Less than eight weeks before the official launch of the new health care marketplaces, the Obama administration is ramping up efforts to encourage people to sign up. But some opponents want young people to pay a fine rather than sign up for health insurance, hoping to harm the new law.
Reported by NPR 6 hours ago.
Obamacare Foes Make Final Push To Stop Health Law's Implementation
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Sept. 18 Virtual Conference: Experts to Provide Last-Minute Advice on Exchanges Two Weeks Before Open Enrollment Begins
Featuring some of the nation’s most knowledgeable exchange experts — including current and former government officials — Atlantic Information Services’s upcoming Sept. 18 virtual conference is designed to provide practical training and advice on the implementation of exchanges from the convenience of the participant’s office or conference room with no travel required.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) August 08, 2013
Three years after the Affordable Care Act was enacted, the most pivotal piece of the health reform puzzle — health insurance exchanges — is about to be set into place. Two weeks before the Oct. 1 start of the open-enrollment period for health insurance exchanges, "Countdown to Exchanges: Last-Minute Preparations for the New Marketplaces," the upcoming Sept. 18 virtual conference from Atlantic Information Services, will provide health plans, third-party administrators, vendors and insurance brokers practical training and advice on the implementation of exchanges.
Featuring some of the nation’s most knowledgeable exchange experts, including current and former government officials, health plan executives and consultants, the Sept. 18 virtual conference will cover:
· Which features of exchanges should work, which are likely to fail, and what can be done about it,
· What impact CO-OPs and Medicaid managed care firms are expected to have in the new marketplaces and what can be learned from them,
· Last-minute preparations for call centers, and
· How organizations can thrive in exchanges this fall and get a jump-start on the year ahead.
AIS’s virtual conference allows participants to attend a live conference without having to travel to a meeting site. Plus, the registration fee includes a free On-Demand recording of each session, so any agenda items can be reviewed at a later time.
For more information, including a full agenda and speaker biographies, visit http://aishealth.com/countdown/ .
About AIS
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is a publishing and information company that has been serving the health care industry for more than 25 years. It develops highly targeted news, data and strategic information for managers in hospitals, health plans, medical group practices, pharmaceutical companies and other health care organizations. AIS products include print and electronic newsletters, websites, looseleafs, books, strategic reports, databases, webinars and conferences. Learn more at http://AISHealth.com. Reported by PRWeb 5 hours ago.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) August 08, 2013
Three years after the Affordable Care Act was enacted, the most pivotal piece of the health reform puzzle — health insurance exchanges — is about to be set into place. Two weeks before the Oct. 1 start of the open-enrollment period for health insurance exchanges, "Countdown to Exchanges: Last-Minute Preparations for the New Marketplaces," the upcoming Sept. 18 virtual conference from Atlantic Information Services, will provide health plans, third-party administrators, vendors and insurance brokers practical training and advice on the implementation of exchanges.
Featuring some of the nation’s most knowledgeable exchange experts, including current and former government officials, health plan executives and consultants, the Sept. 18 virtual conference will cover:
· Which features of exchanges should work, which are likely to fail, and what can be done about it,
· What impact CO-OPs and Medicaid managed care firms are expected to have in the new marketplaces and what can be learned from them,
· Last-minute preparations for call centers, and
· How organizations can thrive in exchanges this fall and get a jump-start on the year ahead.
AIS’s virtual conference allows participants to attend a live conference without having to travel to a meeting site. Plus, the registration fee includes a free On-Demand recording of each session, so any agenda items can be reviewed at a later time.
For more information, including a full agenda and speaker biographies, visit http://aishealth.com/countdown/ .
About AIS
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is a publishing and information company that has been serving the health care industry for more than 25 years. It develops highly targeted news, data and strategic information for managers in hospitals, health plans, medical group practices, pharmaceutical companies and other health care organizations. AIS products include print and electronic newsletters, websites, looseleafs, books, strategic reports, databases, webinars and conferences. Learn more at http://AISHealth.com. Reported by PRWeb 5 hours ago.
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Aetna pulls out of Ohio insurance marketplace
Aetna has reversed course on plans to participate in Ohio’s federally-mandated health insurance exchange next year. The company told the state late last week it was withdrawing its plans from consideration to be on the Ohio exchange. The plans had been pending approval by the Ohio Department of Insurance, said Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor. This could mean less competition for those insurance firms that are participating in the exchange. “Aetna has withdrawn its individual exchange filing in Ohio…
Reported by bizjournals 4 hours ago.
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Idaho gets $20.3 million grant for health exchange
The state of Idaho has just received a $20.3 million federal grant to help craft its own health insurance exchange.
Reported by Miami Herald 3 hours ago.
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Zane Benefits Publishes New Information on How to Offer Better Health Insurance
Employers need control of cost of benefits; employees need access to the best health care.
Park City, Utah (PRWEB) August 08, 2013
Today, Zane Benefits, the online alternative to group health insurance, published new information on how to offer better health insurance.
According to Zane Benefits’ website, the landscape of employee health insurance is rapidly changing because the cost of group health insurance is quickly becoming unsustainable for many businesses.
With the increased cost of health insurance premiums, businesses have had to shift the costs to employees, take on more of the expense, and/or reduce benefits.
According to Zane Benefits’ website, for a health benefits program to work, it has to meet the business’s budget and provide value to employees. The following aspects of defined contribution contribute to happier employees.
1. Access to the Best Health Care: Because employees choose how to spend their health care allowance, including which individual health insurance policy to purchase, they can pick the health coverage that best meets their needs. Employees say they no longer want a one-size fits all health insurance plan. Rather, they want the options to customize their health benefits.
2. Access to Health Insurance Subsidies: Starting in October 2013, employees can use health care allowance to purchase policies from the new health insurance marketplaces. This gives employees access to federal health insurance tax subsidies (starting in 2014) to lower the cost of their premium. Eligibility for the tax subsidies is based on income and household size. Households with income up to 400% above the federal poverty line (FPL) will be eligible (up to $45,960 for an individual in 2013, or $94,200 for a family of four in 2013).
3. Predictable Costs for Employees: Employees have a clear budget to spend on health insurance. Individual plans are, on average, 30% cheaper than the same group coverage. And if an employee doesn’t spend their full allowance on health insurance, they could use it on co-pays, prescriptions, etc. (as the employer’s plan allows).
4. Easy to Use: Employees value health benefits that are easy to understand, and easy to use. Similar to the transition from pensions to 401(k) retirement plans, the defined contribution health benefits approach requires employees to take more control of their health benefits. Defined contribution administration software provides employees easy access through an online portal where they can see benefit information and submit requests for reimbursement (“claims”).
Click here to read the full article.
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About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits was founded in 2006 to provide a revolutionized SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) administration platform ("ZaneHRA") for Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and defined contribution health care. The flagship software provides a 100% paperless administration experience to small businesses and insurance professionals that want to offer better health benefits without a traditional group health insurance plan at lower costs. For more information about ZaneHRA, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
Park City, Utah (PRWEB) August 08, 2013
Today, Zane Benefits, the online alternative to group health insurance, published new information on how to offer better health insurance.
According to Zane Benefits’ website, the landscape of employee health insurance is rapidly changing because the cost of group health insurance is quickly becoming unsustainable for many businesses.
With the increased cost of health insurance premiums, businesses have had to shift the costs to employees, take on more of the expense, and/or reduce benefits.
