About 1.1 million enrolled in health insurance in January
Reported by USATODAY.com 7 hours ago.
More than 1 million enrolled in health insurance in January
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More than 1M enrolled in health insurance in January
About 1.1 million enrolled in health insurance in January.
Reported by USATODAY.com 6 hours ago.
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How to Pay for Cancer Treatment When You're Broke
Filed under: Health Care, Personal Finance, Health Insurance, Financial Education*Getty Images*
By Geoff Williams
Cancer doesn't discriminate, as the saying goes. It can devastate anyone, regardless of ethnicity, age, political persuasion, religion or financial situation. As anyone shocked by the death of Steve Jobs in 2011 realized, cancer doesn't care if you're one of the wealthiest people on the planet.
But being broke adds a new, troubling challenge for those diagnosed with the disease.
Even if you have health insurance to pay for your treatment, you may not be in the position to take off work to focus on fighting your disease. You may not be able to travel to a particular hospital or clinic that specializes in the form of cancer you have. Even if you're insured, copays on medicine may drain your bank account.
"A diagnosis of cancer has so many stresses associated with it -- the physical challenges, the emotional aspect as well -- but I think the financial aspect of stress is often overlooked, and a lot of providers don't know how to help with that and don't bring it up," says Alyssa Rieber, chief of medical oncology at the Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital Oncology Service in Houston, which treats one of the largest uninsured populations in the country. Rieber has seen it all.
"We're in a big crisis in the cost of cancer treatment, and there is no way this is sustainable," she says.
So if you are financially challenged and have been diagnosed with cancer -- or know someone in that situation -- don't give up. Here's an action plan.
*Research.* There may be more resources out there than you realize, and the worst thing you can do is not look for them. Rieber says she felt especially bad for a cancer victim last year who was in her early 40s.
"She didn't have insurance and was working, and then stopped working because she became ill. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in March of 2013, and she wanted to wait until she had insurance to get access to care, but she never did get insurance because she was too weak to work," Rieber says.
Months later, the woman learned about the LBJ Hospital Oncology Service, which was practically in her backyard. She established eligibility in November but wasn't treated by Rieber or her staff. She wound up in hospice care and died soon after.
So if you have cancer but aren't insured yet, or you are insured but still need financial assistance, don't assume there isn't help -- and don't wait until your financial picture clears up to look for it.
"Some diagnoses you can get away with not treating for a while, but that doesn't work with cancer," Rieber says.
You might be surprised by what resources are available, says Stacey Huber, an American Cancer Society patient resource navigator at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.
She routinely comes in contact with cancer patients who are worried about the financial costs.
Among Huber's favorite nonprofits that help cancer patients is CancerCare, an organization that has been providing free counseling and support groups since 1944 to people over the phone, online and in person -- and one of the major points of discussion is the financial challenges of cancer.
Huber also likes Cleaning for a Reason, a national nonprofit that assists women with cancer by cleaning their houses for free. She adds that the American Cancer Society may have free wigs for cancer patients and says its Road to Recovery group assists patients with rides to treatments. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society offers copay assistance programs and local grants that may help with living expenses.
And, of course, if you have a child with cancer, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital offers all of its services for free.
If you need financial help and don't know what to do, you should discuss this with someone at your local health department who will know what resources are in your area and state, Huber says.
"Each state has different programs and funding that may be able to provide assistance," Huber says. "Here in Maryland, we have a program for breast and cervical cancer patients. If the patient meets the criteria, they may be eligible for coverage for treatment, scans and prescriptions relating to their breast or cervical cancer needs."
If nothing else, call 877-336-7287, the number for the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing in Lewiston, Maine. Anyone in any location can call, says Mary Dempsey, the center's assistant director and sister of the star of the ABC series "Grey's Anatomy." The center, founded in 2008, was inspired by Dempsey's mother, Amanda, who has a rare form of ovarian cancer. It provides free support, education and integrative medicine to anyone affected by cancer.
You may live nowhere near Maine, but if you don't know what services are in your area, Mary Dempsey says a financial counselor at the Dempsey Center may be able to guide you to a service or organization in your area.
