Highbrow Magazine - health care https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/health-care en How the Supreme Court Obamacare Ruling Helps Millions of Americans https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5096-how-supreme-court-obamacare-ruling-helps-millions-americans <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 06/29/2015 - 14:41</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/6healthcare.jpg?itok=0OaSUvFf"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/6healthcare.jpg?itok=0OaSUvFf" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2015/06/supreme-court-rules-nationwide-subsidies-should-stay.php">New America Media</a>: </strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Debbie Richardson, 62, said she had been having the “heebie-jeebies” for the last few months, wondering if she might be forced to disenroll from Florida’s health care exchange should the U.S. Supreme Court strike down the nationwide tax subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Now, she can breathe easy.</p> <p> </p> <p>In a 6-3 ruling handed down by the high court Thursday, the justices said that the 8.7 million people like Richardson who are currently receiving subsides to make heath insurance affordable on the exchange will continue receiving it no matter where they live. The ruling was a resounding affirmation of Congress’ intention of subsidizing insurance coverage under ACA.</p> <p> </p> <p>“I was a wreck wondering what I’d do if Florida lost its subsidies,” said the Clearwater, Fla., resident, who didn’t want her real name used for this story, in a telephone interview.</p> <p> </p> <p>Florida is among 37 states where the federal government set up a health care exchange – HealthCare.gov -- under ACA because those states decided they would not set up their own.</p> <p> </p> <p>At 1.4 million, Florida leads the nation in the number of people who get subsidies, said Nick Duran, director of the Florida chapter of Enroll America, the nation’s leading health care enrollment coalition.</p> <p>He said 93.5 percent of Florida residents enrolled on the exchange are getting financial assistance. Nationwide, about 85 percent who purchased insurance on exchanges qualify for assistance to help pay for coverage, based on their income.</p> <p> </p> <p>The plaintiffs in the King v Burwell case, which generated the ruling, maintained that people who bought insurance on the federal exchanges were not entitled to subsidies. They noted that the law says financial help is available for those who enroll through exchanges “established by the state.” The Obama administration argued that Congress clearly intended to help everyone who qualified for it.</p> <p> </p> <p>Had the court ruled against the administration, many of those on the federally run exchanges would have been unable to afford insurance, forcing them to drop their coverage. The court’s majority agreed that this would have left insurers with a large pool of sicker customers, who would need to stay insured to get required care. That would have resulted in premiums going up across the board, putting the ACA in jeopardy and caused what the justices called a “death spiral” for the law.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/4healthcareObama.jpg" style="height:363px; width:650px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>California, a leader in making health care accessible to most of its residents, and one of the first states to set up its own exchange, had nothing immediate to fear about which way the Supreme Court ruled on the King v Burwell case. Even so, had the ruling gone against the Obama administration, it could have resulted in changes to the ACA down the road, observed Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, the state’s exchange.</p> <p> </p> <p>Dana Howard, deputy director of Covered California, strenuously dismissed reports in the media that enrollment on the state’s exchange has dropped by almost 30 percent this year. He said that the state registered 85 percent of renewals in January 2015, bringing the number of enrollees to 1.35 million.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The exchange is working extremely well,” Howard asserted. “We have exceeded our projections (of 1.3 million.)”</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Of the 9 million people enrolled in exchanges nationwide, the federal government pays an average subsidy of $272 a month. Richardson pays $356 for the $800-a-month plan she’s on.</p> <p> </p> <p>She said she couldn’t afford to be without health care because she has a genetic disorder that makes her a prime candidate for a stroke unless she manages her cholesterol. Within months after her employer-sponsored health insurance ended two years ago when her company folded, the federal government stepped in to set up Florida’s health care exchange.</p> <p> </p> <p>Richardson purchased a Silver Plan, but when it came up for renewal last October, she switched to a lower-level Bronze Plan, which has a $6,000 deductible needed to be paid out-of-pocket before coverage kicks in.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Thanks to the ACA, no insurer could deny me coverage because of my pre-existing condition,” she said.</p> <p> </p> <p>Richardson was more recently diagnosed with cancer. Between the two serious health challenges she faces, she said, she wouldn’t be able to afford to pay for her medications but for her insurance.</p> <p> </p> <p>“I am not alone in this situation,” Richardson said. “There are millions out there who are like me.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2015/06/supreme-court-rules-nationwide-subsidies-should-stay.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/supreme-court" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Supreme Court</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obamacare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obamacare</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affordable-care-act" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Affordable Care Act</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tax-subsidies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tax subsidies</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care-exchange" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care exchange</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Viji Sundaram</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 29 Jun 2015 18:41:08 +0000 tara 6138 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5096-how-supreme-court-obamacare-ruling-helps-millions-americans#comments 16.9 Million More Americans Are Insured Through Obamacare https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5006-million-more-americans-are-insured-through-obamacare <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Thu, 05/14/2015 - 15:37</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/4healthcareObama_1.jpg?itok=9QKAStIV"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/4healthcareObama_1.jpg?itok=9QKAStIV" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://asianjournal.com/news/16-9-million-more-americans-insured-under-affordable-care-act-study-says/">Asian Journal</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>Nearly 17 million Americans have gained health insurance since key provisions of the Affordable Care Act were implemented in 2013, according to a study by nonprofit research organization RAND Corp. The report, released Wednesday, May 6, in the journal <em>Health Affairs</em>, found that from September 2013 to February 2013, 22.8 million individuals signed up for coverage, while 5.9 million lost coverage, resulting in a net gain of 16.9 million. The study examined a sample of about 1,600 people who were surveyed in 2013 and 2015.</p> <p> </p> <p>Because of the small number, findings should be considered rough estimates rather than precise measurements, according to Bloomberg. However, because researchers queried the same people twice, they were able to obtain a more in-depth look into how coverage shifted in the 18-month time period. “While the vast majority of those previously insured experienced no change in their source of coverage, 5.9 million people lost coverage over the period studied, and 24.6 million moved from one source of coverage to another,” the researchers wrote.</p> <p> </p> <p>Among sources of coverage included employers (9.6 million), Medicaid (6.5 million) and Obamacare marketplaces (4.1 million). Gains occurred in all these areas, said Katherine Carman, lead author of the study and an economist at RAND.