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FlexMinder Announces Partnership with Alegeus Technologies

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FlexMinder, a fast growing startup that automates costly manual healthcare reimbursement processes, announces a new partnership with Alegeus Technologies, the market leader in healthcare and benefit payments.

SEATTLE, WA (PRWEB) March 04, 2014

FlexMinder, a fast growing startup that automates costly manual healthcare reimbursement processes, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Alegeus Technologies, the market leader in healthcare and benefit payments.

Alegeus offers the industry’s most widely-used technology platform for the administration of tax-advantaged benefit accounts – including FSAs, HSAs, and HRAs. Through integration with FlexMinder, Alegeus clients will be able to receive automated insurance carrier claim data feeds within the Alegeus platform. Administrators can then leverage this data to drive unprecedented levels of automation for claims submission, adjudication, and reimbursement processes. This new functionality has the potential to significantly reduce claim handling costs, eliminate submission errors, increase participation rates, and raise client profitability.

“Our simple but powerful tool is cutting costs and eliminating headaches for our customers,” said Lowell Ricklefs, CEO of FlexMinder. “We’ve helped some TPAs cut their total processing costs in half while greatly reducing the hassle factor for benefit account holders. No more inefficient paperwork, time-consuming communications, or stressed out customers. This is a solution we’re proud to be part of.”

“Integrating carrier claim data into the benefit administrators' workflow creates significant efficiencies for administrators by reducing the time and resources required to substantiate card transactions and adjudicate claims,” said Tom Torre, Alegeus Chief Executive Officer. “From the participant’s perspective, having the ability to view and manage claim data inside our portal, and to facilitate claim payments directly from their benefit accounts, is a very powerful value proposition.”

About Alegeus Technologies
Alegeus Technologies is the market leader in healthcare and benefit payments – offering the industry’s most comprehensive platform for the administration of tax-advantaged benefit accounts (FSAs, HSAs, HRAs, MERPs, VEBAs, DCAPs and transit accounts), the industry’s most widely-used benefit debit card, and leading services for the outsourced management of claim payments and associated data exchange. Over 500 clients – including health insurance plans, third party administrators and financial institutions – leverage Alegeus’ deep expertise and proven technology to administer benefit accounts for more than 17.5 million members and process more than $18 billion in healthcare payments annually. As the healthcare and benefit markets continue to evolve, Alegeus delivers solutions that enable clients to evolve their service offerings, operate their businesses more efficiently, and focus on their customers. The company is headquartered in Waltham, MA with operations in Carrollton, TX, Orlando, FL and Milwaukee, WI. To learn more about Alegeus, please visit http://www.alegeus.com.

About FlexMinder, Inc.
FlexMinder, named one of the “Hottest Companies in Seattle”, is a fast growing startup that automates costly manual healthcare reimbursement processes, a $190B problem in the US. FlexMinder was selected to participate in the prestigious TechStars incubator program, and announced $1.4 million in Series AA financing to fund future growth in January 2013. For more information, visit http://www.flexminder.com. Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.

New Insider Guide to Student Fed Careers Released as Report Predicts Wave of Skyrocketing Fed Retirement

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According to a stunning new report from the Government Accountability Office, more than one-third of career federal employees will be eligible for retirement benefits by 2017. “This finding shows that the government will need to hire young people and new grads to move toward the future,” observes leading fed jobs expert Kathryn Troutman.

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) March 04, 2014

A stunning Government Accountability Office report, released January 29th, predicts that more than a third of career fed-workers will be eligible to retire by 2017. “Their retirement could produce mission critical skills gaps if left unaddressed,” the GAO concluded.

“These findings shows that the government will need to hire young people and new grads to move toward the future,” observes leading fed jobs expert Kathryn Troutman. Her revised and updated 3rd edition of The Student’s Federal Career Guide has just been released. “This guide is a must-have if you want to be among the chosen ones who are hired by the feds,” she says. Troutman co-wrote the book with Paul Binkley, EdD, former Director of Career Services at George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration.

The guidebook offers crucial info about the fed’s new Pathways Programs for internships and initial federal employment. In addition, it features eight examples of outstanding federal resumes that enabled real-life college students and recent grads to land positions with Uncle Sam.

“Pathways streamlined the process students and new grads use for applying for their first federal positions and made them more accessible through the USAJOBs website,” Troutman explains. “And there will be other USAJOBS openings that recent grads, including veteran grads, will want to apply for. But in today’s highly competitive environment, you need to be armed with special writing techniques to make a hiring manager want to pull your resume from the growing pile.”

Troutman says the way to make a strong first impression is to supply more of the important details in your resume. And there is room in federal resumes as they typically run four pages. She recommends highlighting the most impressive projects, presentations and papers from your college years, along with relevant courses and academic honors.

“You want to show the skills you developed in college,” Troutman says. “What roles did you play? For instance, though school projects, an engineering student will have worked on a team, performed tests, done design work and given presentations. If someone can do a great job with a project at school, then they can do a great job with a project at work.”

For the first time, Troutman decided to include private industry resumes after each of the eight sample federal resumes in her student guidebook. “This makes it easier to understand the striking differences between these two types of resumes,” she notes.

All sample resumes are in an easy-to-read “outline format” that Troutman developed. It features short paragraphs, which begin with crucial keywords from vacancy announcement in all caps. Paragraphs can be copied and loaded right into http://www.usajobs.gov.

While names and some details were changed on the sample resumes, the scenarios are real.

Examples include:· Ann Crane, a candidate with one year toward a PhD, who went from a $16.50 an hour job to a GS-11/12 position as a Health Insurance Specialist. Using Troutman’s writing techniques and adding more technical skills to her resume, Crane was hired with the first fed job application she ever submitted.
· Philip W. Sang, a recent grad, landed a Mechanical Engineering position with the US Army Corps of Engineers after adding more details about college projects and an internship to his resume.
· Jason Jackson, a college student, was selected for a Navy internship. The book includes three resumes for him, to show how a resume can be slanted towards specific interests or positions sought.
· Jeremy Denton, a veteran from the Marines who recently graduated with a BA in Government and Public Policy, was hired as an GS-9/12 Intelligence Analyst for the Department of Homeland Security.

For their military service, veterans get valuable education benefits. The guidebook provides background on these benefits and offers job-hunting tips for vet students and vet new grads in a section just for them. When vets apply for fed jobs, they often get extra points added to their application score. They also get extra time to apply to Pathways as a recent grad. Regular students get 2 years, vets get 6 years.
Other helpful features in The Student’s Federal Career Guide, 3rd Edition include:·     The 11 College Majors that Are Hottest Now and Their Equivalent Federal Job Titles
·     An Updated College Major and Equivalent OPM Occupational Series Chart
·     Instructions on How to Read the Federal Vacancy Announcements
·     Scientific and Professional Positions Where Veteran’s Preference Does Not Apply
·     Background on the Federal Student Loan Repayment Program
·     Application Options for Those with Disabilities

The 178-page Student’s Federal Career Guide, 3rd Edition is available through http://www.resume-place.com/ in paperback ($11.96) and PDF ($9.95) and from http://www.amazon.com/ in paper ($11.96) and Kindle ($9.99). Organizations, such as colleges or military bases, can license the book for $1500.

