Affordable Care Act

Many Americans Are Unaware of Healthcare Law Deadline

Pew Research Center

Under the healthcare law, those who do not obtain coverage for 2014 face financial penalties of up to 1 percent of their yearly household income, or $95 a person, whichever amount is higher, although even before the deadline extension was announced, there was an array of exemptions for hardships and other reasons. While most Americans know that the law includes fines for those who do not buy coverage, Kaiser found that just 39 percent of the uninsured were aware of the Monday deadline. 

Living in the Shadows: Refugees and Healthcare

Erika Beras

The first few months of a refugee’s life in the U.S. are filled with new experiences. And with doctor’s visits. All that initial care is covered by federal medical assistance. But when that coverage ends, refugees may still have outstanding health issues and no way to pay for them. Gov. Tom Corbett isn’t expanding Medicaid in Pennsylvania this year. It’s estimated that there are more than 600,000 people who could benefit from the Medicaid expansion, but for people like Tamang who face a disappointing reality, even the cheapest insurance plan would still cost him too much.

Note to Republicans: Obamacare Is Working

Jim Jaffe

The relentless flow of good news about Obamacare may explain why a growing number of elected Republicans are walking away from the issue.  Two new bits of insurance news suggest progress that backers of reform find quite encouraging. The first explains how governments are competing in the insurance exchanges, simultaneously giving shoppers greater choice and potentially providing profit that can help fund services to indigent Medicaid recipients.  In essence this is the public option that liberals fought hard for, but failed to get into the legislation that was enacted.

 

Explaining Obamacare: A Guide for the Perplexed

Jim Jaffe

The dream standard, which Obamacare does not aspire to meet, is a system that provides any care requested from any provider without worrisome costs.  Such care would include eyeglasses, hearing aids, dental work and unlimited physical and mental therapy, all conveniently available at sites where cost was never a barrier. There is no existing insurance plan in America that provides such a broad menu of services.  While these services may solve real problems, insurance typically limits or excludes them.

Those Not Protected by Affordable Care Act Lack a Safety Net

Viji Sundaram

Even though the Affordable Care Act will significantly reduce California’s uninsured population, unless county-run health programs are well funded, those who don’t enroll, or cannot enroll because of their income level or their undocumented status, will be left with an “uneven safety net,” according to a study released last week by the Health Access Foundation. The report comes at a time when counties are making crucial decisions in the coming weeks on the scope of their safety net programs for indigent care after the full implementation of the ACA on Jan. 1, 2014.

Group Delivers 10,000 Letters to Gov. Jindal to Expand Medicaid

Kari Harden

With close to 10,000 letters in tow, a group of community leaders traveled to Baton Rouge Friday morning to make an in-person delivery to Governor Piyush Jindal. The Jeremiah Group, a faith-based, non-partisan community organization, started their “Life, Liberty, and Healthcare for All” letter campaign in July. The signed letters urge Jindal to accept Medicaid expansion for Louisiana and were collected from residents across New Orleans.

Thousands of Health Policies Canceled Due to ACA Change

Viji Sundaram

Belay is among some 120,000 Blue Shield customers -- which represent about 60 percent of its individual market -- who received such a letter in recent weeks. Other insurance companies have cancelled policies, telling their customers that their existing policies fall short of the 10 “essential health benefits” the ACA requires all plans to include beginning Jan.1, 2014, the day the health care law is fully implemented. 

Affordable Care Act Provides Relief for Mental Health Patients

Viji Sundaram

According to Randall Hagar, director of government relations with the California Psychiatric Association, a state mental health parity bill signed by Gov. Davis in 2000 required insurers to cover the diagnosis and treatment of a range of mental illnesses under “the same terms and conditions applied to other medical conditions.” The intent of the law was to eliminate the disparity in co-pays and higher deductibles.

What Other Media Are Saying About the Government Shutdown

Staff

No progress was made to end a budget impasse that resulted in a government shutdown since 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday. News of the shutdown, which includes the closure of all national parks and a work furlough for 800,000 federal employees, generated a big response in the ethnic press. Key areas of concern included the shutdown’s effect on federal workers, loss of funding for social services, ramifications for immigration reform, and environmental impacts. 

 

Government Shutdown: A Win for Obama (and Cruz)

David Swerdlick

For the moment, Obama  now has a foil who's making it easier for him to stand up for his health care initiative and outline his budget priorities. And Cruz gets to show that he's first among equals when it comes to opposing anything linked to Obama. Meanwhile, federal employees will be furloughed, any salary that they forfeit won't be spent in a still-fragile economy, and Congress's inability to make a deal will eventually threaten another loss of confidence in the markets.

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