</p> <p> </p> <p>Carman also said that although the Affordable Care Act has greatly expanded health insurance coverage, it has not changed the way most previously-insured Americans are obtaining coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance is the largest source of coverage among Americans younger than the age of 65, according to the study.</p> <p> </p> <p>Much concern regarding coverage rose in 2013 when insurers voided millions of older plans that did not meet ObamaCare standards, but the report notes that the number of individuals that were losing coverage was nearly the same level as it was before. “We found that the vast majority of those with individual market insurance in 2013 remained insured in 2015, which suggests that even among those who had their individual market policies canceled, most found coverage through an alternative source,” the study states.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/4healthcare_0.jpg" style="height:349px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The RAND report shows that approximately 600,000 out of 8.5 million who lost their individual health policies for not meeting Affordable Care Act requirements ended up uninsured. In contrast, more than half of the 43 million who were uninsured in September 2013 had coverage in February 2015.</p> <p> </p> <p>Carman’s team found that 11.2 million purchased health insurance on the government marketplaces, which is close to the federal government’s estimate of 11.7 million. Although people may have obtained coverage independently of the Affordable Care Act, such as by securing jobs with health benefits, the expansion of Medicaid and subsidized marketplaces was a significant factor in the increase, according to Bloomberg.</p> <p> </p> <p>Data from a Gallup poll reflects a similar estimate to the study, posting that 16.4 million people gaining coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The Gallup Corporation and the Department of Health and Human Services estimate that about 13 percent of American adults still do not have health insurance coverage.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://asianjournal.com/news/16-9-million-more-americans-insured-under-affordable-care-act-study-says/">Asian Journal</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obamacare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obamacare</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affordable-care-act" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Affordable Care Act</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-insurance" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health insurance</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Agnes Constante</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Google Images; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Thu, 14 May 2015 19:37:57 +0000 tara 6004 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/5006-million-more-americans-are-insured-through-obamacare#comments Is Obamacare Really in Danger in the New Congress? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4563-obamacare-really-danger-new-congress <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 01/12/2015 - 10:48</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumhealthcareobama_2.jpg?itok=8aWgbbID"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumhealthcareobama_2.jpg?itok=8aWgbbID" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/12/what_s_the_political_future_for_obamacare.html">The Root</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>We’re not even halfway to the next presidential election cycle, and here we go again: Obamacare.</p> <p> </p> <p>Forcing that derisive nickname down our throats, Republicans are pushing President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement as their primary political target in the new Congress, while Democrats are too scared to own it—leaving the American public scratching their heads and asking, “What next?”</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>The short answer is that in all probability, the Affordable Care Act isn’t going anywhere, but there’s a good chance that after a couple of years, it won’t be exactly the same ACA some of you love and others hate.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>To recap: Democrats pretty much handed over Senate control to Republicans because, among other things, they couldn’t figure out how to come up with a solid health care message in 2014—when all they had to do was wrap it nicely into a coherent economic pitch. And in a not so surprising move, less than three days after the November midterms, a conservative Supreme Court announced that it would be taking a look at the ACA yet again, this time on the question of federal subsidies for state exchanges.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Now, by design, you have a high court faking that it’s not political, when it’s really huddling with a GOP-dominated Congress that’s less interested in policymaking—and more interested in throwing up roadblocks to Obama’s health-coverage law.   </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Don’t worry, folks—the law isn’t going anywhere. Waste-of-time House hearings spent grilling once-unknown White House health care advisers like Jonathan Gruber are just drama to keep us confused during the ACA open-enrollment period. Republicans just get closer to splitting the difference with exhausted Democrats, and then keep winning more elections (keep your eye on the Kentucky and Louisiana gubernatorial races next year).</p> <p> </p> <p>Expect the Supreme Court to nix subsidies while Congress obliterates Medicaid and the individual mandates. “That alone is enough to bring down the health care law,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/mitch-mcconnells-obamacare-gambit-113405.html#ixzz3LW9w7op6" target="_blank"><strong>Politico</strong></a> recently. “We’re going to continue to try to, one, repeal; two, strip out the worst parts of the law; and three, look to the courts.”</p> <p> </p> <p>There’s one common theme: Cut that poor (black and brown) people, welfare-looking stuff, since, let’s face it, they aren’t our political constituency in the first place. Never mind that poor white people, most of whom vote Republican, need this stuff as much as the people of color who do.  </p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumcongress_5.jpg" style="height:382px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>But it’s a delicate political dance. Expanded Medicaid might be an easy target, but 7 in 10 Americans actually dig the government health care exchanges, according to <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/179396/newly-insured-exchanges-give-coverage-good-marks.aspx?utm_source=alert&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=morelink&amp;utm_campaign=syndication" target="_blank"><strong>Gallup</strong></a>—so long as it’s not called Obamacare. In a separate <a href="http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/6z0c9crrqi/econTabReport.pdf" target="_blank"><strong>YouGov poll</strong></a>, 49 percent of folks say they want a repeal, but 42 percent want an ACA expansion or to leave it be, and 13 percent aren’t sure.  </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Republicans, then, will make sure they re-engineer the law in such a way that makes it appear as if they created a new and improved health care regime. That’s an eye to a future White House bid when millennial votes will come in handy, since the 18- to 34-year-old crowd prefers <a href="http://time.com/money/3614626/millennials-health-insurance-high-deductible/" target="_blank"><strong>Grey Goose plans</strong></a> despite Bud Lite budgets. And Republicans have little choice—or they risk facing the biggest political insurrection their party has seen since its founding. They’ll say they destroyed Obamacare and finally answered the belligerent calls of the Tea Party. They’ll act as if they introduced a fresh, new health care system built on state-managed “grants” rather than the ill-named “subsidies,” protections for pre-existing conditions and insurance for your largely underemployed kids until they’re 26.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>If those provisions already sound familiar, it’s because they’re already here, courtesy of President Obama. He will, of course, veto anything anti-ACA that Congress throws his way. But he can only veto so much without the risk of looking spectacularly unproductive while Republicans constantly dangle fiscal cliffs and government shutdowns in his face. In the end, a lonely president, pressed for meaning in his last two years, will take what he can get.