“This book gives you the tools to clearly show decision-makers that you have what they need,” say co-author Binkley. Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.

Planning an employee wellness program? Advice from our Healthiest Employers

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The Wichita Business Journal will recognize on Tuesday 29 Wichita-area employers that are helping their staff to live healthier lives through employee wellness programs. Sometimes, companies establish the programs to bring down health insurance costs. Sometimes, they use the programs as a recruiting tool or to build camaraderie. In the profiles linked below employers explain why they created employee wellness programs and how they work, and they offer advice for other businesses looking to pursue… Reported by bizjournals 13 hours ago.

Prosper Insights & Analytics™ Releases Healthcare Coverage Vital Signs Matrix to Assess U.S. Healthcare Market in Turmoil and Drive Predictive Modeling

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Prosper Insights & Analytics just released a special analysis of over 15,000 consumers comparing health diseases/conditions to healthcare coverage type in its “Healthcare Coverage Vital Signs Matrix.”

Worthington, Ohio (PRWEB) March 04, 2014

Prosper Insights & Analytics just released a special analysis of over 15,000 consumers comparing health diseases/conditions to healthcare coverage type in its “Healthcare Coverage Vital Signs Matrix.” Prosper funded and conducted this research to get a true assessment of a healthcare market now in turmoil as a result of the regulatory disruption. The findings will be utilized in deploying predictive models that can be used by all stakeholders including insurance companies, pharmaceutical, government and retailers. This unique modeling will allow industry decision makers to better understand the various consumer segments and to better target their consumer educational messages, marketing channels and risk management.

Using its InsightCenter™ technology, which easily integrates data sets from various sources, Prosper analyzed data from its proprietary data warehouse of hundreds of databases to identify which coverage groups are more likely to have medical conditions. The Healthcare Coverage Vital Signs Matrix is a high level visualization of where the problem areas are as well as the areas of opportunities. It includes consumers who are on their employer’s plan, a family member’s plan, have insurance directly through a provider, are on a government plan or are uninsured.

According to the findings, consumers with a government healthcare plan (24% of U.S. Adults) have a higher likelihood than other groups to be suffering from a disease or health condition such as arthritis, back pain, heart disease, high cholesterol and obesity. Those who are not insured (16%) are least likely to have a disease/condition, although they report a higher incident rate of depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Consumers who are on their employer’s plan (40%) tend to be less likely to be dealing with certain illnesses when compared to the general population.

“Based on our analysis, we found that consumers on Employer Plans are the healthiest,” said Phil Rist, EVP, Prosper. “On the other hand, the ‘not insured’ group is healthier than average—one of the reasons that they don’t have insurance—posing a significant challenge for the Affordable Healthcare Act roll out.”

Click here to download the Healthcare Coverage Vital Signs Matrix. To see USA Today coverage, click here.

About the Healthcare Coverage Vital Signs Matrix
The widths of the columns in the Healthcare Coverage Vital Signs Matrix are representative of the percentage of the population that fall within that health insurance group. Red indicates that the percentage of that health insurance group that suffers from the corresponding disease/condition is at least 10% higher than the percentage of the general population that suffers from the same disease/condition. Blue signifies that the percentage is 10% lower and white indicates that it falls within the expected range +/-10%.

Prosper funded this study independently. It was not underwritten or ‘sponsored’ by any third party. As such, the in-depth data and predictive models are available for licensing. A complimentary collection of healthcare market insights are available at http://www.ProsperHealthInsights.com.

Prosper Insights & Analytics™
Prosper Insights & Analytics provides advanced business intelligence using sophisticated analytical software to examine big datasets and provide answers to executives via its cloud-based InsightCenter™ platform powered by Prosper Technologies. By integrating a variety of data including economic, behavioral and attitudinal data, Prosper Insights & Analytics delivers insights for executive decision making. Further, it is continually identifying unique insights through analytics to enable marketers to make knowledge-based decisions rather than relying on intuition. To learn more: http://www.ProsperDiscovery.com.

Contact:
Chrissy Wissinger, Director, Communications
chrissy(at)goProsper(dot)com
Stacie Severs, Client Services & Marketing Director
stacie(at)goProsper(dot)com
614-846-0146 Reported by PRWeb 12 hours ago.

Boston's First Week-long Big Data and Analytics Unconference

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Cognizeus has just opened the participant signups for their much-awaited Big Data & Analytics Unconference, AnalyticsWEEK, to be held from March 24-28, 2014 in the heart of Boston. This conference is a grassroots effort at bringing together big-data and analytics community in Boston.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) March 04, 2014

Boston is getting its first week-long Big Data and Analytics Unconference

What is AnalyticsWEEK Unconference?
Cognizeus has just opened the participant signups for their much-awaited Big Data & Analytics Unconference, AnalyticsWEEK, to be held from March 24-28, 2014 in the heart of Boston. This conference is a grassroots effort at bringing together big-data and analytics community in Boston. This topic has seen a lot of interest and excitement both on the side of the enterprises as well as professionals, students and startups. There is an ever growing demand for building knowledge sharing platforms as the vertical rapidly evolves to meet the new challenges facing this segment.

Mission behind AnalyticsWeek
As per AnalyticsWEEK organizer and Cognizeus CEO Vishal Kumar: “2013 was majorly focused around the current tools that helped enterprises solve the problem around data deluge, but not much dialog has happened around Analytics that makes the big data problem worth investing in. The world hasn’t moved much from the talk around big data to building a new level of science that handle those data into actionable insights. So, through AnalyticsWEEK, we will bring limelight back to Analytics.”

Vishal has been running a successful Big Data Discovery, Analytics & Visualization meetup in Boston. This meetup is well recognized and the feedback received from the attendees of this meetup was used as a primary motivation for putting together AnalyticsWEEK, a more structured/unconference in Big Data and Analytics domain. On asking what propelled the need for such unconference Vishal said, “We’ve asked our attendees what is missing in today’s discussions in the various meetups and conferences that they attend. From what we’ve heard, there has been a consistent outcry to bring big corporations and agile startups in Big Data & Analytics together to fuel the discussions around challenges and solutions around analytics.”

