Report Examines Different Scenarios of Health Reform without the Individual Mandate
A new report released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation examines the effect that eliminating the individual mandate—the requirement for most Americans to have health insurance or face a penalty—would have on health insurance coverage, spending, premiums and uncompensated care. Read more…
Posted in Health Care Reform
Nearly two years after the passage of the federal health law, more than 40 percent of people say they know little or nothing about how the law will affect them, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s latest monthly health tracking poll, published in December. That figure hasn’t budged since April 2010, just after the law was signed.
Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, aims to change that with a book, “Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It’s Necessary, How It Works,” that explains the ins and outs of the law in an innovative way: an adult comic-strip form similar to graphic novels. Read more…
Posted in Health Care Reform
The Los Angeles Unified School District received a $982,000 federal grant today to boost student enrollment in subsidized health insurance plans ahead of the school year. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $40 million in grants to 39 different state agencies, community health centers, school organizations and non-profits. The department wants the grants to increase student enrollment in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program by targeting kids that are uninsured or have a history of lapses in coverage. LAUSD will use the money to add staff and enhance resources at thirteen wellness center complexes. The centers plan to use the district’s data to identify students who are eligible for health insurance but not enrolled. Advisors at the centers will alert the students’ families of coverage opportunities and guide them through online applications.
Posted in Health Care Reform
On August 12, 2011, the Departments of Health and Human Services and Treasury took the next step to establishing Affordable Insurance Exchanges – state-based competitive marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to purchase affordable private health insurance and have the same insurance choices as Members of Congress. States are already working to establish Exchanges. Already, over half of all states have taken actions to build an Exchange. Today, the Departments: Continue reading
Posted in Health Care Reform
Even as a new round of federal budget-cutting that could target Medicaid is poised to take place and Republicans in Congress continue their fight to block the implementation of health care reform, health policy experts in Sacramento are plowing through a thicket of issues that must be resolved before a historic expansion of insurance coverage can be implemented in 2014. “Regardless of the ongoing debate around the country about the Affordable Care Act, implementation from the federal perspective is full speed ahead,” said Richard Figueroa, health reform manager for the nonprofit California Endowment. “And most states have been gearing up on the theory that it’s better for them to own it.”
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/aug/14/california-wrestles-with-how-to-deal-with-impact/
Posted in Health Care Reform
