Healthcare Compliance Inc: January 2017

Thursday, 19 January 2017

Fight Is On To Protect Health Care In California

Covered California is the place where Californians can get brand-name health insurance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

As Republicans seek to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, advocacy organizations around the nation are strategizing on how best to respond. Do they defend the law at all costs? Do they take part in the repeal conversation so they can help design an alternative?

Already, numerous groups are mobilizing patients and health care advocates to raise awareness of the impact of a repeal. Families USA, for example, launched an initiative called “Protect Our Care” and is encouraging consumers to share their stories through social media. Opponents of repeal staged protests around the country last Sunday.

The California Endowment, a private health foundation in Los Angeles, was among the state’s biggest backers of the Affordable Care Act, spending tens of millions of dollars on outreach and awareness. Robert K. Ross, the foundation’s president and CEO, was one of the founding board members of the state’s health insurance exchange, Covered California.
During open enrollment, Covered California often needed to resolve inconsistencies on customer applications and get further documentation.

Monday, 16 January 2017

The Future of Covered California under President Trump

Covered California is the only place where an individual can learn about and use federal financial assistance that can help reduce health care costs.

California stands to lose $20.5 billion a year in Obamacare funding — $15.5 billion for Medi-Cal and $5 billion in Covered California subsidies.

California’s programs won’t be gone overnight. Despite campaign promises to the contrary, it is virtually impossible to repeal Obamacare on day one of the Trump administration. The Senate filibuster rule, which requires 60 votes to move legislation forward, provides Democrats with a mechanism to block a complete repeal effort. And there would be an enormous backlash against an immediate, abrupt repeal. More than 20 million Americans are newly insured under Obamacare, and many congressional leaders, including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, understand the very real political costs of throwing them under the bus. So Obamacare is likely to continue through the end of 2017, and perhaps 2018.

Since the election, Trump has emphasized maintaining at least two popular features of Obamacare — allowing children to stay on their parents’ policies up to age 26, and requiring insurers to offer insurance to those with pre-existing conditions without higher premiums. (There’s a caveat — premiums will go up if you aren’t continuously covered.)

Covered California is the place where Californians can get brand-name health insurance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Thursday, 12 January 2017

How Will The Planned Repeal Of Obamacare Affect Californians?

Covered California is a state-designed program to make it simple and affordable for you to purchase high-quality health insurance and access financial assistance to pay for coverage.

As federal lawmakers debate the fate of Obamacare this month, health coverage for millions of Californians hangs in the balance.

Covered California, the state health insurance exchange, and the expansion of Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program for low-income residents, are products of the Affordable Care Act. Both could be at risk if the GOP-led Congress and President-elect Donald Trump gut key pieces of the health law.

For instance, if federal lawmakers kill the tax credits that have subsidized health insurance premiums for those who qualify, “what happens … to the people who purchase the plans on Covered California? Will they just have to pay out of pocket?” she said. “So many people just won’t be able to afford that.”

If you have a small business, Covered California can help you shop for health plans for your employees.

Covered California Official Says Obamacare Repeal Won’t Happen Anytime Soon

Covered California is where you can compare quality health plans from brand-name health insurance companies.

So if Obamacare is being repealed and replaced simultaneously with something else, does that mean there’s no point in signing up for medical insurance through Covered California? And if you have an existing plan, is it going away soon?

Not so.

Peter Lee, the executive director of Covered California, says those who already have health insurance through Covered California can count on that coverage. And those who don’t, should sign up now.

“Things in Washington do not happen overnight. Health care can change overnight,” Lee said. “Our number one message is, we’re in open enrollment, now is the time. If you don’t have insurance, sign up and get the insurance, change is going to take time.”

Right now, you can get a new plan or make changes to an existing one. And the open enrollment period ends on January 31.

Covered California is a state-designed program to make it simple and affordable for you to purchase high-quality health insurance and access financial assistance to pay for coverage.

Wednesday, 4 January 2017

Trump’s Obamacare | Congress Prepares for Obamacare War

The conservative case against Obamacare can take a lot of different forms but it often focuses on the expansion of government regulation and spending.

As Republicans near their long-sought repeal of Obamacare, their battle with congressional Democrats entered a new phase Wednesday, with both parties vowing to convince Americans the other side is to blame if millions of people see their health care disrupted.

President Barack Obama huddled with Democrats to formulate a strategy that will inflict maximum political pain on Republicans as they move closer to a repeal vote — and encourage Americans whose health care may be disrupted to pin their problems on the GOP. Meanwhile, Vice President-elect Mike Pence held court with Republican lawmakers and pleaded with them to tell their constituents “the truth” — that Democrats are responsible for passing a broken law in the first place.

To begin with, ObamaCare often speaks of consumers, rather than citizens.