In several counties, more than 1 in 5 residents has no health coverage, according to a new report from Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. “If anyone doubts the need for health care reform,” said Kreidler,”there are a million people out there that they should talk to.”
A drug that wakes the “near dead.” Romneycare and abortion. Low-birthweight affects adult cognitive abilities. Technology to connect doctors and caregivers. Trisomy 18 and Rick Santorum’s daughter.
Republicans especially dislike the individual mandate – the requirement that Americans obtain insurance or face a penalty – because they see it as an unconstitutional imposition of government power.
Supporters say it’s critical to the law’s success. Without the mandate, the argument goes, healthy people won’t buy policies until they’re ill, leaving mostly sick – and expensive — people in the insurance pool.
The Republicans insist they want not just to repeal the Affordable Care Act but also to replace it. But replace it with what, exactly? It’s not an easy question to answer. They’ve have yet to embrace a specific proposal and, rhetorically, they have made contradictory arguments about what they want
ACOs have been compared to the elusive unicorn: everyone seems to know what it looks like, but nobody’s actually seen one. Exactly how ACOs would work in practice remains to be seen, though that hasn’t stopped the health care industry from embarking on a frenzied quest to create them as quickly as possible.
Some will welcome the new benefits, some will face higher costs as a result of the law. The KaiserHealthNews team reviews the changes that go into effect this year.
Under the new health law, insurers cannot cap your annual or lifetime coverage. So, instead, some are placing limits on doctor visits, drugs and other services. Consumer columnist Michelle Andrews explains.
The HCLSC – health care litigation spin cycle – is in overdrive now that a Reagan-appointed federal judge has strongly signaled in court that he is very likely to follow a George W. Bush appointee who struck down the individual mandate at the heart of the new health care law. Republican critics of the law [...]
Currently, the new health reform law gives states the ability to substitute their own reform plans in 2017 if, and only if, they can convince the federal government their approach would cover the same number of people with comprehensive insurance, and at a similar price. States could even ditch the law’s controversial individual mandate that will require most people to purchase insurance. Sen. Ron Wyden, Democrat from Oregon, wants to move that date up to 2014.
With Republicans vowing to dismantle the health law and courts wrestling with its constitutionality, some health policy experts are pondering a possible “Plan B” in case the individual mandate – the requirement that everyone get health insurance starting in 2014 – is weakened or struck down.
Confused? The American College of Physicians and AARP have put together a simple five-page guide that explains how the new health-care reform bill will affect you. In a simple question-answer format the guide addresses questions most people have about the new law’s provisions, why they were created and when they are scheduled to come into [...]
Under a little-known provision of the health overhaul law, insurers will be required to provide their benefits information on a standardized chart using the same plain English terms as other companies to help shoppers understand and compare complicated policies.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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