In their Affordable Care Act repeal bill, Senate Republicans dropped the requirement that all Americans get health insurance. But they also kept the mandate that insurance companies cover everyone.
Reported by NPR 9 hours ago.
How The Senate Health Care Bill Could Disrupt The Insurance Market
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Here Is How Senate Republicans Try To Hide The Damage Of Their Repeal Bill
Senate Republicans desperately want you to believe their health care bill is something it’s not.
They want you to believe that it protects the financially and medically vulnerable, that it won’t “pull the rug out” from people now depending on the Affordable Care Act for insurance, that ― as President Donald Trump has promised ― it will have “heart.”
Reality is different.
The Senate bill, which GOP leaders unveiled Thursday, looks an awful lot like the bill that the House passed in May. It would roll back the expansion of Medicaid that has allowed millions of people to get health insurance, then change Medicaid’s structure and reduce its funding going forward. It reduces the financial assistance available to Americans who buy coverage on their own and scales back guarantees of what insurance covers.
It would feel like an improvement to some people, for sure, particularly young, healthy people who would end up paying less for coverage than they do today, as well those who want less-comprehensive coverage or are angry about paying the individual mandate penalty. The wealthy Americans now paying taxes that finance Obamacare’s coverage expansion would get to keep that money. But the net effect would be more exposure to crippling medical bills for many millions of Americans.
It’s possible that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his allies have deluded themselves into thinking this won’t happen. It’s more likely that they grasp the consequences and simply deem them worthwhile, for some combination of personal, political and philosophical reasons.
But they can’t come out and make that argument ― in part because, as polls indicate, the public almost surely disagrees. And so McConnell and his allies have written the Senate bill in a way that’s designed to obscure some of its harshest effects and give skittish members plausible-sounding reasons to vote yes.
Big Medicaid Cuts, But Pushed Into The Future
The House bill would change Medicaid in two main ways. It would end the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, cutting off the extra federal matching funds that 31 states plus the District of Columbia used to expand eligibility. And then, going forward, the House bill would change Medicaid’s underlying funding formula, tying future federal contributions to an inflation rate likely to fall below what states would need to maintain existing levels of coverage.
Many senators objected loudly to these changes, usually because their states were among those that expanded coverage, or because their states rely on Medicaid to finance treatment of raging opioid epidemics or both. GOP leaders in the Senate purported to address these concerns by changing the timing of the expansion repeal ― specifically, by reducing the federal matching funds over three years rather than in just one year, as the House bill proposed to do.
But this change is a lot less significant than it sounds. The House bill also had a phase-in of sorts, because it had what amounted to a grandfather clause: It preserved the extra funding for people who had enrolled in the expansion for as long as they stayed on Medicaid. This would have effectively stretched out the transition over two or three years, as people in the program found jobs with enough pay to push their earnings out of the eligibility range.
More important, the Senate bill took the long-term cuts in the House bill and made them bigger, tying the federal matching formula to an even lower level of inflation. As a result, any gap between federal matching funds and what states need for Medicaid would grow over time ― most likely forcing them to make bigger cuts.
The more years that pass, the bigger the cuts would get ― which means, literally, that the worst damage would come after the 10-year window that the Congressional Budget Office uses for its projections of the bill’s effects.
Small Tax Credits But Distributed In A Progressive Way
The significance of the Senate bill’s changes to the private insurance market are similarly easy to miss, particularly when it comes to the financial assistance available to people buying coverage on their own.
The House bill would have wiped away completely the Affordable Care Act’s scheme of tax credits, which are bigger for people who have low incomes or face higher premiums ― in other words, the people who would struggle the most to pay for coverage on their own.
The Senate bill actually keeps that basic structure, more or less, adjusting tax credits based on income and insurance cost. In that respect, it resembles a version of “Obamacare lite,” as many commentators have noted.
But the word “lite” does a lot of work there. For one thing, the Senate bill is designed to buy a skimpier plan than the Affordable Care Act’s credit scheme does ― specifically, a plan that pays only 58 percent of the typical person’s medical expenses (roughly equivalent to a “bronze” plan in today’s system) rather than one that pays 70 percent of the typical person’s medical expenses (a “silver” plan in today’s system).
That translates roughly into a 15 percent, across-the-board reduction in subsidies, according to Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Changing the benchmark for premium subsidies from the equivalent of a silver plan to a bronze plan is about a 15% across-the-board cut.
— Larry Levitt (@larry_levitt) June 22, 2017
Lower-income consumers would lose even more money, because the Senate bill would not guarantee access to special, low-deductible plans that the Affordable Care Act makes available. The vast majority of people buying silver coverage through healthcare.gov or one of the state exchanges, like Covered California, enroll in one of these plans, which reduce total out-of-pocket spending to as little as a few hundred dollars in some cases.
It’s actually possible that the CBO will find the Senate bill leaves fewer people uninsured than the House bill did, just because of the way the different features would interact. And if that happens, Senate Republicans are sure to tout the CBO coverage number as proof they made the bill less severe.
But if the coverage number is higher, it would likely be because Senate Republicans have shuffled the pieces of their plan to distribute the impact a little differently ― disguising the damage rather than averting it.
-- 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 8 hours ago.
They want you to believe that it protects the financially and medically vulnerable, that it won’t “pull the rug out” from people now depending on the Affordable Care Act for insurance, that ― as President Donald Trump has promised ― it will have “heart.”
Reality is different.
The Senate bill, which GOP leaders unveiled Thursday, looks an awful lot like the bill that the House passed in May. It would roll back the expansion of Medicaid that has allowed millions of people to get health insurance, then change Medicaid’s structure and reduce its funding going forward. It reduces the financial assistance available to Americans who buy coverage on their own and scales back guarantees of what insurance covers.
It would feel like an improvement to some people, for sure, particularly young, healthy people who would end up paying less for coverage than they do today, as well those who want less-comprehensive coverage or are angry about paying the individual mandate penalty. The wealthy Americans now paying taxes that finance Obamacare’s coverage expansion would get to keep that money. But the net effect would be more exposure to crippling medical bills for many millions of Americans.
It’s possible that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his allies have deluded themselves into thinking this won’t happen. It’s more likely that they grasp the consequences and simply deem them worthwhile, for some combination of personal, political and philosophical reasons.
But they can’t come out and make that argument ― in part because, as polls indicate, the public almost surely disagrees. And so McConnell and his allies have written the Senate bill in a way that’s designed to obscure some of its harshest effects and give skittish members plausible-sounding reasons to vote yes.
Big Medicaid Cuts, But Pushed Into The Future
The House bill would change Medicaid in two main ways. It would end the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, cutting off the extra federal matching funds that 31 states plus the District of Columbia used to expand eligibility. And then, going forward, the House bill would change Medicaid’s underlying funding formula, tying future federal contributions to an inflation rate likely to fall below what states would need to maintain existing levels of coverage.
Many senators objected loudly to these changes, usually because their states were among those that expanded coverage, or because their states rely on Medicaid to finance treatment of raging opioid epidemics or both. GOP leaders in the Senate purported to address these concerns by changing the timing of the expansion repeal ― specifically, by reducing the federal matching funds over three years rather than in just one year, as the House bill proposed to do.