According to Zane Benefits’ website, for a health benefits program to work, it has to meet the business’s budget and provide value to employees. The following aspects of defined contribution contribute to happier employees.
1. Access to the Best Health Care: Because employees choose how to spend their health care allowance, including which individual health insurance policy to purchase, they can pick the health coverage that best meets their needs. Employees say they no longer want a one-size fits all health insurance plan. Rather, they want the options to customize their health benefits.
2. Access to Health Insurance Subsidies: Starting in October 2013, employees can use health care allowance to purchase policies from the new health insurance marketplaces. This gives employees access to federal health insurance tax subsidies (starting in 2014) to lower the cost of their premium. Eligibility for the tax subsidies is based on income and household size. Households with income up to 400% above the federal poverty line (FPL) will be eligible (up to $45,960 for an individual in 2013, or $94,200 for a family of four in 2013).
3. Predictable Costs for Employees: Employees have a clear budget to spend on health insurance. Individual plans are, on average, 30% cheaper than the same group coverage. And if an employee doesn’t spend their full allowance on health insurance, they could use it on co-pays, prescriptions, etc. (as the employer’s plan allows).
4. Easy to Use: Employees value health benefits that are easy to understand, and easy to use. Similar to the transition from pensions to 401(k) retirement plans, the defined contribution health benefits approach requires employees to take more control of their health benefits. Defined contribution administration software provides employees easy access through an online portal where they can see benefit information and submit requests for reimbursement (“claims”).
Click here to read the full article.
--
About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits was founded in 2006 to provide a revolutionized SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) administration platform ("ZaneHRA") for Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and defined contribution health care. The flagship software provides a 100% paperless administration experience to small businesses and insurance professionals that want to offer better health benefits without a traditional group health insurance plan at lower costs. For more information about ZaneHRA, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
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State health exchange asks for $55 million grant for jobs, costs
Minnesota's health insurance exchange has asked for a $55 million federal grant to cover next year's costs. The Star Tribune reports that the MNsure board (made up of area executives, entrepreneurs and health care experts) reviewed the request Wednesday. The grant would pay for about 166 full-time state workers and other operational costs. The exchange needs to be self-sufficient by 2015, and could get the award on Oct. 1, what is expected to be the first day of business for the exchange. Do you…
Reported by bizjournals 1 hour ago.
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ObamaCare Unlikely to Secure Americans' Private Information
ObamaCare requires that the government know Americans’ financial, medical, and employment information. This data should be private, yet the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says that the Obama administration has not set up adequate safeguards to protect Americans’ private information under the new healthcare system.
Reuters indicates that the OIG’s study, released on Friday, discovered that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)--the HHS agency that is running ObamaCare--“had set a May 13 deadline for its contractor to deliver a plan to test the security of the crucial information technology component.”
Though a test to assess firewalls and other security systems was supposed to have been performed between June 3^rd and 7^th, the delivery deadline was not kept, and the test will now take place this week and next.
“CMS,” said the OIG’s report, “is working with very tight deadlines.”
According to Avik Roy at Forbes, based on the OIG’s assessment of ObamaCare’s privacy problems, the state “exchanges may end up illegally exposing Americans’ private records to hackers and criminals.”
Roy asserts that, under the Privacy Act of 1974, the Obama administration is legally required to provide privacy safeguards to secure Americans’ information. In addition, the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) requires the executive branch to keep Americans’ private information adequately protected from security breaches and misuse.
Roy notes the following pattern of Americans’ private information in ObamaCare:
Hence, the Obamacare exchanges mandate the creation of a “data hub” through which exchanges can access personal records from seven different agencies—the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the Veterans Health Administration, the Department of Defense, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Peace Corps—in order to determine eligibility for exchange subsidies and mandate penalties.
Before the exchanges can operate legally, the Obama administration must, under FISMA, meet guidelines set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
However, Gloria Jarmon, Deputy Inspector General for Audit Services at HHS, said that “several critical tasks remain to be completed in a short period of time…If there are additional delays in completing the security authorization,” CMS won’t have the necessary “security controls needed for the security authorization decision” to open the exchanges on October 1^st.
Roy reports Jarmon’s concern that CMS has delayed important deadlines by approximately two months. As a result of the time crunches, CMS is now planning to perform essential security reviews that will permit the exchanges to move forward in only 10 days, when they actually take 51 days to complete thoroughly.
According to Roy:
What makes them think that they can accomplish a 51-day review in just 10 days? They don’t. The Obama administration is so determined to get Obamacare up and running on time that they are likely to ignore the legal requirements to adequately review these privacy safeguards.
The Obama administration, says Roy, believes failure to open the exchanges on time will be a greater public relations disaster than launching them without adequate privacy safeguards in place.
Reuters notes that experts confirm that the exchanges are more likely to open with security flaws than to be delayed.
“They’ve removed their margin for error,” said Deven McGraw, director of the health privacy project at the non-profit Center for Democracy & Technology. “There is huge pressure to get (the exchanges) up and running on time, but if there is a security incident they are done. It would be a complete disaster from a PR viewpoint.”
The most common type of security breach, according to Reuters, would be identity theft, whereby a hacker steals the social security numbers and other private information people hand over when they agree to participate in an insurance plan.
CMS spokesman Brian Cook said his agency is confident that ObamaCare’s exchanges will open on time. “We are on schedule and will be ready for the marketplaces to open on October 1,” he said.
Michael Astrue, former Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, minced no words in a piece this week in The Weekly Standard. Entitled, “Privacy Be Damned,” Astrue’s article is scathing in its criticism of ObamaCare:
A functional and legally compliant federal exchange almost certainly will not be ready on October 1 for those who will have no choice but to use the federal portal. The reasons for failure are not short timelines (Congress gave HHS more than three years), political interference (Congress has not focused on ACA systems), or complexity (states have built well-designed exchanges). The reason is plain old incompetence and arrogance.
Astrue argues that no special funding was appropriated by Congress to create the systems for the exchanges. In addition, Donald Berwick, former CMS administrator, was unwilling to move adequate funds within his agency for the systems, and unable to convince HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius to spend any money on this effort, despite her massive ObamaCare discretionary fund.
Astrue continues his condemnation:
Civil servants at CMS did what they could to meet the statutory deadline?—?they threw together an overly simplistic system without adequate privacy safeguards. The system’s lack of any substantial verification of the user would leave members of the public open to identity theft, lost periods of health insurance coverage, and exposure of address for victims of domestic abuse and others. CMS then tried to deflect attention from its shortcomings by falsely asserting that it had done so to satisfy White House directives about making electronic services user-friendly.
In June, Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) wrote about her concerns regarding Americans’ privacy and the ObamaCare "Data Hub":
Despite being only four months from Obamacare open enrollment, even the most basic questions about the Data Hub have yet to be answered. For instance, which agencies will have access to what information in it; will government employees, contractors and third parties have access; and what training and security clearances – if any – are required for these individuals. Which begs the question: Is this what President Obama meant by being the most transparent administration in U.S. history?
With so much personal information going in and out of the Hub likely privy to both government employees and contractors, many of whom will have discretion over health care coverage and tax penalties, the potential for abuses is staggering.
Astrue adds a final note about the report issued by the OIG:
I don’t sleep well thinking about Americans being fined for not using systems that don’t work. I don’t sleep well thinking about domestic abusers who could use vulnerabilities in the system to find their victims. However, the HHS inspector general seems to have no difficulty snoozing night or day.
