New Law Offers Hope For Homeless Health Care
Many homeless people are uninsured and ineligible for Medicaid. But that will change beginning in 2014, when Medicaid greatly expands under the new health law.
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Many homeless people are uninsured and ineligible for Medicaid. But that will change beginning in 2014, when Medicaid greatly expands under the new health law.
The new "high-risk pools" - the federally-subsidized program for uninsured people with health problems - are one of the first benefits of the health overhaul law passed this year, but not many people have applied and been enrolled in the plans springing up around the country.
The biggest losers in federal health care reform - the country's physician-owned specialty hospitals - are on pins and needles. With a ban on new facilities, expansion plans quashed and doctor ownership curtailed, 70 such hospitals in Texas are plotting their next move.
Cigna Corp. has geared up with a high-powered team of executives to find new business under the health law while also preserving current benefits for customers and for the company.
Insurers, lawmakers and state insurance regulators continue to debate what may and may not be included in a calculation of the medical loss ratio. Separately, debate is also ongoing over how much power individual states have to enforce provisions of the health care law.
Party politics were obvious this week as House Democrats approved $16 billion in additional federal Medicaid funds for states.
The new health overhaul law aims to end all annual dollar limits on health insurance policies by 2014, but insurers that offer limited-benefit plans can seek waivers so they can continue to offer them. Many employers want to keep the plans, criticized by consumer advocates as skimpy.
President Obama has signed legislation into law that will give states an additional $16 billion in Medicaid funding. As House members left the Capitol to resume their August recess, some predicted that town hall meetings in their districts would focus more on job and the economy than health care, a change from the town halls of last August where health care was often a combative issue.
For the 11 million people signed up for private Medicare Advantage plans, their future with the popular program that has been designated for cuts in federal funding may depend on where they live.
This week, Democrats grab an unexpected success in extending enhanced Medicaid funding. Meanwhile, Medicare's trustees offer a positive view for the program's future but Missouri voters reject the new health law's individual mandate.
The new health care reform law will extend the solvency of Medicare's main hospital insurance program by 12 years, according to a new government report.
Some say money employers save on health insurance in the health law will eventually mean more money for Social Security instead of more money for workers.
Legislative and legal action surrounding the new health overhaul continue in Virginia and Missouri. Panelists also discuss the U.S. Senate vote on extra money for state Medicaid programs.
The first big legal test of the constitutionality of the "individual mandate" that requires just about everyone in the U.S. to have health insurance starting in 2014 is going to get out of the starting gate.
This week, HHS issued rules on high-risk health insurance pools as well as guidance on children's coverage issues. Two new polls focused on seniors and health reform, and both political parties continued to position themselves for the fall elections.
During the health reform debate, people with pre-existing conditions lobbied for affordable health insurance. Now, HHS has issued new rules on how high-risk pools will work.
The Congressional Budget Office's latest projections again make it clear that the nation is rushing headlong toward a fiscal crisis, and the health law does nothing to head it off.
A lot has changed since last summer's town hall meetings. A new poll finds that, in the last month, the percentage of people viewing the health law unfavorably has fallen. But seniors continue to be more negative.
Deficit and debt drive cuts in jobs and services
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