*Gather your paperwork.* Getting financial assistance to help you fight cancer is, unfortunately, like buying a house or car or applying for a loan. You'll need to prove that your finances are what you say they are, which means gathering paycheck stubs, tax documentation and anything else relating to your income. You'll also likely need written documentation of your cancer diagnosis.
If you're truly hurting financially and know that you're going to need to step away from your job, Huber says, "I recommend people who get diagnosed with cancer go to their local social service department and apply for medical assistance, food stamps and temporary disability. This can be a long and challenging process, and sometimes patients are not eligible for these services."
Tell everyone in a position to help that you're in need. Nobody is saying you have to beg for money on Facebook or set up a crowdfunding page for donations, although those are valid options that many people understandably take. But certainly talk to people who are in a position to help you, like your patient navigator at the hospital or its social worker, Huber suggests.
"Each person and case is different, so the navigator or social worker can work on an individual basis with the patient to let them know what may be available to them," she says.
Huber also suggests checking with the pharmaceutical company that makes your medication to see if it has a copay assistance program. She likes the website needymeds.org, a nonprofit that helps people find local programs that may provide financial assistance for their medications.
*Look for grants.* They're out there. Cancer.net has a financial assistance page that will lead people to grants. CancerCare also offers financial assistance, and managecancer.org has links to resources that offer financial help.
*It isn't your imagination. It is harder if you're in the middle class.* If you have been diagnosed with cancer and are firmly entrenched in the middle class, you should know that you may have to do more research and talk to more people than you'd ever imagine. That's because there are more programs that help those at the bottom of the financial ladder than those in the middle. Even with insurance, middle-class patients may believe they have to go bankrupt to qualify for the programs out there.
That isn't quite true, however -- or it doesn't need to be. "There are resources and ways to receive cancer care for people who are struggling financially -- even for the middle class," Rieber says. "But it is hard to find them."
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*More from U.S. News*
· 10 Ways to Start Earning Extra Money Now
· How to Raise Money for Medical Bills
· 50 Smart Money Moves
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Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments Reported by DailyFinance 16 hours ago.
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan reminds consumers that March 31 is the enrollment deadline for the Health Insurance Marketplace; consumers should enroll early to avoid a last minute rush
DETROIT, Feb. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The way individual consumers purchased health insurance changed for good last October with the opening of the Health Insurance Marketplace, which created an online experience for consumers to compare products and pricing. The Marketplace "storefront"...
Reported by PR Newswire 11 hours ago.
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Obamacare enrollment rises to 88,000 in Illinois
Another strong month of sign ups in new health insurance policies created under President Obama's health care law pushed Illinois' total enrollment to 88,602 through Jan. 31.
Reported by ChicagoTribune 54 minutes ago.
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Health insurance exchange enrollments surge in January, jump 50 percent
Health insurance enrollment increased 53 percent on exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act, the Obama Administration announced Wednesday. With 1.1 million signups in January, enrollment reached 3.3 million overall, officials said during a conference call with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and reporters. Those numbers include 1.4 million in state-based marketplaces and 1.9 million in the federally-run marketplace. They could not say how many people had actually paid…
Reported by bizjournals 6 hours ago.
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Glen Cove city council puts off vote on health insurance for retirees
The Glen Cove City Council has tabled a vote on raising the standards for employees to receive retirement health insurance coverage.
Reported by Newsday 6 hours ago.
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Nearly 3.3 million have enrolled through health insurance marketplace, including more young adults
Nearly 3.3 million people have signed up for health insurance through the marketplaces established by President Barack Obama's health care law and about one-fourth of them are young adults, the White House said Wednesday. That included 54,157 Missourians and 22,388 Kansans.
Reported by KansasCity.com 6 hours ago.
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Want a tax break in Colorado for not buying health insurance? Think again.
Without a single witness to champion it, a bill to give a tax credit to Coloradans who refuse to buy health insurance under the requirements of the Affordable Care Act met its demise Wednesday at the hands of a death panel known as the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. Democrats on the committee voted over the objections of Republicans to kill House Bill 1106, sponsored by GOP Reps. Dan Nordberg of Colorado Springs and Jared Wright of Grand Junction, after a short hearing. The…
Reported by bizjournals 6 hours ago.
