The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that more than 6 million Americans have obtained health insurance through the new health care law, a major achievement for the president and his team, which has been sharply criticized for a sloppy rollout of “Obamacare” that included a website that barely functioned for weeks.
In the last three months, according to the administration, about 2.1 million Americans have enrolled in private health care plans through the law. Another 3.9 million have been determined eligible for either Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, both of which were expanded under the Affordable Care Act.
These numbers vindicated the administration, which had predicted that the struggles of October, when Americans across the country complained about the website, would not permanently harm the health care program. Only 106,000 Americans enrolled in private plans in October, far below expectations, but more than 1 million did in December. Administration officials had predicted enrollment would surge in December, as that was the deadline for purchasing insurance that would start by Jan 1.
Posts tagged as “Obamacare”
As we enter into 2014, like everywhere else, GBN is reflecting on what made 2013 truly memorable. There have been historic moments (Barack Obama’s second inauguration to the Presidency of the United States, the Supreme Court striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, Obamacare withstanding severe political and technical challenges) sobering moments (the George Zimmerman trial, the Boston Marathon Bombing, the Oklahoma Tornado Disaster) and inspiring moments (Charles Ramsey rescuing Ariel Castro’s captives, Antoinette Tuff talking down a would-be elementary school shooter, Homeless Teen Drew Gooch earning a full scholarship to college).
Of all the stories we posted this year, however, the ones most popular with GBN’s readers have primarily focussed on education, super-intelligent youth, and the debunking of the “deadbeat dad” myth that unfairly haunts so many African-American fathers:
TOP 5 POSTS of 2013
5. 14 Year-Old Thessalonika Arzu-Embry To Earn Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Chicago State University
4. Survey Finds Black Fathers are as Involved with Their Kids as Men of Other Races
3. 18 Year-Old Gabrielle Turnquest Becomes Youngest Ever to Pass Britain’s Bar Exams
2. “Living Single” Actress Erika Alexander Co-Writes Graphic with Black Heroine
and…
1. Child Prodigy Adam Kirby, 2, becomes Youngest Ever to Join Genius Club Mensa
In 2014, GBN will strive to bring you much more of the same (as well as the surprising and unexpected), as we believe there can only be more Good Black News stories to cover. Because when you really look for it, you can find positivity everywhere.
Happy New Year!
Lori Lakin Hutcherson, Good Black News Founder & Editor-In-Chief
As the holidays approach, the Obama administration has drummed up its efforts to educate the public on the benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Through press calls, a strong push in social media, and other methods, the Health Department has been dedicated in demystifying the the ACA and encouraging the use of the Health Insurance Marketplace. First Lady Michelle Obama (pictured left) adds to this new push by offering a heartfelt editorial for Babble on the importance of the Affordable Care Act for parents.
Late one night about 12 years ago, our baby daughter Sasha woke up sick. When we took her to our pediatrician the next morning, he took one look at her and sent us straight to the emergency room. He was worried that Sasha might have meningitis – and he was right, wrote the First Lady.
But we were lucky. While our finances weren’t exactly in great shape back then – we were still struggling to pay off our student loans and pay down our mortgage – we had health insurance. So during the three long days Sasha spent in the hospital, our only worry was about her health because we knew the bills would be covered. And fortunately, while her care must have been terribly expensive, it didn’t come anywhere near triggering her lifetime insurance caps.
The emphasis of the piece was the Affordable Care Act’s elimination of insurance cap limits set by companies and the now-illegal practice of denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions. In times past before the historic passing of the bill, families struggled to keep up with expensive premiums as a result of health conditions, such as asthma, cancer, or diabetes.
Additionally, the children of these working families remained on their parents’ coverage but eventually faced the looming specter of aging out. As the First Lady notes in her piece, the Affordable Care Act provides many safeguards against the detrimental insurance practices of the past. Now children can remain on their parents’ coverage until the age of 26.
Pre-existing conditions adding to higher costs are now a thing of the past, and there are no longer cap limits on insurance. Uninsured families can now visit HealthCare.gov and choose from a list of affordable plans; they may even qualify for assistance for the monthly premiums. Read First Lady Michelle Obama’s special op-ed here.
article by D.L. Chandler via newsone.com
Amidst the dark skies of the Healthcare.gov launch, some daylight may finally be emerging with respect to one of the critical goals of the Affordable Care Act—bending the cost curve of America’s expensive healthcare system.
According to a New York Times report out Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office has quietly removed hundreds of billions of dollars from the projected costs of Obamacare, primarily the result of an anticipated decrease in the federal government’s contribution to the Medicaid expansion program along with the projected cost of the subsidy payments to those buying private insurance policies on the healthcare exchanges.