Reported by Breitbart 9 minutes ago.
Reuters indicates that the OIG’s study, released on Friday, discovered that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)--the HHS agency that is running ObamaCare--“had set a May 13 deadline for its contractor to deliver a plan to test the security of the crucial information technology component.”
Though a test to assess firewalls and other security systems was supposed to have been performed between June 3^rd and 7^th, the delivery deadline was not kept, and the test will now take place this week and next.
“CMS,” said the OIG’s report, “is working with very tight deadlines.”
According to Avik Roy at Forbes, based on the OIG’s assessment of ObamaCare’s privacy problems, the state “exchanges may end up illegally exposing Americans’ private records to hackers and criminals.”
Roy asserts that, under the Privacy Act of 1974, the Obama administration is legally required to provide privacy safeguards to secure Americans’ information. In addition, the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) requires the executive branch to keep Americans’ private information adequately protected from security breaches and misuse.
Roy notes the following pattern of Americans’ private information in ObamaCare:
Hence, the Obamacare exchanges mandate the creation of a “data hub” through which exchanges can access personal records from seven different agencies—the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the Veterans Health Administration, the Department of Defense, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Peace Corps—in order to determine eligibility for exchange subsidies and mandate penalties.
Before the exchanges can operate legally, the Obama administration must, under FISMA, meet guidelines set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
However, Gloria Jarmon, Deputy Inspector General for Audit Services at HHS, said that “several critical tasks remain to be completed in a short period of time…If there are additional delays in completing the security authorization,” CMS won’t have the necessary “security controls needed for the security authorization decision” to open the exchanges on October 1^st.
Roy reports Jarmon’s concern that CMS has delayed important deadlines by approximately two months. As a result of the time crunches, CMS is now planning to perform essential security reviews that will permit the exchanges to move forward in only 10 days, when they actually take 51 days to complete thoroughly.
According to Roy:
What makes them think that they can accomplish a 51-day review in just 10 days? They don’t. The Obama administration is so determined to get Obamacare up and running on time that they are likely to ignore the legal requirements to adequately review these privacy safeguards.
The Obama administration, says Roy, believes failure to open the exchanges on time will be a greater public relations disaster than launching them without adequate privacy safeguards in place.
Reuters notes that experts confirm that the exchanges are more likely to open with security flaws than to be delayed.
“They’ve removed their margin for error,” said Deven McGraw, director of the health privacy project at the non-profit Center for Democracy & Technology. “There is huge pressure to get (the exchanges) up and running on time, but if there is a security incident they are done. It would be a complete disaster from a PR viewpoint.”
The most common type of security breach, according to Reuters, would be identity theft, whereby a hacker steals the social security numbers and other private information people hand over when they agree to participate in an insurance plan.
CMS spokesman Brian Cook said his agency is confident that ObamaCare’s exchanges will open on time. “We are on schedule and will be ready for the marketplaces to open on October 1,” he said.
Michael Astrue, former Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, minced no words in a piece this week in The Weekly Standard. Entitled, “Privacy Be Damned,” Astrue’s article is scathing in its criticism of ObamaCare:
A functional and legally compliant federal exchange almost certainly will not be ready on October 1 for those who will have no choice but to use the federal portal. The reasons for failure are not short timelines (Congress gave HHS more than three years), political interference (Congress has not focused on ACA systems), or complexity (states have built well-designed exchanges). The reason is plain old incompetence and arrogance.
Astrue argues that no special funding was appropriated by Congress to create the systems for the exchanges. In addition, Donald Berwick, former CMS administrator, was unwilling to move adequate funds within his agency for the systems, and unable to convince HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius to spend any money on this effort, despite her massive ObamaCare discretionary fund.
Astrue continues his condemnation:
Civil servants at CMS did what they could to meet the statutory deadline?—?they threw together an overly simplistic system without adequate privacy safeguards. The system’s lack of any substantial verification of the user would leave members of the public open to identity theft, lost periods of health insurance coverage, and exposure of address for victims of domestic abuse and others. CMS then tried to deflect attention from its shortcomings by falsely asserting that it had done so to satisfy White House directives about making electronic services user-friendly.
In June, Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) wrote about her concerns regarding Americans’ privacy and the ObamaCare "Data Hub":
Despite being only four months from Obamacare open enrollment, even the most basic questions about the Data Hub have yet to be answered. For instance, which agencies will have access to what information in it; will government employees, contractors and third parties have access; and what training and security clearances – if any – are required for these individuals. Which begs the question: Is this what President Obama meant by being the most transparent administration in U.S. history?
With so much personal information going in and out of the Hub likely privy to both government employees and contractors, many of whom will have discretion over health care coverage and tax penalties, the potential for abuses is staggering.
Astrue adds a final note about the report issued by the OIG:
I don’t sleep well thinking about Americans being fined for not using systems that don’t work. I don’t sleep well thinking about domestic abusers who could use vulnerabilities in the system to find their victims. However, the HHS inspector general seems to have no difficulty snoozing night or day.
Reported by Breitbart 9 minutes ago.
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Cost for companies using NM insurance exchange set at 50 percent
New Mexico companies that want to buy insurance for their employees on the state’s health insurance exchange will have to pay 50 percent of the cost of the policies and ensure that at least half of their workers buy insurance – at least for now. The New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange board approved those measures Wednesday along with a plan to give workers a choice of health plans, but only after going back and forth on the issues. And the board, which was under time pressure to get those…
Reported by bizjournals 9 minutes ago.
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Do you understand health insurance? Most people don't.
Clear your desk of your favorite health policy reads: This is a Wonkblog Pop Quiz. You didn't know those happened? Well, that's pretty much the point.
A little while back, a health-care economist at Carnegie Mellon University rounded up 202 people who had employer-sponsored health insurance. And, he gave them this quiz: Define four basic health insurance terms. It's right here, for you, dear reader, to take.
Read full article >>
Reported by Washington Post 22 hours ago.
A little while back, a health-care economist at Carnegie Mellon University rounded up 202 people who had employer-sponsored health insurance. And, he gave them this quiz: Define four basic health insurance terms. It's right here, for you, dear reader, to take.
Read full article >>
Reported by Washington Post 22 hours ago.
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Allsup Observes National Health Center Week Aug. 11-17
Dedicated health professionals help people with limited funds to access medical care—a necessity when seeking Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, Allsup reports.
Belleville, IL (PRWEB) August 08, 2013
More than 21 million Americans received high-quality care from approximately 1,200 health centers in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HRSA). Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) representation, veterans disability appeal and Medicare plan selection services, joins the HRSA in saluting healthcare professionals who work at these facilities during National Health Center Week Aug. 11-17.
Health centers provide medical care to individuals and families living in their communities, including those who have no health insurance. Nearly 20,000 physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurses' work at health centers across the country.
These providers offer affordable, accessible and preventive medical care, with particular emphasis on serving low-income individuals, rural communities and other underserved populations.
Medical documentation is critical for those people who can no longer work because of a severe, long-term illness and are applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. “An important benefit of health centers is access to doctors who can document the severity and impact of someone’s impairments with their claim for SSDI benefits,” said Ed Swierczek, senior claimant representative.