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Company Health Insurance - Several Genuine Benefits It Offers
Company health insurance is usually compared to the medical insurance pertaining to people generally known as individual medical insurance.Company health insurance is usually compared to the medical insurance pertaining to people generally known as individual medical insurance. This is due to its got identical kind of coverage in addition to interdictions. Such a policy insures employees beneath a specific company whether or not major as well as modest furnished they have been named from the supervisor to be beneath the cover.
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Keeps Employees Content
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Provides Quick in addition to High quality Healthcare
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Moment Mobility
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Companies could get probably the most beyond his or her Employees by removing his or her professional medical wants into consideration. By simply impressive the sense of balance at work in addition to, talking over the available choices organizations have found benefit connected with company health insurance.
please visit us on our website. http://groupinsurancetoronto.ca
Company Contact Information
groupinsurancetoronto.ca
groupinsurancetoronto
toronto(canada)
toronto(canada)
00000
1 (877) 731-5410
News and Press Release Distribution From I-Newswire.com Reported by i-Newswire.com 5 hours ago.
Employee benefits health insurance provides became vital as there is absolutely no telling whenever one particular will have medical attention. As presently as these kinds of activities happen, it is not for certain that this specific is going to be capable to care for almost all their own professional medical wants devoid of seeking aid. It has for that reason got vital to sign up in a very professional medical strategy in addition to organizations have taken about by themselves to help look after the professional medical wants with their Employees. Company health insurance is an acronym to help gain both supervisors along with the employee in various techniques.
Keeps Employees Content
One of the numerous advantages of the employee group health insurance spanning company employees will be that will organizations be able to produce his or her Employees think cared for in addition to treasured. That is a wonderful manner connected with retaining these individuals loyal towards company and is also a method connected with retaining the good title in addition to photograph in the company. Nearly all Companies get rid of inspiring Employees pertaining to failing his or her position for making these individuals think treasured in addition to vital that you the corporation.
Creates the Remuneration Offer Desirable
Extremely common to find that will potbellies that have company health insurance appealing to possible Employees whom feel the remuneration package deal is fantastic for his or her wants. The corporation is going to be with a better placement to use skilled professionals whom think considered employee health care connected with a Toronto injury lawyer medical insurance policies in position. Many people usually feel that health insurance will be costly and for that reason will find such an option great. This too results in a great photograph for your company in the market.
Provides Quick in addition to High quality Healthcare
The health insurance policies intended for Companies in addition have confirmed to be necessary with offering rapid wellbeing awareness of Employees whom endure health issues for the work surroundings and in many cases over office. It has saved professional medical scenarios through obtaining more painful bearing in mind the period is very critical when it comes to unexpected emergency scenarios which often require fast focus. It has benefited the majority of Companies in the feeling that will Employees be able to spend fewer time away from responsibility on account of professional medical problems.
Moment Mobility
With all accompany health insurance cover in position, the corporation employees has the solution connected with picking whenever service provider will be to modify them to possess the kind of treatment they desire. This particular tremendously allows since it can help you keep up with the conventional routine connected with organization in so doing definitely not interfering with the production agendas along with the standard end result from the Employees. Employees also discover that that they are able to suppress virtually any fundamental professional medical issues previous to that they leave palm an issue that can easily preserve lifestyles.
Companies could get probably the most beyond his or her Employees by removing his or her professional medical wants into consideration. By simply impressive the sense of balance at work in addition to, talking over the available choices organizations have found benefit connected with company health insurance.
please visit us on our website. http://groupinsurancetoronto.ca
Company Contact Information
groupinsurancetoronto.ca
groupinsurancetoronto
toronto(canada)
toronto(canada)
00000
1 (877) 731-5410
News and Press Release Distribution From I-Newswire.com Reported by i-Newswire.com 5 hours ago.
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No health insurance yet?
*No health insurance yet?*
We are now more than two-thirds of the way through the new health care law’s first annual open enrollment period. If you’re uninsured and haven’t signed up yet, you have until March 31 to get this done if you want to have health insurance in 2014. If you don’t you’ll be uninsured until 2015, as you can’t buy health insurance in between open enrollment periods except in a few specific circumstances, mostly involving losing another source of coverage because of “life events” such as a move, a job loss, or a divorce.
We hate to sound like a broken record, but it bears repeating that you should get insured as soon as possible. Every day without insurance is a day you risk your health and pocketbook in the event of a serious illness or injury.