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio: </strong></p> <p><strong><em>Charles D. Ellison is a veteran political strategist and regular contributor to </em>The Root. <em>He is also Washington correspondent for the Philadelphia Tribune and chief political correspondent for Uptown magazine. Follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/ellisonreport" target="_blank"> Twitter.</a></em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/12/what_s_the_political_future_for_obamacare.html">The Root</a> and republished by our content partner New America Media</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obamacare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obamacare</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affordable-care-act" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Affordable Care Act</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republicans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republicans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/congress" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">congress</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/changing-obamacare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">changing obamacare</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Charles D. Ellison</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Google Images; Wikipedia Commons</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 12 Jan 2015 15:48:01 +0000 tara 5607 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4563-obamacare-really-danger-new-congress#comments California Spurning $6M Could Hurt Medi-Cal Renewals https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4245-california-spurning-6m-could-hurt-medi-cal-renewals <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 11:24</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumCaliforniaHealth.jpg?itok=taSAb6vr"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumCaliforniaHealth.jpg?itok=taSAb6vr" width="480" height="360" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/08/states-spurning-of-6-million-could-hurt-medi-cal-renewals.php">New America Media</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>California led the nationwide charge in implementing the Affordable Care Act, including a provision in it that has helped a little more than 2 million more people sign up for the state’s low-income health insurance program known as Medi-Cal.</p> <p> </p> <p>But in spring, the Brown administration turned down a $6 million grant from the California Endowment (TCE) to keep those previously enrolled, as well as those newly enrolled poor people, on the insurance program.</p> <p> </p> <p>The grant originally was to be included in the budget but in negotiations over the May budget revision, the administration wanted it excluded. The Department of Finance argued against taking the TCE grant, saying that without renewal assistance, potentially hundreds of thousands of low-income residents would fall off the Medi-Cal rolls and thereby save the state money.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We made a great effort to get more people into the program,” noted Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access, a statewide health advocacy group. “It would be a shame if we can’t keep them enrolled.”</p> <p> </p> <p>The Endowment, a private foundation that promotes affordable health care to the state’s residents, offered the no-strings-attached grant, which could be doubled with federal matching funds, with the idea that the state would give the money to community-based organizations that have been providing assisters to help people enroll in Medi-Cal.</p> <p> </p> <p>Renewing for Medi-Cal, an annual process to reassess people’s eligibility, is no longer as easy as it once was. That’s because, starting this year, financial eligibility will be calculated on the gross income a household would report to the Internal Revenue Service. The renewal forms, health care advocates say, are complex.</p> <p> </p> <p>“The form is terrible, but it doesn’t have to be as difficult as it is,” observed Elizabeth Landsberg, director of legislative advocacy with the Western Center on Law and Poverty. “It’s very important to keep trusted community-based organizations on the ground. We do think the funding should be accepted.”</p> <p> </p> <p>This past April, the state began sending out renewal notices to those previously enrolled, giving them a 60-day deadline.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1jerrybrown%20%28neon%20tommy%20flickr%29.jpg" style="height:625px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Medi-Cal is the state’s version of Medicaid, a publicly funded insurance program to low-income citizens, with the state and federal government equally splitting the cost. The ACA expanded Medicaid eligibility to childless adults and those with higher incomes than ever before. That allowed nearly 2 million additional people in California to sign up for the program, swelling the number of enrollees to more than 10 million. It is estimated that the number will go up to 11.5 million by next year.</p> <p> </p> <p>Even though the federal government has agreed to pick up 100 percent of the cost to keep those newly enrolled in the program until 2016, and then phase down its support to 90 percent in 2020 and beyond, the state will continue to pick up 50 percent of the cost for those who enrolled prior to the expansion.</p> <p> </p> <p>California hasn’t been able to cope with the expansion smoothly. The state’s web-based portal, CalHEERS, hasn’t been able to communicate with county computer systems, which do the initial processing. That initially contributed to a backlog of 900,000 applications, which the state has been able to bring down to its current 400,000. Health care advocates worry that the backlog could go up as people enroll.</p> <p> </p> <p>But TCE’s offer is still on the table and lawmakers are determined to take advantage of it. Last month, Senators Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, introduced SB18, that would allow the state to accept the $6 million grant, with the ability to draw down a federal match, so counties can provide additional renewal assistance for Medi-Cal beneficiaries.</p> <p> </p> <p>The bill sailed through the Assembly earlier this week and will be reviewed by the Senate Health Committee next week before it goes to the floor for a vote.</p> <p> </p> <p>“It’s important both from a public health aspect and also because in the long run it will save California significant funds,” Sen. Leno said by telephone, adding: “A healthy California saves the state a lot of money.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/08/states-spurning-of-6-million-could-hurt-medi-cal-renewals.php">New America Medi</a>a</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medi-cal" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medi-cal</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/california" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">California</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medicaid" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medicaid</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obamacare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obamacare</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medicine" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medicine</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/doctors" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">doctors</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ill-health" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ill health</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affordable-care-act" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Affordable Care Act</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Viji Sundaram</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Wikipedia Commons; neon tommy (Flickr)</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 25 Aug 2014 15:24:28 +0000 tara 5115 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4245-california-spurning-6m-could-hurt-medi-cal-renewals#comments The Good News About Healthcare Costs https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3918-good-news-about-healthcare-costs <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 04/18/2014 - 10:25</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2mediumhealthcare_0.jpg?itok=HCGf8-7k"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2mediumhealthcare_0.jpg?itok=HCGf8-7k" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From <a href="http://punditwire.com/2014/04/17/so-whats-the-problem/">PunditWire:</a></p> <p> </p> <p>If the good news we’ve been hearing about American health costs in the past few months turns out to be the new norm – it’s too early to tell – then much of today’s political debate is wildly misguided.  