CDPHP Awards $750,000 to Local Doctors for High-Quality, Cost-Effective Care

March 11, 2014, 3:51 pm

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Local physicians recognized for achievements in patient satisfaction, quality of care, and efficiency in health care services.

Albany, NY (PRWEB) March 11, 2014

CDPHP has awarded $750,000 to local physicians for achievements in patient satisfaction, quality of care, and efficiency in health care services. The practices, all which are part of the CDPHP Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) initiative, serve as an example of how coordinated health care can improve peoples’ lives and lower health care costs.    

The practices that have earned performance bonuses under the EPC program include:·     CapitalCare Family Practice
·     Community Care Physicians PC
·     Eugene P Heslin, MD, PC
·     Irongate Family Practice Associates, PLLC, of Glens Falls
·     Jill Braverman-Panza, MD
·     Saratoga Family Practice, PC
·     Scotia Glenville Family Medicine, PC
·     Shaker Pediatrics, PC
·     Whitney M. Young, Jr. Health Center, Inc.

“The physicians being recognized today serve as a model for the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care. They understand that the world around them is changing and have made a conscious decision to save the field of primary care medicine while improving the quality of care they deliver each and every day,” said Dr. John D. Bennett, president and CEO, CDPHP.

There are a number of factors that makes an EPC site different, including the use of electronic medical records, appointments at convenient times, and an emphasis on preventive care.

“The Affordable Care Act will create new demands for primary care physicians who will often be the first stop for many newly insured patients. The work our physician community is doing today will better position them to handle the changes of tomorrow,” said Dr. Bruce Nash, chief medical officer, CDPHP.

In 2008, CDPHP launched EPC with a goal of improving the quality and value of health care while addressing the shortage of primary care physicians. The program abandoned the “fee-for-service” model, which has historically reduced the amount of time doctors are able to spend with patients. Instead, EPC offers financial incentives for doctors who spend more time with patients with the greatest needs.

An independent analysis of the EPC program produced the following impressive results:·     15% reduction in inpatient admissions
·     9% reduction in emergency room visits
·     $8 per member per month savings

Click here to learn more about the CDPHP Enhanced Primary Care initiative.

About CDPHP®
Established in 1984, CDPHP is a physician-founded, member-focused and community-based not-for-profit health plan that offers high-quality affordable health insurance plans to members in 24 counties throughout New York. CDPHP is also on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.

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Health care sign-ups continue to rise, but they probably won't meet goal

March 11, 2014, 4:16 pm

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The Department of Health and Human Services had hoped 94,400 people in Missouri would have signed up for health insurance by Feb. 28. It reported that 74,469, or 78.9 percent of its goal, actually did. The department had set a goal of 42,400 sign-ups in Kansas, but 29,309, or 69.1 percent, did so. Reported by KansasCity.com 2 hours ago.

NJ Obamacare enrollments now at 74K, feds say

March 11, 2014, 4:14 pm

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Another 20,000 have signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Reported by NJ.com 2 hours ago.

Washington sees age drop in health care sign-ups

March 11, 2014, 4:49 pm

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The average age of people signing up for health insurance through the state of Washington exchange has dropped a little since the state began ramping up its marketing to those under 35, according to numbers released Tuesday by the federal government. Reported by Miami Herald 2 hours ago.

Health care enrollments reach 4.2 million, but young adults remain elusive

March 11, 2014, 4:59 pm

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More than 4.2 million people have signed up for coverage on the nation’s health insurance marketplaces through February, but low participation from young adults and early technical problems with the website have jeopardized the government’s goal of enrolling 6 million people by March 31. Reported by Miami Herald 2 hours ago.

Arizona enrollment in Health Insurance Marketplace jumps in February

March 11, 2014, 5:13 pm

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While total national enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace climbed to 4.2 million people in February, enrollment in Arizona has reached 57,611 people. The Cover Arizona Coalition found that number increased from 43,495 at the start of February to nearly 58,000 by March 1. Coalition members are doubling up on efforts to spread the word that the deadline to sign up is March 31. “Providing access to affordable health care will go a long way toward improving the overall health of our state,”… Reported by bizjournals 1 hour ago.