Social Security Disability Insurance & Medical Treatment+
Detailed medical records are an important part of the medical-evidence based federal insurance program, which is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Applying for SSDI is a complicated process, and two out of three disability insurance claims are denied at the initial application. Click here to learn more.
The SSA uses a five-step sequential evaluation process to determine eligibility, Swierczek explained:
· The individual must not be gainfully employed.
· The condition must interfere with basic work activities.
· The condition is on the SSA’s list of disabling medical conditions (or medically equals a listing) and is expected to last for at least 12 months and/or result in death.
· The individual is unable to perform the work he or she had been doing before the disability.
· The individual can’t perform any other type of work.
Medical documentation helps verify the details that are outlined in someone’s claim for SSDI benefits. “If an individual meets the SSA medical listing criteria, the person may be found disabled at step three of the sequential evaluation process,” Swierczek explained. “There are multiple criteria that can meet the medical listing, which would warrant a finding of disabled under SSA rules.”
“It’s also possible for someone who doesn’t strictly meet the medical listing to have medical findings that are equal to the severity of the medical listing or other complications that result in a finding of disability,” Swierczek added.
Health centers often are a source of primary care for individuals and now serve one out of 15 people living in the U.S., the HRSA reports. For more information about the role of health centers nationwide, visit National Health Center Week online.
For a free Social Security Disability Insurance evaluation, call the Allsup Disability Evaluation Center at (800) 678-3276.
About Allsup
Allsup is a nationwide provider of Social Security disability, veterans disability appeal, Medicare and Medicare Secondary Payer compliance services for individuals, employers and insurance carriers. Allsup professionals deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. Founded in 1984, the company is based in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis. For more information, go to http://www.Allsup.com or visit Allsup on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Allsupinc/. Reported by PRWeb 21 hours ago.
Belleville, IL (PRWEB) August 08, 2013
More than 21 million Americans received high-quality care from approximately 1,200 health centers in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HRSA). Allsup, a nationwide provider of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) representation, veterans disability appeal and Medicare plan selection services, joins the HRSA in saluting healthcare professionals who work at these facilities during National Health Center Week Aug. 11-17.
Health centers provide medical care to individuals and families living in their communities, including those who have no health insurance. Nearly 20,000 physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurses' work at health centers across the country.
These providers offer affordable, accessible and preventive medical care, with particular emphasis on serving low-income individuals, rural communities and other underserved populations.
Medical documentation is critical for those people who can no longer work because of a severe, long-term illness and are applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. “An important benefit of health centers is access to doctors who can document the severity and impact of someone’s impairments with their claim for SSDI benefits,” said Ed Swierczek, senior claimant representative.
Social Security Disability Insurance & Medical Treatment+
Detailed medical records are an important part of the medical-evidence based federal insurance program, which is administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Applying for SSDI is a complicated process, and two out of three disability insurance claims are denied at the initial application. Click here to learn more.
The SSA uses a five-step sequential evaluation process to determine eligibility, Swierczek explained:
· The individual must not be gainfully employed.
· The condition must interfere with basic work activities.
· The condition is on the SSA’s list of disabling medical conditions (or medically equals a listing) and is expected to last for at least 12 months and/or result in death.
· The individual is unable to perform the work he or she had been doing before the disability.
· The individual can’t perform any other type of work.
Medical documentation helps verify the details that are outlined in someone’s claim for SSDI benefits. “If an individual meets the SSA medical listing criteria, the person may be found disabled at step three of the sequential evaluation process,” Swierczek explained. “There are multiple criteria that can meet the medical listing, which would warrant a finding of disabled under SSA rules.”
“It’s also possible for someone who doesn’t strictly meet the medical listing to have medical findings that are equal to the severity of the medical listing or other complications that result in a finding of disability,” Swierczek added.
Health centers often are a source of primary care for individuals and now serve one out of 15 people living in the U.S., the HRSA reports. For more information about the role of health centers nationwide, visit National Health Center Week online.
For a free Social Security Disability Insurance evaluation, call the Allsup Disability Evaluation Center at (800) 678-3276.
About Allsup
Allsup is a nationwide provider of Social Security disability, veterans disability appeal, Medicare and Medicare Secondary Payer compliance services for individuals, employers and insurance carriers. Allsup professionals deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. Founded in 1984, the company is based in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis. For more information, go to http://www.Allsup.com or visit Allsup on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Allsupinc/. Reported by PRWeb 21 hours ago.
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Loma Linda University Health to Receive $990,000 Grant from Covered California for Affordable Care Act Outreach and Education
Loma Linda University Health (LLUH), in partnership with Community Clinic Association of San Bernardino County, is one of 48 lead organizations receiving grant awards totaling $37 million from Covered California to help residents access affordable health care coverage.
Loma Linda, Calif. (PRWEB) August 08, 2013
Loma Linda University Health will receive a grant of $990,000 from Covered California to conduct outreach and education programs on how, starting in 2014, Californians can access affordable health care coverage under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Loma Linda University Health (LLUH), in partnership with Community Clinic Association of San Bernardino County, is one of 48 lead organizations receiving grant awards totaling $37 million from Covered California to help residents access affordable health care coverage.
The selected organizations will reach nearly nine million people and more than 200,000 small businesses in California’s 58 counties. Covered California will focus its outreach on 5.3 million Californians in need of individual insurance, about half of who may be eligible for financial assistance with their premiums.
“We are very excited to build on partnerships with organizations that have trusted relationships in diverse communities throughout the state,” says Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California. Covered California is charged with creating a new insurance marketplace in which individuals and small businesses can get access to health insurance, as provided by the federal health care law.
“Loma Linda’s strategy to use provider educators that will champion Covered California has great outreach potential,” says Sarah Soto-Taylor, Covered California deputy director of community affairs. “Our partnership with Loma Linda will help raise awareness about our new health care marketplace in San Bernardino County among the medical professionals who come in contact daily with consumers who may benefit from premium assistance.”
The grant will allow LLUH and the Community Clinic Association of San Bernardino County to pursue an outreach plan, developed under the leadership of Dora Barilla, associate director of the LLUH Institute for Community Partnerships, to reach out to diverse, uninsured populations within the county.
The plan includes staging group meetings, attending community events, coordinating with community clinics, and educating health care providers about the new California Health Benefit Exchange, a major component of the federal health care law.
“Key to successful implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is education, and we are very honored to have been selected by Covered California to help educate and assist the residents of San Bernardino County gain access to affordable health care,” says Gerald Winslow, Ph.D., vice president for mission and culture at LLUH, and director of the Institute for Health Policy and Leadership, the organizational entity responsible for administering the grant.
Photo Caption: At a recent training session held at Loma Linda University Health, training consultant Susan Ladua answered questions from representatives of various organizations that received grants from Covered California about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
About Loma Linda University Health (LLUH)
Loma Linda University Health includes Loma Linda University's eight professional schools, Loma Linda University Medical Center's six hospitals and more than 900 faculty physicians located in the Inland Empire of Southern California. Established in 1905, LLUH is a global leader in education, research and clinical care. It offers over 100 academic programs and provides quality health care to 40,000 inpatients and 1.5 million outpatients each year. A Seventh-day Adventist organization, LLUH is a faith-based health system with a mission "to continue the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ." Reported by PRWeb 19 hours ago.