Consultants <a href="http://www.pwc.com/us/en/health-industries/behind-the-numbers/#readmore">predict</a> 2014 will see abnormally low inflation, again.  <a href="http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Newsletters/Washington-Health-Policy-in-Review/2014/Apr/April-14-2014/Rate-Announcement-Reveals-More-Evidence-of-Medicare-Spending-Slowdown.aspx?omnicid=16">Medicare spending</a> per beneficiary is dropping more than previously anticipated.  And new tools provided by Obamacare to constrain costs <a href="http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Newsletters/Washington-Health-Policy-in-Review/2014/Mar/March-10-2014/Health-Laws-Legacy-May-Be-Cost-Controls.aspx">could accelerate</a> these trends.</p> <p> </p> <p>If these trends are more than a benign anomaly, they would not only ease pressure on the Medicare budget, but would moderate government health spending generally, a development that could vaporize concerns about the growing cost of entitlement programs.  As analysts of all political stripes have been saying, America’s government doesn’t have a spending problem; it has a health spending problem.  Find a way to control health costs and those scary graphs of projected uncontrolled government spending are replaced by lines reflecting tolerable, incremental growth.</p> <p> </p> <p>But wait, as they say on late-night television, there’s more.  Ballooning insurance costs in the past decade have sucked up money employers otherwise would have spent on pay hikes.  So a moderation of medical costs could ease the wage stagnation problem.</p> <p>Of course, here in wonkworld, it’s a given that no news, even the contrarian trend just described, is totally good news.  In fact, we’d be confronted with a new set of problems.  There’s a direct link between medical costs and the amount of care delivered.  If costs are moderating, that suggests – and there’s confirming data – that people are getting less care. This is a reduction experts have long agreed needn’t jeopardize health status (in fact, there’s long been a broad consensus that Medicare costs and services could be reduced by at least 20% without compromising care although there’s inevitably less agreement on precisely which cuts to make).</p> <p> </p> <p>Less care means fewer hospital days (hospitalization has been declining for decades) and fewer jobs in the health sphere, a sector that is the largest employer in many of America’s older cities and a major provider of good jobs at good wages for workers with modest educational attainments.  During the recent Great Recession, health was one of the few areas of steady employment.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumhealthcareobama_1.jpg" style="height:363px; width:650px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>It is hard to believe that the health spending problem may be close to resolution – and indeed it may not be. We’ve had false Springs in the past, most notably in the 1990s when costs moderated in response to the threat of Clinton health reforms and the wary introduction of managed care.  They later made up for lost time.</p> <p> </p> <p>On the other hand, it is important to bring a sense of balance to current budget debates by recalling that the nation’s budget was not only balanced at the turn of the century, but creating a big enough surplus to fuel <a href="http://clinton4.nara.gov/WH/new/html/Fri_Dec_29_151111_2000.html">suggestions</a> that the entire debt be retired within a decade.  Sadly that didn’t happen, but an acknowledgement that it could have serves as a reminder of how quickly things can turn around and seemingly intractable problems be resolved. </p> <div> <hr /></div> <p><em><strong>Author Bio:</strong></em></p> <p><em>For 16 years, Jim Jaffe  worked for House Democrats who served on the Ways and Means Committee, apprenticing with Representatives Green, Gibbons and Gephardt before working for Chairman Dan Rostenkowski.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From PunditWire.com</strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affordable-care-act" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Affordable Care Act</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medicare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medicare</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obamacare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obamacare</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/republicans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Republicans</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/democrats" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Democrats</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/us-government-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">us government</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-insurance" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health insurance</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-spending" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health spending</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-problems" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health problems</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Jim Jaffe </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:25:32 +0000 tara 4609 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3918-good-news-about-healthcare-costs#comments Cell Phone Initiative Helps Latinas Battle Health Issues https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3834-cell-phone-initiative-helps-latinas-battle-health-issues <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 03/19/2014 - 10:01</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3cellphone%20%28Colorlines%29.jpg?itok=HvClPDRq"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3cellphone%20%28Colorlines%29.jpg?itok=HvClPDRq" width="480" height="313" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><em>From <a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/03/can_cell_phones_improve_womens_health.html">Colorlines</a> and our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/03/can-cell-phones-improve-latinas-health.php">New America Media</a>: </em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>“Remember that your legal status does not matter. If your children are citizens, they can use public services like MediCal without affecting your residency process.”</em></p> <p><em>“Instead of junk food, choose a healthy meal from your country. Eat cactus, chia seed or verdolagas to take advantage of all their benefits.”</em></p> <p>“Nobody wants to get involved in problems, but if a friend’s husband hits her, tell her there is a way out. Give her the Marjaree Mason Center number, <a href="tel:559-237-4706" target="_blank">559-237-4706</a>.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Every few days, text messages like these pop up on the phones of more than 1,000 women in Fresno County, in California’s Central Valley. The messages come in Spanish, alternately offering referrals for affordable healthcare and domestic violence services, legal tips and affirmations. Any resource offered via text has been vetted by a team of women behind the project, called Únete Latina, to confirm that providers there speak Spanish and won’t ask for a Social Security number.</p> <p>Those are the conditions Latina immigrant women in Fresno need in order to feel safe taking care of their own and family members’ health, according to Alejandra Olguin. Since late last year, Olguin has led the project as a staffer at Youth Tech Health (YTH), an Oakland, Calif.-based organization that uses technology to educate young people about health. Long before setting up Únete Latina’s text blasts and mobile website, YTH showed up at free legal clinics where people learned how to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and surveyed hundreds of women there as they waited for counsel related to immigration questions. The results pointed to the barriers of isolation and intimidation the project’s organizers would have to overcome.