States and the Affordable Care Act

Posted on August 30, 2013 by admin

• For people in the gap, health insurance exchange won’t help, By Virginia Young, August 24, 2013, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Cathy Hattey, 59, a former factory worker from Warsaw, Mo., isn’t pinning her hopes for affordable health insurance on the online marketplace that opens Oct. 1. Though the insurance exchange is supposed to bring down costs for people without job-sponsored coverage, it won’t help Hattey and an estimated 226,525 other uninsured Missourians. They make too little to qualify for government subsidies. Yes, too little…”
• States experimenting to lower health care costs, Associated Press, August 30, 2013, Las Vegas Sun: “Oregon health officials are concentrating on coordinating services and preventing hospital stays. New Jersey medical centers are rewarding doctors who can save money without jeopardizing patient care. And Massachusetts is expanding the role of physician assistants and nurse practitioners. As states work on implementing the complex federal health care reforms, some have begun tackling an issue that has vexed employers, individuals and governments at all levels for years _ the rapidly rising costs of health care. The success of models that are beginning to emerge across the country ultimately will determine whether President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act can make good on its name…”
• Medicaid expansion: why some GOP governors are opting in, after all, By Chelsea B. Sheasley, August 28, 2013, Christian Science Monitor: “When the Supreme Court made it optional for states to expand their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act last year, most Republican governors jumped at the chance to reject an element of Obamacare. Now, a trickle of Republican-led states are opting-in to the expansion, citing economic benefits to their state…”
• Michigan Senate approves Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act in second vote, By Jonathan Oosting, August 27, 2013, Mlive: “The Michigan Senate on Tuesday evening narrowly approved legislation designed to reform Medicaid and expand eligibility to an estimated 470,000 low-income residents using federal funding available through the Affordable Care Act. But not before the measure failed in an initial vote…”