While U.S. household incomes rose and poverty levels dropped, U.S. census figures released Tuesday show that many Americans — particularly those in high-cost housing states like California — continue to struggle. The income gains, the largest since the U.S. Census Bureau began recording such figures in 1967, signaled a key turning point in the American economy as it continues to recover from the punishing recession of nearly a decade ago. Health insurance rates also improved across the country, particularly in California, the census data show. “When you factor in our high housing costs, what you find is California has the highest poverty level in the nation,” said Alissa Anderson, senior policy analyst with the California Budget and Policy Center in Sacramento. The figures showed American household income increased by 5.2 percent between 2014 and 2015 — from $53,718 to $56,516 — while the official poverty rate fell by 1.2 percentage points. Almost 8 million Californians, or 20.6 percent of residents, did not make enough money to pay for the basics needed to support themselves, according to an index in the census figures called the Supplemental Policy Measure. The measure, which was first used in 2010, calculates poverty in a three-year index and factors in housing and other costs not included in the official poverty index, which is limited to cash income. The numbers showed that in addition to the income gains, only 9.1 percent of Americans lacked health insurance last year. In California, the state uninsured rate dropped dramatically — from 17.2 percent in 2013, before the major provisions of the federal health law known as the Affordable Care Act went into effect, to 8.6 percent in 2015, according to one of the two data sets released Tuesday. “California has both strong enrollment in Covered California and strong enrollment in Medicaid,” said Jacobs, referring to the state’s health insurance marketplace and the state-federal health program for the poor. On Thursday, the Census Bureau will release single-year estimates of median household income, poverty and health insurance for all states, counties, places and other geographic units with populations of 65,000 or more. The percentage of people without health insurance coverage for the 2015 calendar year was 9.1 percent, down from 10.4 percent in 2014.
Reported by SFGate 12 hours ago.
Californians still struggling despite income gains shown in census
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5 tips for navigating Medicare
For most people, turning 65 means becoming eligible for Medicare. And that can mean “graduating” from health insurance as you know it to a new system with its own timelines, rules and terminology. Understanding your options and making wise choices can be daunting. Fortunately, the route to Medicare success follows a familiar path: Do your homework, don’t rush, follow directions and seek clarification if you have a question. Below are five tips for navigating Medicare, whether you’re about…
Reported by bizjournals 8 hours ago.
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Chris Battersby Earns Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) Designation
Atlantic Planning Group's Co-Founder and Partner, Chris Battersby, has earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) designation from The American College of Financial Services.
Waltham, MA (PRWEB) September 14, 2016
Chris Battersby, Co-Founder and Partner, Atlantic Planning Group has earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) designation from The American College of Financial Services, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Candidates for the RICP® designation must complete a minimum of three college-level courses and are required to pass a series of two-hour proctored exams. They must also have three years of experience, meet stringent ethics requirements, and participate in The College’s continuing education program.
The RICP® educational curricula is the most complete and comprehensive program available to professional financial advisors looking to help their clients create sustainable retirement income. The rigorous three-course credential helps advisors master retirement income planning, a key focus area not fully covered in other professional designation programs. From retirement portfolio management techniques and mitigation of plan risks to the proper use of annuities, employer-sponsored benefits and determining the best Social Security claiming age, the RICP® provides a wealth of practical information for advisors.
Using the most current techniques, RICP®s identify retirement income needs and objectives and evaluate a client’s current situation relative to those goals. Individuals who earn a RICP® can provide expert advice on a broad range of retirement topics including income needs and objectives, estate issues and other risks to the retirement income planning, Social Security, health insurance and housing decisions, and income taxation.
Chris is a co-founder and Partner of the Atlantic Planning Group and has been in the financial services field since 1989. During this time, Chris has focused his efforts on comprehensive financial planning with an emphasis on retirement planning, estate planning and asset management. In addition to his new RICP® designation, Chris is also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®), a Chartered Financial Consultant (CHFC®), and holds a Masters in Financial Services (MSFS). Chris is a member of the Financial Planning Association, National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and the Boston Estate Planning Council.
The American College is the nation’s largest non-profit educational institution devoted to financial services. Holding the highest level of academic accreditation, The College has served as a valued business partner to banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies and others for over 86 years. The American College’s faculty represents some of the financial services industry’s foremost thought leaders. For more information, visit TheAmericanCollege.edu. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.
Waltham, MA (PRWEB) September 14, 2016
Chris Battersby, Co-Founder and Partner, Atlantic Planning Group has earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) designation from The American College of Financial Services, Bryn Mawr, PA.
Candidates for the RICP® designation must complete a minimum of three college-level courses and are required to pass a series of two-hour proctored exams. They must also have three years of experience, meet stringent ethics requirements, and participate in The College’s continuing education program.
The RICP® educational curricula is the most complete and comprehensive program available to professional financial advisors looking to help their clients create sustainable retirement income. The rigorous three-course credential helps advisors master retirement income planning, a key focus area not fully covered in other professional designation programs. From retirement portfolio management techniques and mitigation of plan risks to the proper use of annuities, employer-sponsored benefits and determining the best Social Security claiming age, the RICP® provides a wealth of practical information for advisors.
Using the most current techniques, RICP®s identify retirement income needs and objectives and evaluate a client’s current situation relative to those goals. Individuals who earn a RICP® can provide expert advice on a broad range of retirement topics including income needs and objectives, estate issues and other risks to the retirement income planning, Social Security, health insurance and housing decisions, and income taxation.
Chris is a co-founder and Partner of the Atlantic Planning Group and has been in the financial services field since 1989. During this time, Chris has focused his efforts on comprehensive financial planning with an emphasis on retirement planning, estate planning and asset management. In addition to his new RICP® designation, Chris is also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®), a Chartered Financial Consultant (CHFC®), and holds a Masters in Financial Services (MSFS). Chris is a member of the Financial Planning Association, National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and the Boston Estate Planning Council.
The American College is the nation’s largest non-profit educational institution devoted to financial services. Holding the highest level of academic accreditation, The College has served as a valued business partner to banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies and others for over 86 years. The American College’s faculty represents some of the financial services industry’s foremost thought leaders. For more information, visit TheAmericanCollege.edu. Reported by PRWeb 3 hours ago.
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Health insurance for those in 30s: Responsibility matters
At the end of the day, it’s a single decision of buying a health insurance that takes care of all your responsibilities towards your loved ones.
The post Health insurance for those in 30s: Responsibility matters appeared first on Firstpost. Reported by Firstpost 2 hours ago.
The post Health insurance for those in 30s: Responsibility matters appeared first on Firstpost. Reported by Firstpost 2 hours ago.
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How To Put Money Worries Aside By Retiring Overseas
We write about retiring overseas. It's what we know. And we admit we've not lived in the U.S. for 15 years now ... Still, we do know something about the retirement concerns of our friends and fellow baby boomers that are still working in the U.S. today.
In just a couple of words: They're worried.
Plaza Grande in Merida, Mexico
This concern and apprehension about the future is illustrated big time in the annual retirement survey released recently by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS).
A non-profit, private foundation dedicated to educating the public on emerging trends and retirement security in the U.S., the TCRS has been conducting this survey for 17 years now -- since 1998. It's one of the longest-running and largest national surveys of its kind.
A good mix of workers -- pretty evenly divided between Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomer workers, took the survey. A much smaller group of workers -- those born prior to 1946 -- also participated.
Not too surprisingly, the TCRS concludes that American workers "are challenged by what has become a wobbly three-legged stool comprising Social Security, employer-sponsored retirement benefits, and personal savings."
That's analytical speak that essentially means that millions of Americans aren't prepared for retirement. When it comes to our generation ... specifically to baby boomers hoping to retire soon...the wobbly stool is indeed precarious.
Medellin Skyline, Colombia
*Here's What Baby Boomer Workers in the TCRS Survey Say about Retirement:*
• They're planning to work until an older age than previous generations -- 66 percent plan to or are already working past age 65, or do not plan to retire at all. Many expect to continue working in retirement, at least on a part-time basis, because of income or health benefits.
• Most baby boomers (87 percent) expect Social Security will be a source of their retirement income and one in three (34 percent) expects it to be their primary source of income. Only 33 percent expect income from a traditional pension plan.
• The current median household savings in all retirement accounts among baby boomer workers is $147,000. (Many baby boomers were already mid-career when 401(k) plans were first introduced and they've not had a full 40-year time horizon to save in one.)
*So what's the Solution, According to the TCRS Experts?
*
Working longer and fully retiring at an older age is one solution. But that's only if you can stay employed in the first place. The trend among employers today is to hire young people who will work for lower salaries. And of course, you have to stay on top of the technology required for some jobs. And you have to stay healthy....
The TCRS analysts offer seven recommendations to help American workers prepare for retirement. These include saving money, asking for retirement benefits as part of your compensation plan, seeking out tax credits, and taking proactive steps to ensure your long-term employment. All of these, of course, are easier said than done.
But here's the recommendation offered that makes the most sense to us: "Develop a retirement strategy. Factor in living expenses, healthcare needs, government benefits and long-term care. Envision future retirement and have a backup plan in case retirement comes early due to an unforeseen circumstance."
In our world, in fact, your "backup plan" should be your blueprint to early retirement. Unless you really love what you do, why work any longer than you have to?
*Let's Do It Together, Right Here ... Let's Develop a Retirement Strategy That Works for You...
*
*Your retirement living expenses:* In the TCRS data, 76 percent of baby boomers surveyed say "affordable cost of living" is a very important criterion for choosing where to live in retirement. As we've already mentioned, 87 percent of baby boomers surveyed say they expect their Social Security benefits to fund their retirements.
