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Many of her clients don’t believe it when Maryland tax preparer Diana Avellaneda tells them they might qualify for low-cost health insurance. Or they think she’s trying to sell them something. In reality, she wants to help her customers take advantage of an underused feature of her state’s tax forms that allows them to get financial assistance for health insurance.

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Avellaneda said she wants people to avoid the financial risk of a medical emergency: “I have health insurance right now, and I feel very, very peaceful. So I want my community to know that.”

The process is simple: By checking a box, taxpayers trigger a qualifying event, enabling them to sign up for insurance outside the traditional open enrollment period and access subsidies that can bring the cost of that insurance down, if their income is low enough. Doing so also allows Maryland’s comptroller to share a person’s income information with the state’s insurance exchange, created under the Affordable Care Act.

After checking the box, people receive a letter with an estimate of the kind of financial assistance they qualify for, whether subsidies for an exchange-based plan, Medicaid, or, for eligible minors, the Childrens Health Insurance Program. Also, a health care navigator may call taxpayers offering them enrollment assistance.

Avellaneda said most of her clients who apply end up qualifying for subsidized insurance. Many are surprised because they had assumed financial assistance was available only to those with extremely low incomes. Avellaneda thought this as well until she did her own taxes a couple of years ago.

“I was one of the persons that thought that I couldn’t qualify because of my income,” said Avellaneda, with a chuckle. Email Sign-Up

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A growing number of states including Colorado and Massachusetts are using tax forms to point people toward the lower-cost coverage available through state insurance marketplaces; by next year, it will be at least 10, including California, Maine, and New Jersey. Illinois is working on a program as well.

“We all file taxes, right? We all know we’re filling out a bazillion forms. So what’s one more?” said Antoinette Kraus, executive director of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, who advocated for Pennsylvania to create a program modeled on Maryland’s.

Often, efforts to enroll people in health insurance are scattershot because the data sets of uninsured people are incomplete. This can lead outreach workers to try to find people who have submitted unfinished Medicaid applications to try and sign them up for coverage.

But nearly everyone has to file tax paperwork, and that existing infrastructure helps states connect the dots and find people who are open to signing up for insurance but haven’t yet.

“It’s hard to imagine more targeted outreach than this. I think that’s one reason it’s become popular,” said Rachel Schwab, who researches the impact of state and federal policy on private insurance quality and access at Georgetown University.

The rise of these initiatives, known as easy enrollment, is happening at a time of incredible churn for health insurance.

The end of some policies launched during the height of the covid-19 pandemic is forcing people to reenroll in Medicaid or find new insurance if they make too much money to qualify. At the same time, marketplace subsidies created in response to the pandemic have been extended through the end of 2025 via the Inflation Reduction Act. So having a simple way to connect people to health care coverage and make the most of federal dollars is a good idea, said Coleman Drake, a health policy researcher at the University of Pittsburgh.

He cautions that these initiatives won’t get everyone covered. Data bears this out: Only about 10,000 Marylanders have gotten insurance this way since 2020, less than 3% of that state’s uninsured population. The number in Pennsylvania is estimated to be small, too. Still, it’s a step in the right direction.

“Uninsurance in general is extremely costly to society,” said Drake. “Whatever we can do here to make signing up for health insurance easy, I think, is an advantage.”

This article is part of a partnership that includes WESA, NPR, and KFF Health News.

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Sports

Ex-LSU WR Lacy turns himself in, released on bail

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Ex-LSU WR Lacy turns himself in, released on bail

Former LSU wide receiver Kyren Lacy, accused of causing a crash that killed a 78-year-old man on Dec. 17 and then fleeing the scene without rendering aid or calling authorities, turned himself in to authorities Sunday night, was jailed and then released on $151,000 bail, according to police records.

Lafourche (Louisiana) Parish Sheriff’s Office records indicate that Lacy was charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run with death and reckless operation of a vehicle.

A warrant had been issued for Lacy’s arrest, and police on Friday said they had been in contact with Lacy and his attorney to turn himself in.

According to a news release from Louisiana State Police on Friday, Lacy was allegedly driving a 2023 Dodge Charger on Louisiana Highway 20 and “recklessly passed multiple vehicles at a high rate of speed by crossing the centerline and entering the northbound lane while in a designated no-passing zone.”

“As Lacy was illegally passing the other vehicles, the driver of a northbound pickup truck abruptly braked and swerved to the right to avoid a head-on collision with the approaching Dodge,” a Louisiana State Police news release said.

“Traveling behind the pickup was a 2017 Kia Cadenza whose driver swerved left to avoid the oncoming Dodge Charger. As the Kia Cadenza took evasive action to avoid impact with the Dodge, it crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a southbound 2017 Kia Sorento.”

Police alleged that Lacy, 24, drove around the crash scene and fled “without stopping to render aid, call emergency services, or report his involvement in the crash.”