Bill to repeal Connect for Health Colorado is shot down

March 11, 2014, 5:43 pm

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Connect for Health Colorado isn't going away anytime soon. A state House of Representatives committee voted 8-5 Thursday to kill House Bill 1192, which would have repealed the state-chartered Internet health insurance exchange. Republican Rep. Amy Stephens of Monument voted with Democrats on the House Public Health Care & Human Services Committee against the measure The outcome was no surprise, especially after a slew of legislators questioned the bill at a Feb. 25 hearing. Once again, the most… Reported by bizjournals 56 minutes ago.

Blue Cross Blue Shield's final push for Obamacare

March 11, 2014, 6:37 pm

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As the March 31 deadline to sign up for individual health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act looms, Richardson-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas is teaming up with the University of North Texas and Kroger pharmacies to spread the word at a health fair this weekend. Countdown to Coverage: Health Insurance Enrollment and Wellness Fair is a free educational event for families and individuals to learn about changes in the health care law and potentially sign up for health insurance, Michelle… Reported by bizjournals 1 minute ago.

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Sununu: Administration Will Raid Treasury to Fund Obamacare

March 11, 2014, 6:16 pm

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Former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu predicts that when health insurance signups fall short of the White House's goal of 7 million, taxpayers will be forced to foot the bill. Reported by Newsmax 22 minutes ago.

CBO: Five-Year Individual Mandate Delay Means 13 Million More Uninsured, Higher Premiums

March 12, 2014, 11:59 am

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Delaying health reform's individual mandate for five years, as a House bill would do to offset the cost of permanently cancelling scheduled cuts in Medicare payments to physicians, would mean about 13 million more uninsured Americans in 2018 compared to current law, with similar increases in most years that the mandate isn't in effect, a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis reveals.

Consistent with earlier CBO and outside analyses of the effects of repealing the mandate entirely, the new CBO figures show that the bill -- which the House is expected to vote on Friday -- would undermine health reform's implementation and produce serious harm.

Without the individual mandate, many fewer uninsured people would enroll in job-based coverage, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), subsidized private coverage through health reform's new marketplaces, and other sources of health coverage.

Outside experts examining permanent repeal of the mandate have produced similar estimates:· Urban Institute: 13.4 million to 15.8 million more uninsured without a mandate.· Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) health economist Jonathan Gruber: 24 million more uninsured without a mandate.· RAND Corporation: 12.5 million more uninsured without a mandate.· Lewin Group: 7.8 million more uninsured without a mandate.Along with the sizable coverage losses, CBO estimates that a five-year mandate delay would raise premiums in the individual market (both inside and outside the marketplaces) by 10 to 20 percent in 2018 compared to current law (with similar increases in most years the mandate isn't in effect).

Consistent with its previous estimates, CBO likely assumes that without the individual mandate, healthier and younger individuals would be more likely to remain uninsured, leaving the pool of people enrolled in individual-market coverage less healthy and hence more costly to cover.  That drives up premiums.

Again, CBO's estimates are similar to independent estimates of the impact of permanently repealing the individual mandate:· Urban Institute: roughly 10-25 percent increase in average premiums without a mandate.· MIT's Gruber: 27 percent increase in average premiums without a mandate.· RAND: 9.3 percent increase in average premiums without a mandate.· Lewin: 12.6 percent increase in average premiums without a mandate.**

Related Posts:

· Delaying Health Reform's Employer Responsibility Requirement No Reason to Delay Individual Mandate· Actuaries Warn: Delaying Health Reform's Individual Mandate Would Raise Premiums and Add to Ranks of Uninsured· Urban Institute Agrees: Delaying Individual Mandate Would Reduce Coverage and Raise Premiums Reported by Huffington Post 7 hours ago.

Can I Pay For Contacts Or Glasses With My Health Insurance?

March 12, 2014, 11:07 am

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Some insurance plans may include coverage for contacts and glasses, though most don't. Reported by CBS 2 8 hours ago.

What happens if I don’t get health insurance by March 31?