Per Vishal, the sole purpose of this conference is to start the dialog between Big Data & Analytics practitioners, bringing the communities together for faster collaborative learning. Every aspect of AnalyticsWEEK will help promote the connection, collaboration and huddle that is required in the area of Big Data Analytics. The core differentiation that sets AnalyticsWEEK apart from its peer is the fact that it provides attendees a place to hang out online as well as offline. We will be providing tools and capabilities to enhance the communication, collaboration and discussion between big data analytics professionals.

AnalyticsWEEK Week-long Structure:
After several iterations and deep-dive discussions with other conference organizers, AnalyticsWEEK, the first of its kind, will be running its debut in an extremely controlled fission environment, and hosting its events every evening for 5 days from Monday 3/24 through Friday 3/28, starting at 5:30pm and going on till 9:30pm. Each day is focused on a particular industry vertical. Monday would be the grand kickoff focused on Big data analytics and Health, Insurance/ Finance, Marketing and Talent Analytics will be given its own dedicated day in this 5-day event. Selection of vertical is chosen after careful deliberations on what opportunities/demands geographical location represents. This could vary when similar event is rolled out in other geographical locations.

What a Day in AnalyticsWEEK Looks Like
The structure of each day for the conference is kept lean by dividing the day into a keynote talk and a panel discussion. Keynote talk will tackle high-level strategic opportunities in a particular vertical from Big Data & Analytics perspective, whereas panel discussion will be taking more tactical questions head-on as faced by the industry.

Speaker/Panel:
The quality of speakers and panelist is among the best of the best to keep the content generation to its premium. Each speaker and panelist will provide some directional thought leadership to the attendees while conducting their speaking as well as panel discussions. This unconference will be featuring around 30 big data and analytics industry thought leaders. The mix includes executives from fortune 100 organizations, big consulting firms, startup CEOs, Venture Capitalists as well as other deep-dive subject matter experts.

Event Structure:
This event is open to all with a nominal fee of $10 to account for conference related expenses and remaining proceeds would be donated to St. Jude. There are limited seats available for the event for each day. Further information could be found with event organizer Vishal Kumar. AnalyticsWEEK provides a great opportunity for organizations to build brand awareness and to be recognized in the community as a analytics driven organization and to attract the best talent of Boston. If you are interesting in sponsoring the event please contact AnalyticsWEEK at sponsor(at)AnalyticsWEEK(dot)com. Reported by PRWeb 12 hours ago.

How Obamacare Is Changing Addiction Treatment Coverage

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By Michael Dahr

Amidst all the controversy (and seemingly endless efforts at repeal), President Obama's 2008 healthcare act has and will create real changes in Americans' lives. People struggling with addiction issues may see as many effects as anyone, with some major transformations to addiction coverage beginning this year.

*Healthcare's 2014 Addiction 'Sea Change'*

Provisions of the health care law — better known as "Obamacare," but officially the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — have been gradually implemented since the legislation's passage in 2008. Some of the major provisions finally take effect in 2014—for example, people can begin receiving health insurance under the so-called health insurance exchanges this year, following the (notoriously imperfect) sign-up period in late 2013.

Several of the most important aspects of the ACA for the world of addiction also finally roll out in 2014. The federal government, for example, released final regulations in November concerning the ACA's requirements that mental health and substance abuse treatment receive equal footing with medical health care.*More from The Fix:*
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To Legalize or Not To LegalizeThe changes, despite some potential limitations, will mean big differences for addiction coverage in the United States, said Alden Bianchi, an employee benefits attorney who composed a report on the final regulations for the National Law Review. "These rules are…a sea change in the way that health plans approach the coverage of mental health and substance abuse disorder benefits," he said.

*Getting More People Covered*

The ACA's effects on addiction treatment, however, begin with the legislation's basic expansion of healthcare access. An estimated 47 million Americans went without health insurance in 2012. The ACA aims to cover many of them, primarily by expanding Medicaid and offering low-cost insurance through the "Health Insurance Marketplaces."

With big implications for those facing addiction problems, the ACA gave every state the option of expanding Medicaid to a greater number of poor individuals and families.

"It's a big deal that Medicaid expansion is happening in the way that it's happening," said Daliah Heller, a consultant working on issues of health care and U.S. drug policy reform, and co-author of the ACLU's report Healthcare Not Handcuffs.

The federally and state-funded Medicaid program provides a basic level of health insurance coverage to people living under the federal poverty line. But that line, as currently constructed, gives a pretty distorted image of "poverty," said Heller. For example, the existing rules state that a family of three living in New Jersey must make less than $25,000 a year to qualify as poor.

"So that's obviously not much money for a family of three to live on," she said.

By accepting additional federal money allocated by the ACA, states can expand Medicaid coverage to individuals and families living at 133% of the poverty level. This means many more people facing actual, real-life poverty will gain new access to healthcare, Heller said. The ACA will also expand Medicaid coverage to single and childless adults (it had previously primarily gone to pregnant women, families and children).

"Increasing the coverage even that little bit is going to have a significant effect for some people," Heller said. "It actually gives them coverage where otherwise it would be difficult for them to afford it."

A total of 25 states, along with Washington, D.C., have so far decided to implement the Medicaid expansion. This means a great deal for addiction coverage, because the low-income population includes a disproportionate amount of people struggling with addiction, Heller said.

Even in those states that chose not to expand Medicaid, more people are set to receive healthcare coverage through the healthcare marketplace exchanges. Those exchanges come with incentives, such as subsidies and tax breaks, to help lower-income people buy health insurance, Heller said. This provides both a potential backup in states that opted out of the Medicaid expansion—and an increase in healthcare access in all states.

All told, the ACA stands to newly insure some 30 million to 33 million people in the United States, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.

*Covering Addiction*

Coverage thus expanded, the ACA then specifically addresses addiction by regulating what health benefits insurance plans must cover.

Or, as Heller puts it, "Now you have health coverage, which is step one. Step two is, will that health insurance pay for treatment?"

And the ACA represents a massive step forward in getting insurance plans to cover addiction treatment. First, starting this year, the legislation bars insurers from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions—including substance abuse. But perhaps the most important changes come from the ACA's expansion of parity rules. In brief, "parity" means that insurance plans must cover mental health and substance abuse treatment at the same level as regular medical care.

In 2008, Congress passed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). The law closed up loopholes in a 1996 parity act, now requiring parity in terms of both financial and treatment limitations, Bianchi said. The financial side means deductibles and copays, while treatment parity refers to the number of annual visits and geographic limits for insurance networks.

The rules take great pains to be comprehensive and actually, finally impose real parity, Bianchi said. "The regulators did a very good job with this rule," he said.