Loma Linda, Calif. (PRWEB) August 08, 2013
Loma Linda University Health will receive a grant of $990,000 from Covered California to conduct outreach and education programs on how, starting in 2014, Californians can access affordable health care coverage under the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Loma Linda University Health (LLUH), in partnership with Community Clinic Association of San Bernardino County, is one of 48 lead organizations receiving grant awards totaling $37 million from Covered California to help residents access affordable health care coverage.
The selected organizations will reach nearly nine million people and more than 200,000 small businesses in California’s 58 counties. Covered California will focus its outreach on 5.3 million Californians in need of individual insurance, about half of who may be eligible for financial assistance with their premiums.
“We are very excited to build on partnerships with organizations that have trusted relationships in diverse communities throughout the state,” says Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California. Covered California is charged with creating a new insurance marketplace in which individuals and small businesses can get access to health insurance, as provided by the federal health care law.
“Loma Linda’s strategy to use provider educators that will champion Covered California has great outreach potential,” says Sarah Soto-Taylor, Covered California deputy director of community affairs. “Our partnership with Loma Linda will help raise awareness about our new health care marketplace in San Bernardino County among the medical professionals who come in contact daily with consumers who may benefit from premium assistance.”
The grant will allow LLUH and the Community Clinic Association of San Bernardino County to pursue an outreach plan, developed under the leadership of Dora Barilla, associate director of the LLUH Institute for Community Partnerships, to reach out to diverse, uninsured populations within the county.
The plan includes staging group meetings, attending community events, coordinating with community clinics, and educating health care providers about the new California Health Benefit Exchange, a major component of the federal health care law.
“Key to successful implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is education, and we are very honored to have been selected by Covered California to help educate and assist the residents of San Bernardino County gain access to affordable health care,” says Gerald Winslow, Ph.D., vice president for mission and culture at LLUH, and director of the Institute for Health Policy and Leadership, the organizational entity responsible for administering the grant.
Photo Caption: At a recent training session held at Loma Linda University Health, training consultant Susan Ladua answered questions from representatives of various organizations that received grants from Covered California about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
About Loma Linda University Health (LLUH)
Loma Linda University Health includes Loma Linda University's eight professional schools, Loma Linda University Medical Center's six hospitals and more than 900 faculty physicians located in the Inland Empire of Southern California. Established in 1905, LLUH is a global leader in education, research and clinical care. It offers over 100 academic programs and provides quality health care to 40,000 inpatients and 1.5 million outpatients each year. A Seventh-day Adventist organization, LLUH is a faith-based health system with a mission "to continue the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ." Reported by PRWeb 19 hours ago.
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Major Health Insurers Abandon ObamaCare Exchanges
Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, United Health Group, and Humana have all decided against participating in various states' ObamaCare health insurance exchanges. The exchanges, which are scheduled to begin operation on October 1^st, will be the only place Americans can purchase health insurance using federal subsidies granted by President Obama’s signature healthcare reform law.According to ObamaCare's individual mandate, all Americans are required to purchase a government-approved health insurance plan. Americans who do not obtain health insurance through an employer or Medicaid must purchase it through the exchanges in their home state. Some exchanges will be run by the state government, while others by the federal government or a combination of the two.
In the wake of the withdrawal of major health insurers from some state exchanges, state insurance officials are emphasizing that their states will have plenty of “choice” and “competition” come October 1^st.
CNS News.com reports that Aetna, a fortune 100 company with $34.2 billion in revenue, has left the exchanges in three states, including Connecticut, home of its main headquarters.
According to the Hartford Courant, Aetna withdrew “its application to sell individual health insurance plans through a public exchange after the state Insurance Department told the insurer its proposed rates were too high.”
The Courant indicates that, when state regulators told Aetna its rates were too high, the company did not accept the modified rates.
“This is not a step taken lightly, and was made as part of [a] national review of our exchange strategy,” said Aetna spokeswoman Susan Millerick. “Unfortunately, we believe the modifications to the rates filed by Aetna will not allow us to collect enough premiums to cover the cost of the plans and meet the service expectations of our customers.”
The Courant reports the Connecticut Insurance Department said that Aetna’s price reflected a 10 percent assumed increase in medical and pharmacy services, and that the department wanted that decreased to 8.5 percent. In addition, the Insurance Department would not allow for an 8.1 percent risk adjustment since the Department does not allow risk adjustments in the first year of pricing.
Kevin Counihan, CEO of Connecticut’s health exchange, reportedly said that consumers will continue to have considerable choices without Aetna.
However, according to USA Today, only three insurers remain in Connecticut to offer individual health plans in the exchange.
Aetna is also withdrawing from Maryland’s exchange for individual health plans and from Georgia’s exchange for both individual and small-group plans. Aetna is also not participating in California’s exchange, although it had reportedly never planned to do so.
According to recorderonline.com, Anthem Blue Cross has withdrawn from offering small business plans in California’s exchanges after state insurance commissioner Dave Jones said the company demonstrated repeated unreasonable rate increases.
Referring to Anthem’s rate increases as “excessive” and “unjustified,” Jones said:
Anthem will continue selling in the small group health insurance market in California outside the exchange, so there is no impact on choice or competition in the small group market overall. It does mean that Anthem will not have access to federal tax credit and taxpayer subsidized business in the small group market exchange, which is as it should be given Anthem’s pattern of unreasonable rate increases.
United Health Group, the nation’s largest health insurer, has abandoned California’s exchange for individual plans, according to californiahealthline.org.
Reported by Breitbart 15 hours ago.
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Obamacare Indecision Leaves College Instructors In Limbo
Adjunct college instructors are caught in purgatory as their employers, which have increasingly relied on them as a cheap source of labor, decide if they will restrict the hours the instructors are allowed to work to avoid providing them with health insurance.
Only about one-fourth of colleges have decided on criteria for determining whether a part-time faculty member is working 30 hours or more a week, and thus will be entitled under Obamacare to health insurance coverage from the school, according to a survey released this week by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. But a wave of colleges have announced new restrictions this year on the hours that adjunct, or part-time, faculty members are allowed to work.
No survey respondents said they believe the Affordable Care Act will cause their insurance costs to go down, but 40 percent said they expect those costs to stay the same. The survey looked at 626 institutions, almost equally split between private and public schools if the multiple institutions covered by public college systems are added up.
The good news is that close to half of the institutions do not plan to alter their use of part-time faculty due to Obamacare, the survey found, although two-thirds are still laboring over the criteria they will use to determine if those instructors are indeed working 30 hours or more.
Most adjuncts work without benefits, at an average of $2,900 per course, according to the Service Employees International Union. That's one-fourth of what tenure-track professors earn. Adjunct faculty make up a majority of the higher education workforce -- a reversal from 1969, when tenure-track professors constituted 78 percent of colleges' instructional staff.
Despite a one-year delay in the employer mandate recently announced by the Obama administration, colleges that did announce restrictions on adjunct work hours have not similarly delayed the new limits.
"We were kind of happy that there was this moratorium imposed," said Maria Maisto, president of the adjunct advocacy group New Faculty Majority, "but it's only going to be useful if the colleges engage with adjunct faculty and talk to them and understand the nature of adjunct faculty work."
Among the colleges taking steps to ensure adjunct instructors and other part-time employees will stay below the 30-hour-per-week level is St. Petersburg College, a public institution in Florida.