March 12, 2014, 12:43 pm

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*What happens if I don’t get health insurance by March 31?*

*Q*. I’m married with two kids and I just can’t swing $600 or $700 a month for health insurance. We never go to the doctor. Should I pass?  

*A. *No! In truth, this wasn’t a question from a reader. But it is pretty much the first thing the host of a morning radio show asked me when I appeared on his show last week.  

Now I don’t have inside information on this gentleman’s personal finances, but as I told him, any uninsured person who lets the 2014 open enrollment period come and go without signing up for health coverage is playing with fire. There are three major consequences.

-*No money to pay big medical bills*-

It’s great that this broadcaster and his family are healthy, but if someone should experience a serious illness or injury later this year, that $600 a month that they thought was too expensive is suddenly going to look like a bargain they wish they’d taken. If one of them should land in the hospital with appendicitis, they’re going to have to figure out how to pay the $20,000 or $30,000 bill on their own.

-*No way to get insurance until 2015*-

Once open enrollment closes on March 31, there’s no way to get private individual insurance coverage again until 2015—either through your state’s Health Insurance Marketplace or directly from an insurance company.

There are exceptions if you experience a so-called “qualifying life event.” In that case, you have a 60-day “special enrollment period” to purchase new coverage at any time of year. Qualifying life events include:

· Loss of job-based health insurance (it doesn’t matter if you quit or were fired).
· Expiration of existing insurance, such as COBRA, a student health plan, or a pre-2014 plan that runs out midyear.
· Marriage, divorce, or the death of a spouse.
· Becoming a parent through birth, adoption, or foster care.
· Moving away from your plan’s geographic service area.

Notice what’s not on the list? Getting sick and incurring lots of health care expenses, that’s what. That is by design. If you allow people to wait until they’re sick to get insured, it runs up the cost of insurance for everyone. And it’s not fair to the 4.24 million people who have already complied with the law and enrolled in coverage through the marketplaces, per the government’s latest enrollment report.

-*Penalty on your income tax*-

If you don’t get insured by the end of the month, you face a tax penalty when you file your 2014 tax return. You may have read that it's only $95, but most people will actually pay quite a bit more than that. The real penalty is $95 per adult and $47.50 per child, up to a maximum of $285 per family or 1 percent of income, whichever is greater. And it increases in subsequent years.

The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan Washington group, has created a penalty calculator that does the math for you. Thinking about the radio host, I looked up what the penalty would be for a family of four with an income of $80,000 a year (which entitles them to a subsidy to lower the cost of insurance to, yes, about $600 or $700 a month). The penalty will be $597 for the 2014 tax year, $1,188 in 2015, and $1,473 in 2016. And the family still won’t have health insurance.

Got a question for our health insurance expert? Ask it here; be sure to include the state you live in. And if you can't get enough health insurance news here, follow me on Twitter @NancyMetcalf.

*We're providing regular coverage of the new health care law. To get health insurance advice tailored to your situation, use our Health Law Helper, below.*

*Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers or sponsors on this website. Copyright © 2006-2014 Consumers Union of U.S.*

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Update your feed preferences Reported by Consumer Reports 6 hours ago.

Texas Obamacare Numbers Continue to Fall Behind Obama Projections

March 12, 2014, 12:29 pm

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*TEXAS*--Despite large-scale efforts by leftist groups such as Enroll America to push Obamacare in the Lone Star State, new statistics confirm that uninsured Texans are not accepting health care mandates. According to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), only 87,400 Texans selected health insurance plans through the federally subsidized marketplace in February.

With Obamacare's March 31 deadline for open enrollment looming in the near future, navigators and supporters face an uphill battle for the final push to sign people up for coverage. 

The Obama administration had optimistic expectations surrounding Texas' enrollment numbers for February; those expectations were not met. As of March 1, 295,000 Texas residents selected converge on the Marketplace, up from 207,500 on February 1.

The actual number of enrolled Texas is likely to be significantly lower than the released figures state. Obama's HHS can only count the number of individuals selecting plans on the online marketplace--not those actually paying for them. 