And there’s no excuse not to. With a few exceptions, the state Health Insurance Marketplaces where you can purchase coverage are all humming along nicely—including the federal website, HealthCare.gov, which is handling insurance signups for 36 states.
The proof is in the monthly enrollment update that the federal government released today, showing that as of Feb. 1 there was a 53 percent increase over the total enrollment in private plans from the previous month. So far, nearly 3.3 million people have selected health plans through the marketplaces, and four out of five of them have obtained financial help to pay for it. And nearly 3.2 million have learned they are eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP).
Have all these new enrollments had any effect on the numbers of uninsured Americans? Possibly, judging from a new Gallup poll also released today. It found that 16 percent of Americans had no health insurance—down from 17.1 percent in the last quarter of 2013 and the lowest percentage this survey has recorded since early 2009. And it also found an uptick in the percentage of people who said they had health coverage they had bought on their own or obtained through Medicaid, which are the two major means by which the new health law is expanding coverage.
If you or someone you know still lacks health insurance and isn’t sure where to start the project of getting it, take advantage of our free online tool, HealthLawHelper.org. It will tell you what financial help you may be eligible for and what steps you need to take to get covered.
Got a question for our health insurance expert? Ask it here; be sure to include the state you live in. And if you can't get enough health insurance news here, follow me on Twitter @NancyMetcalf.
*We're providing regular coverage of the new health care law. To get health insurance advice tailored to your situation, use our Health Law Helper, below.*
*Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers or sponsors on this website. Copyright © 2006-2014 Consumers Union of U.S.*
*Subscribe now!*
Subscribe to *ConsumerReports.org* for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products.
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Update your feed preferences Reported by Consumer Reports 5 hours ago.
We are now more than two-thirds of the way through the new health care law’s first annual open enrollment period. If you’re uninsured and haven’t signed up yet, you have until March 31 to get this done if you want to have health insurance in 2014. If you don’t you’ll be uninsured until 2015, as you can’t buy health insurance in between open enrollment periods except in a few specific circumstances, mostly involving losing another source of coverage because of “life events” such as a move, a job loss, or a divorce.
We hate to sound like a broken record, but it bears repeating that you should get insured as soon as possible. Every day without insurance is a day you risk your health and pocketbook in the event of a serious illness or injury.
And there’s no excuse not to. With a few exceptions, the state Health Insurance Marketplaces where you can purchase coverage are all humming along nicely—including the federal website, HealthCare.gov, which is handling insurance signups for 36 states.
The proof is in the monthly enrollment update that the federal government released today, showing that as of Feb. 1 there was a 53 percent increase over the total enrollment in private plans from the previous month. So far, nearly 3.3 million people have selected health plans through the marketplaces, and four out of five of them have obtained financial help to pay for it. And nearly 3.2 million have learned they are eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP).
Have all these new enrollments had any effect on the numbers of uninsured Americans? Possibly, judging from a new Gallup poll also released today. It found that 16 percent of Americans had no health insurance—down from 17.1 percent in the last quarter of 2013 and the lowest percentage this survey has recorded since early 2009. And it also found an uptick in the percentage of people who said they had health coverage they had bought on their own or obtained through Medicaid, which are the two major means by which the new health law is expanding coverage.
If you or someone you know still lacks health insurance and isn’t sure where to start the project of getting it, take advantage of our free online tool, HealthLawHelper.org. It will tell you what financial help you may be eligible for and what steps you need to take to get covered.
Got a question for our health insurance expert? Ask it here; be sure to include the state you live in. And if you can't get enough health insurance news here, follow me on Twitter @NancyMetcalf.
*We're providing regular coverage of the new health care law. To get health insurance advice tailored to your situation, use our Health Law Helper, below.*
*Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers or sponsors on this website. Copyright © 2006-2014 Consumers Union of U.S.*
*Subscribe now!*
Subscribe to *ConsumerReports.org* for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products.
--------------------
Update your feed preferences Reported by Consumer Reports 5 hours ago.
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Will Obama Slip Obamacare Mandate Deadline One Month?