MHPAEA applied to group health and insurance plans, but the ACA incorporates MHPAEA's parity structure, applying it to the marketplace exchange and Medicaid insurance plans. The healthcare law's parity effects result, at base, from the inclusion of mental health and substance abuse in the ACA's list of 10 "Essential Health Benefits." These 10 items define the areas of coverage that basic health care plans across the country must cover—at parity.

"So, for example, if there are two medications available for a particular condition, or two types of treatment," you have to have "the same level of treatment available for mental health and substance abuse disorders in that plan," Heller said.

That requirement will give nearly 32 million Americans new access to substance abuse and mental health treatment, according to estimates from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. And it will expand mental health and substance abuse benefits for an additional 31 million Americans, the HHS estimates.

"This is a big deal for addiction treatment access," Heller said.

The Essential Health Benefits framework, unfortunately, does impose some limits on the extent of addiction coverage, Heller said. Defining benchmark plans for each state, that list of 10 benefits requires only "a bare minimum" of addiction treatment coverage, leaving out medication like methadone, Heller said. Expanding benchmark plans to include such medication treatment will require further advocacy, Heller said.

*Criminal Justice*

The ACA will have some of its most profound effects on addiction healthcare coverage in the criminal justice system. By default, prisons and jails end up treating a large portion of the U.S. population that has substance abuse problems.

"Under the old model, really, poor people didn't have access to substance abuse or mental health treatment—unless it was through the criminal justice system," said Christie Donner, executive director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, which has been convening a panel of criminal justice and health care representatives to plan ACA implementation.

The ACA could help change all that. First, the overall expanded insurance access means lower-income people can get access to health coverage "without having to be involved in the criminal justice system at all," Donner said. This matters because people behind bars frequently come from lower-income backgrounds.

Second, prisoners with substance abuse problems today suffer from a lack of "continuity of care, "Donner said. They arrive in lock-up with substance abuse issues, receive some treatment, then leave the criminal justice system and lose access to care. The ACA, primarily through Medicaid, can keep many of these individuals covered after their sentences, Donner said.

The additional, federal money coming in through Medicaid could also help criminal justice agencies expand treatment access to current prisoners, she said. And, buoyed by ACA money, those agencies could use some of their own funds to improve the quality of care or create incarceration alternatives, like residential substance abuse treatment, Donner said.

*Where It Could Break Down*

That hoped-for transformation for addiction coverage, both in the criminal justice system and in general, could still stall during implementation, however, Donner said.

"Implementation of ACA with folks in the criminal justice system will require significant changes with how the criminal justice system operates," she said. "Because they are going to have to adapt to the healthcare model, not the other way around."

Prisons and jails, for example, will have to switch from their networks of treatment providers to those approved by Medicaid for some treatments, Donner said. All of that will require effort and advocacy, she said.

"If we don't figure this out…there won't be ACA implementation," Donner said. "There's a million different ways where this could break down."

The healthcare system, too, faces a monumental challenge in implementing the promise of ACA, Heller said. Providers must scale up significantly to deal with all the additional insured individuals in need of substance abuse treatment, she said.

But as the ACA transforms the funding and payment landscape for substance abuse treatment, healthcare providers are working on expansion, Donner said.

"I know they're crunching numbers to say, okay, how do we have to scale up, how many docs do we need, how many mental health folks do we need?" she said.

One aspect of the ACA could be particularly helpful in scaling up—the integration of behavioral health (mental and substance abuse) with physical health. That coordination provides the opportunity to expand addiction treatment in alternative ways, Heller said. "We may not have enough treatment, so how about supporting, for example, community health centers to build out substance use disorder treatment?"

And the basic regulations, too, could fail to meet expectations, as insurance agencies may try to skirt the rules. For instance, some have pointed out that insurance plans could violate the spirit of the parity laws via pre-authorization rules. Essentially, both medical and behavioral benefits could call for pre-authorization—but, in practice, only the mental and substance abuse treatments would require it, Bianchi said.

*'Game Changer'*

Still, despite the challenges, the ACA and its associated regulations will make a tremendous difference, particularly among those populations disproportionately affected by substance abuse.

"I think that the ACA is an absolute game changer," Donner said. "And I'm extremely excited about the potential of it."

One of the most important changes in the ACA may come from its larger philosophical implications, Heller said. Essentially, President Obama's health care act enshrines in federal law that substance abuse is a medical issue—not the result of poor morals, and not a criminal justice problem, Heller said.

That reflects a greater societal change, as the country as a whole has gotten over some of the stigma it once held for substance abuse, Bianchi said. "This is a shift that has taken place over generations," he said. "It's not just a matter of a couple of years and a couple of laws."

The ACA's federal definition of addiction as a healthcare issue may even pave the way to greater changes, potentially including decriminalization, Heller said.

"If we view ACA as this document that is now federal policy…it's sort of de facto recognition that it's not a criminal justice issue. It needs to be addressed as a health issue." Reported by Huffington Post 11 hours ago.

Fitch Publishes Special Report on Health Insurers' Capital Deployment Trends

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fitch Ratings said today that it expects health insurance and managed care companies to continue to deploy capital through share repurchases and acquisitions over the next 12-24 months. Fitch views share repurchases as being the more likely use of capital in 2014 due to the ease with which they can be executed and due to the Affordable Care Act's uncertain effect on the composition and profitability of the health insurance market. Acquisitions, especially those of hea Reported by Business Wire 11 hours ago.

Pets Best Releases 2013 List of Most Popular States for Pet Insurance

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The 10 most popular states for pet insurance in the U.S.

Boise, Idaho (PRWEB) March 04, 2014

Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC (Pets Best), a leading U.S. pet insurance agency, today released its list of the 10 most popular states for pet insurance. The list was compiled based on the number of dogs and cats enrolled with the pet insurance agency in 2013.

Although the U.S. pet insurance industry continues to grow, some countries have significantly higher rates of enrollment. An estimated 3 percent of dog owners and 1 percent of cat owners in the U.S. have pet insurance, according to the American Pet Products Association 2009-2010 National Pet Owners Survey.* However, 54 percent of dogs and 34 percent of cats in the United Kingdom had pet insurance in 2012, according to recent data from Timetric, an independent economic and business research firm.**

“While pet insurance is more popular in some other parts of the world, a growing number of American pet owners are recognizing the financial and emotional benefits of insuring their four-legged family members,” said Dr. Jack Stephens, president and founder of Pets Best. “As an organization, we have noticed that our coverage options are extremely popular in certain states, with California topping the lists for both dogs and cats.”

