News

State lawmakers are trying again to reform Michigan’s largest health insurer. The Gongwer News Service reports that the Senate unanimously approved a reform plan for Blue Cross Blue Shield today. It would turn it into a non-profit mutual company.

Debate in the House is not expected to go as smoothly.

Governor Snyder vetoed a similar reform plan last month. It included restrictions on abortion that are not part of the new Senate bill.

Pianist Lori Sims is the soloist in Rachmaninoff’s formidable Piano Concerto No. 3, with Bruce Uchimura conducting the Western Michigan University Symphony Orchestra this Sunday in Chenery Auditorium.

The latest report on child well-being in Michigan finds more children living in poverty. The Kids Count report released Wednesday finds child poverty went up 28% in Michigan from 2005 to 2011. 

NPR correspondent Dina Temple-Raston covers counter-terrorism, including legal issues, national security and the changing nature of groups like Al Qaida. Temple-Raston will speak at Western Michigan University’s Fetzer Center at 11:00 Monday morning.