But this change is a lot less significant than it sounds. The House bill also had a phase-in of sorts, because it had what amounted to a grandfather clause: It preserved the extra funding for people who had enrolled in the expansion for as long as they stayed on Medicaid. This would have effectively stretched out the transition over two or three years, as people in the program found jobs with enough pay to push their earnings out of the eligibility range.
More important, the Senate bill took the long-term cuts in the House bill and made them bigger, tying the federal matching formula to an even lower level of inflation. As a result, any gap between federal matching funds and what states need for Medicaid would grow over time ― most likely forcing them to make bigger cuts.
The more years that pass, the bigger the cuts would get ― which means, literally, that the worst damage would come after the 10-year window that the Congressional Budget Office uses for its projections of the bill’s effects.
Small Tax Credits But Distributed In A Progressive Way
The significance of the Senate bill’s changes to the private insurance market are similarly easy to miss, particularly when it comes to the financial assistance available to people buying coverage on their own.
The House bill would have wiped away completely the Affordable Care Act’s scheme of tax credits, which are bigger for people who have low incomes or face higher premiums ― in other words, the people who would struggle the most to pay for coverage on their own.
The Senate bill actually keeps that basic structure, more or less, adjusting tax credits based on income and insurance cost. In that respect, it resembles a version of “Obamacare lite,” as many commentators have noted.
But the word “lite” does a lot of work there. For one thing, the Senate bill is designed to buy a skimpier plan than the Affordable Care Act’s credit scheme does ― specifically, a plan that pays only 58 percent of the typical person’s medical expenses (roughly equivalent to a “bronze” plan in today’s system) rather than one that pays 70 percent of the typical person’s medical expenses (a “silver” plan in today’s system).
That translates roughly into a 15 percent, across-the-board reduction in subsidies, according to Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Changing the benchmark for premium subsidies from the equivalent of a silver plan to a bronze plan is about a 15% across-the-board cut.
— Larry Levitt (@larry_levitt) June 22, 2017
Lower-income consumers would lose even more money, because the Senate bill would not guarantee access to special, low-deductible plans that the Affordable Care Act makes available. The vast majority of people buying silver coverage through healthcare.gov or one of the state exchanges, like Covered California, enroll in one of these plans, which reduce total out-of-pocket spending to as little as a few hundred dollars in some cases.
It’s actually possible that the CBO will find the Senate bill leaves fewer people uninsured than the House bill did, just because of the way the different features would interact. And if that happens, Senate Republicans are sure to tout the CBO coverage number as proof they made the bill less severe.
But if the coverage number is higher, it would likely be because Senate Republicans have shuffled the pieces of their plan to distribute the impact a little differently ― disguising the damage rather than averting it.
-- 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 8 hours ago.
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Rand Paul explains why you should be able to get health insurance for $1 a day
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) discussed how the free market would best lower insurance costs in an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday. “What I’d like to do is legalize inexpensive insurance, and you should be able to get insurance for $1 a day. I mean, you really should,” Paul said. “The insura...
Reported by Raw Story 6 hours ago.
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APCC demands revival of APCMUHIS
*Itanagar [Arunachal Pradesh], June 24 (ANI): Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) took a dig at the ruling Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) state government for its contradictory policy and demanded the immediate reintroduction of the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister's Universal Health Insurance Scheme (APCMUHIS).*
Reported by ANI News 4 hours ago.
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With millions set to lose Obamacare, DWP workers keep getting a sweeter deal
Two news items jumped out at me in the last several days.
Item one: The U.S. Senate, after conducting its business behind closed doors, burped up a healthcare reform package that is likely to throw millions of people off the health insurance rolls.
Item two: The Los Angeles Department of Water... Reported by L.A. Times 4 hours ago.
Item one: The U.S. Senate, after conducting its business behind closed doors, burped up a healthcare reform package that is likely to throw millions of people off the health insurance rolls.
Item two: The Los Angeles Department of Water... Reported by L.A. Times 4 hours ago.
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The Secret Republican Plan To Unravel Medicaid
Bad enough that the Republican Senate bill would repeal much of the Affordable Care Act.
Even worse, it unravels the Medicaid Act of 1965 – which, even before Obamacare, provided health insurance to millions of poor households and elderly.
It’s done with a sleight-of-hand intended to elude not only the public but also the Congressional Budget Office.
Here’s how the Senate Republican bill does it. The bill sets a per-person cap on Medicaid spending in each state. That cap looks innocent enough because it rises every year with inflation.
But there’s a catch. Starting eight years from now, in 2025, the Senate bill switches its measure of inflation – from how rapidly medical costs are rising, to how rapidly overall costs in the economy are rising.
Yet medical costs are rising faster than overall costs. They’ll almost surely continue to do so – as America’s elderly population grows, and as new medical devices, technologies, and drugs prolong life.
Which means that after 2025, Medicaid will cover less and less of the costs of health care for the poor and elderly.
Over time, that gap becomes huge. The nonpartisan Urban Institute estimates that just between 2025 and 2035, about $467 billion less will be spent on Medicaid than would be spent than if Medicaid funding were to keep up with the expected rise in medical costs.
So millions of Americans will lose the Medicaid coverage they would have received under the 1965 Medicaid act. Over the long term, Medicaid will unravel.
Will anyone in future years know Medicaid’s unraveling began with this Senate Republican bill ostensibly designed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act? Probably not. The unraveling will occur gradually.
Will future voters hold Republicans responsible? Again, unlikely. The effects of the unraveling won’t become noticeable until most current Republican senators are long past reelection.
Does anyone now know this time bomb is buried in this bill?
It doesn’t seem so. McConnell won’t even hold hearings on it.
Next week the Congressional Budget Office will publish its analysis of the bill. CBO reports on major bills like this are widely disseminated in the media. The CBO’s belated conclusion that the House’s bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act would cause 23 million Americans to lose their health care prompted even Donald Trump to call it “mean, mean, mean.”
But because the CBO’s estimates of the consequences of bills are typically limited to 10 years (in this case, 2018 to 2028), the CBO’s analysis of the Senate Republican bill will dramatically underestimate how many people will be knocked off Medicaid over the long term.
Which is exactly what Mitch McConnell has planned. This way, the public won’t be tipped off to the Medicaid unraveling hidden inside the bill.
For years, Republicans have been looking for ways to undermine America’s three core social insurance programs – Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. The three constitute the major legacies of the Democrats, of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. All continue to be immensely popular.
Now, McConnell and his Senate Republican colleagues think they’ve found a way to unravel Medicaid without anyone noticing.
Don’t be fooled. Spread the word.
Originally published on RobertReich.org.
-- 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 4 hours ago.
Even worse, it unravels the Medicaid Act of 1965 – which, even before Obamacare, provided health insurance to millions of poor households and elderly.
It’s done with a sleight-of-hand intended to elude not only the public but also the Congressional Budget Office.
Here’s how the Senate Republican bill does it. The bill sets a per-person cap on Medicaid spending in each state. That cap looks innocent enough because it rises every year with inflation.
But there’s a catch. Starting eight years from now, in 2025, the Senate bill switches its measure of inflation – from how rapidly medical costs are rising, to how rapidly overall costs in the economy are rising.