In addition to California, six other states ranked in the top 10 lists for both dog and cat enrollment through Pets Best. Pets Best offers pet insurance in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Top 10 States for Dog Insurance
1.    California
2.    Texas
3.    New York
4.    Florida
5.    New Jersey
6.    Colorado
7.    Nevada
8.    Pennsylvania
9.    Arizona
10.    Virginia        

Top 10 States for Cat Insurance
1.    California
2.    New York
3.    Florida
4.    New Jersey
5.    Texas
6.    Virginia
7.    Pennsylvania
8.    Washington
9.    Colorado
10.    Illinois

The states with the lowest dog enrollment in 2013 included Wyoming, South Dakota and North Dakota. The states with the fewest cat policies were South Dakota, Montana and Vermont.

Pet insurance has been available in the U.S. for more than 30 years. The industry was launched in the U.S. in the early 1980s by Dr. Stephens, who created the nation’s first pet insurance company and issued the first policy to celebrity dog Lassie. As a veterinarian, Dr. Stephens started the industry in an effort to reduce economic euthanasia, when pet owners have their animals put to sleep as a result of the costs associated with veterinary care.

For more information about Pets Best, visit http://www.petsbest.com.· American Pet Products Association 2009-2010 National Pet Owners Survey.

** Timetric Report: Pet Insurance in the UK, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2017

About Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC

Dr. Jack L. Stephens, president of Pets Best, founded pet insurance in the U.S. in 1981 with a mission to end euthanasia when pet owners couldn’t afford veterinary treatment. Dr. Stephens went on to present the first U.S. pet insurance policy to famous television dog Lassie. Pets Best provides coverage for dogs and cats and is the only veterinarian founded and operated pet insurance agency in the United States. Dr. Stephens leads the Pets Best team with his passion for quality pet care and his expert veterinary knowledge. He is always available to answer questions regarding veterinarian medicine, pet health and pet insurance. The Pets Best team is a group of pet lovers who strive to deliver quality customer service and value. Visit http://www.petsbest.com for more information.

Pet insurance coverage offered and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC is underwritten by Independence American Insurance Company, a Delaware insurance company. Independence American Insurance Company is a member of The IHC Group, an organization of insurance carriers and marketing and administrative affiliates that has been providing life, health, disability, medical stop-loss and specialty insurance solutions to groups and individuals for over 30 years. For information on The IHC Group, visit: http://www.ihcgroup.com. Additional insurance services administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC are underwritten by Prime Insurance Company. Some existing business is underwritten by Aetna Insurance Company of Connecticut. Each insurer has sole financial responsibility for its own products.

Pets Best is a proud member of the North America Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.

Texas Primary 2014: Voters Head To Polls In Governor's, Senate Races

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By Jon Herskovitz
AUSTIN, Texas, March 4 (Reuters) - Texans went to the polls on Tuesday in primary elections where the top candidates for governor were expected to post easy wins and favorites of the conservative Tea Party movement are trying to topple established Republicans in several races.
U.S. Senator John Cornyn, a Republican, will win his race easily, opinion polls show. Attorney General Greg Abbott, the leading Republican candidate for governor, and state Senator Wendy Davis, the top Democratic Party candidate, were also expected to win by wide margins.
Voting closes at 7 p.m. U.S. Central Time (0100 GMT Wednesday). Run-off elections will be held on May 27 between the top two vote-getters in races where a single candidate did not win an outright majority.
The election marks a changing of the guard for the Republicans with long-serving Governor Rick Perry not seeking re-election, perhaps to pursue a presidential run in 2016. Republicans dominate the statehouse and have not lost a statewide race since 1994.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz has emerged as one of the leaders of the Texas Republicans, pushing politics in the already conservative state even further to the right, analysts said. He is a favorite of the Tea Party movement, which is considered both conservative and libertarian and also populist in advocating for a smaller federal government and tax cuts.
Perry, governor since 2000, has won praise for increasing jobs, exports and the size of the Texas economy, which has a $1.4 trillion annual GDP, slightly larger than South Korea's.
Perry has been criticized for not doing enough to improve schools, provide health insurance for the poor, while pushing a socially conservative agenda with increased abortion restrictions and a ban on same-sex marriage.
A host of Republican hopefuls have been trying to ride on the coattails of new star Cruz, turning campaigns into raucous affairs about how much they despise President Barack Obama's healthcare policy, embrace the constitutional right to bear arms and see a need to raise alarms about undocumented immigrants.
"The Republican lieutenant governor's race and attorney general's race have been races to the right," said Sherri Greenberg, Director at the Center for Politics and Governance at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.
These two races were likely heading for run-offs.
In the Dallas area, U.S. Representative Pete Sessions is the most prominent Republican in the Tea Party firing line. Challenger Katrina Pierson's website features a picture of Cruz and a quote in which he calls her "an utterly fearless principled conservative."
In neighboring Fort Worth, Cruz has endorsed local Tea Party leader Konni Burton as the Republican nominee for a state Senate seat.
State Senator Ken Paxton, running in a crowded field for attorney general, has featured a comment on his website in which Cruz calls him a "conservative warrior." (Editing by Grant McCool) Reported by Huffington Post 10 hours ago.

What Student Loans Are Really Used For: The Depressing Case Studies

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What Student Loans Are Really Used For: The Depressing Case Studies Some of our readers may have missed our post from September 2012 in which we showed that far from being used for their generally accepted purpose, student loans - now well over $1 trillion and more than the total credit card debt outstanding - in numerous instances are instead abused to fund virtually everything else besides paying for tuition. Recall: "Robert Thomas Price Jr. borrowed about $105,000 for his tuition at Harrisburg Area Community College from 2005 and 2007, federal authorities say. It doesn’t cost anywhere near that much to study at HACC, though. So Price, 45, of Newport, is facing federal student loan fraud and mail fraud charges. A U.S. Middle District Court indictment alleges that *Price spent much of the loan money on crack cocaine, cars, motorcycles, jewelry, tattoos and video games.*"

At the time many derided this case study as an isolated example of fund abuse by an isolated individual. Nearly two years later, a study by the WSJ confirms what most have known: far from an isolated incident, "student" loans have become a primary source of funding for an every greater portion of the US population, and that when looking at total credit creation in the US economy, non-revolving student debt has as much if not more relevance than mere revolving credit, when it comes to determining how pays for what.

The WSJ takes on a more conservative tone when it says that "some Americans caught in the weak job market are lining up for federal student aid, not for education that boosts their employment prospects but for the chance to take out low-cost loans, sometimes with little intention of getting a degree."

Unfortunately, its examples demonstrate a pervasive culture of monetary abuse, which has become as rampant, if at a much lesser scale, as what the TBTF banks have been acused of doing in order to perpetuate the illusion that they are solvent - indirectly taking from taxpayers to fund an unsustainable lifestyle. Taxpayers, who will end up with massive losses on their involuntary "investment" in either case.