</p> <p>“Immigrant women experience a palpable fear every single day,” Olguin told me via email from Oaxaca, Mexico. “Whether it’s driving their children to school without a license or being asked for their Social Security number at a clinic, there’s fear about being involved in anything that seems ‘official,’ including our text messaging program.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Immigrants comprise nearly <a href="http://csii.usc.edu/documents/FRESNO_web.pdf" target="_blank">a quarter</a> of Fresno’s population and two-thirds of those born outside the U.S. have come there from Mexico, drawn in part by agricultural jobs in this largely rural county. Nearly 40 percent of Latino immigrant adults in the county are undocumented.</p> <p> </p> <p>Despite the skepticism someone might have around texting the word “unete” (which means “join us”) to a short code, women have signed up since the launch late last year. They’ve been encouraged by the dozen Fresno residents who have worked with Olguin and San Francisco’s Immigrant Legal Resource Center to design and run the project. But they’re also drawn by the low barrier to entry. One clear message that came out of the surveys YTH conducted was that the best way to reach people is through their cell phones.</p> <p>Nationwide, Latinos have <a href="http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1044&amp;context=sppworkingpapers" target="_blank">lower rates</a> of access to broadband Internet at home than other racial and ethnic groups, and California is no exception. Just over half of Latinos in the state use broadband, compared to 71 percent of blacks, 75 percent of Asians and 81 percent of whites, according to the <a href="http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/jtf/JTF_DigitalDivideJTF.pdf" target="_blank">Public Policy Institute of California</a>. Using a computer to get online is a particular challenge in the Central Valley. Just 60 percent of the region’s residents have broadband access at home, compared to 80 percent of Bay Area residents, 77 percent in Orange County and San Diego and 64 percent in Los Angeles.</p> <p> </p> <p>Sasha Costanza-Chock, an assistant professor of civic media at MIT, is part of a growing movement of organizers and activists addressing this divide in digital access. In 2006, he began working with day laborers in Los Angeles and the Institute of Popular Education of Southern California to develop a cell phone-based journalism tool called VozMob (Mobile Voices/Voces Movíles).</p> <p> </p> <p>“For low-income folks, particularly first-generation immigrants and especially Spanish-speaking recent immigrants from Mexico and Central America, their primary means of communication access is through a mobile device, and not necessarily an Internet-enabled one,” Costanza-Chock said.</p> <p> </p> <p>YTH’s research in Fresno bears this out. Seventy percent of the women surveyed said they had access to the Web on their phones and a data plan, compared to 90 percent who said they use text messaging. Cost plays a role as well: 84 percent said they had an unlimited texting plan, compared to just half who had an unlimited data plan.</p> <p> </p> <p>The design of Únete Latina’s <a href="http://unetelatina.org/" target="_blank">website</a> makes it easy to search for health and legal services on a phone, but the texts—including the uplifting messages sprinkled among them—help build the rapport and trust needed to draw women to the resources. “It’s like these text messages come right at the moment you need them most,” one undocumented woman told YTH in a focus group. Another said, “I like the text messages that remind us that we are important, because if you don’t believe that you will just stay in your fear.” Four out of five women who received the texts say they intend to use the resources as well, according to Jamia Wilson, YTH’s executive director.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2mediumhealthcare.jpg" /></p> <p> </p> <p>The sensitivity with which texts are written is also part of Únete Latina’s strategy to address <a href="http://www.fresnostate.edu/studentaffairs/vpp/domesticviolence/dvstatistics.html" target="_blank">high rates</a> of intimate partner violence in the county. All of the 250 women YTH surveyed said they knew someone who experienced domestic violence. Experts <a href="http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/reports/2009/rwjf38645" target="_blank">have found</a> that intimate partner violence is no more common in immigrant communities than among other groups, but getting help can be especially hard for women in Fresno.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Undocumented women in particular are more vulnerable because of their immigration status,” said Kimberly Inez McGuire, director of public affairs at the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH). “Abusers will often use a woman’s status against her as a tool of control and intimidation.”</p> <p>The threat of being exposed to immigration officials, potential loss of a partner and co-parent to deportation and financial dependence are among the reasons women may stay in an abusive situation, says McGuire, whose organization lobbied to include provisions protecting immigrant survivors of domestic violence as part of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act last year. </p> <p> </p> <p>Únete Latina’s approach has been to craft culturally relevant messages that will resonate with recipients, Olguin of YTH said via email. “Instead of asking, ‘Are you a victim of domestic violence? Call this number,’ we would say, ‘Did your husband drink too much over the weekend? You are not alone. There is an organization that can help you. Call this number. They speak Spanish and do not ask for your Social Security number.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Wilson, YTH’s director, said the organization intends to expand the project into other parts of California, where <a href="http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf" target="_blank">a quarter</a> of residents either don’t speak English well or at all, according to Census data.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Even for Latinas who live in urban areas where there’s less isolation, language is a huge barrier,” said McGuire of NLIRH. “The likelihood of finding a provider who’s culturally competent, linguistically competent and with whom someone’s comfortable—It’s a tall order and many Latinas can’t find that.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><em>Dani McClain’s  reporting on reproductive health and sexuality is supported by the Nation Institute.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>From <a href="http://colorlines.com/archives/2014/03/can_cell_phones_improve_womens_health.html">Colorlines</a></em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/latinas" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Latinas</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care for immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cell-phones" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cell phones</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medcal" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medcal</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-insurance" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health insurance</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-problems" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health problems</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/disease" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">disease</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/domestic-abuse" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">domestic abuse</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/hispanic-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Hispanic immigrants</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Dani McClain</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Colorlines; Flickr</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 19 Mar 2014 14:01:26 +0000 tara 4459 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3834-cell-phone-initiative-helps-latinas-battle-health-issues#comments CDC: 1 in 4 Families Faced Medical Debt Crisis in 2012 https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3421-cdc-families-faced-medical-debt-crisis <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 02/10/2014 - 10:00</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2doctorsvisit.jpg?itok=MfuqnGMu"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2doctorsvisit.jpg?itok=MfuqnGMu" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From <a href="http://www.afro.com/sections/news/health/story.htm?storyid=81329&amp;utm_source=Saturday+News+Wrap-up+E-Blast%2C+February+1%2C+2014&amp;utm_campaign=sat+eblast&amp;utm_medium=email">AFRO</a> and New America Media:</p> <p> </p> <p> One out of every four American families in 2012 dealt with a medical bill debt burden, according to a data report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January.