The average monthly U.S. Social Security benefit being paid out in 2016 is reported at $1,341. You may get more; you may get less, depending on your work history. And let's say you have, as the TCRS survey indicates the average baby boomer does, savings of $147,000.
Can you comfortably and affordably live on that amount in the U.S.? Statistics say the annual cost of living in the U.S. for a single adult with no children is $28,474. We'd guess that would be some mighty frugal living ... and that amount is equal to about $2,400 a month. That Social Security benefit of $1,341 isn't going to cut it ... your standard of living will be at a bare minimum and you'll quickly dip into and deplete your savings.
But here's the thing ... you can live well on $1,341 a month in many locations overseas. In Ecuador ... Nicaragua ... Colombia ... Peru ... Southeast Asia ... On that amount, you can pay for your rent, your healthcare, eat better than you ever imagined... You really can live well on a Social Security budget.
If you're part of a couple -- and you have a monthly income of $2,000 or so -- you can live very well indeed when you retire overseas. You'll even have enough money to travel now and then...
In our book, The International Living Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget, we list dozens of locations where you can retire--easily and affordably--on $25,000 a year or less. (Our monthly expenses in Ecuador where we live now are less than $1,500 a month...we know it can be done.)
By the way, on a $2,000-a-month budget overseas, a couple receiving the average 2016 Social Security income can live without drawing down their savings. Instead, you can count on it being there if you need it.
*What about healthcare?* In the last survey conducted by the World Health Organization on the quality of healthcare around the world, the U.S. ranked #37. That means there are 36 countries with healthcare systems of better quality than the U.S.
In many of these countries, you'll find affordable healthcare options, as well. In Ecuador, for instance, a couple can join the IESS government healthcare plan for just about $80 a month. There are no exclusions for pre-existing conditions, and this amount covers doctor's visits, surgeries and treatments, prescriptions, and more.
Costa Rica has a similar program with its CAJA system. So do Colombia, Mexico, and most other popular overseas retirement destinations...
Or opt for a private health insurance plan that will cover you at the country's best medical facilities and hospitals. You'll likely pay one-fourth of the cost of a similar policy in the U.S. (By the way, in many overseas retirement destinations, you'll find great options for long-term care, and at a fraction of what it might cost you in the States.)
And of course, there are far more reasons to consider an overseas retirement. Fun. Adventure. Exposure to a very different culture. These are all great reasons to consider retiring overseas. And many of the destinations that you might consider may actually be closer to family and friends than where you live now. A flight to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, or Panama, for example, can take less time than flying from New York to Los Angeles.
So what do you think? Are you ready to at least consider retirement overseas as your Plan B ... or maybe even your Plan A? As the expert sociologists at the TCRS recommend, it's wise to have a strategy. You may find you can even retire earlier than you ever expected. At the very least, it surely makes sense to get started on your research now.
This article comes to us courtesy of InternationalLiving.com the world's leading authority on how to live, work, invest, travel, and retire better overseas.
Feria in Cartago, Costa Rica
*Related Articles*
Infographic--Your Social Security Payments Overseas
4 Countries with the Best Healthcare in the World
The Easiest Places to Retire Overseas In 2016
Earlier on Huff/Post50:-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 1 hour ago.
In just a couple of words: They're worried.
Plaza Grande in Merida, Mexico
This concern and apprehension about the future is illustrated big time in the annual retirement survey released recently by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS).
A non-profit, private foundation dedicated to educating the public on emerging trends and retirement security in the U.S., the TCRS has been conducting this survey for 17 years now -- since 1998. It's one of the longest-running and largest national surveys of its kind.
A good mix of workers -- pretty evenly divided between Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomer workers, took the survey. A much smaller group of workers -- those born prior to 1946 -- also participated.
Not too surprisingly, the TCRS concludes that American workers "are challenged by what has become a wobbly three-legged stool comprising Social Security, employer-sponsored retirement benefits, and personal savings."
That's analytical speak that essentially means that millions of Americans aren't prepared for retirement. When it comes to our generation ... specifically to baby boomers hoping to retire soon...the wobbly stool is indeed precarious.
Medellin Skyline, Colombia
*Here's What Baby Boomer Workers in the TCRS Survey Say about Retirement:*
• They're planning to work until an older age than previous generations -- 66 percent plan to or are already working past age 65, or do not plan to retire at all. Many expect to continue working in retirement, at least on a part-time basis, because of income or health benefits.
• Most baby boomers (87 percent) expect Social Security will be a source of their retirement income and one in three (34 percent) expects it to be their primary source of income. Only 33 percent expect income from a traditional pension plan.
• The current median household savings in all retirement accounts among baby boomer workers is $147,000. (Many baby boomers were already mid-career when 401(k) plans were first introduced and they've not had a full 40-year time horizon to save in one.)
*So what's the Solution, According to the TCRS Experts?
*
Working longer and fully retiring at an older age is one solution. But that's only if you can stay employed in the first place. The trend among employers today is to hire young people who will work for lower salaries. And of course, you have to stay on top of the technology required for some jobs. And you have to stay healthy....
The TCRS analysts offer seven recommendations to help American workers prepare for retirement. These include saving money, asking for retirement benefits as part of your compensation plan, seeking out tax credits, and taking proactive steps to ensure your long-term employment. All of these, of course, are easier said than done.
But here's the recommendation offered that makes the most sense to us: "Develop a retirement strategy. Factor in living expenses, healthcare needs, government benefits and long-term care. Envision future retirement and have a backup plan in case retirement comes early due to an unforeseen circumstance."
In our world, in fact, your "backup plan" should be your blueprint to early retirement. Unless you really love what you do, why work any longer than you have to?
*Let's Do It Together, Right Here ... Let's Develop a Retirement Strategy That Works for You...
*
*Your retirement living expenses:* In the TCRS data, 76 percent of baby boomers surveyed say "affordable cost of living" is a very important criterion for choosing where to live in retirement. As we've already mentioned, 87 percent of baby boomers surveyed say they expect their Social Security benefits to fund their retirements.
The average monthly U.S. Social Security benefit being paid out in 2016 is reported at $1,341. You may get more; you may get less, depending on your work history. And let's say you have, as the TCRS survey indicates the average baby boomer does, savings of $147,000.
Can you comfortably and affordably live on that amount in the U.S.? Statistics say the annual cost of living in the U.S. for a single adult with no children is $28,474. We'd guess that would be some mighty frugal living ... and that amount is equal to about $2,400 a month. That Social Security benefit of $1,341 isn't going to cut it ... your standard of living will be at a bare minimum and you'll quickly dip into and deplete your savings.
But here's the thing ... you can live well on $1,341 a month in many locations overseas. In Ecuador ... Nicaragua ... Colombia ... Peru ... Southeast Asia ... On that amount, you can pay for your rent, your healthcare, eat better than you ever imagined... You really can live well on a Social Security budget.
If you're part of a couple -- and you have a monthly income of $2,000 or so -- you can live very well indeed when you retire overseas. You'll even have enough money to travel now and then...
In our book, The International Living Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget, we list dozens of locations where you can retire--easily and affordably--on $25,000 a year or less. (Our monthly expenses in Ecuador where we live now are less than $1,500 a month...we know it can be done.)
By the way, on a $2,000-a-month budget overseas, a couple receiving the average 2016 Social Security income can live without drawing down their savings. Instead, you can count on it being there if you need it.
*What about healthcare?* In the last survey conducted by the World Health Organization on the quality of healthcare around the world, the U.S. ranked #37. That means there are 36 countries with healthcare systems of better quality than the U.S.
In many of these countries, you'll find affordable healthcare options, as well. In Ecuador, for instance, a couple can join the IESS government healthcare plan for just about $80 a month. There are no exclusions for pre-existing conditions, and this amount covers doctor's visits, surgeries and treatments, prescriptions, and more.
Costa Rica has a similar program with its CAJA system. So do Colombia, Mexico, and most other popular overseas retirement destinations...
Or opt for a private health insurance plan that will cover you at the country's best medical facilities and hospitals. You'll likely pay one-fourth of the cost of a similar policy in the U.S. (By the way, in many overseas retirement destinations, you'll find great options for long-term care, and at a fraction of what it might cost you in the States.)
And of course, there are far more reasons to consider an overseas retirement. Fun. Adventure. Exposure to a very different culture. These are all great reasons to consider retiring overseas. And many of the destinations that you might consider may actually be closer to family and friends than where you live now. A flight to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, or Panama, for example, can take less time than flying from New York to Los Angeles.
So what do you think? Are you ready to at least consider retirement overseas as your Plan B ... or maybe even your Plan A? As the expert sociologists at the TCRS recommend, it's wise to have a strategy. You may find you can even retire earlier than you ever expected. At the very least, it surely makes sense to get started on your research now.
This article comes to us courtesy of InternationalLiving.com the world's leading authority on how to live, work, invest, travel, and retire better overseas.
Feria in Cartago, Costa Rica
*Related Articles*
Infographic--Your Social Security Payments Overseas
4 Countries with the Best Healthcare in the World
The Easiest Places to Retire Overseas In 2016
Earlier on Huff/Post50:-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 1 hour ago.
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Employers turn to workers to help slow health cost growth
A growing number of U.S. workers are covered by health insurance that sticks them with a bigger share of the medical bill but also softens that blow by providing a special account to help with the expense. Companies are turning more to these so-called consumer-directed health plans, which push patients to shop around for the […]
Reported by Seattle Times 18 hours ago.
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Americans' out-of-pocket healthcare costs are skyrocketing
For the majority of Americans who receive health insurance through their employer, there is some good news and some bad news.The Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank addressing health policy issues, released its annual Employer Heath Benefits Survey on Wednesday and looked at the cost of insurance for Americans.