Yet medical costs are rising faster than overall costs. They’ll almost surely continue to do so – as America’s elderly population grows, and as new medical devices, technologies, and drugs prolong life.
Which means that after 2025, Medicaid will cover less and less of the costs of health care for the poor and elderly.
Over time, that gap becomes huge. The nonpartisan Urban Institute estimates that just between 2025 and 2035, about $467 billion less will be spent on Medicaid than would be spent than if Medicaid funding were to keep up with the expected rise in medical costs.
So millions of Americans will lose the Medicaid coverage they would have received under the 1965 Medicaid act. Over the long term, Medicaid will unravel.
Will anyone in future years know Medicaid’s unraveling began with this Senate Republican bill ostensibly designed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act? Probably not. The unraveling will occur gradually.
Will future voters hold Republicans responsible? Again, unlikely. The effects of the unraveling won’t become noticeable until most current Republican senators are long past reelection.
Does anyone now know this time bomb is buried in this bill?
It doesn’t seem so. McConnell won’t even hold hearings on it.
Next week the Congressional Budget Office will publish its analysis of the bill. CBO reports on major bills like this are widely disseminated in the media. The CBO’s belated conclusion that the House’s bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act would cause 23 million Americans to lose their health care prompted even Donald Trump to call it “mean, mean, mean.”
But because the CBO’s estimates of the consequences of bills are typically limited to 10 years (in this case, 2018 to 2028), the CBO’s analysis of the Senate Republican bill will dramatically underestimate how many people will be knocked off Medicaid over the long term.
Which is exactly what Mitch McConnell has planned. This way, the public won’t be tipped off to the Medicaid unraveling hidden inside the bill.
For years, Republicans have been looking for ways to undermine America’s three core social insurance programs – Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. The three constitute the major legacies of the Democrats, of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. All continue to be immensely popular.
Now, McConnell and his Senate Republican colleagues think they’ve found a way to unravel Medicaid without anyone noticing.
Don’t be fooled. Spread the word.
Originally published on RobertReich.org.
-- 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 4 hours ago.
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Bernie Sanders Slams 'Moral Outrage' Of Trumpcare At Pittsburgh Rally
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) headlined the start of a campaign against Trumpcare Saturday night before some 1,000 angry people in the Pittsburgh Convention Center, calling the plan slicing millions from insurance coverage an unconscionable “moral outrage.”
“This so-called health care bill passed in the House last month is the most anti-working-class piece legislation passed by the House of Representatives in the modern history of this country,” said Sanders. “And the Senate bill ... is even worse.”
“We will not allow 23 million Americans to be thrown off of the health insurance they currently have in order to give over $500 billion in tax breaks to the top two percent, to the insurance companies, to the drug companies, and to other multi-national corporations,” he added.
“What kind of a country are we if anyone can come before you and talk about cutting health care for children with disabilities in order to give tax breaks to the richest people on earth?”
The 30-minute speech was Sander’s first in his “Don’t Take Away Our Healthcare” tour of towns rallying opposition to the proposed plan that aims to also slash $800 billion from Medicaid.
Sanders has joined forces with MoveOn.org for a bus tour that will also include stops in Columbus, Ohio, and Charleston, West Virginia. It’s part of a push to convince Republican Sens. Pat Tuomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia to vote against the Senate version of Trumpcare revealed Thursday.
Sanders said that while Obamacare has its faults, “we should improve it, not destroy it.” He called on the U.S. to “join the rest of the industrialized world” concerning health care. “We are the only major country on earth that does not guarantee health care to all people as a right,” he said.
Sanders urged the establishment of an even more inclusive insurance system — a kind of “Medicare for all.” That “is where we have to go, and clearly the momentum from California to Maine is with us,” he said to wild cheers.
He focused on Trumpcare’s pain for children, the elderly, the poor and veterans.
Sanders presented the health care battle as one in a growing war between the wealthiest in the nation and the most vulnerable. He railed against growing income and wealth inequality in a nation where the top one-tenth of one percent of the population owns “almost as much wealth” as the lower 90 percent combined.
Beyond the details of the “disastrous” Trumpcare legislation, “we are talking about a very profound moral issue,” Sanders said. “A great nation is not judged by the number of millionaires and billionaires it has ... it’s judged by its compassion and by how well it treats the most vulnerable people in this country,” he said.
“It is a moral outrage that this nation will never live down if we take health care from the most vulnerable to give tax breaks to the very rich.”type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related Coverage + articlesList=594c8693e4b0da2c731aa233,594c1f52e4b05c37bb753c04,594ac8f7e4b01cdedefff13c
-- 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.
“This so-called health care bill passed in the House last month is the most anti-working-class piece legislation passed by the House of Representatives in the modern history of this country,” said Sanders. “And the Senate bill ... is even worse.”
“We will not allow 23 million Americans to be thrown off of the health insurance they currently have in order to give over $500 billion in tax breaks to the top two percent, to the insurance companies, to the drug companies, and to other multi-national corporations,” he added.
“What kind of a country are we if anyone can come before you and talk about cutting health care for children with disabilities in order to give tax breaks to the richest people on earth?”
The 30-minute speech was Sander’s first in his “Don’t Take Away Our Healthcare” tour of towns rallying opposition to the proposed plan that aims to also slash $800 billion from Medicaid.
Sanders has joined forces with MoveOn.org for a bus tour that will also include stops in Columbus, Ohio, and Charleston, West Virginia. It’s part of a push to convince Republican Sens. Pat Tuomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia to vote against the Senate version of Trumpcare revealed Thursday.
Sanders said that while Obamacare has its faults, “we should improve it, not destroy it.” He called on the U.S. to “join the rest of the industrialized world” concerning health care. “We are the only major country on earth that does not guarantee health care to all people as a right,” he said.
Sanders urged the establishment of an even more inclusive insurance system — a kind of “Medicare for all.” That “is where we have to go, and clearly the momentum from California to Maine is with us,” he said to wild cheers.
He focused on Trumpcare’s pain for children, the elderly, the poor and veterans.
Sanders presented the health care battle as one in a growing war between the wealthiest in the nation and the most vulnerable. He railed against growing income and wealth inequality in a nation where the top one-tenth of one percent of the population owns “almost as much wealth” as the lower 90 percent combined.
Beyond the details of the “disastrous” Trumpcare legislation, “we are talking about a very profound moral issue,” Sanders said. “A great nation is not judged by the number of millionaires and billionaires it has ... it’s judged by its compassion and by how well it treats the most vulnerable people in this country,” he said.
“It is a moral outrage that this nation will never live down if we take health care from the most vulnerable to give tax breaks to the very rich.”type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related Coverage + articlesList=594c8693e4b0da2c731aa233,594c1f52e4b05c37bb753c04,594ac8f7e4b01cdedefff13c
-- 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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5 Things to Look for When Shopping for Health Insurance
Are you shopping for a policy? Here are five key things to look for to make sure you can afford health insurance and get the care that you need.
Reported by Motley Fool 9 hours ago.
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Kellyanne Conway Defends Medicaid Cuts, Says Adults Can Always Find Jobs
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway on Sunday came right out and said what so many Republicans are probably thinking ― that taking Medicaid away from able-bodied adults is no big deal, because they can go out and find jobs that provide health insurance.