Why the good news?
The more favorable projections are the direct result of the slowing trend in the growth of healthcare spending over the past five years leading to a slowdown in rising costs. While, ten years ago, per-capita spending on healthcare had been growing by an average annual rate of 5 percent, that number was dramatically cut to 1.8 percent during the 2007-2010 period and reduced even further to 1.3 percent in the years following 2010.
Do we have Obamacare to thank for this highly successful “bending” of the cost curve? Naturally, the answer depends upon who you ask as there simply is no definitive way of knowing—yet.
While most economist believe that the lion’s share of the reduction is due to the sluggish economy—making Americans far more careful when it comes to making decisions regarding when or if to spend money on medical care—others believe that some of the plans built into the ACA designed to get people to spend less may actually be working.
Among Obamacare inventions that do appear to be paying off in lower healthcare costs is the government’s refusal to pay hospitals more when patients are re-admitted within 30 days of their initial discharge. Additionally, new plan designs engineered to reward providers for quality of care rather than for quantity of care may well be paying off in terms of lowering the overall cost of care.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation—widely regarded as an honest, non-partisan broker when it comes to healthcare issues and analysis—the declining increases in the cost of healthcare is 75 percent the result of economic factors and 25 percent a benefit of the cost cutting measures in the ACA that do, in fact, appear to be working.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With website woes ongoing, the Obama administration Monday granted a six-week extension until March 31 for Americans to sign up for coverage next year and avoid new tax penalties under the president’s health care overhaul law. The move had been expected since White House spokesman Jay Carney promised quick action last week to resolve a “disconnect” in the implementation of the law. It comes as technical problems continue to trouble the website designed as the main enrollment portal for people who don’t get health care at work.
As a consequence, Republican lawmakers, and some Democrats as well, are calling for a one-year delay in the penalties most Americans will face starting next year if they remain uninsured. Monday’s action by the administration stops well short of that, and amounts only to a limited adjustment. Under the latest policy change, people who sign up by the end of open enrollment season March 31 will not face a penalty. That means procrastinators get a grace period.
Previously you had to sign up by the middle of February, guaranteeing that your coverage would take effect March 1, in order to avoid fines for being uninsured. The extension – granted for 2014 only – addresses confusion that was created when the administration set the first open enrollment period under the law from Oct. 1-March 31. The problem was that health insurance coverage typically starts on the first day of a given month, and it takes up to 15 days to process applications. So somebody signing up March 16 – well within the open enrollment period – wouldn’t get coverage until April 1, thereby risking a penalty for being uninsured part of the year.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zLJe0JGN4M&w=420&h=315]
During a speech this morning by President Barack Obama on Obamacare, a woman standing directly behind the president began to wobble back and forth as if she was about to faint. Luckily, Obama realized there was something going on behind him and immediately turned around to catch the woman, making sure she remained steady on her feet.
Good catch Mr. President! Apparently the woman was attending the speech as a guest who was a beneficiary of the Affordable Care Act.
“I got you. You’re OK,” the President said. “This is what happens when I talk too long,” the president said after helping her get escorted off the stage.
article by aattp.org
WASHINGTON — The government shutdown is dead. Obamacare is alive.
The Senate voted 81 to 18 Wednesday night to reopen the federal government and raise the nation’s borrowing limit, hours before the Treasury Department faced the possibility of being unable to pay all of America’s bills for the first time in modern history. The House followed suit, voting 285-144, to end the latest damaging battle of divided government in a polarized Congress.
President Barack Obama said he would reopen the government immediately to “lift this cloud of uncertainty and unease” that settled on the nation and start fixing the damage. “There is a lot of work ahead of us, including our need to earn back the trust of the American people that has been lost over the last few weeks,” Obama said in a brief speech at the White House.
The standoff began over the summer, when tea party Republicans, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), demanded that the House of Representatives lock government funding in a chokehold unless Democrats and Obama defunded the Affordable Care
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said no, at first. But but he later gave in,ignoring the advice of other Republicans, from Mitt Romney to John McCain (Ariz.) and Tom Coburn (Okla.). Democrats opted for defend over defund, with Obama declaring he would not negotiate over his signature law, the budget or the debt while Republicans were holding hostages.
Celebrities are taking to social media outlets to show their support for the new “Obamacare” law in a big way. Using the #Get Covered hashtag, they are trying to help educate the public on how they can begin to sign up for health care.