Providing benefits for part-time employees and instructors would amount to about $8,100 each, for a total cost of millions, said Doug Duncan, senior vice president for administrative and business services at St. Petersburg. The school said it had to enact the limit now because of the one-year "look back" period that employers use to track average hours worked by their employees.
"We hated to take that step for many reasons, but we simply do not have the funding to take on that additional expense," Duncan said.
Many of the colleges cutting hours for adjunct faculty are public institutions, which are by and large underfunded despite enrollment growth over the past decade. That's no excuse though, Maisto said, because "one of the responsibilities is for [college] leaders to make the case to legislators for funding higher education."
Colleges also complain they haven't received any guidance from the Internal Revenue Service on how to figure adjunct work hours, only the warning to calculate them using a "reasonable" method.
The University of Akron, for instance, has not made any final decisions and is consulting with its legal counsel while awaiting IRS advice, said spokeswoman Laura Martinez Massie. But for now the Ohio public institution is scheduling part-time faculty to teach only up to eight credit hours per semester.
The University of Akron employs about 1,000 part-time faculty, representing 56 percent of its teaching faculty, according to Massie. The school determined it would cost $4 million to cover insurance for 400 of those instructors who currently work 30 or more hours a week.
Philadelphia University, a private school, will restrict adjunct faculty to working fewer than 30 hours per week, effective Jan. 1, 2015. However, spokeswoman Debbie Goldberg said this will affect only a few instructors since the majority already work below that limit.
Adjunct faculty, who often don't have a union or tenure to protect their employment, haven't taken the threat or reality of cuts sitting down. The lack of health insurance has helped fuel a movement, with SEIU help, to unionize adjuncts in Boston. In New Hampshire, faculty have protested against limiting the workload of adjuncts to roughly 27 hours a week at community colleges.
Maisto said being vocal with demands for better compensation is necessary because "we don't have any illusion they'll do it without any pushing." Reported by Huffington Post 15 hours ago.
Only about one-fourth of colleges have decided on criteria for determining whether a part-time faculty member is working 30 hours or more a week, and thus will be entitled under Obamacare to health insurance coverage from the school, according to a survey released this week by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources. But a wave of colleges have announced new restrictions this year on the hours that adjunct, or part-time, faculty members are allowed to work.
No survey respondents said they believe the Affordable Care Act will cause their insurance costs to go down, but 40 percent said they expect those costs to stay the same. The survey looked at 626 institutions, almost equally split between private and public schools if the multiple institutions covered by public college systems are added up.
The good news is that close to half of the institutions do not plan to alter their use of part-time faculty due to Obamacare, the survey found, although two-thirds are still laboring over the criteria they will use to determine if those instructors are indeed working 30 hours or more.
Most adjuncts work without benefits, at an average of $2,900 per course, according to the Service Employees International Union. That's one-fourth of what tenure-track professors earn. Adjunct faculty make up a majority of the higher education workforce -- a reversal from 1969, when tenure-track professors constituted 78 percent of colleges' instructional staff.
Despite a one-year delay in the employer mandate recently announced by the Obama administration, colleges that did announce restrictions on adjunct work hours have not similarly delayed the new limits.
"We were kind of happy that there was this moratorium imposed," said Maria Maisto, president of the adjunct advocacy group New Faculty Majority, "but it's only going to be useful if the colleges engage with adjunct faculty and talk to them and understand the nature of adjunct faculty work."
Among the colleges taking steps to ensure adjunct instructors and other part-time employees will stay below the 30-hour-per-week level is St. Petersburg College, a public institution in Florida.
Providing benefits for part-time employees and instructors would amount to about $8,100 each, for a total cost of millions, said Doug Duncan, senior vice president for administrative and business services at St. Petersburg. The school said it had to enact the limit now because of the one-year "look back" period that employers use to track average hours worked by their employees.
"We hated to take that step for many reasons, but we simply do not have the funding to take on that additional expense," Duncan said.
Many of the colleges cutting hours for adjunct faculty are public institutions, which are by and large underfunded despite enrollment growth over the past decade. That's no excuse though, Maisto said, because "one of the responsibilities is for [college] leaders to make the case to legislators for funding higher education."
Colleges also complain they haven't received any guidance from the Internal Revenue Service on how to figure adjunct work hours, only the warning to calculate them using a "reasonable" method.
The University of Akron, for instance, has not made any final decisions and is consulting with its legal counsel while awaiting IRS advice, said spokeswoman Laura Martinez Massie. But for now the Ohio public institution is scheduling part-time faculty to teach only up to eight credit hours per semester.
The University of Akron employs about 1,000 part-time faculty, representing 56 percent of its teaching faculty, according to Massie. The school determined it would cost $4 million to cover insurance for 400 of those instructors who currently work 30 or more hours a week.
Philadelphia University, a private school, will restrict adjunct faculty to working fewer than 30 hours per week, effective Jan. 1, 2015. However, spokeswoman Debbie Goldberg said this will affect only a few instructors since the majority already work below that limit.
Adjunct faculty, who often don't have a union or tenure to protect their employment, haven't taken the threat or reality of cuts sitting down. The lack of health insurance has helped fuel a movement, with SEIU help, to unionize adjuncts in Boston. In New Hampshire, faculty have protested against limiting the workload of adjuncts to roughly 27 hours a week at community colleges.
Maisto said being vocal with demands for better compensation is necessary because "we don't have any illusion they'll do it without any pushing." Reported by Huffington Post 15 hours ago.
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Covered California backs dental plans for 2014, eyes future changes
Amid criticism from the state insurance commissioner and some children's advocates, California's health insurance exchange is moving ahead with a controversial approach to children's dental coverage for next year while vowing to pursue changes for 2015.
Reported by L.A. Times 11 hours ago.
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3 insurance companies to pay $1M settlement in Mo.
Three health insurance companies that issue policies for Assurant Health have agreed to pay $1 million for violating Missouri laws on handling claims.
Reported by Miami Herald 4 hours ago.
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TAT Invites Media to Experience Health & Wellness Specialties
Journalists from around the world received a special treat recently when they took part in an event showcasing Thailand’s thriving health and wellness industry.
Bangkok, Thailand (PRWEB) August 09, 2013
Dubbed the “Media & Online Celebrities FAM Trip 2013,” the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) rolled out the red carpet for medical-travel writers and bloggers who were given an intimate look at an exhilarating array of health and beauty services in Bangkok.
The participants from select ASEAN countries and the US experienced first-hand a range of holistic procedures, skincare sessions, and spa treatments from leading healthcare providers during their 3-day stay in the City of Angels.
The familiarization outing was part of TAT’s “Find Your Fabulous” project which is an international campaign aimed at reminding people to step back from their everyday lives and rediscover their beauty, wellness and health.
“The treatments are all in high quality with high technology, so you can get the results within a day. The facial really left my skin brighter and smoother, while the massage and spa provides maximum relaxing for the whole body, the place is also comfortable and cozy,” said Hestianingsih, a representative from wolipop.detik.com.
A total of six excursions for wellness treatments were available to the media, with visits to facilities preferred by both local and international patients. They included stops at leading Holistic/Anti-aging centers (Absolute Health Integrative Medical Center, the “Life Center” by Samitivej, and Holistic Medical Centre); two acclaimed Wellness Spas (The Oasis Spa and Divana Virtue Spa & Medical); and an expert dermatology clinic (APEX Profound Beauty).