Apparently nobody has told Conway that the majority of able-bodied adults on Medicaid already have jobs. The problem is that they work as parking lot attendants and child care workers, manicurists and dishwashers ― in other words, low-paying jobs that typically don’t offer insurance. Take away their Medicaid and they won’t be covered. Appearing on ABC “This Week” program, Conway faced tough questions about steep cuts to Medicaid in the Better Health Care Act ― the bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act that Senate Republican leaders released on Thursday and hope to bring to a vote this week.
The Affordable Care Act ― Obamacare ― offered states extra federal matching funds to expand Medicaid eligibility, so that anybody with income below or just above the poverty line would qualify. Under the Senate bill, like its House counterpart, the federal government would withdraw those extra funds, forcing most of the 31 states (plus the District of Columbia) that accepted the money to roll back their expansions partly or entirely.
When ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Conway about this possibility, she offered an increasingly familiar argument ― that Obamacare had over-extended Medicaid by taking the program away from its historic mission of covering children, pregnant women, the elderly and the disabled.
.@KellyannePolls: Obamacare opened up Medicaid to "many able-bodied Americans who should at least see if there are others options for them." pic.twitter.com/fzqvuwXrXB
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 25, 2017
“Obamacare took Medicaid, which was designed to help the poor, the needy, the sick, disabled, also children and pregnant women, it took it and went way above the poverty line to many able-bodied Americans who ... should at least see if there are other options for them.”
She added: “If they are able-bodied and they want to work, then they’ll have employer-sponsored benefits like you and I do.”
If only it were that easy.
Among the able-bodied adults that Conway and congressional Republicans have in mind ― that is, non-elderly adults on Medicaid who don’t qualify for disability benefits ― 79 percent are in families where someone works and 59 percent have jobs themselves, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
The problem is that many work in low-paying, temporary, or part-time jobs that don’t offer coverage. In 2014, just 30 percent of working adults with incomes at or below the poverty line had employer-sponsored coverage available to them. As for the idea that the House and Senate GOP bills would strengthen Medicaid by focusing on its more traditional populations, that claim would appear to be inconsistent with the other big change they would make.
Both proposals would fundamentally change Medicaid by ending the federal government’s open-ended commitment to providing its share of funding for the program, no matter how many people become eligible and no matter how much their care ends up costing.
Federal payments would likely fail to keep up with costs, forcing states to make cutbacks that would inevitably affect all groups that depend on the program ― very much including the disabled and elderly, whose predictably high medical needs mean their bills account for roughly half of all Medicaid expenditures, even though they represent a minority of enrollees.
When Stephanopoulos asked Conway about this, she said, “These are not cuts to Medicaid, George. This slows the rate for the future and it allows governors more flexibility, with Medicaid dollars, because they’re closest to the people in need.”
After @KellyannePolls says Senate GOP bill doesn't propose Medicaid cuts, @SenatorCollins says "I respectfully disagree with her analysis." pic.twitter.com/QeS8lEWk66
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 25, 2017
That claim, which the Trump administration and its allies in GOP leadership have made repeatedly in recent weeks, has drawn rebukes from Republican senators ― including Susan Collins of Maine, who appeared on “This Week” shortly after Conway.
“I respectfully disagree with her analysis,” Collins said.
The Congressional Budget Office has not yet evaluated the Senate bill. But when the CBO analyzed the House version of the legislation, which envisions slightly less severe cuts over time, it predicted the bill would mean 14 million fewer Americans would have coverage under Medicaid by 2026.
-- 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 3 hours ago.
Apparently nobody has told Conway that the majority of able-bodied adults on Medicaid already have jobs. The problem is that they work as parking lot attendants and child care workers, manicurists and dishwashers ― in other words, low-paying jobs that typically don’t offer insurance. Take away their Medicaid and they won’t be covered. Appearing on ABC “This Week” program, Conway faced tough questions about steep cuts to Medicaid in the Better Health Care Act ― the bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act that Senate Republican leaders released on Thursday and hope to bring to a vote this week.
The Affordable Care Act ― Obamacare ― offered states extra federal matching funds to expand Medicaid eligibility, so that anybody with income below or just above the poverty line would qualify. Under the Senate bill, like its House counterpart, the federal government would withdraw those extra funds, forcing most of the 31 states (plus the District of Columbia) that accepted the money to roll back their expansions partly or entirely.
When ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Conway about this possibility, she offered an increasingly familiar argument ― that Obamacare had over-extended Medicaid by taking the program away from its historic mission of covering children, pregnant women, the elderly and the disabled.
.@KellyannePolls: Obamacare opened up Medicaid to "many able-bodied Americans who should at least see if there are others options for them." pic.twitter.com/fzqvuwXrXB
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 25, 2017
“Obamacare took Medicaid, which was designed to help the poor, the needy, the sick, disabled, also children and pregnant women, it took it and went way above the poverty line to many able-bodied Americans who ... should at least see if there are other options for them.”
She added: “If they are able-bodied and they want to work, then they’ll have employer-sponsored benefits like you and I do.”
If only it were that easy.
Among the able-bodied adults that Conway and congressional Republicans have in mind ― that is, non-elderly adults on Medicaid who don’t qualify for disability benefits ― 79 percent are in families where someone works and 59 percent have jobs themselves, according to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
The problem is that many work in low-paying, temporary, or part-time jobs that don’t offer coverage. In 2014, just 30 percent of working adults with incomes at or below the poverty line had employer-sponsored coverage available to them. As for the idea that the House and Senate GOP bills would strengthen Medicaid by focusing on its more traditional populations, that claim would appear to be inconsistent with the other big change they would make.
Both proposals would fundamentally change Medicaid by ending the federal government’s open-ended commitment to providing its share of funding for the program, no matter how many people become eligible and no matter how much their care ends up costing.
Federal payments would likely fail to keep up with costs, forcing states to make cutbacks that would inevitably affect all groups that depend on the program ― very much including the disabled and elderly, whose predictably high medical needs mean their bills account for roughly half of all Medicaid expenditures, even though they represent a minority of enrollees.
When Stephanopoulos asked Conway about this, she said, “These are not cuts to Medicaid, George. This slows the rate for the future and it allows governors more flexibility, with Medicaid dollars, because they’re closest to the people in need.”
After @KellyannePolls says Senate GOP bill doesn't propose Medicaid cuts, @SenatorCollins says "I respectfully disagree with her analysis." pic.twitter.com/QeS8lEWk66
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 25, 2017
That claim, which the Trump administration and its allies in GOP leadership have made repeatedly in recent weeks, has drawn rebukes from Republican senators ― including Susan Collins of Maine, who appeared on “This Week” shortly after Conway.
“I respectfully disagree with her analysis,” Collins said.
The Congressional Budget Office has not yet evaluated the Senate bill. But when the CBO analyzed the House version of the legislation, which envisions slightly less severe cuts over time, it predicted the bill would mean 14 million fewer Americans would have coverage under Medicaid by 2026.
-- 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 3 hours ago.
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↧
GOP Health Care Plan: Elderly Take Brutal Hit — And 40 Is Now Elderly
Patch Palo Alto, CA -- If you’re 40 or older, you may not be able to afford your health insurance once Obamacare goes away.
Reported by Patch 19 hours ago.