Texas Governor Rick Perry has been a vehement opponent of Obamacare and chose not to expand Medicaid. In December he said, "People all across the country have witnessed what a disaster this program has been from its earliest stages, ranging from the $600 million website debacle to the sad fact that President Barack Obama flat-out deceived the American people when he promised that those who like their coverage could keep it. To stem the bleeding, the administration is resorting to arbitrary delays for some Obamacare mandates, which only inject more confusion into the marketplace and with consumers."

Perry's views mirror those of many citizens living in his state. 

Arlene Wohlgemuth, director of the Center for Health Care Policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, pointed out that the newly-released enrollment numbers signify weaknesses in the effort to promote Obamacare. "If the goal is to get uninsured people onto the exchange, they are such a long way from doing that," she told the Texas Tribune. 

Another concern with the new data is the apparent lack of younger people signing up on the Marketplace. HHS officials previously insisted that the enrollment numbers for young adults would increase, but that prediction never materialized. Texans aged 55 to 64 currently make up the largest group of enrollees, at 26 percent. If young, healthy individuals fail to sign up for Obamacare, premiums could go up and care quality could go down for those who are enrolled.

Despite the underwhelming enrollment statistics, numerous media outlets have been quick to distract from the unfavorable numbers. The Washington Post ran a story  this morning gloating over the fact that the HealthCare.gov website, formerly riddled with glitches, recently received 40 percent more traffic due to an online video that President Obama did for the left-leaning humor site FunnyOrDie.com. 

Several politicians and Democratic advocacy groups attempted to spin the enrollment numbers in a positive light. Katie Naranjo, Texas director of Protect Your Care, told the Associated Press, "It is clear from the numbers released today that Texans want to receive affordable health care coverage and pay their fair share into a system dedicated to relieving the burden of uncompensated care on hospitals and doctors. Despite Republicans' best efforts to misinform and dissuade Texans about the Affordable Care Act, it is working and it is working in Texas."

Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate

 
 
 
  Reported by Breitbart 7 hours ago.

Sebelius admits Obamacare will raise health insurance premiums in 2015, tells Congress to expect 'no delay beyond March 31' for the individual mandate

March 12, 2014, 11:59 am

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The HHS secretary faced a hostile House Ways and Means panel on WednesdayShe conceded that health insurance rates will be higher next year, but suggested Reported by CapitalBay 7 hours ago.

Six Ways America Is Like a Third World Country

March 12, 2014, 12:33 pm

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Although the U.S. is one of the richest societies in history, it still lags behind other developed nations in many important indicators of human development -- key factors like how we educate our children, how we treat our prisoners, how we take care of the sick and more. In some instances, the U.S.'s performance is downright abysmal, far below foreign countries that are snidely looked-down-upon as "third world." Here are six of the most egregious examples that show how far we still have to go:

*1. Criminal Justice*

We all know the U.S. criminal justice system is flawed, but few are likely aware of just how bad it is compared to the rest of the world. The International Center for Prison Studies estimates that America imprisons 716 people per 100,000 citizens (of any age). That's significantly worse than Russia (484 prisoners per 100,000 citizens), China (121) and Iran (284). The only country that incarcerates a higher percentage of its population than we do is North Korea. The U.S. is also the only developed country that executes prisoners -- and our death penalty has a serious race problem: 42 percent of those on death row are black, compared to less than 15 percent of the overall population.

Over two and a half million American children have a parent behind bars. A whopping 60 percent of those incarcerated in U.S. prisons are non-violent offenders, many of them in prison for drug charges (overwhelmingly African-Americans). Even while our crime rate has fallen, our incarcerated population has climbed. As of 2011, an estimated 217,000 American prisoners were raped each year ­-- that's 600 new victims every day, a truly horrifying number. In 2010, the Department of Justice released a report about abuse in juvenile detention centers. The report found that 12.1 percent of all youth held in juvenile detention reported sexual violence; youth held for between seven and 12 months had a victimization rate of 14.2 percent.