The official numbers are in for January, showing that Obamacare signups beat the monthly projection for the first time. This is good news for the White House, as is the new overall signup total of 3.3 million. After a very rocky rollout, the Obamacare website seems to now be back on track. The numbers are good, but they will likely fall short of the overall goal of seven million signed up by the deadline, currently set for the end of March. This will leave the White House with a rather obvious path to make up the difference: slip the individual mandate deadline by one month, to the end of April. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Obama chooses this route, likely in the middle of next month.
The rationale for doing so is clear. Here's an early draft of what Obama will likely say, if he does announce such a change:
"The Affordable Care Act has already allowed millions of Americans to sign up for health insurance, many of them for the first time. When the Congressional Budget Office did their initial projections, they estimated that seven million people would sign up in the new individual marketplaces during the first open enrollment period, from October of last year through the end of March. But, as you all know, for the first two months of that six-month period, the HealthCare.gov website had a few small problems. [pause for laughter] OK, OK, it had more than just a few problems -- it barely worked. Since we fixed it, however, the projections have been pretty accurate for the number of people who are signing up. The problem is, we lost those first two months -- which was a whopping one-third of the total time period. Therefore, to allow everyone a chance to participate, we're moving the deadline for individuals to sign up for health coverage back one month, to the end of April. This will assure that Americans get every possible chance to get insured. We are pretty confident that we can meet the original target of seven million people by the end of April, and I encourage everyone who has not yet signed up to visit their state's marketplace or the HealthCare.gov site -- and to do so as soon as possible."
Obama has already been slipping deadlines in Obamacare for other groups. However, the numbers for individual signups have been good enough (since the site started working) that he won't need to slip this deadline for an entire year, as Republicans tried to force him to do during the government shutdown fight. Over 1.1 million people signed up in January, it was announced today, which beat the C.B.O. projection by over 100,000 people. But the total number signed up overall is roughly one million shy of where the C.B.O. thought it would be at this point. February's numbers will likely be equivalent to January's, and then there will be a large "last minute" surge of procrastinators in March. This likely will mean a total of only around six million signed up. But if you add in another month like January to that total, it reaches the projected seven million.
This is a pretty easy fix, and my guess is that it'll be too tempting for the White House to pass up. They've already essentially slipped this deadline once before, after all. This was due to the strange nature of health insurance, which (unlike, say, car insurance) does not start when you make your first payment. Health insurance only starts on the first of the following month. The law was written stating that you had to have insurance by the end of March. But this meant you would have had to sign up for insurance before March began, meaning the actual deadline was something like the middle of February -- enough time for the payment to be processed and the insurance to kick in. This was quietly changed to "signed up by the end of March" rather than "insured by the end of March," which essentially added a month and a half to the deadline. Since there is a large segment of Americans who procrastinate until the last minute to do things, adding another month will ease the pressure on these latecomers.
Everyone knows that the initial rollout in October and November was a complete disaster, which wasted one-third the amount of time available. President Obama has already taken political hits for the other deadline delays he has announced, and he knows that Republicans are teeing the Obamacare issue up as the centerpiece of their campaigns for the midterm elections. Democrats will have an easier time of things if they can point to seven million people signed up -- just as projected -- during the campaign season.
Of course, Obama doesn't want the numbers to sag in March, so he'll wait until the middle of the month to make this announcement -- say, around Saint Patrick's Day. Now that the White House can be confident that a million people are signing up per month (even without a deadline looming), adding in that extra month to the schedule is going to prove too irresistible to pass up. The math is simple: a total of 3.3 million in January, 4.4 million by the end of February, 5.5 million in March, and then a big wave (equal to December's) to finish up in April and meet the target.
Making this change will give Democrats the opportunity to look beyond the disastrous rollout of the website. By the time people vote in November, that story is going to be over a year old, after all. If Democrats can say "even against all odds, we met the target set for Obamacare signups" that will refocus the debate considerably. They'll be able to point out that Obamacare has been up and running for a whole year, and that the sky still has not fallen in all the many ways Republicans had confidently predicted it would. Democrats will be running on how to improve the law, and Republicans will still be grousing about computer problems that were fixed a year ago. President Obama may take a small political hit for slipping the deadline a month, but he's already taken multiple hits on deadline slips already, so this one won't hurt all that much -- and it won't hurt other Democrats at all.