Based on the data Kaiser gathered it appears that the hit directly to American's wallets is increasing dramatically, but the growth in their monthly payments is slowing down.
*Good news first*
The good news is that premium costs, the basic monthly payment to be covered, are growing at an incredibly slow rate compared to recent history.
According to the Kaiser survey, average family premium costs increased just 3% between 2015 and 2016 to $18,412.
"This year’s low family premium increase is similar to last year’s (4%) and reflects a significant slowdown over the past 15 years," said the release from Kaiser. "Since 2011, average family premiums have increased 20 percent, more slowly than the previous five years (31% increase from 2006 and 2011) and more slowly than the five years before that (63% from 2001 to 2006)."
So, the monthly cost for most workers is still going up, but not by nearly as much as premiums used to.
*The bad news*
The main driver of the slowing in premiums, unfortunately, is the rise of high deductible plans, according to Kaiser. In 2016, 83% of workers have a deductible, or amount that they have to pay themselves for medical care before insurance covers it, at an average of $1,478 per worker. This is much higher than the 49% of people who had a deductible in 2011, and in that year the average level was just $992 per worker.
Additionally, the survey found 51% of workers have a deductible over $1,000, the first time this has happened since the survey began in 1999.
"We’re seeing premiums rising at historically slow rates, which helps workers and employers alike, but it’s made possible in part by the more rapid rise in the deductibles workers must pay," said Drew Altman, CEO of Kaiser, in a release accompanying the survey.
This means that Americans aren't paying too much more on a month-by-month basis, but when they get sick they have to pay more out of pocket costs.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 25% of all Americans have high deductible plans and another 15% have high deductible plans with an added health savings account.
As we've noted before, this increase in high deductible plans is impacting everything from inflation data to patients noticing the increased costs of drugs.
There may be a variety of reasons for this. One explanation is that increasing drug prices and costs from medical suppliers have gotten so bad that employers finally decided to share the price hikes with workers. Additionally, there is some evidence that people tend to be more cautious with their healthcare spending in general when they have a high deductible plan, even for non-deductible costs, so employers are trying to slow the total spending.
Regardless of the reasons behind it, the reality is that people in the US are being forced to dip into their wallets more and more to pay for their healthcare.
*SEE ALSO: President Obama just sent a letter to health insurance CEOs asking for help fixing Obamacare*
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Krugman reveals the economic risks of a Trump presidency Reported by Business Insider 19 hours ago.
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CheckPoint HR Introduces Enhanced Affordable Care Act Solution
A healthcare eligibility dashboard, automatic data population, 1094-C and 1095-C reporting and other tools will help employers manage their ACA requirements.
Edison, New Jersey (PRWEB) September 14, 2016
Employee benefit and human resource innovator CheckPoint HR, Inc. today introduced enhancements to its technology and services designed to help employers comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and meet its reporting requirements.
Introduced in September 2015, CheckPoint HR’s ACA services provide a simple and efficient way for employers to determine health care eligibility, collect the data required for ACA reporting, and electronically file their 1094-C and 1095-C forms. This year, the company introduced additional ACA capabilities, including advanced data population features and enhanced client support options.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the ACA, was designed to extend health insurance coverage to uninsured Americans, including those with preexisting medical conditions. Beginning in 2016, U.S. employers with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, are required to file reports with the IRS or face penalties.
CheckPoint HR introduced its enhanced ACA services as a direct response to market demand from employer groups seeking more comprehensive services for ACA compliance. Based on early indicators, such as pre-orders and client requests, the company projects that over 75 percent of its clients will select this new offering for the 2016 reporting year.
“Employers are looking for solutions for complying with the Affordable Care Act without investing countless hours and administrative resources,” said Tim Padva, chief executive officer and founder of CheckPoint HR. “After the a highly successful launch of our ACA product last year, we incorporated client feedback and information gathered from our first year to hone our ACA product and make it even more valuable for our clients.”
Features available in CheckPoint HR’s enhanced ACA solution include:· Automatic monthly ACA data population
· Employee set-up functionality
· Import tools
· 1094-C and 1095-C forms
· Robust reporting
· Employee eligibility monitoring
CheckPoint HR will also offer ACA training webinars to its ACA clients, which walk them through the ACA process from setup, reviewing and updating auto-generated 1095-C data to finalizing the 1095-C and 1094-C forms. A members-only ACA web portal provides clients with webinar recordings, ACA Toolkit user guides and other information to help manage ACA compliance.
“Because our platform maintains one synchronized data set for human resources, employee benefits and payroll, CheckPoint HR clients enjoy a significant advantage when it comes to managing ACA reporting,” said Mike Gorker, chief technology officer of CheckPoint HR. “Our ACA solutions harness this data integration to create an easy and intuitive way for employers to manage reporting and compliance.”
CheckPoint HR provides technology and expertise for controlling health insurance costs, efficiently managing administration and ensuring regulatory compliance. The company fully integrates the employee benefit, human resource and payroll functions on a single technology platform.
###
About CheckPoint HR
A total employee benefit and human resource solutions provider, CheckPoint HR empowers businesses of all sizes to save money and administrative resources while offering more choice and flexibility to employees. Our employee benefit team offers unrivaled expertise in employee benefit strategy, selection and administration. Our proprietary insurance marketplace, CheckPoint Choice, delivers a full-service private exchange that is affordable and easy to manage. Our CheckPoint Core technology fully automates the HR and employee benefits process from recruitment through separation. Collaborating with our employee benefit and human resource experts, CheckPoint’s software developers incorporated key industry best practices into a compliance-aware rules engine that takes the guesswork out of employee benefits and HR. The result is efficiency, accuracy, risk mitigation and significant cost savings. To learn more, visit http://www.checkpointhr.com. Reported by PRWeb 18 hours ago.
Edison, New Jersey (PRWEB) September 14, 2016
Employee benefit and human resource innovator CheckPoint HR, Inc. today introduced enhancements to its technology and services designed to help employers comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and meet its reporting requirements.
Introduced in September 2015, CheckPoint HR’s ACA services provide a simple and efficient way for employers to determine health care eligibility, collect the data required for ACA reporting, and electronically file their 1094-C and 1095-C forms. This year, the company introduced additional ACA capabilities, including advanced data population features and enhanced client support options.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the ACA, was designed to extend health insurance coverage to uninsured Americans, including those with preexisting medical conditions. Beginning in 2016, U.S. employers with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, are required to file reports with the IRS or face penalties.
CheckPoint HR introduced its enhanced ACA services as a direct response to market demand from employer groups seeking more comprehensive services for ACA compliance. Based on early indicators, such as pre-orders and client requests, the company projects that over 75 percent of its clients will select this new offering for the 2016 reporting year.
“Employers are looking for solutions for complying with the Affordable Care Act without investing countless hours and administrative resources,” said Tim Padva, chief executive officer and founder of CheckPoint HR. “After the a highly successful launch of our ACA product last year, we incorporated client feedback and information gathered from our first year to hone our ACA product and make it even more valuable for our clients.”
Features available in CheckPoint HR’s enhanced ACA solution include:· Automatic monthly ACA data population
· Employee set-up functionality
· Import tools
· 1094-C and 1095-C forms
· Robust reporting
· Employee eligibility monitoring
CheckPoint HR will also offer ACA training webinars to its ACA clients, which walk them through the ACA process from setup, reviewing and updating auto-generated 1095-C data to finalizing the 1095-C and 1094-C forms. A members-only ACA web portal provides clients with webinar recordings, ACA Toolkit user guides and other information to help manage ACA compliance.
“Because our platform maintains one synchronized data set for human resources, employee benefits and payroll, CheckPoint HR clients enjoy a significant advantage when it comes to managing ACA reporting,” said Mike Gorker, chief technology officer of CheckPoint HR. “Our ACA solutions harness this data integration to create an easy and intuitive way for employers to manage reporting and compliance.”
CheckPoint HR provides technology and expertise for controlling health insurance costs, efficiently managing administration and ensuring regulatory compliance. The company fully integrates the employee benefit, human resource and payroll functions on a single technology platform.
###
About CheckPoint HR
A total employee benefit and human resource solutions provider, CheckPoint HR empowers businesses of all sizes to save money and administrative resources while offering more choice and flexibility to employees. Our employee benefit team offers unrivaled expertise in employee benefit strategy, selection and administration. Our proprietary insurance marketplace, CheckPoint Choice, delivers a full-service private exchange that is affordable and easy to manage. Our CheckPoint Core technology fully automates the HR and employee benefits process from recruitment through separation. Collaborating with our employee benefit and human resource experts, CheckPoint’s software developers incorporated key industry best practices into a compliance-aware rules engine that takes the guesswork out of employee benefits and HR. The result is efficiency, accuracy, risk mitigation and significant cost savings. To learn more, visit http://www.checkpointhr.com. Reported by PRWeb 18 hours ago.
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Do you really need expensive health insurance?
From broken fingers to a night in intensive care, brushes with ER can cost a fortune. In fact, 60% of personal bankruptcies are caused by medical bills. In this We The Voters short film, a secret agent discovers at the last moment the real cost of healthcare for the uninsured. Read more...
More about Mashable Video, Health Insurance, Healthcare, We The Voters, and World Reported by Mashable 18 hours ago.
More about Mashable Video, Health Insurance, Healthcare, We The Voters, and World Reported by Mashable 18 hours ago.
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Turns Out 80 Percent Of Eyeglasses Are Controlled By A Single Company
When it comes to eyeglasses and sunglasses, you often either lose them or they break easily. And most of the time, the cheaper frames are just as good as designer pairs.
And here’s proof ― they’re probably both made by the same company.