*2. Gun Violence*

The U.S. leads the developed world in firearm-related murders, and the difference isn't a slight gap -- more like a chasm. According to United Nations data, the U.S. has 20 times more murders than the developed world average. Our murder rate also dwarfs many developing nations, like Iraq, which has a murder rate less than half ours. More than half of the most deadly mass shootings documented in the past 50 years around the world occurred in the United States, and 73 percent of the killers in the U.S. obtained their weapons legally. Another study finds that the U.S. has one of the highest proportion of suicides committed with a gun. Gun violence varies across the U.S., but some cities like New Orleans and Detroit rival the most violent Latin American countries, where gun violence is highest in the world.

*3. Health Care*

A study last year found that in many American counties, especially in the deep South, life expectancy is lower than in Algeria, Nicaragua or Bangladesh. The U.S. is the only developed country that does not guarantee health care to its citizens; even after the Affordable Care Act, millions of poor Americans will remain uninsured because governors, mainly Republicans, have refused to expand Medicaid, which provides health insurance for low-income Americans. Although the federal government will pay for the expansion, many governors cited cost, even though the expansion would actually save money. America is unique among developed countries in that tens of thousands of poor Americans die because they lack health insurance, even while we spend more than twice as much of our GDP on health care than the average for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a collection of rich world countries. The U.S. has an infant mortality rate that dwarfs comparable nations, as well as the highest teenage-pregnancy rate in the developed world, largely because of the politically-motivated unavailability of contraception in many areas.

*4. Education*

The U.S. is among only three nations in the world that does not guarantee paid maternal leave (the other two are Papua New Guinea and Swaziland). This means many poor American mothers must choose between raising their children and keeping their jobs. The U.S. education system is plagued with structural racial biases, like the fact that schools are funded at the local, rather than national level. That means that schools attended by poor black people get far less funding than the schools attended by wealthier students. The Department of Education has confirmed that schools with high concentrations of poor students have lower levels of funding. It's no wonder America has one of the highest achievement gaps between high income and low income students, as measured by the OECD. Schools today are actually more racially segregated than they were in the 1970s. Our higher education system is unique among developed nations in that is funded almost entirely privately, by debt. Students in the average OECD country can expect about 70 percent of their college tuition to be publicly funded; in the United States, only about 40 percent of the cost of education is publicly-funded. That's one reason the U.S. has the highest tuition costs of any OECD country.

*5. Inequality*

By almost every measure, the U.S. tops out OECD countries in terms of income inequality, largely because America has the stingiest welfare state of any developed country. This inequality has deep and profound effects on American society. For instance, although the U.S. justifies its rampant inequality on the premise of upward mobility, many parts of the United States have abysmal levels of social mobility, where children born in the poorest quintile have a less than 3 percent chance of reaching the top quintile. Inequality harms our democracy, because the wealthy exert an outsized political influence. Sheldon Adelson, for instance, spent more to influence the 2012 election than the residents of 12 states combined. Inequality also tears at the social fabric, with a large body of research showing that inequality correlates with low levels of social trust. In their book The Spirit Level, Richard Pickett and Kate Wilkinson show that a wide variety of social indicators, including health and well-being are intimately tied to inequality.

*6.** Infrastructure*

The United States infrastructure is slowly crumbling apart and is in desperate need for repair. One study estimates that our infrastructure system needs a $3.6 trillion investment over the next six years. In New York City, the development of Second Avenue subway line was first delayed by the outbreak of World War II; it's still not finished. In South Dakota, Alaska and Pennsylvania, water is still transported via century-old wooden pipes. Some 45 percent of Americans lack access to public transit. Large portions of U.S. wastewater capacity are more than half a century old and in Detroit, some of the sewer lines date back to the mid-19th century. One in nine U.S. bridges (or 66,405 bridges) are considered "structurally deficient," according to the National Bridge Inventory. All of this means that the U.S. has fallen rapidly in international rankings of infrastructure.

America is a great country, and it does many things well. But it has vast blind spots. The fact that nearly 6 million Americans, or 2.5 percent of the voting-age population, cannot vote because they have a felony on record means that politicians can lock up more and more citizens without fear of losing their seat. Our ideas of meritocracy and upward mobility blind us to the realities of class and inequality. Our health care system provides good care to some, but it comes at a cost -- millions of people without health insurance. If we don't critically examine these flaws, how can we ever hope to progress as a society?