It's really hard to see much of a downside, which is why I'm boldly making the prediction today: when we all wake up from Paddy's Day hangovers, Obamacare's individual mandate deadline (the date you must be insured by, to avoid paying a penalty on your taxes) will have slipped to the end of April.
Chris Weigant blogs at:Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Become a fan of Chris on The Huffington Post
Reported by Huffington Post 3 hours ago.
The rationale for doing so is clear. Here's an early draft of what Obama will likely say, if he does announce such a change:
"The Affordable Care Act has already allowed millions of Americans to sign up for health insurance, many of them for the first time. When the Congressional Budget Office did their initial projections, they estimated that seven million people would sign up in the new individual marketplaces during the first open enrollment period, from October of last year through the end of March. But, as you all know, for the first two months of that six-month period, the HealthCare.gov website had a few small problems. [pause for laughter] OK, OK, it had more than just a few problems -- it barely worked. Since we fixed it, however, the projections have been pretty accurate for the number of people who are signing up. The problem is, we lost those first two months -- which was a whopping one-third of the total time period. Therefore, to allow everyone a chance to participate, we're moving the deadline for individuals to sign up for health coverage back one month, to the end of April. This will assure that Americans get every possible chance to get insured. We are pretty confident that we can meet the original target of seven million people by the end of April, and I encourage everyone who has not yet signed up to visit their state's marketplace or the HealthCare.gov site -- and to do so as soon as possible."
Obama has already been slipping deadlines in Obamacare for other groups. However, the numbers for individual signups have been good enough (since the site started working) that he won't need to slip this deadline for an entire year, as Republicans tried to force him to do during the government shutdown fight. Over 1.1 million people signed up in January, it was announced today, which beat the C.B.O. projection by over 100,000 people. But the total number signed up overall is roughly one million shy of where the C.B.O. thought it would be at this point. February's numbers will likely be equivalent to January's, and then there will be a large "last minute" surge of procrastinators in March. This likely will mean a total of only around six million signed up. But if you add in another month like January to that total, it reaches the projected seven million.
This is a pretty easy fix, and my guess is that it'll be too tempting for the White House to pass up. They've already essentially slipped this deadline once before, after all. This was due to the strange nature of health insurance, which (unlike, say, car insurance) does not start when you make your first payment. Health insurance only starts on the first of the following month. The law was written stating that you had to have insurance by the end of March. But this meant you would have had to sign up for insurance before March began, meaning the actual deadline was something like the middle of February -- enough time for the payment to be processed and the insurance to kick in. This was quietly changed to "signed up by the end of March" rather than "insured by the end of March," which essentially added a month and a half to the deadline. Since there is a large segment of Americans who procrastinate until the last minute to do things, adding another month will ease the pressure on these latecomers.
Everyone knows that the initial rollout in October and November was a complete disaster, which wasted one-third the amount of time available. President Obama has already taken political hits for the other deadline delays he has announced, and he knows that Republicans are teeing the Obamacare issue up as the centerpiece of their campaigns for the midterm elections. Democrats will have an easier time of things if they can point to seven million people signed up -- just as projected -- during the campaign season.
Of course, Obama doesn't want the numbers to sag in March, so he'll wait until the middle of the month to make this announcement -- say, around Saint Patrick's Day. Now that the White House can be confident that a million people are signing up per month (even without a deadline looming), adding in that extra month to the schedule is going to prove too irresistible to pass up. The math is simple: a total of 3.3 million in January, 4.4 million by the end of February, 5.5 million in March, and then a big wave (equal to December's) to finish up in April and meet the target.
Making this change will give Democrats the opportunity to look beyond the disastrous rollout of the website. By the time people vote in November, that story is going to be over a year old, after all. If Democrats can say "even against all odds, we met the target set for Obamacare signups" that will refocus the debate considerably. They'll be able to point out that Obamacare has been up and running for a whole year, and that the sky still has not fallen in all the many ways Republicans had confidently predicted it would. Democrats will be running on how to improve the law, and Republicans will still be grousing about computer problems that were fixed a year ago. President Obama may take a small political hit for slipping the deadline a month, but he's already taken multiple hits on deadline slips already, so this one won't hurt all that much -- and it won't hurt other Democrats at all.