Emily Axford, co-host of TruTV’s “Adam Ruins Everything,” points out in the video above that the whole thing is rigged, explaining that 80 percent of brands ― luxury and affordable ― are owned by one company: Luxottica. And this company controls pretty much the entire eyewear market, from the frames themselves to the stores where we buy our glasses, to even some of our health insurance.
Persol? Luxottica. Prada? Luxottica. Ray Bans, Ralph Lauren, Versace and Michael Kors? Luxottica makes glasses for them all.
Axford says this virtual monopoly gives Luxottica the “power to drive up the price of glasses for everybody, sometimes charging as much as 20 times what they cost to produce.”
So whereas Luxottica could technically just label everything “Luxottica,” they won’t, because Axford states: “What Luxottica is really selling you is the illusion of choice.”
May you see the world a little more clearly now.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 16 hours ago.
And here’s proof ― they’re probably both made by the same company.
Emily Axford, co-host of TruTV’s “Adam Ruins Everything,” points out in the video above that the whole thing is rigged, explaining that 80 percent of brands ― luxury and affordable ― are owned by one company: Luxottica. And this company controls pretty much the entire eyewear market, from the frames themselves to the stores where we buy our glasses, to even some of our health insurance.
Persol? Luxottica. Prada? Luxottica. Ray Bans, Ralph Lauren, Versace and Michael Kors? Luxottica makes glasses for them all.
Axford says this virtual monopoly gives Luxottica the “power to drive up the price of glasses for everybody, sometimes charging as much as 20 times what they cost to produce.”
So whereas Luxottica could technically just label everything “Luxottica,” they won’t, because Axford states: “What Luxottica is really selling you is the illusion of choice.”
May you see the world a little more clearly now.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 16 hours ago.
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Using Insurance to Pay for Mental Healthcare: A Therapist's Perspective
Psyched in San Francisco. Molly is a relational, psychodynamic psychotherapist in private practice in Berkeley, CA. Molly works with adults and adolescents of all genders in approaching uncomfortable feelings, working through stuck patterns and creating room for joy and desire.
While I'm pleased to read NPR's ongoing investigation into mental health access, therapists like myself face a lot more when considering taking insurance, including mental health stigma, private practice costs, assumptions about "helpers," and client/patient privacy and confidentiality.
Mental health stigma is alive and well, and plays a part in the insurance conversation. When patients use insurance, they reveal the fact that they are in therapy, as well as a mandatory diagnostic code, to a third party. The problem is, therapy doesn't lend itself well to third party scrutiny. Therapy is often like a dream, where strange thoughts and uncanny relationships between images and sensation arise. It's a language that doesn't really hold itself up to conscious, logical assessment. Maybe you don't actually want to kill your father and have sex with your mother (thanks, Oedipus), but your unconscious doesn't know that. Therapy works because it helps you deeply get to know yourself and process your feelings in a safe environment. Worrying about your insurance company requesting your records and declaring your therapy "not medically necessary" could pose a challenge to that safety.
In the fine print of your insurance policy, you might discover that your insurance company has the right to audit your diagnosis, treatment plan, and progress notes to prevent fraud and determine whether the treatment is medically necessary. But having a non-clinician look into the deepest secrets of my patients feels like an unethical breach of patient confidentiality, and makes me uneasy. I'm not sure I trust the auditor more than I trust myself and my clinical consultants to understand and care for my patients' needs.
Additionally, since many people come to therapy to better their lives and relationships, it can be difficult to find a medical reason for the treatment. Yes, intervening when someone is suicidal is medically necessary, but what about everything leading up to and following the crisis? Some therapists are willing to juggle the risk to confidentiality with the need to make mental health care financially accessible.
But there are two people in a therapeutic relationship (three, if you count managed care, or if you're a relational psychoanalyst). Therapy must also be financially viable to the therapist. The truth is, someone has to pay us. Our profession is not a hobby. Up to six years of graduate school and 3,000 hours of mostly unpaid training is expensive. In private practice, therapists pay for office space, electricity, and furniture. We provide our own health insurance, disability, and retirement plans. Vacation and sick days don't exist. There's transportation, record keeping software, an accountant, business license, continuing education, personal therapy, and consultants to help with complex cases. And taxes, including the special "self-employment tax" that small business owners have to pay on top of regular taxes (usually about 15%).
It adds up.
If I see on average 14 clients per week (many therapists, myself included, stay under 20 clients to provide competent care), I charge $100 for each hour (just for round numbers' sake, not my actual fee), and all those hours are paid, I'll make $70,000 a year with two weeks vacation. Factoring in overhead, estimated at about $30,000 by Zynnyme, then self-employment tax and income tax, that comes to about $23,000 in take-home pay. That's 50% of median income for the SF Bay Area and qualifies me for reduced income housing (rent or mortgage being anywhere from $2,000-$6,000 per month in the Bay Area).
Finances are a huge consideration for therapists wanting to take insurance. I wish I could share the contracted rate I was offered the last time I inquired, but I can't. I'm not allowed to talk about what insurance companies actually pay, and therapists cannot unionize to advocate for better rates from insurance companies. That would violate the Sherman Act and the Cartwright Act. In fact, therapists are not even allowed to talk to each other about their fees. That could be interpreted as conspiring to monopolize. However, I can share that some rates I've been offered are less than half my fee, and not nearly enough to live on. In addition, insurance companies don't pay for missed sessions, so the hypothetical income calculations above could end up being even lower.
I know a few therapists who take insurance. They have to overbook their practices in order to meet their bottom line. They report feeling burnt out, tired, overextended, still don't have enough for retirement or emergency savings, and struggle to take vacations.
The helping professions, indeed.
But here's the thing: Many of us want to take insurance. We went into this profession to help everyone who needs it, not just those with financial means. I am hopeful for change with Hillary Clinton's new bill attempting to expand Medicare and Medicaid. But since MFTs are barred from accepting Medicare, this proposed bill may still be paying lip service to a deeper problem.
I think about the patients I see who can't afford much (if anything) out of pocket, who are wrapped up in so much childhood trauma that they could benefit from multiple sessions per week. One-third of my practice is sliding scale or pro-bono, and the rate I charge factors for that. But I wish I could work with anyone whose need fits my skills, regardless of their financial means. I wish I could accept insurance without feeling like I was compromising the integrity of my practice, or feeling resentful about rates so low that I couldn't pay back my debts or take care of myself and my family.
These are heavy things to consider as a private practitioner. I constantly support my patients in developing healthy boundaries and increasing abundance and self-esteem. What kind of therapist would I be if I could not do the same for myself? Unfortunately, for many of us, accepting insurance would make our own survival impossible. Until something changes, we are caught in a conundrum: able to help some, but not all, who need our care.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 17 hours ago.
While I'm pleased to read NPR's ongoing investigation into mental health access, therapists like myself face a lot more when considering taking insurance, including mental health stigma, private practice costs, assumptions about "helpers," and client/patient privacy and confidentiality.
Mental health stigma is alive and well, and plays a part in the insurance conversation. When patients use insurance, they reveal the fact that they are in therapy, as well as a mandatory diagnostic code, to a third party. The problem is, therapy doesn't lend itself well to third party scrutiny. Therapy is often like a dream, where strange thoughts and uncanny relationships between images and sensation arise. It's a language that doesn't really hold itself up to conscious, logical assessment. Maybe you don't actually want to kill your father and have sex with your mother (thanks, Oedipus), but your unconscious doesn't know that. Therapy works because it helps you deeply get to know yourself and process your feelings in a safe environment. Worrying about your insurance company requesting your records and declaring your therapy "not medically necessary" could pose a challenge to that safety.
In the fine print of your insurance policy, you might discover that your insurance company has the right to audit your diagnosis, treatment plan, and progress notes to prevent fraud and determine whether the treatment is medically necessary. But having a non-clinician look into the deepest secrets of my patients feels like an unethical breach of patient confidentiality, and makes me uneasy. I'm not sure I trust the auditor more than I trust myself and my clinical consultants to understand and care for my patients' needs.
Additionally, since many people come to therapy to better their lives and relationships, it can be difficult to find a medical reason for the treatment. Yes, intervening when someone is suicidal is medically necessary, but what about everything leading up to and following the crisis? Some therapists are willing to juggle the risk to confidentiality with the need to make mental health care financially accessible.
But there are two people in a therapeutic relationship (three, if you count managed care, or if you're a relational psychoanalyst). Therapy must also be financially viable to the therapist. The truth is, someone has to pay us. Our profession is not a hobby. Up to six years of graduate school and 3,000 hours of mostly unpaid training is expensive. In private practice, therapists pay for office space, electricity, and furniture. We provide our own health insurance, disability, and retirement plans. Vacation and sick days don't exist. There's transportation, record keeping software, an accountant, business license, continuing education, personal therapy, and consultants to help with complex cases. And taxes, including the special "self-employment tax" that small business owners have to pay on top of regular taxes (usually about 15%).
It adds up.
If I see on average 14 clients per week (many therapists, myself included, stay under 20 clients to provide competent care), I charge $100 for each hour (just for round numbers' sake, not my actual fee), and all those hours are paid, I'll make $70,000 a year with two weeks vacation. Factoring in overhead, estimated at about $30,000 by Zynnyme, then self-employment tax and income tax, that comes to about $23,000 in take-home pay. That's 50% of median income for the SF Bay Area and qualifies me for reduced income housing (rent or mortgage being anywhere from $2,000-$6,000 per month in the Bay Area).
Finances are a huge consideration for therapists wanting to take insurance. I wish I could share the contracted rate I was offered the last time I inquired, but I can't. I'm not allowed to talk about what insurance companies actually pay, and therapists cannot unionize to advocate for better rates from insurance companies. That would violate the Sherman Act and the Cartwright Act. In fact, therapists are not even allowed to talk to each other about their fees. That could be interpreted as conspiring to monopolize. However, I can share that some rates I've been offered are less than half my fee, and not nearly enough to live on. In addition, insurance companies don't pay for missed sessions, so the hypothetical income calculations above could end up being even lower.