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Jimmy Kimmel Pleads With Senator To Put Trumpcare To Kind 'Kimmel Test'
Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is pleading with a Republican senator to put the latest version of Trumpcare to the “Kimmel test” before voting for it.
Kimmel, whose baby son Billy required surgery shortly after birth to repair a congenital heart problem, tweeted to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) Sunday: “No family should be denied medical care, emergency or otherwise, because they can’t afford it.”
Reminder for Sen @BillCassidy: Kimmel test is "No family should be denied medical care, emerg or otherwise, because they can’t afford it"
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) June 25, 2017
Cassidy himself first coined what he called the “Jimmy Kimmel test” in early May during a CNN interview when asked about caps on insurance coverage in Trumpcare.
“I ask, ’Does it pass the Jimmy Kimmel test?’” said the senator, who is also a doctor. “Would the child born with a congenital heart disease be able to get everything she or he would need in that first year of life, even if they go over a certain amount? I want to make sure folks get the care they need.”
Cassidy said in his latest interview Sunday on CBS that he hasn’t yet decided how he will vote on the Senate’s version of Trumpcare, which will eject some 23 million people from health insurance and will carve $800 billion out of Medicaid.
“Right now I am undecided,” Cassidy said on “Face The Nation.” There “are things in this bill that adversely affect my state, that are peculiar to my state. A couple of the things I am concerned about, but if those can be addressed I will [vote for the bill]. And if they can’t be addressed, I won’t.”
On Friday, Cassidy said in response to a question from a Washington Post reporter that the Senate bill “begins to address the Jimmy Kimmel test.”
Just days before Cassidy’s CNN interview in May, Kimmel had tearfully recounted the story of his newborn son’s open-heart surgery on his program in April. It was the “longest three hours of my life,” said Kimmel, who reassured the audience that the story had a “happy ending” for baby Billy.
Kimmel used his own horrifying ordeal to make a plea for access to health care for every American. He said his son’s situation was a classic case of a “pre-existing condition” because it happened at birth.
“If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make ... whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?” he asked to wild audience applause. Politicians need to “understand that very clearly,” he added.
“Let’s stop with the nonsense. This isn’t football. There are no teams. We are the team. It’s the United States. Don’t let their partisan squabbles divide us on something every decent person wants.”
Crying again, Kimmel talked about other families at his son’s hospital. “No parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their child’s life,” he said. “It just shouldn’t happen. Not here.”
Kimmel also retweeted a message Sunday from Child Health USA saying that the Senate’s Trumpcare bill doesn’t pass the Jimmy Kimmel test, “not even close.”
Sen. @BillCassidy: Healthcare Bill Passes 'Jimmy Kimmel Test' https://t.co/SuyBjIJ1PZ
Sadly, it doesn't. Not for kids. Not even close. pic.twitter.com/RxTdGV5iIr
— Child Health USA (@ChildHealthUSA) June 25, 2017
In addition, Kimmel retweeted a Jake Tapper tweet about a CNN interview Sunday with Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, who refused to say if his taxes would be cut with Trumpcare.
Kimmel had Cassidy on his program on May 8 via satellite to discuss the House version of Trumpcare, and Cassidy talked then about how the Senate would address some of the holes in that bill. That’s when Kimmel clarified the “Jimmy Kimmel test” that he repeated in his tweet Sunday to Cassidy. “Hey, man, you’re on the right track,” Cassidy said on the program.
type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related Coverage + articlesList=594f16bee4b05c37bb76d176,594aad2ae4b01cdedeffc694,588ecaa2e4b08a14f7e6da98,594d543de4b05c37bb762f04
-- 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 18 hours ago.
Kimmel, whose baby son Billy required surgery shortly after birth to repair a congenital heart problem, tweeted to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) Sunday: “No family should be denied medical care, emergency or otherwise, because they can’t afford it.”
Reminder for Sen @BillCassidy: Kimmel test is "No family should be denied medical care, emerg or otherwise, because they can’t afford it"
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) June 25, 2017
Cassidy himself first coined what he called the “Jimmy Kimmel test” in early May during a CNN interview when asked about caps on insurance coverage in Trumpcare.
“I ask, ’Does it pass the Jimmy Kimmel test?’” said the senator, who is also a doctor. “Would the child born with a congenital heart disease be able to get everything she or he would need in that first year of life, even if they go over a certain amount? I want to make sure folks get the care they need.”
Cassidy said in his latest interview Sunday on CBS that he hasn’t yet decided how he will vote on the Senate’s version of Trumpcare, which will eject some 23 million people from health insurance and will carve $800 billion out of Medicaid.
“Right now I am undecided,” Cassidy said on “Face The Nation.” There “are things in this bill that adversely affect my state, that are peculiar to my state. A couple of the things I am concerned about, but if those can be addressed I will [vote for the bill]. And if they can’t be addressed, I won’t.”
On Friday, Cassidy said in response to a question from a Washington Post reporter that the Senate bill “begins to address the Jimmy Kimmel test.”
Just days before Cassidy’s CNN interview in May, Kimmel had tearfully recounted the story of his newborn son’s open-heart surgery on his program in April. It was the “longest three hours of my life,” said Kimmel, who reassured the audience that the story had a “happy ending” for baby Billy.
Kimmel used his own horrifying ordeal to make a plea for access to health care for every American. He said his son’s situation was a classic case of a “pre-existing condition” because it happened at birth.
“If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make ... whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?” he asked to wild audience applause. Politicians need to “understand that very clearly,” he added.
“Let’s stop with the nonsense. This isn’t football. There are no teams. We are the team. It’s the United States. Don’t let their partisan squabbles divide us on something every decent person wants.”
Crying again, Kimmel talked about other families at his son’s hospital. “No parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their child’s life,” he said. “It just shouldn’t happen. Not here.”
Kimmel also retweeted a message Sunday from Child Health USA saying that the Senate’s Trumpcare bill doesn’t pass the Jimmy Kimmel test, “not even close.”
Sen. @BillCassidy: Healthcare Bill Passes 'Jimmy Kimmel Test' https://t.co/SuyBjIJ1PZ
Sadly, it doesn't. Not for kids. Not even close. pic.twitter.com/RxTdGV5iIr
— Child Health USA (@ChildHealthUSA) June 25, 2017
In addition, Kimmel retweeted a Jake Tapper tweet about a CNN interview Sunday with Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, who refused to say if his taxes would be cut with Trumpcare.
Kimmel had Cassidy on his program on May 8 via satellite to discuss the House version of Trumpcare, and Cassidy talked then about how the Senate would address some of the holes in that bill. That’s when Kimmel clarified the “Jimmy Kimmel test” that he repeated in his tweet Sunday to Cassidy. “Hey, man, you’re on the right track,” Cassidy said on the program.
type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related Coverage + articlesList=594f16bee4b05c37bb76d176,594aad2ae4b01cdedeffc694,588ecaa2e4b08a14f7e6da98,594d543de4b05c37bb762f04
-- 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 18 hours ago.
↧
United States: Health Care Privacy And The Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act Of 1996 - Day Pitney LLP
Eric Fader authored a chapter in the 2017 edition of Westlaw's "Data Security and Privacy Law" treatise, published by Thomson Reuters.
Reported by Mondaq 5 hours ago.
