Questions raised over ER coverage

Three state lawmakers are calling on elected officials to penalize Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield for making a coverage change that denies claims for what the insurer says are non-emergency visits to the emergency room.

State Rep. Alicia Reece said at a Wednesday news conference that she and the other lawmakers plan to draft a bill that would exclude any insurer that implements such a policy from tax breaks as well as contracts to cover state, county or city workers. She was joined by state Rep. Stephanie Howse, a Cleveland Democrat who presides over the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, and state Rep. Thomas West, a Democrat from Canton.

Reece, a Cincinnati Democrat, said she was devastated to hear about Anthem’s

Mayor Andrew J. Ginther's office billed these events as "Neighborhood Conversations," and my first conversation on Wednesday night occurred when a group of smiling women with clipboards waved me to a stop on Hamilton Avenue.

They wanted to see if I was on the guest list for this particular neighborhood conversation at the Linden Community Center.

I was not. I did not RSVP as requested. I do not, as a matter of habit, ever RSVP for neighborhood conversations.

I told the women I was with The Dispatch. It was difficult to tell how this went over because