I know a few therapists who take insurance. They have to overbook their practices in order to meet their bottom line. They report feeling burnt out, tired, overextended, still don't have enough for retirement or emergency savings, and struggle to take vacations.
The helping professions, indeed.
But here's the thing: Many of us want to take insurance. We went into this profession to help everyone who needs it, not just those with financial means. I am hopeful for change with Hillary Clinton's new bill attempting to expand Medicare and Medicaid. But since MFTs are barred from accepting Medicare, this proposed bill may still be paying lip service to a deeper problem.
I think about the patients I see who can't afford much (if anything) out of pocket, who are wrapped up in so much childhood trauma that they could benefit from multiple sessions per week. One-third of my practice is sliding scale or pro-bono, and the rate I charge factors for that. But I wish I could work with anyone whose need fits my skills, regardless of their financial means. I wish I could accept insurance without feeling like I was compromising the integrity of my practice, or feeling resentful about rates so low that I couldn't pay back my debts or take care of myself and my family.
These are heavy things to consider as a private practitioner. I constantly support my patients in developing healthy boundaries and increasing abundance and self-esteem. What kind of therapist would I be if I could not do the same for myself? Unfortunately, for many of us, accepting insurance would make our own survival impossible. Until something changes, we are caught in a conundrum: able to help some, but not all, who need our care.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 17 hours ago.
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Cook County considers new program to help uninsured get health care
The Cook County Board is considering a new program to help those without health insurance get regular care so they don't wind up in the emergency room.
The program would allow uninsured Cook County residents earning up to twice the federal poverty level — in other words, $48,600 a year for a family... Reported by ChicagoTribune 16 hours ago.
The program would allow uninsured Cook County residents earning up to twice the federal poverty level — in other words, $48,600 a year for a family... Reported by ChicagoTribune 16 hours ago.
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Employers turn to high-deductible health plans that push workers to shop around
A growing number of U.S. workers are covered by health insurance that sticks them with a bigger share of the medical bill but also softens that blow by providing a special account to help with the expense.
Companies are turning more to these so-called consumer-directed health plans, which push... Reported by L.A. Times 14 hours ago.
Companies are turning more to these so-called consumer-directed health plans, which push... Reported by L.A. Times 14 hours ago.
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Business Highlights
American seed and weed-killer company Monsanto and German medicine and farm chemical maker Bayer are combining in a deal that could help farmers produce higher yields to address challenges from global warming to rising food demand from a fast-growing global population. Consumers could benefit from more-affordable and healthier food options as well as the companies' using their expertise to help farmers limit their chemical use and environmental impact, company executives said Wednesday after the all-cash deal was announced. WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing public furor for the price of its emergency allergy shot EpiPen, Mylan Pharmaceuticals quickly pointed to a familiar industry solution: copay discount cards. Copay coupons or cards have become a ubiquitous part of the pharmaceutical business, offered through websites, mobile apps and doctor's offices. Investors have sent stocks in different directions as they wonder if the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week, and they're also speculating about the health of the global economy. A growing number of U.S. workers are covered by health insurance that sticks them with a bigger share of the medical bill but also softens that blow by providing a special account to help with the expense. NEW YORK (AP) — Autumn is an anxious time for many small and medium-sized business owners as they wait to learn whether their health insurance costs will go up for 2017 — and if so, by how much? "There's always a lump in your throat because you don't know what you're going to get," says Darren Ambler, a managing director at Insight Performance, a Dedham, Massachusetts-based human resources provider. Most of the increase in insurers' costs is a result of rising prescription drug prices, Ambler says. Uber's test program is the latest move in an increasingly heated race between tech companies in Silicon Valley and traditional automakers to perfect fully driverless cars f
Reported by SeattlePI.com 14 hours ago.
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Emerging From The Great Recession
There was some rather important economic news yesterday, which could be summed up as "things are getting better." Incomes are rising, unemployment has stayed low, the number of uninsured Americans has now dropped by half (thanks to Obamacare), and all of these things are happening at historic rates. The Great Recession is finally over, in other words.
This news didn't get nearly the attention it deserved, because bad economic news is always more enticing to the mainstream media. Think about it -- when unemployment was extremely high, each month's numbers were breathlessly reported on the day they came out, as the lead story on the evening news. These days, the fact that unemployment has now stayed close to five percent (5.1 percent or less) for over a full year is barely ever even mentioned. Even when a newspaper runs a headline like: "Middle Class Incomes Had Their Fastest Growth On Record Last Year," it mostly gets ignored on the airwaves. Hey, it's so much more fun to report on the Trump/Clinton daily molehills instead, right?
Digging into the statistics reveals gains not seen in a half-century. That's not hyperbole, either, as the Census Bureau showed (emphasis added):
Middle-class Americans and the poor enjoyed their *best year of economic improvement in decades* in 2015, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, a spike that broke a years-long streak of disappointment for American workers but did not fully repair the damage inflicted by the Great Recession.
Real median household income was $56,500 in 2015, the bureau reported, up from $53,700 in 2014. That 5.2 percent increase was *the largest, in percentage terms, recorded by the bureau* since it began tracking median income statistics in the 1960s.
In addition, the poverty rate fell by 1.2 percentage points, *the steepest decline since 1968*. There were 43.1 million Americans in poverty on the year, 3.5 million fewer than in 2014. The share of Americans who lack health insurance continued a years-long decline, falling 1.3 percentage points, to 9.1 percent.
A combination of forces fueled the gains, including an improving job market, low inflation and rising wages, particularly for low-earning workers who may have benefited from state and local initiatives to boost minimum wages.
To review: wages grew more than ever previously recorded. Poverty fell at the steepest rate since L.B.J. was in the White House. According to Gallup, the rate of uninsured Americans was at 18.0 percent in 2013, and it is now down to 9.1 percent. That means the percent of people without health insurance is now half what it was, just before Obamacare started. Half! Obamacare has done precisely what it was designed to do, to put this another way. The job market continues to improve, as it has steadily throughout most of Obama's term in office (after the bottom was hit during his first year). The wage gap between men and women even slightly improved. Oh, and raising minimum wages means everyone's wages increase, and this starts from the lowest income levels and moves up -- instead of the top-down wage increases that really only benefit the one percent. From the article:
Liberal economists said it was encouraging that the gains started with the workers who earn the least. Income grew most for the lowest-earning workers and least for the highest-earning ones, though all income groups saw improvement.
"The highest income growth was in the bottom fifth" of workers, "which is very welcome news," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the liberal Economic Policy Institute think tank. Furman, of the White House, credited wage-boosting policy initiatives for some of that increase: "The fact that millions of workers have gotten a raise, as states have raised minimum wages, has definitely had an effect there," he said.
All told, the gains brought median incomes nearly back to their levels before the recession, after adjusting for inflation, though they remain below 1999 levels.
The news, however, was not universally rosy. Those who live in areas where they are represented by Republicans did significantly worse, likely due to resistance to minimum wage increases and the failure of red states to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, as the article also helpfully points out:
Median incomes did not budge significantly in rural areas, while in cities, they grew by 7.3 percent. The South saw significantly weaker income growth than the West.
On health care, states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act continued to see a decline in their uninsured rate, widening a coverage gap with those states that did not expand the program.
Put slightly differently, living under Republican rule is dangerous to both your health and your paycheck.
Democrats running for office really need to point this disparity out, from Hillary Clinton on down to individual House races and gubernatorial candidates. They should be shouting from the campaign trail: "We want to raise the minimum wage, but Republicans refuse to do so, even though it is proven to raise everyone's wages without inflation. The data don't lie. Democrats want to improve workers' lives, Republicans refuse to even consider it."
Of course, some Democrats are too timid to make this case. It's always politically risky to tell voters that things are getting better when it's not yet true for all. This leads voters to the assumption that politicians are not only out-of-touch but are actually blaming them for their economic woes: "See? Everyone else is doing better, so there really must be something wrong with you if you aren't," is the way this comes across, in other words. And that's not exactly the way to get people to vote for you. Some Democrats walk this tightrope by tempering their outlook: "Things are getting better, but they haven't gotten better for all, because we still have work left to do." This is more polite than saying: "If the Republicans keep the House, your lives are never going to improve much, because they refuse to consider Democratic solutions that have been proven to work."
It's always politically risky to tell people things are getting better (or worse, for that matter) when their own experiences run counter to the national average. A politician talking in rosy terms about the improving economy isn't going to be welcomed by people who lost their job and still can't find another one. But there's a flip side to this as well, which I'll get to in a moment.
If this were a normal presidential election year, the recent excellent economic news might have guaranteed the race to the incumbent party. Some political science professors use only two basic data points to predict presidential election outcomes, which sounds too simple to be true but actually works remarkably accurately. Just by looking at the state of the economy and presidential job approval ratings, most presidential elections can indeed be predicted. If the economy's bad, or if the sitting president is below 50 percent approval, then the "out" party will likely win the White House. If the economy's good and the president has a clear majority who approve of the job he's doing, then his party will hold onto the White House.
Barack Obama's job approval was just rated at 58 percent in a recent poll. That was higher than other polls, but he's been comfortably above 50 percent in almost all of them for the past few months. Taken together with the economic good news, this would normally mean Hillary Clinton will be elected president in November.
Of course, this isn't exactly a normal election year. The phenomenon that is Donald Trump has already broken many of the rules and safe assumptions people have made. He could continue to do so, running a campaign that is so outside the normal way campaigns are run that it's hard to predict what will happen based only on conventional data and conventional prediction models.