Take Ray Selent, a 30-year-old former retail clerk in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was unemployed in 2012 when he enrolled as a part-time student at Broward County's community college. *That allowed him to borrow thousands of dollars to pay rent to his mother, cover his cellphone bill and catch the occasional movie.*

 

...

 

Tommie Matherne, a 32-year-old married father of five in Billings, Mont., has been going to school since 2010, *when he realized the $10 an hour he was making as a mall security guard wasn't covering his family's expenses*. He uses roughly $2,000 in student loans each year to stock his fridge and catch up on bills. His wife is a stay-at-home mother who also gets loans to take online courses.

 

"*We've been taking whatever we can for student loans every year, taking whatever we have left over and using it to stock up the freezer just so we have a couple extra months where we don't have to worry about food*," says Mr. Matherne, who owes $51,600 in federal loans.

 

Some students end up going deeper into debt. Early last year, when Denna Merritt lost her long-term unemployment benefits, the 49-year-old Indianapolis woman enrolled part-time at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh's online program, aiming for a degree in graphic design. *She took out $15,000 in federal loans, $2,800 of which went to catch up on unpaid bills, including utilities, health-insurance premiums and cable.*

 

*"Obviously, it's better not to use it that way if you can help it, because you're just going to owe that much more later," *says Ms. Merritt, a former bookkeeper.



The logic for why "students" (or not) chose the easy way out? *"The only way I feel I can survive financially is by going back to school and putting myself in more student debt," *says Mr. Selent, who has since added $8,000 in student debt from living expenses. Returning to school also gave Mr. Selent a reprieve on the $400 a month he owed from previous student debt because the federal government doesn't require payments while borrowers are in school.

In other words, running away from insolvency by adding on more debt. And not just any debt, but Federal debt, which has no liens on any assets, aside from converting the obligor into a non-dischargeable, indentured debt slave indefinitely, with wage garnishment rights afforded to the government. Of course, the borrowers know all about this, but that too is a bridge to be crossed in due course. For now, someone has to pay for the rent and the food, even if that someone is once again the US taxpayer.

Expect stories like these to continue. Here's why:



College officials and federal watchdogs can't say exactly how much of the U.S.'s swelling $1.1 trillion in student-loan debt has gone to living expenses. But data and government reports indicate the phenomenon is real. The Education Department's inspector general warned last month that the rise of online education has led more students to borrow excessively for personal expenses. Its report said that among online programs at eight universities and colleges, non-education expenses such as rent, transportation and "miscellaneous" items made up more than half the costs covered by student aid.

 

*The report also found the schools disbursed an average of $5,285 in loans each to more than 42,000 students who didn't log any credits at the time. *The report pointed to possible factors such as fraud in addition to cases of people enrolling without serious intentions of getting a degree.

 

Capella Education Co., which runs online schools, examined student costs and debt at institutions?public and private?in Minnesota and concluded that between a quarter and three-quarters of loans taken out by students were for non-education expenses. At one of Capella's master's programs, the typical graduate left with about $30,200 in student debt even though tuition, fees and book costs totaled roughly $18,800. Borrowers are prohibited under federal law, except in rare instances, from discharging student debt through bankruptcy.

 

The share of student borrowers taking out the maximum amount of loans—$12,500 a year for undergraduates—has risen since the recession. In the 2011-12 academic year, federal Education Department data show, 68% of all undergraduate borrowers hit the annual loan ceiling, up from 60% in 2008.



When one averages out the numbers, how many students are said to abuse their loans and use the proceeds to fund "other" uses? "About a quarter."



Research suggests a fair chunk of that is going to non-education expenses. *In 2011-12, about a quarter of student borrowers took out loans that exceeded their tuition, after grants, by $2,500, according to research by Mark Kantrowitz, a higher-education analyst and publisher of the education site Edvisors.com*.



And the one take home paragraph that summarizes this latest capital misallocation clusterfuck which has Fed bailout written all over it:



Mr. Selent, of Fort Lauderdale, knows he is getting himself deeper in a hole *but prefers that to the alternative of making minimum wage.* In his 20s, he earned a bachelor's degree in communications from a local for-profit school but couldn't find a job in the field after graduating and began falling behind on his student-loan bills. *He is now taking courses for a degree in theater so he can become an actor.*



What else is there to add? Maybe just the chart of student debt.

 

And this chart, showing where all the newly created money is really going: Reported by Zero Hedge 10 hours ago.

Affordable Care Act Fails Seriously Mentally Ill

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There are many provisions Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka "Obamacare") that combined with mental health parity laws will help people with mental health issues get care. For example, the ability to keep a child on a parents' insurance policy until age 26 will help many who develop mental illness before that age.

But there are also provisions in ACA that will make it more difficult for some people with the most serious mental illnesses to get hospital care and will also erode community services. Unfortunately, these provisions of ACA have largely been ignored. They should be fixed.

The Institutes for Mental Disease Exclusion (IMD Exclusion) provision of Medicaid largely prohibits Medicaid from reimbursing states for the treatment of people with mental illness who are between 18 and 65 years old who need long-term hospitalization. If someone with serious mental illness is in a state psychiatric hospital, the state pays for the care. But if someone is discharged, they become Medicaid eligible and the state gets a 50 percent match from the federal government to provide for their care. This causes states to lock the front door and open the back and is the primary reason states are closing psychiatric hospitals. We wrote about the IMD Exclusion in the Washington Post. H.R. 3717, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act recently introduced by Rep. Tim Murphy takes a step to fix this, but much more needs to be done.

One offset to this federally sanctioned discrimination against people with serious mental illness was the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) Payments. These are payments to state hospitals that have a disproportionate share of people living below poverty.

Under ACA the DSH payments go away and the provisions against reimbursing states for long-term hospital care stay in place. Medicaid payments to hospitals with a high percentage of publicly insured and uninsured patients will be cut on the theory that expansions in health insurance coverage under the ACA will lower uncompensated costs.

According to the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors this could erode the ability of people with serious mental illness to get care.

Due to these ACA provisions requiring DSH payment cuts, safety net hospitals could see reductions of close to $22 billion from 2014 to 2021

DSH payments are a significant source of Medicaid funding for state psychiatric hospitals and a sizeable share of the $37 billion nation-wide under the direction of state mental health authorities and because they are used for both inpatient and outpatient care cuts in those funds will affect both. In FY 2010, 37 states received a total of $2.8 billion in DSH funds, representing 27 percent of all state hospital revenues in FY 2010. These losses are compounded by cuts in state funding for mental health programs totaling $5 billion over the last five years in 41 states.

There is no doubt that ACA was a well-intentioned act meant to improve care and lower costs, but the provisions above could prevent some of the most seriously mentally ill from geting care. Reducing care increases incarceration. The IMD Exclusion should be elminated and changes should be made in ACA to protect the most seriously mentally ill.