“The treatment at the Divana spa was for sure a must-go for Singaporeans. It's such a relaxing escape and getaway as if you're going back to a home in the countryside. The massage was done really well and the products and services available were world standard,” said Roseanne Tang, one of Singapore’s Top Beauty Bloggers, roseannetangrs.com.
Media were also treated to a “Fabulous Night Exclusive Party” at the hotel on July 19th which brought together key players from the Find Your Fabulous campaign, including TAT Governor Mr. Suraphon Svetasreni, representatives from Thai Airways and online booking engine Asia Web Direct, local news outlets, a fashion show featuring Thai celebrities over age 40 - but still looking fabulous, and other health & beauty gurus.
“The TAT made the trip a showcase and I was impressed, I think we all were. The accommodations, the dining and shopping, and the “Find Your Fabulous” party were all great, but the facilities and the treatments stole the show. I can definitely understand why so many people come to Thailand from overseas for health & wellness therapies,” said Donald Gorr, a representative from leading medical tourism portal and blog, myMEDholiday.com.
Sponsoring the proceedings was the modern and elegant Sofitel So Bangkok, who provided the guest accommodations, and the celebrated Blue Elephant Restaurant nearby, which opened its doors to the fam-trip participants with a welcome dinner and cocktails to kick-off the function. Blue Spice at Grande Centre Point Hotel & Residence Sukhumvit - Terminal 21 and Conrad Bangkok Hotel supplied lunchtime meals throughout the event.
Additional sponsors included Thai Rent-a-Car, who arranged transportation for the media’s sojourn in Bangkok, and BUPA Health Insurance, which provided accident and travel health insurance for the overseas guests.
To learn more, visit http://www.FindYourFabulousThailand.com .
For media information, contact Ms. Chompu Marusachot: Tel 02- 250 5500 Ext. 2831-2840 or email tourism(at)tat(dot)or(dot)th. Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.
Bangkok, Thailand (PRWEB) August 09, 2013
Dubbed the “Media & Online Celebrities FAM Trip 2013,” the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) rolled out the red carpet for medical-travel writers and bloggers who were given an intimate look at an exhilarating array of health and beauty services in Bangkok.
The participants from select ASEAN countries and the US experienced first-hand a range of holistic procedures, skincare sessions, and spa treatments from leading healthcare providers during their 3-day stay in the City of Angels.
The familiarization outing was part of TAT’s “Find Your Fabulous” project which is an international campaign aimed at reminding people to step back from their everyday lives and rediscover their beauty, wellness and health.
“The treatments are all in high quality with high technology, so you can get the results within a day. The facial really left my skin brighter and smoother, while the massage and spa provides maximum relaxing for the whole body, the place is also comfortable and cozy,” said Hestianingsih, a representative from wolipop.detik.com.
A total of six excursions for wellness treatments were available to the media, with visits to facilities preferred by both local and international patients. They included stops at leading Holistic/Anti-aging centers (Absolute Health Integrative Medical Center, the “Life Center” by Samitivej, and Holistic Medical Centre); two acclaimed Wellness Spas (The Oasis Spa and Divana Virtue Spa & Medical); and an expert dermatology clinic (APEX Profound Beauty).
“The treatment at the Divana spa was for sure a must-go for Singaporeans. It's such a relaxing escape and getaway as if you're going back to a home in the countryside. The massage was done really well and the products and services available were world standard,” said Roseanne Tang, one of Singapore’s Top Beauty Bloggers, roseannetangrs.com.
Media were also treated to a “Fabulous Night Exclusive Party” at the hotel on July 19th which brought together key players from the Find Your Fabulous campaign, including TAT Governor Mr. Suraphon Svetasreni, representatives from Thai Airways and online booking engine Asia Web Direct, local news outlets, a fashion show featuring Thai celebrities over age 40 - but still looking fabulous, and other health & beauty gurus.
“The TAT made the trip a showcase and I was impressed, I think we all were. The accommodations, the dining and shopping, and the “Find Your Fabulous” party were all great, but the facilities and the treatments stole the show. I can definitely understand why so many people come to Thailand from overseas for health & wellness therapies,” said Donald Gorr, a representative from leading medical tourism portal and blog, myMEDholiday.com.
Sponsoring the proceedings was the modern and elegant Sofitel So Bangkok, who provided the guest accommodations, and the celebrated Blue Elephant Restaurant nearby, which opened its doors to the fam-trip participants with a welcome dinner and cocktails to kick-off the function. Blue Spice at Grande Centre Point Hotel & Residence Sukhumvit - Terminal 21 and Conrad Bangkok Hotel supplied lunchtime meals throughout the event.
Additional sponsors included Thai Rent-a-Car, who arranged transportation for the media’s sojourn in Bangkok, and BUPA Health Insurance, which provided accident and travel health insurance for the overseas guests.
To learn more, visit http://www.FindYourFabulousThailand.com .
For media information, contact Ms. Chompu Marusachot: Tel 02- 250 5500 Ext. 2831-2840 or email tourism(at)tat(dot)or(dot)th. Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.
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Zane Benefits Publishes New Information on HRA Timing Rules
Five Q&As for Small Businesses on HRA Timing Considerations
Park City, Utah (PRWEB) August 09, 2013
Today, Zane Benefits, the number one online small business health benefits solution, published new information on HRA timing rules.
According to Zane Benefits’ website, there are specific timing rules for employers and employees with Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs). Zane Benefits provided the following HRA timing FAQs for employers and employees.
Q) How long does the company have to reimburse an employee?
Q) When is the HRA Plan Year?
Q) How long can employees wait to submit a medical expense to their HRA?
Q) Can employees submit older medical bills for HRA reimbursement?
Q) Can employees use their HRA funds after they leave the company?
Zane Benefits provides answers to all these HRA timing issues.
Click here to read the full article.
About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits was founded in 2006 to provide a revolutionized SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) administration platform ("ZaneHRA") for Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and defined contribution health care. The flagship software provides a 100% paperless administration experience to small businesses and insurance professionals that want to offer better health benefits without a traditional group health insurance plan at lower costs. For more information about ZaneHRA, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com/. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
Park City, Utah (PRWEB) August 09, 2013
Today, Zane Benefits, the number one online small business health benefits solution, published new information on HRA timing rules.
According to Zane Benefits’ website, there are specific timing rules for employers and employees with Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs). Zane Benefits provided the following HRA timing FAQs for employers and employees.
Q) How long does the company have to reimburse an employee?
Q) When is the HRA Plan Year?
Q) How long can employees wait to submit a medical expense to their HRA?
Q) Can employees submit older medical bills for HRA reimbursement?
Q) Can employees use their HRA funds after they leave the company?
Zane Benefits provides answers to all these HRA timing issues.
Click here to read the full article.
About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits was founded in 2006 to provide a revolutionized SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) administration platform ("ZaneHRA") for Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and defined contribution health care. The flagship software provides a 100% paperless administration experience to small businesses and insurance professionals that want to offer better health benefits without a traditional group health insurance plan at lower costs. For more information about ZaneHRA, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com/. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
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Towers Watson Signs Agreement With Federal Government to Facilitate Public Exchange Enrollments
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company, today announced that it has signed a web broker entity agreement with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which supervises the federally facilitated marketplace — the health insurance exchange operated by the federal government in 36 states. With this agreement, Towers Watson can help employers provide health insurance education and enrollment services to part-time and seasonal empl
Reported by Business Wire 41 minutes ago.
