GADSDEN, Ala. — Five hospitals in Alabama stand accused of price gouging, or charging patients more than 10 times the cost of care allowed by Medicare providers. Gadsden Regional Medical Center, Riverview Regional Medical Center, Brookwood Medical Center, Decatur Morgan Hospital, and Stringfellow Memorial Hospital were all listed in the report first published by the […]

Last week Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama and UnitedHealthcare, the two insurance companies in the state that offer plans through the ObamaCare marketplace, requested rate increases of 28 percent and 24.5 percent, respectively. Insurance markets across the country are also increasing well above the rate of inflation. Currently, the average Alabamian spends $193 a […]

OXFORD, Ala. — 6-year-old Krymson Lindley went to her mother last week with an idea. “She wanted to raise money to give presents to the boys and girls who ‘have to spend the night in the hospital,'” Krymson’s mother Stephanie told Yellowhammer. “It was 100 percent her idea.” So Krymson set up a lemonade stand […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck announced Monday he will be coming to the Magic City on August 28th for an event raising money for the Middle East relief fund on the 52nd anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream Speech.” “Nothing makes sense anymore,” Beck said leading […]

STANFORD, California — Alabama native and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote in an op-ed published by the Washington Post that Congress should give President Obama the fast-track trade authority he desires because free trade is “an essential pillar of economic liberty, prosperity and peace.” The controversial Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) or “fast-track” authority […]

(Video Above: Courtney and Nick Smith face off at their wedding, Alabama and Auburn football style c/o LeaNicole Photography) When Courtney and Nick Smith tied the knot last weekend at Alabama’s Historic Rucker Place in Birmingham, they knew they’d have lots of Courtney’s fellow former Crimsonettes on hand to pump up the Roll Tide spirit, […]

WASHINGTON — Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, blasted President Obama’s request for so-called “fast-track authority” to create a trade agreement with several Pacific countries, calling it a surrender of Congress’s authority. The fast-track authority, called the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), would allow any trade agreement coming […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Legislature is constitutionally required to pass a balanced budget each year. This Spring, however, lawmakers passed an ill-fated budget that was immediately vetoed by Governor Robert Bentley (R). Before closing the 2015 Regular Session Thursday evening, the legislature approved a General Fund budget that cut $200 million from Medicaid, corrections, […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Major changes are coming to the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP), and some teachers are very unhappy about it. Beginning October 1st, copays for some specialists will increase $5, education employees who smoke can expect to see their tobacco use surcharge nearly double from $28 a month to $50, and […]

MONROEVILLE, Ala. — A billboard in south Alabama is going viral Friday morning after being tweeted out by the Alabama Free Market Alliance (AFMA). Good reminder. cc: @GroverNorquist @taxreformer pic.twitter.com/tHmSpWFuL4 — AFMA (@ALFreeMarket) June 5, 2015 Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist retweeted the image, spurring on its quick spread across the web. The […]

SELMA, Ala. — A campaign by some Democratic leaders in the state legislature to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge the “Journey to Freedom Bridge” may have found support in the Alabama Senate this week, but Selma native and Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL7) is slamming the proposed change, saying it would “compromise the historical integrity of […]

GULF SHORES, Ala. — As anglers on Alabama’s Gulf coast prepare for the only weekend of this year’s Red Snapper season, they may be interested to hear that the same agency who restricts the amount of time they can fish to only 10 days was also just caught manipulating climate change data. According to a […]

WASHINGTON — Congressman Gary Palmer (R-AL6) introduced legislation in the U.S. House Thursday that would ensure physicians who serve Medicaid and Medicare patients continue to be reimbursed while they are switching over to a new federally-mandated medical coding system. The 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) is […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — According to a new report from Child Care Aware, parents in Alabama enjoy some of the lowest child care costs in the nation, tying only with Mississippi, Utah, and Idaho for the average amount spent by a family making the state’s median household income. Alabama’s parents spend an average of 13 percent […]

(Video Above: Congressman Mo Brooks introduces an amendment to end subsidies to Amtrak) WASHINGTON — Congressman Mo Brooks (R-AL5) on Thursday urged Congress to end subsidies to publicly-owned and operated Amtrak, delivering a speech on the House floor saying, “It is time for Amtrak passengers to quit riding on the backs of other taxpayers.” Between […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama’s District Attorneys are balking at budget cuts, but reforms to a controversial program could save the DAs, and taxpayers, millions a year. Of Alabama’s 42 circuits represented by DAs, 34 of them also have what are called “Supernumerary District Attorneys,” or retired DAs who will practice in place of the circuit’s […]

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban expressed his dissatisfaction with a new rule handed down by the Southeastern Conference that will ban players with certain disciplinary infractions against them from transferring into an SEC school. Coach Saban, who has often been the first to give his players a second chance—and […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Publication Area Development has awarded Alabama its annual “Silver Shovel” awarded to states with populations between 3 and 5 million who exhibit exceptional economic development and job growth. Kentucky and Louisiana also received the award. “The state has been advancing in a major way as a locus of automotive and aerospace manufacturing […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Legislature, including a majority of Republicans, on Thursday gave final passage to a bill that will allow state agencies to increase their own fees without a vote of the legislature. The Senate concurred with House changes first thing Thursday morning, and the bill will now head to the Governor’s desk. […]

(Video Above: Rep. Gary Palmer questions journalists at a Oversight and Government Reform committee meeting) WASHINGTON — Congressman Gary Palmer heard testimony Tuesday from investigative journalists, including former CBS journalist Sharyl Attkisson, on the importance of protecting the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in order to hold the federal government accountable. Created in 1966, FOIA […]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azMo8Vo_icw (Video Above: Rep. Roby delivers a speech on the House floor) WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Martha Roby took to the U.S. House floor Wednesday day to continue her push to give Veterans Affairs administrators the authority to come in and take over substandard VA facilities, after a year of revelations finding the agency has placed […]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama Senate on Wednesday approved a resolution to rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which was famously crossed by civil rights activists on “Bloody Sunday” in 1965, the “Journey to Freedom Bridge.” When protesters, including Martin Luther King, Jr. came back despite the violence, crossing the bridge, named for Edmund Pettus, a […]

(Video Above: Rep. Bradley Byrne introduces an amendment to cut the ATF by $250 million) WASHINGTON — Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL1) introduced an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act Tuesday which would have cut the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) by 20 percent, saving taxpayers approximately $250 […]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEZ9yj1aaO8 (Video Above: Vapor Wake® detection dogs are trained by AMK9) ANNISTON, Ala. — The Transportation Security Agency (TSA) is coming under fire this week after it was discovered the blue-clad agents who pat down air travelers missed 95 percent of weapons in recent testing by the Department of Homeland Security, leaving many Americans wondering […]