DJ Jaffe is Executive Director of Mental Illness Policy Org, a non-partisan non-profit think tank focused on serious mental illness (not mental health). Reported by Huffington Post 9 hours ago.

New Health Insurance Deadline Looms

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There's another healthcare deadline looming this month. It's the March 31st deadline for all Americans to have healthcare coverage or face penalties for going uninsured -- $95 per adult or 1 percent of your income, whichever is greater. (Officially it's called an "individual shared responsibility payment"!)

And if you miss the open enrollment period at the end of March, you'll have to wait until next November 15th to buy a qualifying policy. In the meantime, you would be responsible for all your healthcare costs.

How will the government know you don't have healthcare? There's a new line on your tax return which you must sign, indicating whether you have coverage!

The new government healthcare plans give a subsidy to those making up to 400 percent of the Federal poverty level (see chart below). But those who do not qualify for a subsidy are suddenly finding that even the most basic healthcare plans have increased their premiums dramatically to offset the potential costs of coverage for those who must be admitted, despite having potentially expensive pre-existing conditions.

Here's a closer look at the subsidies, and then a few ideas for those who need insurance but earn too much to qualify for a subsidy.

*Health Insurance Subsidies*

Health insurance subsidies are based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). But your eligibility is not based on last year's income. Instead you must estimate this year's income. If you earn more than planned you may be required to pay back any subsidies. And if you earn less, you may be able to claim additional subsidies when you do your tax return in April, 2015.

The size of the subsidy depends on the number of people in your household as well as total household income. This chart gives the specifics:
The dollar amount of the subsidy (paid directly from the government to your insurer) is based on a "benchmark" plan in your area. If you choose a more expensive gold or platinum-level plan, you do not get a larger subsidy. Individuals and families earning less than the income in the chart above are likely to qualify for Medicaid, depending on your state's program requirements.

*What if You Don't Qualify for a Subsidy?*

If you earn "too much" and don't qualify for a Federal subsidy, you might be in for a shock. Individual and family plans are suddenly far more expensive than just a year ago. A survey by eHealthInsurance shows that as of mid-February, 2014, the average premium for an individual cost $274 per month - a 39 percent increase from the average individual policy a year ago, before Obamacare went into effect.

And family coverage has similarly increased. The average plan currently chosen by families who do not qualify for a subsidy because their income is above the subsidy limit is $658 per month - a 54 percent increase over the average family premium in February, 2013!

What can you do if you are faced with buying insurance but don't qualify for a subsidy?

• Look beyond government exchanges. Those programs are primarily designed to match subsidy-eligible consumers with plans that qualify for a subsidy. But many insurers don't offer plans on the government exchanges, although they do have policies that meet the coverage requirements of the health care reform law. For example, there are "catastrophic" plans that cost as little as $88 per month for a 21 year old. So consider working with an experienced health insurance agent, or check out the plans offered online at private exchanges such as www.ehealthinsurance.com

• Consider how you might lower your income in the year ahead, so you fall within the subsidy levels. For example, 40l(k) contributions are not considered part of your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) -- although IRA contributions are, so if you increase the amount you put into your company 40l(k) plan it might get your MAGI below the subsidy level. Similarly, opening a Health Savings Account (with a qualifying insurance plan) might reduce your income that is counted toward subsidy eligibility.

Even if you miss the March 31st deadline (which applies to all except those who have a "qualifying event" such as marriage or birth of a child), you should still think twice about going without any kind of coverage. Not only is the penalty expensive, but if you incur a medical emergency without coverage you are responsible for all the costs. Even a short-term plan would cover the worst-case scenarios and tide you over to the next open enrollment opportunity - November 15, 2014 through January 15, 2015, for coverage for the 2015 year.

*Where do You Stand?*

There are basically five possible categories you could fall into when it comes to health insurance:

1. You get insurance from your employer, and don't have to worry about this.

2. You qualify for Medicare, and you don't have to worry about this - except that you may lose your Medicare Advantage plan as the government takes away money from this subsidized inclusive option to fund Obamacare.

3. You have very little income and qualify for your state's Medicaid plan (and some states have lower threshholds than the lowest income level for federal subsidies).

4. You qualify for a subsidy, based on the income charted above, so you should go to the government site -- www.Healthcare.gov --and sign up for a plan immediately, and claim your subsidy.

5. You don't qualify for a subsidy but want/need health insurance, even at the most basic level for peace of mind and to avoid fines. Speak to an insurance agent or go to a private site like www.ehealthinsurance.com to find the best coverage you can afford at the least expense.

It's a good idea for everyone to have health insurance. But don't make the mistake of believing that it will be less expensive for you under the healthcare reforms. That's only true if you fall into the subsidy income category. If not, insurance is going to take a big bite out of your budget. That's the Savage Truth. Reported by Huffington Post 9 hours ago.

Obama's Politically Smart Move To Waive Health Rules On Small Business Comes At Cost

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The Obama Administration’s imminent decision to give small businesses at least another year (and maybe longer) to conform their health insurance plans to new federal rules is a predictable political gesture, but doesn't come without costs. Reported by Forbes.com 4 hours ago.

White House further delays Obamacare: report

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The White House will announce another delay in the nationwide implementation of Obamacare, a news report claims. The Obama administration is set to allow insurers to continue offering health insurance plans that do not meet the minimum coverage requirements mandated by the Affordable Care Act, The Hill reported Tuesday. Reported by NY Daily News 7 hours ago.

White House to further delay Obamacare implementation: report

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The White House will announce another delay in the nation-wide implementation of Obamacare, a new report claims. The Obama administration is set to allow insurers to continue offering health insurance plans that do not meet the minimum coverage requirements mandated by the Affordable Care Act, The Hill reported Tuesday. Reported by NY Daily News 8 hours ago.

Internal Medicine Specialists Announces No-Cost Assistance to Sign Up For Health Insurance

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IMS's certified staff to assist anyone looking for help understanding the Affordable Care Act. An open house event will be held on March 1st, from 9:00am to 3:00pm at the IMS office, located at 1650 Hospital Drive, Suite 800 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Evening and weekend appointments also available; open enrollment deadline is March 31.

Santa Fe, New Mexico (PRWEB) March 04, 2014

Internal Medicine Specialists (IMS) announces a partnership with the New Mexico Primary Care Association and the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange to train on-staff, in-office Health Care Guides who are certified to help individuals understand the Affordable Care Act and enroll for affordable health insurance. Enrollment counseling and assistance is offered free of charge to both IMS patients and the general public as part of IMS’s continued commitment to the availability and ease of access to quality medical care for all. The IMS Health Care Guide team is available by appointment during normal business hours as well as evenings and weekends.