Still, an economy improving at historic rates certainly undercuts one of the main arguments Trump has been making. According to Trump (and Fox News, of course), we are currently still in a post-apocalyptic hellscape of an economy. Things are bad for everyone, across the board. Life sucks and is getting suckier by the day.
But what this could mean is that it is Trump who is risking people rejecting his view of the economy more than any Democrat talking the economy up. Especially for middle-class suburbanites who may have weathered the Great Recession and are now seeing fatter paychecks. For this crucial demographic, Trump's doom-and-gloom on the economy doesn't ring true. Which means it could be Trump who is seen as out-of-touch in his viewpoint rather than Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or any other Democrat pointing out that all the economic news is good. Really good, in fact.
Trump's view still rings true to a lot of his supporters, of course. Regions left behind by manufacturing jobs leaving (never to return) are still open to Trump's viewpoint. But they're probably not going to vote for Clinton anyway. The election may instead be decided in the suburbs, as it often is. If Hillary Clinton is making more sense on the economy than Donald Trump to these suburbanites, that will give her a decisive edge. The Great Recession was a deep and lasting blow to the American economy. Barack Obama turned this around, and things have slowly improved over the course of his presidency. But last year, things started improving at historic rates for the poor and middle class. This good news hasn't reached everywhere, but it has reached enough places that might just make the doom-and-gloom message the one that's not believable.
Chris Weigant blogs at:
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 13 hours ago.
This news didn't get nearly the attention it deserved, because bad economic news is always more enticing to the mainstream media. Think about it -- when unemployment was extremely high, each month's numbers were breathlessly reported on the day they came out, as the lead story on the evening news. These days, the fact that unemployment has now stayed close to five percent (5.1 percent or less) for over a full year is barely ever even mentioned. Even when a newspaper runs a headline like: "Middle Class Incomes Had Their Fastest Growth On Record Last Year," it mostly gets ignored on the airwaves. Hey, it's so much more fun to report on the Trump/Clinton daily molehills instead, right?
Digging into the statistics reveals gains not seen in a half-century. That's not hyperbole, either, as the Census Bureau showed (emphasis added):
Middle-class Americans and the poor enjoyed their *best year of economic improvement in decades* in 2015, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, a spike that broke a years-long streak of disappointment for American workers but did not fully repair the damage inflicted by the Great Recession.
Real median household income was $56,500 in 2015, the bureau reported, up from $53,700 in 2014. That 5.2 percent increase was *the largest, in percentage terms, recorded by the bureau* since it began tracking median income statistics in the 1960s.
In addition, the poverty rate fell by 1.2 percentage points, *the steepest decline since 1968*. There were 43.1 million Americans in poverty on the year, 3.5 million fewer than in 2014. The share of Americans who lack health insurance continued a years-long decline, falling 1.3 percentage points, to 9.1 percent.
A combination of forces fueled the gains, including an improving job market, low inflation and rising wages, particularly for low-earning workers who may have benefited from state and local initiatives to boost minimum wages.
To review: wages grew more than ever previously recorded. Poverty fell at the steepest rate since L.B.J. was in the White House. According to Gallup, the rate of uninsured Americans was at 18.0 percent in 2013, and it is now down to 9.1 percent. That means the percent of people without health insurance is now half what it was, just before Obamacare started. Half! Obamacare has done precisely what it was designed to do, to put this another way. The job market continues to improve, as it has steadily throughout most of Obama's term in office (after the bottom was hit during his first year). The wage gap between men and women even slightly improved. Oh, and raising minimum wages means everyone's wages increase, and this starts from the lowest income levels and moves up -- instead of the top-down wage increases that really only benefit the one percent. From the article:
Liberal economists said it was encouraging that the gains started with the workers who earn the least. Income grew most for the lowest-earning workers and least for the highest-earning ones, though all income groups saw improvement.
"The highest income growth was in the bottom fifth" of workers, "which is very welcome news," said Lawrence Mishel, president of the liberal Economic Policy Institute think tank. Furman, of the White House, credited wage-boosting policy initiatives for some of that increase: "The fact that millions of workers have gotten a raise, as states have raised minimum wages, has definitely had an effect there," he said.
All told, the gains brought median incomes nearly back to their levels before the recession, after adjusting for inflation, though they remain below 1999 levels.
The news, however, was not universally rosy. Those who live in areas where they are represented by Republicans did significantly worse, likely due to resistance to minimum wage increases and the failure of red states to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, as the article also helpfully points out:
Median incomes did not budge significantly in rural areas, while in cities, they grew by 7.3 percent. The South saw significantly weaker income growth than the West.
On health care, states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act continued to see a decline in their uninsured rate, widening a coverage gap with those states that did not expand the program.
Put slightly differently, living under Republican rule is dangerous to both your health and your paycheck.
Democrats running for office really need to point this disparity out, from Hillary Clinton on down to individual House races and gubernatorial candidates. They should be shouting from the campaign trail: "We want to raise the minimum wage, but Republicans refuse to do so, even though it is proven to raise everyone's wages without inflation. The data don't lie. Democrats want to improve workers' lives, Republicans refuse to even consider it."
Of course, some Democrats are too timid to make this case. It's always politically risky to tell voters that things are getting better when it's not yet true for all. This leads voters to the assumption that politicians are not only out-of-touch but are actually blaming them for their economic woes: "See? Everyone else is doing better, so there really must be something wrong with you if you aren't," is the way this comes across, in other words. And that's not exactly the way to get people to vote for you. Some Democrats walk this tightrope by tempering their outlook: "Things are getting better, but they haven't gotten better for all, because we still have work left to do." This is more polite than saying: "If the Republicans keep the House, your lives are never going to improve much, because they refuse to consider Democratic solutions that have been proven to work."
It's always politically risky to tell people things are getting better (or worse, for that matter) when their own experiences run counter to the national average. A politician talking in rosy terms about the improving economy isn't going to be welcomed by people who lost their job and still can't find another one. But there's a flip side to this as well, which I'll get to in a moment.
If this were a normal presidential election year, the recent excellent economic news might have guaranteed the race to the incumbent party. Some political science professors use only two basic data points to predict presidential election outcomes, which sounds too simple to be true but actually works remarkably accurately. Just by looking at the state of the economy and presidential job approval ratings, most presidential elections can indeed be predicted. If the economy's bad, or if the sitting president is below 50 percent approval, then the "out" party will likely win the White House. If the economy's good and the president has a clear majority who approve of the job he's doing, then his party will hold onto the White House.
Barack Obama's job approval was just rated at 58 percent in a recent poll. That was higher than other polls, but he's been comfortably above 50 percent in almost all of them for the past few months. Taken together with the economic good news, this would normally mean Hillary Clinton will be elected president in November.
Of course, this isn't exactly a normal election year. The phenomenon that is Donald Trump has already broken many of the rules and safe assumptions people have made. He could continue to do so, running a campaign that is so outside the normal way campaigns are run that it's hard to predict what will happen based only on conventional data and conventional prediction models.
Still, an economy improving at historic rates certainly undercuts one of the main arguments Trump has been making. According to Trump (and Fox News, of course), we are currently still in a post-apocalyptic hellscape of an economy. Things are bad for everyone, across the board. Life sucks and is getting suckier by the day.
But what this could mean is that it is Trump who is risking people rejecting his view of the economy more than any Democrat talking the economy up. Especially for middle-class suburbanites who may have weathered the Great Recession and are now seeing fatter paychecks. For this crucial demographic, Trump's doom-and-gloom on the economy doesn't ring true. Which means it could be Trump who is seen as out-of-touch in his viewpoint rather than Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or any other Democrat pointing out that all the economic news is good. Really good, in fact.
Trump's view still rings true to a lot of his supporters, of course. Regions left behind by manufacturing jobs leaving (never to return) are still open to Trump's viewpoint. But they're probably not going to vote for Clinton anyway. The election may instead be decided in the suburbs, as it often is. If Hillary Clinton is making more sense on the economy than Donald Trump to these suburbanites, that will give her a decisive edge. The Great Recession was a deep and lasting blow to the American economy. Barack Obama turned this around, and things have slowly improved over the course of his presidency. But last year, things started improving at historic rates for the poor and middle class. This good news hasn't reached everywhere, but it has reached enough places that might just make the doom-and-gloom message the one that's not believable.
Chris Weigant blogs at:
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 13 hours ago.
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Survey: PPO Deductibles Increase Fifty Percent in 2016, Employer Costs Remain Steady
The 2016 UBA Health Plan Survey results show employees are taking on more cost for lower coverage. Hierl Insurance is hosting an upcoming benchmark webinar providing insight to the 2016 results.
Fond du Lac, Wisc. (PRWEB) September 15, 2016
The median in-network deductible on an employer-sponsored PPO health plan increased 50 percent, from $1,000 to $1,500 in 2016, yet employer costs remain steady, according to the newly released 2016 Health Plan Survey from United Benefit Advisors (UBA), the nation’s largest independent survey of employer-sponsored benefits. Despite these significant deductible increases, nearly half of all employees continue to enroll in PPO plans, finds UBA.
The survey shows that average health plan costs for employers actually decreased slightly from $9,736 in 2015 to $9,727 in 2016 while the employees’ share increased as they continue to accept lower coverage levels. Of the $9,727, employees contributed an average of $3,378 and employers contributed on average $6,350, whereas in 2015, employers paid $6,403 of the $9,736 average overall cost, while employees paid $3,333.
“Overall, employer costs remained consistent because they are passing more and more of their increases on to employees – a trend we expect to see more of in the future,” says Les McPhearson, CEO of UBA. “Employers simply cannot continue to absorb unsustainable increases in health care costs. Unfortunately, neither can employees.”