Many of the newly eligible citizens that will be signing up will in fact be getting health care insurance for the very first time so this is really cool to see. Singer John Legend tweeted:
“F the shutdown. The Health Insurance Marketplace is now open in every state. Don’t wait another day to #GetCovered!”
Pearl Jam tweeted:
“If you want to make sense of the whole healthcare thing, or just want to #GetCovered, check out http://www.healthcare.gov #KnowYourOptions,”
Some celebrities are taking photos of themselves with the #Get Covered hashtag and posting them like the ones below (actress Kerry Washington is pictured above).
Funny or Die created a “Scandal” spoof called Scandalous with Jennifer Hudson to get people information about the new ACA (Obamacare) program and how to sign up for it. Click here to see that video.)
According to Huffington Post, comedian John Hodgman and actress Martha Plimpton used their Twitter streams as Obamacare forums. Plimpton spent time retweeting messages from her followers saying what they like about the law, while Hodgman’s stream included young adults tweeting about health problems they had encountered.
Tweeted Hodgman:
“Young people: sign up for healthcare. Take it from me–YOU ARE NOT IMMORTAL,”
It’s great to know that some people embrace their platforms and try to do good things with them. Let us not forget celebrities are members of society too! They do care about the world they live in just the same as anyone else does. They do have a voice.
article by Skyyhook via theurbandaily.com
Women won’t pay higher health bills simply for being women, and they will be able to get the medical care they need, particularly for breast cancer, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), a leading women’s advocate says. “The Affordable Care Act will help us realize the promise of access for all,” said Eleanor Hinton Hoytt, president and CEO of the Black Women’s Health Imperative in Washington, D.C., which was founded 30 years ago as the National Black Women’s Health Project.
Open enrollment began this week under the ACA. Uninsured and underinsured Americans will gain greater access to a medical home with preventive care that can reduce the risk of a host of conditions including breast cancer, the second leading cause of death among women. “We know that prevention works, and mammogram screening is an essential health-care benefit,” said Hoytt, adding that Congressional efforts to stall or kill the ACA as part of a federal shutdown are “unconscionable.”
Black women are number two behind white women for developing breast cancer, but the gap is narrowing, according to a new study released this week for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. They are the only group of women to show increases in breast cancer — up 0.2 percent each year between 2006 and 2010 — and they also have the highest death rate. The American Cancer Society published the study, “Breast Cancer Statistics, 2013,” in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and in aconsumer version.
Under the new healthcare law, women who are 40 and older are entitled to coverage for mammograms. Those who have a family history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer can also receive free counseling and testing for mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Women with mutations are five times more likely to develop breast cancer — a fact highlighted by actress Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy earlier this year.
Women facing genetic tests ranging up to $4,000 and other costs associated with breast cancer won’t have to worry about annual or lifetime spending limits, beginning in 2014. “You can now be insured with pre-existing conditions,” Hoytt notes. “You do not have to be afraid of being dropped from your insurance.”
(Photo: Charles Dharapak, AP)
WASHINGTON — As state health exchanges continue to announce lower-than-expected rates for health insurance, experts say both state and regional issues play a part in how much a consumer will pay for insurance beginning in January. Several factors come into play: a state’s regulations, how many insurers will participate in the state and federal exchanges, and what kind of a risk those insurers are willing to take.
“There is tremendous existing variation within the rates in the states now,” said Sherry Glied, professor of health policy and economics at Columbia University and former assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services. “It’s hard to compare the old rates to the new.” Maryland’s insurance commissioner said Friday that the expected new rates for residents who will need to buy insurance starting Oct. 1 are up to 33% lower than expected, and that coverage for a 21-year-old non-smoker could cost as low as $93 a month.
In Connecticut, insurer HealthCT announced plans that would drop an average of 36% from its original proposal in the individual market; and Nevada will sell plans to young adults to cover catastrophic health situations for less than $100 a month. An HHS report released this month showed that silver health exchange plans — the lower cost plans that uninsured people are more likely to buy — are an average 18% lower than anticipated in the 11 states the department studied. “We know the rates are coming in lower than we expected,” Glied said. “They’re coming in well below the Congressional Budget Office’s estimated rates, which people thought were optimistic.”
These new rates apply only to those who are currently uninsured and who will be buying insurance through the state or federal exchanges. A health exchange or marketplace is a website that allows consumers to choose from several different private insurers. Under the 2010 health care law, Americans who buy health insurance on the state exchanges can choose from four types of plans — bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Bronze has the lowest levels of coverage and cost; platinum is the elite and most expensive. Industry surveys and records from Massachusetts, which enacted a health care law in 2006, show the overwhelming majority of people buy either bronze or silver plans.