</p> <p> </p> <p>And while that statistic, compiled by the National Health Interview Survey, is alarming, even more compelling is the fact that one out of every 10 individuals with medical debt is “unable to pay at all.”</p> <p>According to the report, families that were within 250 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) had an increased chance of medical debt. Families that had children under the age of 18 were also more at risk of falling into financial ruin due to medical expenses.</p> <p> </p> <p>“In the past we’ve looked at financial burden from a personal perspective, but our survey has the unique ability to look at the problem from a family perspective,” said co-author Dr. Robin A. Cohen of the report. “The expenses of one family member can adversely affect the whole family.”</p> <p> </p> <p>“We found that in 2012 one in six families had problems paying medical bills in the past 12 months. One in five of those families were paying bills over time or on credit and the presence of a family member that was uninsured increased the likelihood of a family facing some kind of burden from medical care,” Cohen told the AFRO.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/4healthcare.jpg" style="height:349px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>For the cross-sectional survey a “family” was defined as an individual or a group of two or more related persons living in the same housing unit.</p> <p> </p> <p>Cohen said that having a mixture of coverage types also increased the chances of falling victim to medical bill debt. For example, a family of four with two individuals on Medicaid and two individuals using private insurance has an increased risk.</p> <p> </p> <p>According to Cohen, families with mixed coverage, or a mixture of covered and uncovered individuals had almost a 50 percent chance of financial burden due to medical care.</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.afro.com/sections/news/health/story.htm?storyid=81329&amp;utm_source=Saturday+News+Wrap-up+E-Blast%2C+February+1%2C+2014&amp;utm_campaign=sat+eblast&amp;utm_medium=email">AFRO</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medical-debt" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medical debt</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affording-health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">affording health care</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affordable-health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">affordable health care</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medical-bills" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medical bills</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/doctors-bills" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">doctor&#039;s bills</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cdc" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">CDC</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-insurance" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health insurance</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Alexis Taylor</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 10 Feb 2014 15:00:59 +0000 tara 4254 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3421-cdc-families-faced-medical-debt-crisis#comments Living in the Shadows: Refugees and Healthcare https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3498-living-shadows-refugees-and-healthcare <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 02/03/2014 - 11:14</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3refugees.jpg?itok=laQak8Oa"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3refugees.jpg?itok=laQak8Oa" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>From our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/02/living-in-the-shadows-in-seeking-health-care-many-refugees-have-only-a-small-window-of-opportunity.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Editor's note:</strong>  <em>For the "Living in the Shadows" series, news organizations from around the country joined together to bring to light the interplay between immigration status and health. Many immigrants feel isolated and alone in America – suffering that can turn toxic over time. We will show where health systems fail some of the most vulnerable among us and highlight effective solutions to common conditions.</em></p> <p> </p> <p>On a blustery January morning, Leslie Bachurski is at Northern Area Multi Service’s offices in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania.</p> <p> </p> <p>Bachurski, a health care navigator, is at the resettlement agency to help non-English-speaking refugees enroll in health insurance plans.</p> <p> </p> <p>Her first client of the day is Birkha Tamang, a 42-year-old Bhutanese refugee who has been in the United States for 16 months with his wife and kids. He’s the only one in his family with a job — and the only one without healthcare coverage.</p> <p> </p> <p>Using a Nepali interpreter, Tamang shares paystubs with Bachurski. After discussion and calculations, Bachurski estimates that Tamang earns just a little too much.</p> <p> </p> <p>"Sadly, since we don’t have medical assistance expansion here, we’d be looking at the rates at full cost, so an insurance plan is likely going to cost him $200 and up," she told the interpreter, who takes a long pause before telling the hopeful-looking Tamang the deflating news.</p> <p> </p> <p>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.</p> <p> </p> <p>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.</p> <p> </p> <p>He has rent, gas and electric bills to pay for, as well as the costs of supporting a family of four. And in addition to those bills, there are other things he would like as well. He needs a phone to be able to call home, but that means his wife at home needs a phone, too. Right now, they can only afford one.</p> <p> </p> <p>Tamang leaves and the next appointment, a young Bhutanese couple, enters the office Bachurski's using. They, too, fail to qualify for a subsidy, and they don’t commit to a plan either. They leave with pamphlets for free health care clinics in the area.</p> <p> </p> <p>Navigators say many refugees fall in this gap. Already uninsured, without Medicaid expansion, they will stay uninsured.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>New Home, New Struggles</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Mira Chhetri knows all too well the perils of being uninsured. Chhetri, 23, came to the U.S. with her husband a couple years ago after spending most of her life in refugee camps in Nepal.</p> <p> </p> <p>In her first few months here, she had ovarian cysts removed. The procedure was expensive, but like all of her health care needs at the time, it was covered by federal refugee medical assistance.</p> <p> </p> <p>All refugees have healthcare coverage for the first eight months they are in the U.S. But when the eight months are over, if they don’t qualify for Medicaid or disability or have a job that provides them health care, they are at a loss.</p> <p> </p> <p>"After eight months they are like any poor American, low-income American," said Leslie Aizenman, who runs Refugee Services at Jewish Family and Children’s Services, one of the four local agencies tasked with acclimating new refugees to Pittsburgh.</p> <p> </p> <p>After their medical assistance ended, Chhetri and her husband were uninsured. They both made just above minimum — too much to qualify for Medicaid. Chhetri still had pending surgeries.</p> <p> </p> <p>"I know I already have cysts in my ovary, and that’s why I have pain," she said.</p> <p> </p> <p>According to Aizenman, during those first eight months, problems can be diagnosed and treatment can be started.</p> <p> </p> <p>"A lot of these people were without healthcare their entire lives or certainly in the refugee camps, and not all of their health needs have been met in the last eight months," she said.</p> <p> </p> <p>The U.S. State Department issues guidelines for what the resettlement agencies have to provide refugees. But when it comes to health care, Aizenman said it’s open to interpretation.