This post first appeared in Rolling Stone. Reported by Huffington Post 6 hours ago.

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Can We Ever Have an Honest Conversation About Fixing Obamacare?

March 12, 2014, 12:29 pm

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Once again, at a White House press briefing, Jay Carney was asked about the serious problems many unions, including mine, have with Obamacare. He was questioned about a UNITE HERE document laying out, again, our very real problems with the new law. Mr. Carney asserted, "We've addressed this issue," and promised to get more information for the reporter. The Obama administration has not addressed our issues (unless Carney means they've addressed our issues by not fixing them) and rather than wait for another White House non-response, let me explain the situation.

We understand that Obamacare is complicated. But, we want to have an honest discussion about the law's problems and how it can be fixed so it meets its ultimate goal of providing insurance to American people. What I've learned is that no one in D.C. wants to have that conversation. Everyone is hunkered down for a purely political fight. Republicans have done everything they can to block, undermine and thwart Obamacare -- and have destroyed any ability to have a constructive dialogue about the law and its problems.

Because of the political climate, I realize it is important to provide a few things you need know about my union: Unite Here has over 300,000 members. A majority of our members are Latino or African-American women. They do the tough jobs: clean toilets, prepare food and make beds. They work hard, but they don't make a lot of money -- they are the group that need the most help with any public policy that is supposed to support the working class.

And, UNITE HERE was the first union to endorse then Senator Obama for President and actively supported the creation of health care for more people in this Country -- which eventually became the Affordable Care Act.

Now, here are three important facts you need to know about the ACA, or Obamacare:

*One:* Most Americans don't realize that the cornerstone of Obamacare is to transfer over $1 trillion - yes, $1 trillion in just the next few years -- from U.S. taxpayers directly to support the for profit health insurance industry (the same industry that was supposed to be reformed). It is the largest transfer of wealth to one industry in history. And the way it is structured, the entire system limits competition and pushes everyone to use private health insurance in the exchanges that only insurance companies can participate in.

*Two: *As a result of this transfer of wealth to prop up a small monopoly of private health insurers, competition by not for-profit plans like ours will wither and die. And the structure of our plans will be impossible to recreate -- so it is the loss of an entire sector of health care coverage. So while Obamacare has helped many uninsured people, the President and Congress have broken their promise to our 300,000 members and to over 20 million Americans who will not be able to keep the not for profit health plans they have now, and Obama said we could keep.

*Three:* Congress and the President have it in their power to fix this problem. The President has said he will use the "pen and phone" to act when Congress won't. Well, he has already used that pen to give Congressional staff an exemption from Obamacare. He has used a pen to give major corporations an exemption from paying a fine. He has used his pen to exempt employers with 51 to 100 employees from the law. And, he has used his pen to allow corporate executives to keep their gold-plated plans while pushing many other employees onto part-time work. All we ask is to keep what we have -- nothing more, nothing less.

As progressives, we cannot simply look the other way and pretend everyone makes out just fine with Obamacare. That just isn't the truth and the debate just isn't honest. It is disheartening that here in Washington so little attention is given the actual impact -- the expense to my members who don't have the special interest clout of corporate executives or congressional staffers. They just make beds and clean toilets for a living. And their health plans are their lifeline.

A promise was made and a promise has been broken. And it has been broken to the very people Obamacare should be helping. The people that asked for our help to support them and their cause now need to fix the devastating consequences of their actions. It is quite simple.

It is too simple for Washington. We have asked for solutions in a number of ways. The Obama administration, in response, has not been honest. It would be a good first step for Mr. Carney to provide real answers to the questions that have been raised about Obamacare's impact on labor unions. Starting this one: Why has the Obama administration done nothing to keep the President's promise to over 20 million people who belong to not for-profit health plans? We'd also like to know why administration officials keep saying that our plans can be offered on the exchanges. That's not true and they know it. But, we're waiting for them to explain how. They have not, because they cannot.

We must have an honest debate here. We should embrace what works about Obamacare and fight to keep it. And, we should have the honesty to admit those elements that aren't working and fix them. Fix them all. I can't sit and watch what millions of people have fought for go down the drain when there is no reason to harm them. Reported by Huffington Post 7 hours ago.