Herman Hall, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, who was a passenger in the Kia Sorento, later died from injuries suffered in the crash, according to state police. Hall was 78.

The drivers of the Cadenza and Sorento also sustained moderate injuries, according to police.

Lacy’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux, said in a statement that his client is “fully cooperating with the authorities.”

Lacy played two seasons at Louisiana before transferring to LSU in 2022. This past season, he had 58 catches for 866 yards with nine touchdowns and declared for the NFL draft on Dec. 19, two days after the crash.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.

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Science

Antarctica’s Pyramid-Shaped Peak: A Geological Masterpiece

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Antarctica’s Pyramid-Shaped Peak: A Geological Masterpiece

A peak resembling a man-made pyramid, situated in the snow-covered expanse of Antarctica, has captured widespread attention due to its striking symmetry. Located within the southern Ellsworth Mountains, this natural formation features four steep, symmetrical faces, drawing comparisons to ancient Egyptian pyramids. Rising approximately 4,150 feet (1,265 meters), the mountain has become a focal point of speculation since it gained internet fame in 2016, with many questioning whether its shape could be the work of ancient civilizations or extraterrestrial beings.

Natural Formation Through Erosion

As reported by Live Science, the unique geometry of the mountain is attributed to natural erosion processes. Experts suggest that the peak was likely sculpted by freeze-thaw erosion over millions of years. Mauri Pelto, a professor of environmental science at Nichols College, explained to Live Science that during this process, water fills rock crevices during the day, freezes at night, and expands, causing chunks of rock to break off gradually. This slow but consistent erosion is believed to have given the mountain its distinct pyramidal shape. Pelto noted that while three of the mountain’s sides appear to have eroded evenly, the fourth side—the eastern ridge—formed separately.

Conspiracy Theories and Expert Opinions

Speculation about the mountain’s origin surged when its images circulated online. Claims involving forgotten civilizations or extraterrestrial construction have been widely shared by conspiracy theorists. However, Eric Rignot, professor of Earth system science at the University of California, Irvine, and senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, dismissed these ideas while talking to Live Science. Rignot stated that pyramid-like shapes are not uncommon in nature, citing that peaks with one or two steep faces are often observed, though fully symmetrical formations are rare.

Historical and Geological Significance

First observed during a 1935 flight by American aviator Lincoln Ellsworth, the Ellsworth Mountains hold significant geological history, including 500-million-year-old fossils. The pyramid-shaped peak adds to the intrigue of this remote region but is regarded by scientists as a testament to nature’s sculpting power rather than evidence of advanced or extraterrestrial involvement.

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Environment

Tesla Cybertruck gets $10,000 solar panel wrap that gives you more range

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Tesla Cybertruck gets ,000 solar panel wrap that gives you more range

A company managed to wrap a Tesla Cybertruck with solar cells that power an on-board battery pack. It costs about $10,000. Is it worth it?

In 2017, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he pushed his engineers to look into integrating solar cells on Model 3, but they concluded that it wasn’t worth it at the time.

Solar cell efficiency has since improved, and Tesla developed its own expertise in embedding solar cells through the development of solar roof tiles.

It led to a surprise announcement.

After the launch of the Cybertruck, Musk surprised many when he said that Tesla’s new electric pickup truck would have a solar roof option that would add 15 miles of range per day.

A few years later, Tesla filed for a patent that showed the solar cells would be embedded inside the retractable tonneau cover.

However, Tesla has since brought the Cybertruck to market with no solar roofs or tonneau cover options. A year after the launch, there’s no word about solar options coming to the electric pickup truck.

But now a third party has decided to offer its own solution, and it is even more ambitious: an entire solar cell wrap for the Tesla Cybertruck.

California’s Sunflare Solar is a developer of flexible solar cells that can be used as a wrap. They claim to have wrapped the entire Cybertruck with it to produce up to 1.5 kW of solar power.

For the area, it is a fairly small amount of solar, but it could technically add a similar amount of range, around 15 miles, as Musk claimed the solar tonneau cover would.

The entire Cybertruck solar wrap costs $10,000 and comes with a 5 kW battery inverter to send the energy to the truck.

Electrek’s Take

I think this is cool, but it’s also gimmicky and comes with massive reliability risk. One of the main features of the Cybertruck is its rugged paintless stainless-steel exterior that you don’t care about scratching that much .

Now, it is replaced by expensive and somewhat fragile solar cells. I don’t know about that.

Also, as always, a car is not the optimal place for solar panels. I do like the idea of solar roofs on super-efficient EVs, like Aptera’s solar car, which can add significant range thanks to the efficiency, but if you want to power your electric vehicle with solar power, the best place to install your solar panels are on your home, not your car.

If you want to power your electric vehicle with solar power, we can help you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing with EnergySage. EnergySage is a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar – whether you’re a homeowner or renter. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20 to 30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.

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