Tag Archives: Affordable Care Act

Medi-Cal and the Affordable Care Act

Part of the Affordable Care Act includes the ability for states to choose to expand their Medicaid program. In California, the program is called Medi-Cal. There have been problems with this program in the past. Here is a brief summary of what California is planning to do in regards to the expansion. In December of 2012, a U.S. Court of Appeals made a decision about a situation that had been going on since sometime in 2009. The state of California cut the reimbursement rate for doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who treated patients who were covered by Medi-Cal. … Continue reading →

Governor Christie Will Expand Medicaid in New Jersey

The Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, has announced that he will accept federal funding to expand the Medicaid program in his state. You can add him to the list of Republican governors who are adamantly opposed to the Affordable Care Act but who have decided to expand Medicaid anyway. Governor Christie said his decision is not a “philosophical shift”. Suddenly, a bunch of Republican governors who have clearly stated their objections to the entire Affordable Care Act are changing their minds about at least one portion of it. They are deciding to take the federal money to expand their … Continue reading →

Dunkin Donuts and the Affordable Care Act

You can add Dunkin Donuts to the list of businesses that have expressed opposition to the Affordable Care Act. Their complaint is somewhat different than the others. Dunkin Donuts wants to change the rule about how many hours it takes to officially designate a worker as full-time. There has been more than one restaurant chain that has voiced disapproval about certain portions of the Affordable Care Act. Darden, parent company of Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and more might be the most well known one. In that situation, Darden declared it was implementing a pilot program that would cut the hours … Continue reading →

Universal Orlando Will Drop Health Plans for Part-Time Workers

Universal Orlando is going to stop offering health insurance to part-time employees as of December 31, 2013. Universal is currently offering health plans that are considered to be inadequate according to the regulations in the Affordable Care Act, which goes into affect on January 1, 2014. Universal is one of the largest employers in Central Florida. It has about 17,000 employees. Although thousands of the workers are part-time, only around 500 of them are currently enrolled in the employer sponsored health insurance plan. Other part-time workers are covered under their spouse’s health plan. Still others, who are between the ages … Continue reading →

Final Rules About What Health Plans Must Cover

This is exactly what many health insurance companies, and many families, have been waiting to hear. The Obama administration has issued the final rules that define the Essential Health Benefits that must be covered in all health plans, starting in 2014. Here is a quick look at what will be included. The Department of Health and Human Services has announced a final rule that defines what health insurance plans must cover. The rule applies to both individual plans and the small group markets. The purpose is to give consumers a consistent way to compare one health insurance plan with another. … Continue reading →

Governor Scott Agrees to Temporarily Expand Medicaid

The Governor of Florida, Rick Scott, has decided to expand Medicaid in his state. However, this comes with some stipulations. He is only interested in the expanded program for the three years in which the federal government will pay for 100% of it. The Florida legislature also must approve of the expansion in order for it to happen. The federal government offers states funding that is to be used to expand their Medicaid programs. It is part of the Affordable Care Act. When the Supreme Court heard the case about the Affordable Care Act, it decided that states cannot be … Continue reading →

USCCB Sent Letters to Congress About Birth Control Mandate

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops sent letters to all 535 members of Congress in regards to the birth control mandate. The content of the letters urges lawmakers to allow for-profit religious businesses to be exempt from having to offer employer sponsored health plans that cover contraception. Recently, the Obama administration provided clarification about the birth control mandate. It makes it very clear which employers will be exempt from the requirement that they offer employer-sponsored health plans that cover the cost of contraception, and which employers will not be exempt from the law. In short, it works like this: … Continue reading →

Illinois has Insurance Exchange Approved

The Department of Health and Human Services has granted conditional approval for Illinois’ plan for a health insurance exchange. The state will have an exchange that is a federal-state partnership. In this blog, I also have an update about what each state is doing with their exchange. On February 13, 2013, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, announced that the state of Illinois has been granted conditional approval for their plan to operate a health insurance exchange. The state has decided to create a partnership exchange. This means it will be run, in part, by … Continue reading →

Pre-Existing Condition Plan is Suspending Enrollment

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, (PCIP) one of the first portions of the Affordable Care Act to go into affect, is suspending enrollment. The short answer as to the reason why is because the funding is running out. Those currently enrolled will still be covered by the plan. The Pre-Existing Condition Plan (PCIP) is part of the Affordable Care Act. It was created in 2010, and was one of the very first health reform changes to go into affect. The main purpose of the PCIP was to guarantee health insurance coverage for people who had previously been struggling to find … Continue reading →

Fewer Young Adults Lacked Health Insurance in 2012

Gallup does polls about all kinds of things. They ask people specific questions, and keep track of the answers. According to Gallup, fewer young adults in the United States lacked health insurance coverage in 2012 than that age group did in previous years. In 2010, a specific provision of the Affordable Care Act went into affect. As of September 23, 2010, young adults who were between the ages of 18 and 26 were able to be covered by their parent’s health insurance policies. Previous to this health reform law, insurers were only allowing parents to include coverage for their children … Continue reading →