Planned Parenthood to Host over 500 Events in 18 Cities to Push ObamaCare

March 12, 2014, 1:00 pm

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Last year, President Obama said, “God bless Planned Parenthood,” a statement the abortion industry giant may be hoping to hear again as it ratchets up support for Obama’s signature legislation, ObamaCare, by hosting more than 500 events in 18 cities around the country, assisting the administration in meeting its goal of six million HealthCare.gov sign-ups by March 31.

According to a Monday press release, Planned Parenthood officials will stake out in grocery stores and indoor soccer fields to enroll people in ObamaCare. In addition, 500 canvassers will go door-to-door to sign up Americans in their homes.

The organization is hosting what it is calling “community events” in “key states,” including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, New Mexico, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

In fact, Planned Parenthood received over $655,000 in grants from the Department of Health and Human Services to serve as ObamaCare “navigators” to assist Americans in signing up at HealthCare.gov.

“The Affordable Care Act [ObamaCare] is one of the greatest advancements for women’s health in a generation,” said Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards in the press release, adding:

As the leading women’s health care provider and advocate, Planned Parenthood fought hard for the law’s passage, and in the last few weeks of this enrollment period, we’re working double time to make sure our patients and the communities we serve know about their new health care options.

“For millions of women, their trusted provider is Planned Parenthood,” Richards continued. “And for millions more, Planned Parenthood has been the trusted voice that helps guide them to get covered and get access to the full range of health care services they and their families deserve.”

In addition, the press statement reads:



Through this expanded outreach effort, Planned Parenthood also announced that it has already reached out to over one million people, to educate them about the new health care options available under the law. More than half of this work is being done in Spanish, helping to reach the nation’s nearly 1-in-3 non-elderly Latinos that are uninsured.



As Breitbart News reported in December, the relationship between Planned Parenthood and the Obama administration is a co-dependent one.

The abortion provider is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and its recently released annual report shows an organization that desperately needs ObamaCare’s promise of “free birth control” for survival, especially when individual states and even the U.S. Congress are either passing or considering legislation to restrict the practice of abortion.

“Millions more people begin getting free access to birth control, breast exams, and other preventive care as the Affordable Care Act goes into effect, with the women’s preventive benefit that Planned Parenthood led the fight to include,” Planned Parenthood’s report states.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Obama administration said Tuesday that 4.2 million people have enrolled in ObamaCare health plans, leaving millions more who must sign up to meet the 6 million mark projected by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a criterion that was previously downgraded from 7 million due to a multitude of “glitches” and rollout concerns, many of which remain unaddressed.

To date, the Obama administration cannot say how many Americans who have obtained coverage through the health law’s exchanges had health insurance coverage previously, as opposed to those signing up for insurance for the first time. The number of people who have paid their first month’s insurance premium is also unknown.

"Until the administration provides details about who was previously uninsured and who has paid, these reports tell us nothing about the success or failure of the president's health-care law," said Noelle Clemente, a spokeswoman for GOP lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "The president's recent media appearances suggest that the administration is panicked."

Obama appeared on Funny or Die’s left-wing comedy, Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, to pitch ObamaCare to young people.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency responsible for running ObamaCare, gave an optimistic view of the status of sign-ups in late February: “Our outreach efforts are in full force with community partners and local officials participating in hundreds of events each week, and enrollment assisters are helping more and more people enroll in coverage,” CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner wrote. “Consumers are shopping and enrolling in plans on HealthCare.gov every day; system error rates are low, and response times are consistently less than half a second.”

 
 
 
  Reported by Breitbart 6 hours ago.

HHS will push back against state restrictions on Obamacare ground troops

March 12, 2014, 12:30 pm

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After a number of states have passed laws limiting the reach of Obamacare “navigators,” the Obama administration is getting ready to push back.

HHS has signaled it will soon take on restrictions that states have placed on the federally funded program meant to educate consumers about health insurance. Reported by Washington Post 7 hours ago.