“IMS is embracing the positive changes of the Affordable Care Act,” said Dr. Josh Brown, M.D., managing partner of Internal Medicine Specialists. “We look forward to more Americans being covered by affordable healthcare and will help anyone who has questions or needs help signing up.”

The IMS Health Care Guide team is composed of eight on-staff Health Care Guides who received certification training through a partnership with the New Mexico Primary Care Association and New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange. The Guides are available to help answer general questions from consumers, explain provisions and coverage of available policies, facilitate the evaluation and selection of health plans and troubleshoot enrollment challenges. For coverage starting in 2014, the Open Enrollment Period will end March 31, 2014. Individuals without health insurance can avoid penalties by enrolling in a plan by this date.

Health Care Guides will also conduct outreach events in the community through the end of March. Events are free of charge and are open to the public, please see http://bewellnm.com/calendar/ for the full schedule. For more information or to make an appointment, please call (575) 224-6757 or visit the IMS website http://www.internalmedicinesf.com.

###

Founded in the 1970s by prominent Santa Fe physician leaders, Internal Medicine Specialists (IMS) is the longest running continuous independent practice in Santa Fe. A multi-disciplinary healthcare practice, IMS provides superior medical care from its renowned group of more than 20 medical professionals. Located at 1650 Hospital Drive Suite 800, the medical practice offers comprehensive, whole-patient care with an emphasis on availability and ease of access. In addition to 24-hour on-call services, the office accepts walk-in visits for existing patients and is able to see new patients within 48 hours.

For more information, contact:

Lisa Neal
JLH Media
575 635 5658
lisa(at)jlhmedia(dot)com Reported by PRWeb 7 hours ago.

Vincent Gray Wins D.C. Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander Caucuses Endorsements

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On Saturday, May 14, 2013 hundreds of voters and D.C. residents gathered at the Josephine Butler Center in Northwest Washington to hear from most candidates running in the April 1, 2014 D.C. Primary. The candidates forum organized by the D.C. Latino Caucus, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists -- D.C. Chapter, and the D.C. Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus was a collaborative effort that took a few months to organize. Some of the other community partners that joined the effort, included: the D.C. Muslim Caucus, the Washington Hispanic Newspaper, CapitalWirePR, the LGBT Latino History Project and the Washington Hispanic Contractors Association.

The candidates forum started early on Saturday morning with the presence of D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. Congresswoman Norton is seeking reelection for the D.C. Delegate seat to the U.S. Congress, a position she's held since 1991. The forums continued with other offices, including, Chairman of the D.C. Council, where the incumbent Phil Mendelson faces Ward 4 resident Calvin Gurley. The audience also heard from candidates running for various seats on the D.C. Council, including candidates for the competitive races in Ward 1, where incumbent Jim Graham is running against Brianne Nadeau, and Ward 6, another competitive race for an open seat on the D.C. Council.

The audience also heard from At-Large D.C. Council candidates, where incumbent, D.C. Democratic Party Chair, Anita Bonds, is trying to get reelected to a full four-year term. Anita Bonds was elected last year to an At-Large seat during a special election, after Phil Mendelson was elected Chairman of the D.C. Council. The Shadow Senator candidates also attended the candidates forum. In that race, incumbent Shadow Senator Paul Strauss faced off Ward 3 resident Pete Ross.

But the big event was the D.C. Mayoral forum. This forum was moderated by veteran journalist, Ray Suarez, now with Aljazeera, and Maria Rosa Lucchini with Noticias Univision Washington. People in a packed room and a satellite room heard all eight candidates talk about issues important to the Latino, Asian and Pacific islander, and the broader immigrant community. In the Mayoral race, incumbent Vincent Gray debated seven other candidates. Topics covered included affordable housing, jobs and health insurance for all D.C. residents.

Both the D.C. Latino Caucus and the D.C. Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus held straw polls. Both polls were won by the current Mayor, Vincent Gray. Members of the D.C. Latino Caucus endorsed Vincent Gray with 85 percent of the votes, while 66 percent of the D.C. Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus members voted for the Mayor. Recent polls show the D.C. Mayor leading in the Mayoral race.

The forum was streamed live on NBCWashington.com. Reported by Huffington Post 6 hours ago.

White House Budget Includes Significant Investment in the Primary Care Workforce

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Primary Care Progress, a nonprofit focused on building the primary care workforce, supports the initiatives in the Administration's 2015 Budget Request that strengthen our ability to meet the country's demand for primary care.

Cambridge, MA (PRWEB) March 04, 2014

Today the White House unveiled its fiscal year (FY) 2015 Budget Request, the full details of which are available here. The $3.901 trillion budget proposal includes investments intended to strengthen primary care to meet the nation's growing demand and incudes the following initiatives:

*The creation of roughly 13,000 graduate medical education (GME) residency slots over 10 years in primary care and other high need specialties.

*The expansion of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) to support roughly 15,000 providers over the 2015-2020 period.

*An additional one year extension of the ACA-mandated temporary increase in Medicaid payments for primary care services to at least 100% of the applicable rate paid for such services under Medicare.

The budget also includes funding directed at the Health Centers program to expand services to nearly 31 million individuals as well as resources to train 5000 new mental health professionals.

Primary Care Progress, a nonprofit that focuses on revitalizing the primary care workforce pipeline, believes such measures are a necessary and hopeful step in building a healthier America. Significant investments in the primary care workforce have never been more crucial. Over the next ten years our nation faces a shortage of 65,000 physicians, partly due to a growing demand for primary care from the Affordable Care Act as well as an aging and growing population.

Primary Care Progress is in support of these efforts to build a healthier America and calls on the country's elected officials to support these initiatives as well.

"The combination of an enlarging and aging population plus expansion in health insurance coverage has placed unprecedented demand on our primary care system. Without the type of definitive investment proposed in the President's budget, getting those folks the care they need will remain mission impossible. "
-Dr. Andrew Morris-Singer, Primary Care Progress' President and Founder Reported by PRWeb 5 hours ago.

Family Health Hawaii seeing more businesses opt for 2014 ACA plans

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Family Health Hawaii, the state’s newest insurer targeting employers, has surpassed enrollment expectations since launching Oct. 1, said CEO J.P. Schmidt. Schmidt knows a thing or two about health insurance, after serving as Hawaii’s state insurance commissioner from 2003 to 2010. He came on board last March to help start Family Health Hawaii, which he had hoped would launch before Oct. 1 — unintentionally the same day that the Hawaii Health Connector went live. But the later start hasn’t… Reported by bizjournals 2 hours ago.

White House readies health insurance renewal extension: sources

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will allow consumers to extend health insurance plans that fail to comply with President Barack Obama's healthcare law beyond 2014, according to three people familiar with the matter. Reported by Reuters 2 hours ago.
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