MONTHLY PREMIUMS AND COPAYS
UBA finds that total monthly premiums, combined for all types of plans, remained flat at $509 for a single. However, employers shifted costs to employees in other ways, including median out-of-network deductibles, which jumped from $3,000 to $3,400 this year (a 13.3 percent increase) and median ER copays increased from $250 to $300 (20.0 percent).
The employees’ share of monthly premiums increased only slightly from $140 in 2015 to $144 (2.6 percent), and family portions went from $540 in 2015 to $552 in 2016 (2.2 percent).
UBA also finds that families are again bearing the brunt of the cost of health insurance. For an employee electing single coverage, the employer covers 71 percent of the monthly premium, and only 54 percent of a family premium.
“The deductible increases are mostly due to two factors: First, by raising the deductible $500, you avoid a premium increase of roughly 3 percent to 6 percent. The second factor is the result of insurance carriers being forced to comply with ‘metal’ levels (platinum, gold, silver, bronze) in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) small group market,” says Carol Taylor, Director of Compliance & Health Plan Collaborative with D&S Agency, a UBA Partner Firm based in Roanoke, VA. “As long as insurance carriers are required to meet the ACA metal levels, we can expect to see plan changes in this same direction.”
UBA’s 2016 Health Plan Survey Executive Summary will be available to the public in late September. Pre-order now at http://bit.ly/2016-UBA-survey. Media may request a preliminary copy of results from representative of Hierl Insurance.
ABOUT THE 2016 UBA HEALTH PLAN SURVEY
The 2016 UBA Health Plan Survey contains the validated responses of 19,557 health plans and 11,524 employers, who cumulatively employ over two and a half million employees and insure more than five million total lives. While other surveys primarily target large employers, the focus of the UBA survey is to report results that are applicable to the small and mid-size companies that represent the overwhelming majority of the nation’s employers, while also including a mix of large companies in rough proportion to their actual prevalence, nationally. This is an important distinction compared to other national surveys.
Contact us at 920-921-5921 for a customized benchmark survey based on industry, region and business size.
ABOUT UNITED BENEFIT ADVISORS
United Benefit Advisors® (UBA) is the nation’s leading independent employee benefits advisory organization with more than 200 offices throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. UBA empowers more than 2,000 Partners to both maintain their individuality and pool their expertise, insight, and market presence to provide best-in-class services and solutions. Employers, advisors and industry-related organizations interested in obtaining powerful results from the shared wisdom of our Partners should visit http://www.UBAbenefits.com.
About Hierl Insurance
Locally owned since 1919, Hierl Insurance has earned the trust of more than 250 Wisconsin employers by using insight and innovative technology to create unique strategies that protect business owners, their employees and their budgets, ultimately having a positive effect on clients. Hierl defines this in one simple phrase: “Strength. Heart. Results.” Strength represents Hierl’s dedication to their clients. Heart is the passion Hierl has for people. Results Is what Hierl delivers. Visit us at http://www.hierl.com or call us at 920.921.5921.
Upcoming webinars on the UBA Benchmark for 2016
During this Hierl60 webinar Scott Smeaton, CRM, CIC and Tonya Bahr, SPHR, SCP will be sharing insights into the 2016 UBA Benchmark Survey results, including how the top performing companies use this data to curb healthcare costs, specific survey results you can use right away, and emerging trends in health plans as a result of the Affordable Care Act.
Seminar dates: September 21, at 12 noon and September 27 at 12 noon. These webinars are free, call 920.921.5921 to register.
Contact:
Scott Smeaton
Executive Vice President
Hierl Insurance
800.462.8931
ssmeaton(at)hierl(dot)com
http://www.hierl.com Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
Fond du Lac, Wisc. (PRWEB) September 15, 2016
The median in-network deductible on an employer-sponsored PPO health plan increased 50 percent, from $1,000 to $1,500 in 2016, yet employer costs remain steady, according to the newly released 2016 Health Plan Survey from United Benefit Advisors (UBA), the nation’s largest independent survey of employer-sponsored benefits. Despite these significant deductible increases, nearly half of all employees continue to enroll in PPO plans, finds UBA.
The survey shows that average health plan costs for employers actually decreased slightly from $9,736 in 2015 to $9,727 in 2016 while the employees’ share increased as they continue to accept lower coverage levels. Of the $9,727, employees contributed an average of $3,378 and employers contributed on average $6,350, whereas in 2015, employers paid $6,403 of the $9,736 average overall cost, while employees paid $3,333.
“Overall, employer costs remained consistent because they are passing more and more of their increases on to employees – a trend we expect to see more of in the future,” says Les McPhearson, CEO of UBA. “Employers simply cannot continue to absorb unsustainable increases in health care costs. Unfortunately, neither can employees.”
MONTHLY PREMIUMS AND COPAYS
UBA finds that total monthly premiums, combined for all types of plans, remained flat at $509 for a single. However, employers shifted costs to employees in other ways, including median out-of-network deductibles, which jumped from $3,000 to $3,400 this year (a 13.3 percent increase) and median ER copays increased from $250 to $300 (20.0 percent).
The employees’ share of monthly premiums increased only slightly from $140 in 2015 to $144 (2.6 percent), and family portions went from $540 in 2015 to $552 in 2016 (2.2 percent).
UBA also finds that families are again bearing the brunt of the cost of health insurance. For an employee electing single coverage, the employer covers 71 percent of the monthly premium, and only 54 percent of a family premium.
“The deductible increases are mostly due to two factors: First, by raising the deductible $500, you avoid a premium increase of roughly 3 percent to 6 percent. The second factor is the result of insurance carriers being forced to comply with ‘metal’ levels (platinum, gold, silver, bronze) in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) small group market,” says Carol Taylor, Director of Compliance & Health Plan Collaborative with D&S Agency, a UBA Partner Firm based in Roanoke, VA. “As long as insurance carriers are required to meet the ACA metal levels, we can expect to see plan changes in this same direction.”
UBA’s 2016 Health Plan Survey Executive Summary will be available to the public in late September. Pre-order now at http://bit.ly/2016-UBA-survey. Media may request a preliminary copy of results from representative of Hierl Insurance.
ABOUT THE 2016 UBA HEALTH PLAN SURVEY
The 2016 UBA Health Plan Survey contains the validated responses of 19,557 health plans and 11,524 employers, who cumulatively employ over two and a half million employees and insure more than five million total lives. While other surveys primarily target large employers, the focus of the UBA survey is to report results that are applicable to the small and mid-size companies that represent the overwhelming majority of the nation’s employers, while also including a mix of large companies in rough proportion to their actual prevalence, nationally. This is an important distinction compared to other national surveys.
Contact us at 920-921-5921 for a customized benchmark survey based on industry, region and business size.
ABOUT UNITED BENEFIT ADVISORS
United Benefit Advisors® (UBA) is the nation’s leading independent employee benefits advisory organization with more than 200 offices throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. UBA empowers more than 2,000 Partners to both maintain their individuality and pool their expertise, insight, and market presence to provide best-in-class services and solutions. Employers, advisors and industry-related organizations interested in obtaining powerful results from the shared wisdom of our Partners should visit http://www.UBAbenefits.com.
About Hierl Insurance
Locally owned since 1919, Hierl Insurance has earned the trust of more than 250 Wisconsin employers by using insight and innovative technology to create unique strategies that protect business owners, their employees and their budgets, ultimately having a positive effect on clients. Hierl defines this in one simple phrase: “Strength. Heart. Results.” Strength represents Hierl’s dedication to their clients. Heart is the passion Hierl has for people. Results Is what Hierl delivers. Visit us at http://www.hierl.com or call us at 920.921.5921.
Upcoming webinars on the UBA Benchmark for 2016
During this Hierl60 webinar Scott Smeaton, CRM, CIC and Tonya Bahr, SPHR, SCP will be sharing insights into the 2016 UBA Benchmark Survey results, including how the top performing companies use this data to curb healthcare costs, specific survey results you can use right away, and emerging trends in health plans as a result of the Affordable Care Act.
Seminar dates: September 21, at 12 noon and September 27 at 12 noon. These webinars are free, call 920.921.5921 to register.
Contact:
Scott Smeaton
Executive Vice President
Hierl Insurance
800.462.8931
ssmeaton(at)hierl(dot)com
http://www.hierl.com Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
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Georgia third worst in nation for uninsured
The percentage of Georgians who don't have health insurance is down, but it remains among the nation’s highest, according to a Gwinnett Daily Post report. Georgia’s uninsured rate of 13.9 percent in 2015 was the nation’s third-highest, trailing only Texas and Alaska, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday. The rate in Georgia fell from 15.8 percent the previous year, the Post reported. The number of Georgians without health insurance, 1,388,000, was the fourth-highest total…
Reported by bizjournals 2 hours ago.
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Senate Progressives, Activists Plan Big Public Option Push
WASHINGTON ― Progressive senators and liberal activist groups plan a renewed effort to achieve what they couldn’t when the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010: Create a “public option” health plan in Obamacare that consumers can choose instead of private insurance.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are among the leaders of the effort, which also includes three members of the Senate Democratic leadership: Dick Durbin (Ill.), Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Patty Murray (Wash.).
The senators will introduce a resolution Thursday calling for the creation of a public option, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee will spearhead a grassroots campaign to promote the cause to other senators ― and to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
The revival of the public option comes after Clinton and President Barack Obama both endorsed it as a progressive priority this summer, more than six years after liberal lawmakers left it out of the Affordable Care Act after a lengthy debate.
Moreover, bad news about Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges ― where premiums appear set to rise significantly for at least some customers and fewer insurers will be offering plans for next year ― has invigorated interest among Democrats and other supporters of the health care law in expanding health coverage and reducing costs.