Poor and Uninsured? You've got an Obamacare Discount Waiting

March 12, 2014, 12:55 pm

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Chris Walters, PolicyGenius Contributor

Although the March 31 deadline to buy personal health insurance and avoid a tax penalty is only a few weeks away, a couple of new reports show that the two groups that stand to benefit the most -- the poor and the uninsured -- are barely participating.
1. A full 90 percent of people who are uninsured haven't bought insurance on the marketplace.3. 80 percent of people who say they can't afford insurance are actually eligible for subsidies, but two-thirds of them don't know this.5. The poorer you are, the less likely you are to have even heard about the marketplaces.
The incredibly low participation rates from the poor and uninsured are even more surprising considering the onslaught of media coverage and promotional campaigns that have been running for months now. Despite everything, there's clearly still a large information gap.

So maybe it's time to take a more personal approach. If you know people in your family or circle of friends who still haven't shopped for health insurance on one of the marketplaces, either because they're worried about the cost or because they have no idea how it all works, feel free to use the information below to help clear things up.

It matters because after March 31st most Americans won't be able to buy a policy through the health insurance marketplace again until November 14th, and that means they could possibly face a tax penalty (a small one, but still) when filing their 2014 taxes next year.

*Excuse #1: "I haven't bought health insurance because I can't afford it"*

For some this is sadly true even with the new cheaper plans, but at least those people are unlikely to face a tax penalty next year for not buying a policy.

For everyone else who says this -- including all those people identified in the McKinsey survey who are eligible for health insurance subsidies but don't know it -- now is a good time to spend the 2 to 3 minutes it takes to find out your subsidy status. (Yes, it happens that fast.)

If you can go online, here's a chart that shows qualifying income ranges for the health insurance subsidy.

If your income falls within the eligibility range, then you have your choice of two free interactive tools to help you find out exactly how much money you can get.

*Option A (more streamlined):*

Kaiser Family Foundation's Subsidy Calculator (English)

*Option B (more educational, better for absolute newbies):*

Health Tax Credit Tool (English)

Crédito Fiscal de Salud (Spanish)

If you need an offline tool, Consumers Union (the organization that publishes Consumer Reports) offers free downloadable brochures in English and Spanish for every state. They're very clear and explain how the subsidy works and how to determine your eligibility. (Be sure to choose the version in the first column, because it's the one that includes a phone number you can call for further help.)

Any subsidy you qualify for is applied directly to the monthly premium of the plan you purchase. For example, if you qualify for a $100/month subsidy and buy a plan that's normally $200/month, you'll only have to pay $100/month ($200 minus the $100 subsidy).

*Excuse #2: "I don't know what information I'll have to provide"*

When you shop on the marketplace, you'll need to provide enough personal information to prove your identity. If for some reason the marketplace can't confirm you're who you say you are, you might be asked to provide other types of proof.

In addition to personal information you'll be asked to give your estimated income for 2014, and any subsidy you receive will be based on that number. Next year when you file your 2014 taxes, the amount on your tax return will be compared to what you submitted to the marketplace to make sure they match. If you should have received a larger subsidy, you'll get that difference paid to you in a refund. If you should have received a smaller subsidy, you'll have to pay back the difference.

If you want to know more about the verification process, Consumer Reports has a brief but detailed overview.

If you want to know what the actual shopping experience is like, we published a detailed account titled, "What no one tells you about shopping the ACA health insurance exchanges."

*Excuse #3: "I can't access the website"*

Not everyone can go online and spend the hour or two it can take from start to finish, but fortunately you can do it all over the phone. Here's a list of every state's marketplace help line. You can also find your state's phone number printed on the brochures we mentioned above, so if you're planning on explaining all of this to someone offline, be sure to print that out to bring with you.

*So what do you do next?*

If you're looking to take the next step we've put together a handy checklist detailing how to go about shopping on the exchanges.

PolicyGenius is an independent site that offers unbiased advice and easy shopping for all lines of consumer insurance Reported by Huffington Post 6 hours ago.

How The Health Care Law Could Spur New Businesses

March 12, 2014, 2:15 pm

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People who may have been reluctant to leave their jobs because they were afraid of losing their health insurance may now decide to become entrepreneurs, analysts say. Reported by NPR 5 hours ago.