</p> <p> </p> <p>"As regarding medical care there are three sentences about what we must do for newly arriving refugees," she said.</p> <p> </p> <p>The agencies must make sure refugees get an entry physical in the first 30 days, and they have to address acute medical issues.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumhealthcareobama.jpg" style="height:363px; width:650px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>In Pennsylvania, before 2009, there wasn’t even a standardized physical exam. Physicians generally just checked for tuberculosis, parasites and sexually transmitted diseases. They also made sure that refugees got immunizations.</p> <p> </p> <p>But in 2009, the Pennsylvania Department of Health looked at what other states were doing and created a standardized screening exam. Pennsylvania’s was modeled on Minnesota’s. In the last two years, a mental health component has been added.</p> <p> </p> <p>Even with mental health questions in the screening, newly arrived refugees may answer questions the way they believe caseworkers or doctors want them to answer them. That means that caseworkers may not identify mental health problems until it is too late for the refugees to begin treatment under their initial health coverage.</p> <p> </p> <p>Serious problems will eventually present themselves, said Barbara Murock, who works for Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services.</p> <p> </p> <p>"We find that frequently refugees will be here in the beginning, and they might not exhibit any symptoms," she said. "But I always say when they exhale around after six months after they are settled in, that’s when the behavioral health symptoms might start becoming apparent with people." By then, they are at the end of their health coverage.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Even With Care, It's Just Not Enough</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>In 2010, the Squirrel Hill Health Center in Pittsburgh entered into agreement with the state Department of Health and started serving larger numbers of refugees.</p> <p> </p> <p>On a recent January morning, Alla Puchinsky was in her cramped office at one of the resettlement agencies, Jewish Family and Children’s Services. Puchinsky came to Pittsburgh as a refugee from Russia in the early 1990s. Now she is a refugee case manager.</p> <p> </p> <p>One of her biggest challenges, she said, is helping refugees after their health benefits end.</p> <p>"It’s a huge problem after eight months," she said.</p> <p> </p> <p>On this particular morning, she’s helping out a young family who has been here from Iraq for four days.  She’s preparing to bring the family to the Squirrel Hill Health Center for their first physical.</p> <p> </p> <p>Doctors at the center say that when refugees come with scant medical history and not much prior health care, it takes a while to diagnosis people. It also takes a lot of case management to get them on a health care regiment, which then becomes more complicated when they are uninsured.</p> <p> </p> <p>In Mira Chhetri’s case, in the last couple years, she and her husband have moved in and out of jobs, obtaining and losing health insurance along the way.</p> <p> </p> <p>Along with her outstanding physical pain, in February, while she was uninsured, she attempted suicide. She spent a few days at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. Then, she received a bill for more than $8,000 in care.</p> <p> </p> <p>"Again, I’m depressed, like how can I pay this much money," she said.</p> <p> </p> <p>Chhetri’s employment caseworker at Northern Area Multi-Service Area found a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center program that forgave all but $2,000. The rest Chhetri is paying in an installment plan — still costly for her on a low-income salary.</p> <p> </p> <p>Since Mira Chhetri’s hospitalization, both she and her husband found jobs that provide them health insurance. Even so, she says the co-pays for doctor’s visits and specialty services such as MRIs are too high for the care she needs, especially now that she’s paying back hospital bills, her travel loan to the state department and the rest of her other bills.</p> <p> </p> <p>She’s been putting off visits and exams because she knows she will have to address her physical pain. And when her doctors call to check in, she just tells them she is OK.</p> <p> </p> <p>"I lied to my doctor," she said, "because I don’t have enough money."</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/02/living-in-the-shadows-in-seeking-health-care-many-refugees-have-only-a-small-window-of-opportunity.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/refugees" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">refugees</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medicaid-expansion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medicaid expansion</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affordable-care-act" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Affordable Care Act</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/obamacare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Obamacare</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/new-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">new immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-issues" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health issues</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-risks" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health risks</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Erika Beras</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 03 Feb 2014 16:14:16 +0000 tara 4221 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3498-living-shadows-refugees-and-healthcare#comments Those Not Protected by Affordable Care Act Lack a Safety Net https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3208-those-not-protected-affordable-care-act-lack-safety-net <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 11/20/2013 - 09:24</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/4healthcareObama_0.jpg?itok=Gqy6pFZK"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/4healthcareObama_0.jpg?itok=Gqy6pFZK" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From our content partner, <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/11/safety-net-for-those-not-covered-by-aca-may-not-be-there.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> 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.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “The Affordable Care Act (ACA) should encompass everyone” evenly, asserted Maria Luna, an uninsured and undocumented resident, who had to move out of Yolo County to Los Angeles County so she could get treatment for the tuberculosis she was diagnosed with. Health care in Los Angeles County, she asserted during the teleconference when the study results were released, was more “immigrant friendly.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> The ACA bars the undocumented from accessing any federally funded programs.</p> <p>  </p> <p> 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.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Because California has expanded its Medi-Cal program, known as Medicaid in the rest of the nation, under the ACA, an estimated additional 635,000 low-income individuals are expected to enroll in the program in the first year. The state has allocated $1.4 billion in its 2013- 2014 budget for the expansion.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But because there will be fewer uninsured people, the budget reduces funding for county indigent care programs by $300 million. And that amount is expected to shrink further as the ACA becomes fully implemented in the coming years and more uninsured residents secure health insurance.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Counties have traditionally been the provider of last resort for those who are uninsured and who cannot access health care through other means.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The state budget reallocation requires counties to submit funding plans to the state by January 2014, with initial decisions in November 2014.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/1doctorsoffice%20%28Dept%20of%20Interior%20Wiki%29.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 518px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> “California is at a pivotal moment when counties have to decide about the future of our safety net,” said Anthony Wright, executive director of the Health Access Foundation.