We must continue to make needed health care reforms so that the American people can have health care as a right, not a privilege.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
“The Affordable Care Act has already expanded health coverage to millions who were previously uninsured and given countless Americans greater peace of mind,” Merkley said in a written statement provided by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “We should build on this success by driving competition and holding insurance companies accountable with a public, Medicare-like option available to every American.”
As he did during his unsuccessful White House bid, Sanders acknowledged the Affordable Care Act’s accomplishments ― namely the historic reduction in the number of uninsured Americans ― and described the public option as the next step toward universal coverage.
“The Affordable Care Act has made great progress in helping millions of people get access to health insurance. But at a time when 29 million people are still uninsured, and 31 million are underinsured, we must continue to make needed health care reforms so that the American people can have health care as a right, not a privilege,” Sanders said in a written statement provided by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee also shared a portion of the resolution, which Merkley will introduce Thursday, with The Huffington Post in advance of the announcement.
Resolved, that the Senate supports efforts to build on the Affordable Care Act by ensuring that, in addition to the coverage options provided by private insurers, every American has access to a public health insurance option which, when established, will strengthen competition, improve affordability for families by reducing premiums and increasing choices, and save American taxpayers billions of dollars.
Other sponsors of the resolution include Democratic Sens. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) and Al Franken (Minn.).
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee also has partnered with other groups to generate support for enacting a public option next year, including MoveOn.org and Democracy for America. These organizations will create a petition for supporters to express their views at a new website, WeWantAPublicOption.com.
“We see this as the most significant health care push by Democrats since the passage of Obamacare,” Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Stephanie Taylor said in a written statement.
No matter how much muscle Senate Democrats may put behind enacting a public option, the policy faces significant and possibly insurmountable obstacles in the near term.
Congressional Republicans continue to focus on repealing all of the Affordable Care Act and replacing it with some other scheme that would provide coverage and financial assistance to far fewer people. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump also backs Obamacare repeal and has outlined a vague alternative that would substantially increase the number of uninsured people.
And even if Clinton prevails over Trump in November and Democrats win the Senate, the party faces slim odds of gaining a majority in the House next year.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 2 hours ago.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are among the leaders of the effort, which also includes three members of the Senate Democratic leadership: Dick Durbin (Ill.), Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Patty Murray (Wash.).
The senators will introduce a resolution Thursday calling for the creation of a public option, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee will spearhead a grassroots campaign to promote the cause to other senators ― and to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
The revival of the public option comes after Clinton and President Barack Obama both endorsed it as a progressive priority this summer, more than six years after liberal lawmakers left it out of the Affordable Care Act after a lengthy debate.
Moreover, bad news about Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges ― where premiums appear set to rise significantly for at least some customers and fewer insurers will be offering plans for next year ― has invigorated interest among Democrats and other supporters of the health care law in expanding health coverage and reducing costs.
We must continue to make needed health care reforms so that the American people can have health care as a right, not a privilege.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
“The Affordable Care Act has already expanded health coverage to millions who were previously uninsured and given countless Americans greater peace of mind,” Merkley said in a written statement provided by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “We should build on this success by driving competition and holding insurance companies accountable with a public, Medicare-like option available to every American.”
As he did during his unsuccessful White House bid, Sanders acknowledged the Affordable Care Act’s accomplishments ― namely the historic reduction in the number of uninsured Americans ― and described the public option as the next step toward universal coverage.
“The Affordable Care Act has made great progress in helping millions of people get access to health insurance. But at a time when 29 million people are still uninsured, and 31 million are underinsured, we must continue to make needed health care reforms so that the American people can have health care as a right, not a privilege,” Sanders said in a written statement provided by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee also shared a portion of the resolution, which Merkley will introduce Thursday, with The Huffington Post in advance of the announcement.
Resolved, that the Senate supports efforts to build on the Affordable Care Act by ensuring that, in addition to the coverage options provided by private insurers, every American has access to a public health insurance option which, when established, will strengthen competition, improve affordability for families by reducing premiums and increasing choices, and save American taxpayers billions of dollars.
Other sponsors of the resolution include Democratic Sens. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) and Al Franken (Minn.).
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee also has partnered with other groups to generate support for enacting a public option next year, including MoveOn.org and Democracy for America. These organizations will create a petition for supporters to express their views at a new website, WeWantAPublicOption.com.
“We see this as the most significant health care push by Democrats since the passage of Obamacare,” Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Stephanie Taylor said in a written statement.
No matter how much muscle Senate Democrats may put behind enacting a public option, the policy faces significant and possibly insurmountable obstacles in the near term.
Congressional Republicans continue to focus on repealing all of the Affordable Care Act and replacing it with some other scheme that would provide coverage and financial assistance to far fewer people. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump also backs Obamacare repeal and has outlined a vague alternative that would substantially increase the number of uninsured people.
And even if Clinton prevails over Trump in November and Democrats win the Senate, the party faces slim odds of gaining a majority in the House next year.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 2 hours ago.
↧
Now Available from AIS: New Edition of Annual Resource Tracking Health Care Industry Facts, Trends and Data
Atlantic Information Services’ Health Plan Facts, Trends and Data: 2016-2017 contains reliable data, directories and other valuable resources on important trends that are reshaping the health care industry.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 15, 2016
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is pleased to announce the publication of Health Plan Facts, Trends and Data: 2016-2017, a comprehensive one-of-a-kind resource on the U.S. health insurance industry. Developed by researchers in AIS’s Directory and Databases Division, the company’s exclusive research team that also creates the industry-leading AIS’s Directory of Health Plans — Health Plan Facts, Trends and Data — provides valuable intelligence on a wide range of big-dollar health plan issues, from benefit design and management strategies to corporate financial results and enrollment.
Some of the topics tracked by Health Plan Facts, Trends and Data include:· Industry-wide Trends. AIS’s in-house editorial and research teams have closely tracked enrollment and market trends over the past year — including Medicare Advantage and Medicaid enrollment, premium rates and integrated health systems.
· Market Impact of Mergers and Closures. From the controversy surrounding the Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana mergers to myriad CO-OP closures, the industry has seen volatile shifts in the past year.
· Insurer Strategies. In-depth accounts of health plans’ competitive strategies in public and private exchanges, reimbursement strategies such as value-based care, outcomes-based drug contracting and bundled payments, and pharmacy benefit cost containment.
· Innovative Partnerships. The shape of the industry continues to evolve as insurers, health systems and providers form partnerships and launch products designed to provide value to customers while cutting costs.
· Business News. Synopses of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, financial and stock market performance, personnel decisions and executive compensation trends.
· Data and Developments on Blues Plans. New for this edition, a chapter is dedicated to data, trends and strategies of Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies.
For more information on Health Plan Facts, Trends and Data: 2016-2017, including a full table of contents, visit https://aishealth.com/marketplace/health-plan-facts-trends-and-data.
About AIS
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is a publishing and information company that has been serving the health care industry for nearly 30 years. It develops highly targeted news, data and strategic information for managers in hospitals and health systems, health insurance companies, medical group practices, purchasers of health insurance, pharmaceutical companies and other health care organizations. AIS products include print and electronic newsletters, databases, websites, looseleafs, strategic reports, directories, webinars, virtual conferences and training programs. Learn more at http://AISHealth.com. Reported by PRWeb 1 hour ago.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 15, 2016
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is pleased to announce the publication of Health Plan Facts, Trends and Data: 2016-2017, a comprehensive one-of-a-kind resource on the U.S. health insurance industry. Developed by researchers in AIS’s Directory and Databases Division, the company’s exclusive research team that also creates the industry-leading AIS’s Directory of Health Plans — Health Plan Facts, Trends and Data — provides valuable intelligence on a wide range of big-dollar health plan issues, from benefit design and management strategies to corporate financial results and enrollment.
Some of the topics tracked by Health Plan Facts, Trends and Data include:· Industry-wide Trends. AIS’s in-house editorial and research teams have closely tracked enrollment and market trends over the past year — including Medicare Advantage and Medicaid enrollment, premium rates and integrated health systems.
· Market Impact of Mergers and Closures. From the controversy surrounding the Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana mergers to myriad CO-OP closures, the industry has seen volatile shifts in the past year.
· Insurer Strategies. In-depth accounts of health plans’ competitive strategies in public and private exchanges, reimbursement strategies such as value-based care, outcomes-based drug contracting and bundled payments, and pharmacy benefit cost containment.
· Innovative Partnerships. The shape of the industry continues to evolve as insurers, health systems and providers form partnerships and launch products designed to provide value to customers while cutting costs.
· Business News. Synopses of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, financial and stock market performance, personnel decisions and executive compensation trends.
· Data and Developments on Blues Plans. New for this edition, a chapter is dedicated to data, trends and strategies of Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies.
For more information on Health Plan Facts, Trends and Data: 2016-2017, including a full table of contents, visit https://aishealth.com/marketplace/health-plan-facts-trends-and-data.
About AIS
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is a publishing and information company that has been serving the health care industry for nearly 30 years. It develops highly targeted news, data and strategic information for managers in hospitals and health systems, health insurance companies, medical group practices, purchasers of health insurance, pharmaceutical companies and other health care organizations. AIS products include print and electronic newsletters, databases, websites, looseleafs, strategic reports, directories, webinars, virtual conferences and training programs. Learn more at http://AISHealth.com. Reported by PRWeb 1 hour ago.
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The gloves come off in the legal fight between Pimco and Bill Gross
Plus: Claims of a better robo platform, a bright spot in a dim economic recovery, and health insurance won't be less expensive this year or next
Reported by InvestmentNews 1 hour ago.
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