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Obamacare supporters challenge tea party congressman at town hall
Supporters of the Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare — attended a town hall meeting held by five-term Republican congressman Rep. Patrick McHenry (NC) on Thursday. According to Think Progress, many of the pro-Obamacare attendees would not have health insurance without the program and they demanded to know what the congressman would suggest they do should Obamacare be repealed. McHenry is one of the Republican House members who have voted repeatedly to defund [...]
Reported by Raw Story 8 minutes ago.
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Church Insurance Negatively Affected By Partisan Fighting Which Blocks Improvements TO Obamacare
(RNS) An effort to tweak President Obama’s health care reform bill to fill a gap for church health insurance plans could fail because of Republicans’ insistence on repealing the law.
Without a fix, United Methodist Church leaders say some of their churches could drop current coverage for employees once “Obamacare” takes full effect next year, according to Colette Nies, spokeswoman for the UMC’s General Board of Pension and Health Benefits.
Under Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act, more than 50 percent of UMC clergy would qualify for tax credits available to lower- and middle-class families to purchase insurance. But because of the way the law was written, those tax credits cannot be used toward insurance plans churches can offer through government-run exchanges.
“The concern is that the church plans won’t be viable if everyone who can get a tax credit leaves and goes to the state exchange,” said Timothy Jost, a professor at Washington and Lee School of Law, who studies health care.
Since many churches are small — with one pastor and a few lay employees — they will not be required under the Obama plan to provide coverage. If a church drops coverage, that would free (or force) employees to seek the lower-cost insurance with the government exchange.
Small churches that fall outside the large-employer mandate may conclude that they should drop health coverage and guide employees to purchase insurance on their own through government-run exchanges, where subsidies would apply, Nies said. Leaders of church-run health plans believe it would disadvantage church employees who have more tailored coverage.
“We cannot estimate how widespread this would be, but given the income demographics of the UMC workforce, it could be substantial,” Nies said.
UMC leaders praised the passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act because it aligned with the denomination’s values. But leaders say churches were overlooked in the fine print.
Before the health care law was passed, denominations like the United Methodist Church may not have understood all of the implications of the health care law, said John Lomperis of the Washington-based Institute on Religion and Democracy, a conservative think tank that’s often critical of mainline Protestant churches.
“It is not even clear that they even took the time to carefully read the health care bill before so energetically endorsing it and lobbying for its passage,” he said.
A bill under consideration would assure that employees insured under church plans could use the same tax credits offered to people on government exchanges. In June, Democratic Senators Mark Pryor (Ark.) and Chris Coons (Del.) introduced the Church Health Plan Act of 2013 aimed at allowing church employees to apply for tax credits. More than 1 million pastors and other church employees could be impacted by the change, the senators argue.
“At this moment, we’re not expecting to get a vote,” said Ian Koski, a spokesman for Coons. “The dedication of Senate and House members to repeal it entirely instead of working with us to fix it has disincentivized Republicans from working with us on it.”
Koski also suggested that Republicans might have another incentive to block the legislation: Pryor is running for reelection as a Democrat in a decidedly red state.
The bill has received support of many denominations, including the Southern Baptist Convention, despite its leaders’ push to repeal the entire act. Leaders within SBC’s medical plan provider GuideStone say church health plans will be at a disadvantage in the health care marketplace.
“We don’t think passing this legislation has to be inconsistent with those who hope for eventual repeal,” said Rodney Miller, general counsel at GuideStone. “We’re dealing with a law that’s on the books in the here and now.”
Even with widespread support across aisles, supporters assume the bill will die. House Republicans have already voted 40 times to repeal Obamacare.
“It doesn’t stand a chance, I don’t think,” said Jim Sargent, the health plan director for the Unitarian Universalist Association. “This is the Obama administration’s signature piece of legislation. Republicans are trying to undermine it. While that’s going on, there isn’t much you can do to fix the bill.”
Many religious groups have objected to the health care law, but much of the controversy has focused on the mandate that will require some religious organizations to provide contraception coverage at no cost to employees. Reported by Huffington Post 18 hours ago.
Without a fix, United Methodist Church leaders say some of their churches could drop current coverage for employees once “Obamacare” takes full effect next year, according to Colette Nies, spokeswoman for the UMC’s General Board of Pension and Health Benefits.
Under Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act, more than 50 percent of UMC clergy would qualify for tax credits available to lower- and middle-class families to purchase insurance. But because of the way the law was written, those tax credits cannot be used toward insurance plans churches can offer through government-run exchanges.
“The concern is that the church plans won’t be viable if everyone who can get a tax credit leaves and goes to the state exchange,” said Timothy Jost, a professor at Washington and Lee School of Law, who studies health care.
Since many churches are small — with one pastor and a few lay employees — they will not be required under the Obama plan to provide coverage. If a church drops coverage, that would free (or force) employees to seek the lower-cost insurance with the government exchange.
Small churches that fall outside the large-employer mandate may conclude that they should drop health coverage and guide employees to purchase insurance on their own through government-run exchanges, where subsidies would apply, Nies said. Leaders of church-run health plans believe it would disadvantage church employees who have more tailored coverage.
“We cannot estimate how widespread this would be, but given the income demographics of the UMC workforce, it could be substantial,” Nies said.
UMC leaders praised the passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act because it aligned with the denomination’s values. But leaders say churches were overlooked in the fine print.
Before the health care law was passed, denominations like the United Methodist Church may not have understood all of the implications of the health care law, said John Lomperis of the Washington-based Institute on Religion and Democracy, a conservative think tank that’s often critical of mainline Protestant churches.
“It is not even clear that they even took the time to carefully read the health care bill before so energetically endorsing it and lobbying for its passage,” he said.
A bill under consideration would assure that employees insured under church plans could use the same tax credits offered to people on government exchanges. In June, Democratic Senators Mark Pryor (Ark.) and Chris Coons (Del.) introduced the Church Health Plan Act of 2013 aimed at allowing church employees to apply for tax credits. More than 1 million pastors and other church employees could be impacted by the change, the senators argue.
“At this moment, we’re not expecting to get a vote,” said Ian Koski, a spokesman for Coons. “The dedication of Senate and House members to repeal it entirely instead of working with us to fix it has disincentivized Republicans from working with us on it.”
Koski also suggested that Republicans might have another incentive to block the legislation: Pryor is running for reelection as a Democrat in a decidedly red state.
The bill has received support of many denominations, including the Southern Baptist Convention, despite its leaders’ push to repeal the entire act. Leaders within SBC’s medical plan provider GuideStone say church health plans will be at a disadvantage in the health care marketplace.
“We don’t think passing this legislation has to be inconsistent with those who hope for eventual repeal,” said Rodney Miller, general counsel at GuideStone. “We’re dealing with a law that’s on the books in the here and now.”
Even with widespread support across aisles, supporters assume the bill will die. House Republicans have already voted 40 times to repeal Obamacare.
“It doesn’t stand a chance, I don’t think,” said Jim Sargent, the health plan director for the Unitarian Universalist Association. “This is the Obama administration’s signature piece of legislation. Republicans are trying to undermine it. While that’s going on, there isn’t much you can do to fix the bill.”
Many religious groups have objected to the health care law, but much of the controversy has focused on the mandate that will require some religious organizations to provide contraception coverage at no cost to employees. Reported by Huffington Post 18 hours ago.
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