It's really hard to see much of a downside, which is why I'm boldly making the prediction today: when we all wake up from Paddy's Day hangovers, Obamacare's individual mandate deadline (the date you must be insured by, to avoid paying a penalty on your taxes) will have slipped to the end of April.
Chris Weigant blogs at:Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Become a fan of Chris on The Huffington Post
Reported by Huffington Post 3 hours ago.
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Rove: Obama Trying to Push Healthcare Headache on to Successor
President Obama is playing politics in delaying the health insurance mandate for medium-size businesses until 2016 — and callously insuring the next president will "inherit a mess," Karl Rove said Wednesday.
Reported by Newsmax 42 minutes ago.
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Rove: Obama Trying to Push Healthcare Headache to Successor
President Obama is playing politics in delaying the health insurance mandate for medium-size businesses until 2016 — and callously insuring the next president will "inherit a mess," Karl Rove said Wednesday.
Reported by Newsmax 14 minutes ago.
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Zane Benefits Publishes New Information on Small Company Health Insurance
Owners Evaluating If and How to Offer Health Insurance in 2014
Park City, Utah (PRWEB) February 12, 2014
Today, Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, published new information on small company health insurance options.
According to Zane Benefits' website, health insurance and health reform are on the mind of most small company owners. Under health reform, small companies (with fewer than 50 employees) are not subject to the employer mandate.
However according to Zane Benefits’, most small companies want to offer health benefits but the major barrier is cost.
Zane Benefits’s website outlines four tips for companies when deciding whether (and how) to offer employees health insurance in 2014.
1. Consider the industry and employee workforce
2. Consider the new federal premium tax credits
3. Evaluate what employees want
4. Work with a health insurance broker or agent
Click here to read the full article.
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About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, was founded in 2006 to revolutionize the way employers provide employee health benefits in America. We empower employees to take control over their own healthcare, while helping employers recruit and retain the best talent. Our online solutions allow small and medium-sized businesses to successfully transition to a health benefits program that creates happier employees, reduces costs and frees up more time to serve their customers. For more information about ZaneHealth, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
Park City, Utah (PRWEB) February 12, 2014
Today, Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, published new information on small company health insurance options.
According to Zane Benefits' website, health insurance and health reform are on the mind of most small company owners. Under health reform, small companies (with fewer than 50 employees) are not subject to the employer mandate.
However according to Zane Benefits’, most small companies want to offer health benefits but the major barrier is cost.
Zane Benefits’s website outlines four tips for companies when deciding whether (and how) to offer employees health insurance in 2014.
1. Consider the industry and employee workforce
2. Consider the new federal premium tax credits
3. Evaluate what employees want
4. Work with a health insurance broker or agent
Click here to read the full article.
--
About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits, the #1 Online Health Benefits Solution, was founded in 2006 to revolutionize the way employers provide employee health benefits in America. We empower employees to take control over their own healthcare, while helping employers recruit and retain the best talent. Our online solutions allow small and medium-sized businesses to successfully transition to a health benefits program that creates happier employees, reduces costs and frees up more time to serve their customers. For more information about ZaneHealth, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 2 hours ago.
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Health insurance enrollment on target in January
For the first time since the federal and state health-insurance marketplaces opened early last fall, the number of people who signed up for coverage exceeded the government’s expectations for the month in January, bringing the overall total to about 3.3 million.
Reported by Washington Post 1 hour ago.
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Over 1 Million Added to Rolls of Health Plan
More than 1.1 million people signed up for health insurance through federal and state marketplaces in January, according to the government.
Reported by NYTimes.com 1 hour ago.
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Most states lag in health insurance sign-ups
Most states are still lagging when it comes to sign-ups under President Barack Obama's health care law, but an Associated Press analysis of numbers reported Wednesday finds a dozen high-achievers getting ahead of the...
Reported by WTHR 28 minutes ago.
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88,000 in Illinois select health plan under Affordable Care Act
More than 88,000 Illinois residents have selected a health insurance plan created by President Barack Obama’s health plan, according to enrollment numbers that were released six weeks before the deadline to enroll this year.
Reported by Chicago S-T 32 minutes ago.
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CPA Looks at How to Keeps Costs Low for Health Insurance Under ACA
With just six weeks left to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, NY1 takes a look at some of the help that's available to lower the costs.
Reported by NY1 19 hours ago.
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