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US health-insurance bill faces stiff opposition
Plan can afford to lose only two Republican votes in order to pass but five senators have expressed their opposition.
Reported by Al Jazeera 13 hours ago.
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McKennon Law Group PC Helps Soles4Souls Fight Poverty One Pair of Shoes at a Time
McKennon Law Group PC spearheads summer shoe donation drive for Soles4Souls to help people in need step out of poverty and others to go green.
Newport Beach, CA (PRWEB) June 26, 2017
McKennon Law Group PC, a top law firm that represents policyholders in their insurance disputes with insurers, is hosting a summer shoe donation drive in honor of Soles4Souls’ “Go Green” initiative. New or gently worn pairs of shoes can be dropped off at 20321 SW Birch Street, Suite 200, Newport Beach, CA.
Since 2006, Soles4Souls has diverted 23.8 million pounds of shoes and clothes from landfills and instead created meaningful economic opportunities and helped provide new shoes for those in need around the globe. “Donating unwanted shoes not only helps people in need, but helps sustain the Earth. I am proud to assist this great organization in its laudable mission,” said Robert J. McKennon, founder of McKennon Law Group PC.
Soles4Souls aims to eradicate extreme poverty by 2050. Children every day are prevented from attending school and adults are unable to work as walking becomes unbearable, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty. To date, Soles4Souls has collected and distributed more than 30 million pairs of shoes to those in need in 127 countries around the world and all 50 states in the U.S.
“Businesses and individuals that host donation drives for Soles4Souls help us fulfill our mission by providing short-term relief and long-term solutions to global poverty,” said Buddy Teaster, Soles4Souls President and CEO. “Your used shoes act as a resource to help entrepreneurs in developing nations start and sustain small businesses to help themselves and their families step out of poverty.”
For more information about getting involved with Soles4Souls or to become an official drop-off location, visit https://soles4souls.org/get-involved/.
About Soles4Souls
Soles4Souls is a not-for-profit global social enterprise committed to fighting poverty through the collection and distribution of shoes and clothing. The organization advances its anti-poverty mission by collecting new and used shoes and clothes from individuals, schools, faith-based institutions, civic organizations and corporate partners, then distributing those shoes and clothes both via direct donations to people in need and by provisioning qualified micro-enterprise programs designed to create jobs in poor and disadvantaged communities. Based in Nashville, TN, Soles4Souls is committed to the highest standards of operating and governance and holds a four-star rating with Charity Navigator.
About Robert J. McKennon, McKennon Law Group PC
Robert J. McKennon represents individuals and small-to-large corporations in sophisticated litigation matters in state and federal court. He has an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a “Superb” Avvo rating. He has been awarded the Super Lawyer designation every year since 2011. Practice areas of McKennon Law Group PC include bad faith insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, ERISA/employee benefits, health insurance, long-term care, property and casualty insurance, directors and officers liability insurance, professional liability insurance, insurance agent and broker liability, business litigation and unfair competition and unfair business practices. For more information, please call (949) 387-9595, or visit http://www.mslawllp.com.
About the NALA™
The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALA’s mission is to promote a business’ relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. The information and content in this article are not in conjunction with the views of the NALA. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361. Reported by PRWeb 12 hours ago.
Newport Beach, CA (PRWEB) June 26, 2017
McKennon Law Group PC, a top law firm that represents policyholders in their insurance disputes with insurers, is hosting a summer shoe donation drive in honor of Soles4Souls’ “Go Green” initiative. New or gently worn pairs of shoes can be dropped off at 20321 SW Birch Street, Suite 200, Newport Beach, CA.
Since 2006, Soles4Souls has diverted 23.8 million pounds of shoes and clothes from landfills and instead created meaningful economic opportunities and helped provide new shoes for those in need around the globe. “Donating unwanted shoes not only helps people in need, but helps sustain the Earth. I am proud to assist this great organization in its laudable mission,” said Robert J. McKennon, founder of McKennon Law Group PC.
Soles4Souls aims to eradicate extreme poverty by 2050. Children every day are prevented from attending school and adults are unable to work as walking becomes unbearable, which perpetuates the cycle of poverty. To date, Soles4Souls has collected and distributed more than 30 million pairs of shoes to those in need in 127 countries around the world and all 50 states in the U.S.
“Businesses and individuals that host donation drives for Soles4Souls help us fulfill our mission by providing short-term relief and long-term solutions to global poverty,” said Buddy Teaster, Soles4Souls President and CEO. “Your used shoes act as a resource to help entrepreneurs in developing nations start and sustain small businesses to help themselves and their families step out of poverty.”
For more information about getting involved with Soles4Souls or to become an official drop-off location, visit https://soles4souls.org/get-involved/.
About Soles4Souls
Soles4Souls is a not-for-profit global social enterprise committed to fighting poverty through the collection and distribution of shoes and clothing. The organization advances its anti-poverty mission by collecting new and used shoes and clothes from individuals, schools, faith-based institutions, civic organizations and corporate partners, then distributing those shoes and clothes both via direct donations to people in need and by provisioning qualified micro-enterprise programs designed to create jobs in poor and disadvantaged communities. Based in Nashville, TN, Soles4Souls is committed to the highest standards of operating and governance and holds a four-star rating with Charity Navigator.
About Robert J. McKennon, McKennon Law Group PC
Robert J. McKennon represents individuals and small-to-large corporations in sophisticated litigation matters in state and federal court. He has an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a “Superb” Avvo rating. He has been awarded the Super Lawyer designation every year since 2011. Practice areas of McKennon Law Group PC include bad faith insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, ERISA/employee benefits, health insurance, long-term care, property and casualty insurance, directors and officers liability insurance, professional liability insurance, insurance agent and broker liability, business litigation and unfair competition and unfair business practices. For more information, please call (949) 387-9595, or visit http://www.mslawllp.com.
About the NALA™
The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALA’s mission is to promote a business’ relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. The information and content in this article are not in conjunction with the views of the NALA. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361. Reported by PRWeb 12 hours ago.
↧
FINEOS Announces Tier One Customer for FINEOS Absence
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#absencemanagement--FINEOS Corporation, a market leading provider of core systems for Life, Accident and Health insurance, today announced a market leading Tier One North American carrier has selected FINEOS Absence to deliver next generation integrated absence management to put order around the ongoing regulatory disruption of absence management. FINEOS Absence, delivered in the cloud, seamlessly integrates with FINEOS Claims to provide a single book of record that is easy to access, view
Reported by Business Wire 11 hours ago.
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Employee Benefits Expert Thomas Emerick Appointed to HealthSherpa Advisory Board
Former Walmart executive to support premier health insurance enrollment company to enhance partnerships with corporate benefits teams
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) June 26, 2017
HealthSherpa, the premier health insurance enrollment company, today announced the appointment of Thomas Emerick as an advisory board member. With expertise in designing and managing employee benefits programs for large firms and associations, Emerick will collaborate with HealthSherpa’s management team to attract new corporate partners. Emerick will guide HealthSherpa’s strategic initiatives to engage employers with large part-time and temporary workforces to offer individual healthcare programs as a competitive advantage.
