200 agents who’ve undergone for this household, the absolute maxispecial training through the state. Cover mum annual out of pocket expenses Oregon will offer “an old fashioned paper would be $4,167, including co-pays, application” through mid-October, deductible payments and other expenses. which will be available at approved vendors. Cox said they were finalizing the The World
INSIDE
SEE DREDGING | A8
Police reports . . . . A2 What’s Up . . . . . . . Go! South Coast. . . . . . A3 Opinion. . . . . . . . . . A4
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Comics . . . . . . . . . . C5 Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . C5 Classifieds . . . . . . . C6
Coverage top-10 Under the ACA, 10 items that must be covered under any health insurance plan are: ■ Outpatient care (without being admitted to a hospital). ■ Emergency room trips. ■ Treatment in the hospital for inpatient care. ■ Care before and after a baby is born. ■ Mental health and substance use disorder services; including behavioral health treatment, counseling, and psychotherapy. ■ Prescription drugs. ■ Services and devices to help you recover if you are injured, or have a disability or chronic condition; including physical and occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, psychiatric rehabilitation, and more. ■ Lab tests. ■ Preventive services including counseling, screenings, and vaccines to keep you healthy and care for managing a chronic disease. ■ Pediatric services, including dental care and vision care for kids.
Fraud alert ■ Do not pay for help. Cover Oregon is free, both online and with a certified
agent or community partner. ■ Ensure the agent or partner is certified with Cover Oregon. Referrals are
available at 1-855-COVEROR or coveroregon.com. Do not give out personal information, such as social security number, credit card or personal health documents to people who call or visit unannounced. Cover Oregon does not do this. ■ Do not share Medicare information. Cover Oregon does not offer Medicare. ■ Tax credits are only available through Cover Oregon. No one else is legally allowed to offer these credits and there is no charge for them. ■ If fraud is suspected, call 1-855-COVEROR or the Oregon Insurance Division to determine the validity of the agent. Report fraud to the Oregon Department of Justice at http://www.doj.state.or.us/consumer/Pages/index.aspx or 1-877-9392. ■
“... someone who pays the (fine) won’t get any health insurance coverage.” Michael Cox Cover Oregon spokesman
SEE HEALTH | A8
Next Saturday: How this new program affects health care providers
Richard Ball, North Bend Vernon Reagan, North Bend Jessie Saporito, North Bend Betty Jo Keeler, Port Orford Enesworth McLeod, Langlois
Jerry Hawkins, Coos Bay Mario Schultz, North Bend Howard Skwer, North Bend
Obituaries | A5
FORECAST
Ports get dredging money
Affordable Care Act: What you need to know
OREGON
SEE AKRE | A8
By Lou Sennick, The World
A small plane from Vector Disease Control International crisscrosses a little more than 300 acres to kill mosquitoes Thursday afternoon. The aircraft, with the words “Mosquito Control” on the bottom of the wings, applied a larvicide, MetaLarv, in the Ni-les’tun Unit of the Bandon Marsh. Other aerial spraying for the bothersome insects in other areas around Bandon was called off.
DEATHS
REEDSPORT — In the Reedsport community, Jim Akre was a beacon who shined as brightly as the Umpqua River Lighthouse lamp he helped save. Akre died Thursday after a year-long battle with cancer, leaving a gaping hole in the community where he was known as coach and teacher to thousands of students and a behind-the-scenes leader to the residents. “He was a busy guy,” said longtime colleague and friend Jim Wells. “Teaching and administrating and a lot of those professions, people choose lifetime service. That’s the way Jim was, and I hope I am, too.” Akre might have been best known for his years at Reedsport High School. He was the football coach for 15 years and led the Braves to the 1990 state championship. He also coached the girls basketball team for many seasons. But after he retired, he put his efforts into numerous community groups. “What didn’t he do?” asked Sherri Elliott, a friend who is editor of the Coffee Break Daily News in town. “Jim was one of those rare individuals who wore 20 different
Partly sunny 69/58 Weather | A8