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Alex Briscoe, director of Alameda County’s Health Care Services Agency, said he is worried that a cut in funding to Alameda County is sure to “destabilize its safety net” and “adversely impact its most vulnerable population, those who are least likely to access health care in traditional settings.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> The county has been at the forefront of providing health care to all of its residents, regardless of their immigrant status. With an anticipated cut from its current funding of $51 million from the state to $15 million, Alameda County’s health program will not be able to meet the needs of the 100,000 residents expected to remain uninsured in the county after the ACA is fully implemented , Briscoe said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Wright said that there is talk in some counties about reducing services for those who will remain uninsured, something that could lead to dire consequences.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-Covina, said that the Health Access report clearly points out one thing – that California has a two-tiered health care system -- one tier that caters to those who can afford health care, and another that denies it to the poor and undocumented.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Vanessa Aramayo, with California Partnership, a statewide coalition focused on poverty issues, pointed out that there “are millions of Marias out there” who have a hard time accessing health care and end up using hospital emergency rooms as primary care centers.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “Disease does not discriminate between legal and (undocumented) status,” she warned.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/11/safety-net-for-those-not-covered-by-aca-may-not-be-there.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/aca" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ACA</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affordable-care-act" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Affordable Care Act</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/undocumented-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">undocumented immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care-law" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care law</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-insurance" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health insurance</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medicaid" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medicaid</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medicare" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medicare</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Viji Sundaram</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 20 Nov 2013 14:24:19 +0000 tara 3880 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3208-those-not-protected-affordable-care-act-lack-safety-net#comments Thousands of Health Policies Canceled Due to ACA Change https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3137-thousands-health-policies-canceled-due-affordable-care-act-change <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 10/28/2013 - 11:02</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumhealthcarereform_4.jpg?itok=Z06rUE0X"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumhealthcarereform_4.jpg?itok=Z06rUE0X" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From our content partner, <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/10/thousands-of-health-policies-cancelled-due-to-aca-change.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> SAN FRANCISCO – When Alemaz Belay got a letter from Blue Shield of California last month, notifying her that her health care policy would no longer be effective come Jan. 1, 2014 “due to new requirements for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA),” and that her premium was going to increase, she was understandably upset.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “I thought the (health reform law) was going to make health care more affordable and not more expensive,” said Belay, 57, an Ethiopian-born single mother of three in the San Francisco Bay area.</p> <p>  </p> <p> One of the promises President Obama made when signing the health reform bill into law was that people who liked their doctor and health care plan would be able to keep them.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Belay (who declined to use her real name for privacy reasons ) said Blue Shield notified her that her premium was going to increase from the current $402 to $586 a month. Her deductible would be twice what she is paying now, $3,500.</p> <p>  </p> <p> 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. Kaiser Permanente in California has sent notices to 160,000 of its customers who have individual plans, according to Kaiser Health News.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The new ACA-compliant policies, Blue Shield spokesperson Sean Barry pointed out, will be more comprehensive in that they will cover such benefits as prescription drugs, mental health treatment and maternity care.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Additionally, insurers cannot reject people with medical problems or charge them higher prices. It removes annual and lifetime caps on coverage of essential health benefits.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “The additional security offered by these benefits has a tradeoff attached to it,” Barry said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> An estimated 14 million people -- 2 million of them in California -- buy their own health coverage because they don’t get it through their jobs. But because every individual is required to have health insurance come Jan.1, 2014, legal residents in California either will try to enroll in Medi-Cal – the health insurance program for low-income people – or buy their insurance on the online insurance market called Covered California. Those who buy their insurance on the marketplace could qualify for federal subsidies if their household income is between 138 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level -- $21,400 to $62,040 for a family of two.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Barry said that if Belay and others whose policies have been withdrawn don’t take any action, Blue Shield will automatically move them into similar plans, some of which might be more costly, some less.</p> <p>  </p> <p> He said Blue Shield would like to work with their customers to help them remain with the company.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But Belay said the hike in her monthly premium is going to force her to shop on Covered California.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “I would have preferred not to have to do it,” she said, “but now I will.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/10/thousands-of-health-policies-cancelled-due-to-aca-change.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/affordable-care-act" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Affordable Care Act</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/insurance-companies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">insurance companies</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care-reform" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care reform</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-care" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health care</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-insurance" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health insurance</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/blue-cross-blue-shield" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">blue cross blue shield</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/kaiser-permanente" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">kaiser permanente</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/health-laws" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">health laws</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Viji Sundaram</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 28 Oct 2013 15:02:38 +0000 tara 3745 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/3137-thousands-health-policies-canceled-due-affordable-care-act-change#comments