As president of Emerick Consulting, Thomas Emerick leverages his 15 years at Walmart, focused on global benefits design for more than 1.6 million employees, to support clients in developing benefits programs that drive business strategies. With prior experiences at Burger King Corporation, British Petroleum and American Fidelity Assurance Company, Emerick’s breadth of knowledge allows him to counsel organizations on healthcare policies and business process optimization. Emerick has also served as a petty officer in the U.S. Navy, receiving five medals. He has earned both a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration from the University of Central Oklahoma.
“Tom is a welcome addition to our advisory board with his unique blend of bottom line business focus and passion for employee benefits programs. This combination leads companies to hire and retain talent as a point of differentiation,” said George Kalogeropoulos, founder and CEO of HealthSherpa. “His experience at companies that have large populations of part-time, temporary and seasonal workers will ensure we develop programs that meet the needs of both our corporate partners and their employees.”
Emerick has served on a variety of employer coalitions and associations, including the board of the influential National Business Group on Health and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce Benefit Committee. He is an expert in developing and advocating for national health policy solutions.
“I’m thrilled to be collaborating with the forward-thinking team at HealthSherpa,” said Emerick. “Our country is at a pivotal point regarding national healthcare policies and it will be critical to be attuned to healthcare economics. Together with the HealthSherpa leadership, we’ll develop programs that will be aligned with corporations’ cost-effective health plan designs, as well as lawmakers’ long-range health plan strategies.”
In addition to announcing the new advisory board member, HealthSherpa recently introduced COBRA Crosswalk™, a new solution for corporate partners to provide money-saving alternatives to COBRA health insurance continuation coverage for employees. Corporations benefit from the new COBRA Crosswalk because HealthSherpa supports the entire communications process with the affected employees. With step-by-step instructions, user-friendly online tools and comprehensive customer service, HealthSherpa makes an often complicated, confusing process more streamlined and cost effective.
About HealthSherpa
HealthSherpa is the best way to get individual health coverage, with experience enrolling over 850,000 people. HealthSherpa partners with large employers, insurers, and more than 18,500 insurance agents to support consumers searching for, enrolling in, and utilizing high quality, affordable health insurance coverage. Backed by leading investors, including Core Innovation Capital and Mitch Kapor (founder and CEO of Lotus, Kapor Center for Social Impact), HealthSherpa's mission is to help every American feel the comfort and security of having health coverage. The company delivers innovation, technology, and customer service by real people to make coverage easier to understand, faster to sign up for, and simpler to use. Learn more at http://www.HealthSherpa.com. Reported by PRWeb 8 hours ago.
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) June 26, 2017
HealthSherpa, the premier health insurance enrollment company, today announced the appointment of Thomas Emerick as an advisory board member. With expertise in designing and managing employee benefits programs for large firms and associations, Emerick will collaborate with HealthSherpa’s management team to attract new corporate partners. Emerick will guide HealthSherpa’s strategic initiatives to engage employers with large part-time and temporary workforces to offer individual healthcare programs as a competitive advantage.
As president of Emerick Consulting, Thomas Emerick leverages his 15 years at Walmart, focused on global benefits design for more than 1.6 million employees, to support clients in developing benefits programs that drive business strategies. With prior experiences at Burger King Corporation, British Petroleum and American Fidelity Assurance Company, Emerick’s breadth of knowledge allows him to counsel organizations on healthcare policies and business process optimization. Emerick has also served as a petty officer in the U.S. Navy, receiving five medals. He has earned both a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration from the University of Central Oklahoma.
“Tom is a welcome addition to our advisory board with his unique blend of bottom line business focus and passion for employee benefits programs. This combination leads companies to hire and retain talent as a point of differentiation,” said George Kalogeropoulos, founder and CEO of HealthSherpa. “His experience at companies that have large populations of part-time, temporary and seasonal workers will ensure we develop programs that meet the needs of both our corporate partners and their employees.”
Emerick has served on a variety of employer coalitions and associations, including the board of the influential National Business Group on Health and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce Benefit Committee. He is an expert in developing and advocating for national health policy solutions.
“I’m thrilled to be collaborating with the forward-thinking team at HealthSherpa,” said Emerick. “Our country is at a pivotal point regarding national healthcare policies and it will be critical to be attuned to healthcare economics. Together with the HealthSherpa leadership, we’ll develop programs that will be aligned with corporations’ cost-effective health plan designs, as well as lawmakers’ long-range health plan strategies.”
In addition to announcing the new advisory board member, HealthSherpa recently introduced COBRA Crosswalk™, a new solution for corporate partners to provide money-saving alternatives to COBRA health insurance continuation coverage for employees. Corporations benefit from the new COBRA Crosswalk because HealthSherpa supports the entire communications process with the affected employees. With step-by-step instructions, user-friendly online tools and comprehensive customer service, HealthSherpa makes an often complicated, confusing process more streamlined and cost effective.
About HealthSherpa
HealthSherpa is the best way to get individual health coverage, with experience enrolling over 850,000 people. HealthSherpa partners with large employers, insurers, and more than 18,500 insurance agents to support consumers searching for, enrolling in, and utilizing high quality, affordable health insurance coverage. Backed by leading investors, including Core Innovation Capital and Mitch Kapor (founder and CEO of Lotus, Kapor Center for Social Impact), HealthSherpa's mission is to help every American feel the comfort and security of having health coverage. The company delivers innovation, technology, and customer service by real people to make coverage easier to understand, faster to sign up for, and simpler to use. Learn more at http://www.HealthSherpa.com. Reported by PRWeb 8 hours ago.
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Employee Benefit Adviser’s Open Enrollment Readiness Benchmark: Employers Continue to Fall Behind
Developing an Effective Employee Communications Plan Continues To Be a Stumbling Block for Many Organizations
New York, NY (PRWEB) June 26, 2017
NEW YORK, NY (June 26, 2017) – Employers with benefit start dates in the first quarter of 2018 are falling behind in their open enrollment preparations, according to Employee Benefit Adviser’s latest Open Enrollment Readiness Benchmark.
The composite OERB score for this group, which represents nearly 70% of all employers, dropped two points in April to an overall readiness level of 39 out of 100.
Just as troubling, the number of activity-related red flags, which indicate a serious lack of preparedness, rose from 10 to an all-time high of 12. Planning and designing employee communications, which received a score of just 17, remains the open enrollment readiness activity that presents the biggest obstacle for employers.
“Explaining benefits to employees is one of the hardest things to get right,” said John McCormick, Editorial Director of SourceMedia’s Employee Benefits group, which includes EBA and Employee Benefit News. “Getting workers’ attention is one challenge. But benefit professionals also need to communicate effectively with staffers whose preferred channels range from emails they can access from their desktops to social posts they can pick up on their smartphones.”
Other highlights from the first quarter Benchmark report:· Smaller companies with 50 to 150 employees are very much behind the curve. Most strikingly, more than 25% of these
smaller employers have not yet met with their benefits adviser to begin planning their next open enrollment period.
· Midsize employers are also struggling. For example, nearly 15% of these companies have yet to begin shopping for a
health plan to offer.
· While large employers with more than 1,000 employees lead small and midsize organizations in most every enrollment
preparation activity, they are still lagging in certain key areas. For instance, 21% of these organizations have yet to put in
place a plan that will boost employee enrollment engagement.
The Open Enrollment Readiness Benchmark is a data-based performance benchmark that gauges how prepared employers are for their annual employee benefits enrollment periods. The benchmark is sponsored by ADP. To produce the results, SourceMedia Research and EBA each month survey 400-plus prescreened HR and benefits executives at organizations of various sizes and across multiple industries. These professionals are asked to rate their completion levels for 26 activities — from selecting health plans to reviewing enrollment metrics — that take place during the four critical phases of open enrollment process: benefit plan design, employee preparation, employee enrollment and post-enrollment analysis. Scores range from a low of 1 to a high of 100 and reflect the degree to which an employer considers itself prepared for a particular activity. The activity scores are then averaged to determine scores for each of the four phases and an overall readiness score. EBA published a complete analysis of the most recent OERB data this week.
About Employee Benefit Adviser
Employee Benefit Adviser (EBA) is the information resource for employee benefit advisers, brokers, agents and consultants, providing the current awareness and perspective they need to anticipate changes in the marketplace and optimally serve their clients. EBA delivers a broad range of critical content, including comparative market data, legal and regulatory updates, the latest products and services, and best practices in benefits delivery — including health insurance, vision and dental insurance, and voluntary and retirement benefits. The benefits broker community relies on EBA to stay connected, through its website comment forums, its social media communities and live events.
About SourceMedia Research
SourceMedia Research is a full-service B2B market research service that draws upon SourceMedia’s market expertise and proprietary database of engaged executives to develop information and insights for clients. SourceMedia Research provides research solutions for marketers, agencies and others targeting sectors such as banking, payments, mortgage, accounting, employee benefits and wealth management.
About SourceMedia
SourceMedia, an Observer Capital company, is a business-to-business digital marketing services, subscription information, and event company serving senior-level professionals in the financial, technology and healthcare sectors. Brands include American Banker, PaymentsSource, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning, Accounting Today, Mergers & Acquisitions, National Mortgage News, Employee Benefit News and Health Data Management.
About ADP
Powerful technology plus a human touch. Companies of all types and sizes around the world rely on ADP’s cloud software and expert insights to help unlock the potential of their people. HR. Talent. Benefits. Payroll. Compliance. Working together to build a better workforce. For more information, visit http://www.adp.com/business.
For more information, please contact:
Dana Jackson
dana.jackson(at)sourcemedia.com
212-803-8329
John McCormick
john.mccormick(at)sourcemedia.com
212-803-8509 Reported by PRWeb 7 hours ago.
New York, NY (PRWEB) June 26, 2017
NEW YORK, NY (June 26, 2017) – Employers with benefit start dates in the first quarter of 2018 are falling behind in their open enrollment preparations, according to Employee Benefit Adviser’s latest Open Enrollment Readiness Benchmark.
The composite OERB score for this group, which represents nearly 70% of all employers, dropped two points in April to an overall readiness level of 39 out of 100.
Just as troubling, the number of activity-related red flags, which indicate a serious lack of preparedness, rose from 10 to an all-time high of 12. Planning and designing employee communications, which received a score of just 17, remains the open enrollment readiness activity that presents the biggest obstacle for employers.
“Explaining benefits to employees is one of the hardest things to get right,” said John McCormick, Editorial Director of SourceMedia’s Employee Benefits group, which includes EBA and Employee Benefit News. “Getting workers’ attention is one challenge. But benefit professionals also need to communicate effectively with staffers whose preferred channels range from emails they can access from their desktops to social posts they can pick up on their smartphones.”
Other highlights from the first quarter Benchmark report:· Smaller companies with 50 to 150 employees are very much behind the curve. Most strikingly, more than 25% of these
smaller employers have not yet met with their benefits adviser to begin planning their next open enrollment period.
· Midsize employers are also struggling. For example, nearly 15% of these companies have yet to begin shopping for a
health plan to offer.
· While large employers with more than 1,000 employees lead small and midsize organizations in most every enrollment
preparation activity, they are still lagging in certain key areas. For instance, 21% of these organizations have yet to put in
place a plan that will boost employee enrollment engagement.
The Open Enrollment Readiness Benchmark is a data-based performance benchmark that gauges how prepared employers are for their annual employee benefits enrollment periods. The benchmark is sponsored by ADP. To produce the results, SourceMedia Research and EBA each month survey 400-plus prescreened HR and benefits executives at organizations of various sizes and across multiple industries. These professionals are asked to rate their completion levels for 26 activities — from selecting health plans to reviewing enrollment metrics — that take place during the four critical phases of open enrollment process: benefit plan design, employee preparation, employee enrollment and post-enrollment analysis. Scores range from a low of 1 to a high of 100 and reflect the degree to which an employer considers itself prepared for a particular activity. The activity scores are then averaged to determine scores for each of the four phases and an overall readiness score. EBA published a complete analysis of the most recent OERB data this week.
About Employee Benefit Adviser
Employee Benefit Adviser (EBA) is the information resource for employee benefit advisers, brokers, agents and consultants, providing the current awareness and perspective they need to anticipate changes in the marketplace and optimally serve their clients. EBA delivers a broad range of critical content, including comparative market data, legal and regulatory updates, the latest products and services, and best practices in benefits delivery — including health insurance, vision and dental insurance, and voluntary and retirement benefits. The benefits broker community relies on EBA to stay connected, through its website comment forums, its social media communities and live events.
About SourceMedia Research
SourceMedia Research is a full-service B2B market research service that draws upon SourceMedia’s market expertise and proprietary database of engaged executives to develop information and insights for clients. SourceMedia Research provides research solutions for marketers, agencies and others targeting sectors such as banking, payments, mortgage, accounting, employee benefits and wealth management.
About SourceMedia
SourceMedia, an Observer Capital company, is a business-to-business digital marketing services, subscription information, and event company serving senior-level professionals in the financial, technology and healthcare sectors. Brands include American Banker, PaymentsSource, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning, Accounting Today, Mergers & Acquisitions, National Mortgage News, Employee Benefit News and Health Data Management.
About ADP
Powerful technology plus a human touch. Companies of all types and sizes around the world rely on ADP’s cloud software and expert insights to help unlock the potential of their people. HR. Talent. Benefits. Payroll. Compliance. Working together to build a better workforce. For more information, visit http://www.adp.com/business.
For more information, please contact:
Dana Jackson
dana.jackson(at)sourcemedia.com
212-803-8329
John McCormick
john.mccormick(at)sourcemedia.com
212-803-8509 Reported by PRWeb 7 hours ago.
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Health Insurance Innovations downgraded to market perform from outperform at Raymond James
Reported by MarketWatch 4 hours ago.
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Opinion: AMA Crippled Alternatives to Current Health Insurance System
For these reasons, policymakers should consider structural reforms that will incentivize physicians to be attentive to healthcare spending while putting medical practice back firmly under their governance.
Reported by Newsmax 5 hours ago.
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On the surface, single payer looks great. In the medical trenches, it's a lot more complicated.
To the editor: Economist Robert Pollin makes bold claims to support the single-payer Healthy California Act. He has calculated the estimated cost based on assumptions of replacing health insurance with government-managed insurance, improved administrative costs, discouraging unnecessary treatments,...
Reported by L.A. Times 1 hour ago.
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