By Tom Prezelski Re-posted from Rum, Romanism and Rebellion A few days back, we learned that James Spader will be playing the misanthropic robot Ultron in the next Avengers movie. To be honest, I do not know what to make of this. I love Spader, but I am not sure if even he can portray … Read more
As the Republican Congressional circus continues, October 1– the federal budget deadline and the Affordable Care Act health exchange roll-out date– is fast approaching.
Teapublican Senatorial crusaders Ted Cruz and Mike Lee and others are spreading tons of misinformation about the Affordable Care Act (AKA Obamacare).
To counter the misinformation, PolitiFact has provided this great list of facts– to counter the "pants-on-fire" lies.
1. The health care law rations care, like systems in Canada and Great Britain. False.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, July 2, 2012, in an interview on Fox News
The health care law is not socialized medicine. Instead, it leaves in place the private health care system that follows free market principles. The law does put more regulations on health insurance companies. It also fines most large employers who fail to provide insurance for their employees, and it requires all individuals to have health insurance. This is unlike the systems in either Britain or Canada. In Britain, doctors are employees of the government, while in Canada, the government pays most medical bills as part of a single-payer system. The U.S. health care law has neither of those features. PolitiFact has rated this claim and others like it False.
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
I attended a stakeholders Health Inurance Marketplace training session today sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Cover Arizona Coalition.
The question I most often receive about the Marketplace is about how the tax credits and subsidies for health insurance will work. This is included in the application and enrollment process beginning on October 1. Your estimated income for 2014 will determine the amount of the tax credit and cost-sharing subsidy for which you will qualify.
The Advanced Premium Tax Credit (APTC) will apply to reduce your premium payment. The subsidies will apply to reduce your cost-sharing part of coverage for copays, coinsurance, etc. For example, let's say you select a "Silver Plan" that has a premium of $2000 per month, and has a cost-sharing of 30 percent. In this example, your income level may qualify you for a tax credit that reduces your monthly premium to $1,500 per month and reduces your cost-sharing amount to 20 percent. These credits and subsidies are paid to the insurance provider through the billing process. You will not receive any payment from the government. It is my understanding that the cost-sharing subsidies only apply to the "Silver Plans."
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Arizona Republic today has a useful article about the numerous health care groups who are hard at work trying to educate the public about the Affordable Care Act aka "ObamaCare" and to get them to enroll beginning October 1. Massive insurance sign-up planned in Arizona:
Leaders of Arizona’s social safety-net organizations may be facing the most daunting challenge of their careers.
They’re experts in their field, many with decades in the health-care
and non-profit sectors. Now, they must facilitate the biggest
health-care expansion in two generations by getting people signed up —
beginning Oct. 1 — for insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Arizona’s 1 million uninsured are a diverse group of people who,
polls show, have at least one thing in common: They know little about
the federal health-care overhaul that requires most of them to have
coverage next year or pay a fine.
Most are unaware that the new law offers free or subsidized health insurance to nearly all of them.
* * *
In Arizona, there is no state or federal agency charged with finding
them, educating them about the complexities of premiums, copays and
deductibles, or helping them enroll in the right plan. Arizonans who
don’t use insurance agents or brokers, or who don’t qualify for
Medicaid, are expected to navigate the federal online marketplace and
choose their own plan.
Gov. Jan Brewer declined to set up a state-run marketplace where
consumers could shop for insurance, limiting the public funding
available to educate the public. She cited cost, lack of state control
and the unknowns associated with running a state-based exchange when she
ceded that duty to the federal government two years ago.
[Brewer was hoping the ACA would be overturned in the Supreme Court, or repealed in Congress. She is ideologically opposed to do anything to make the program a success.]
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
About 6.4 million Americans will be able to purchase insurance for less than $100 each month on Obamacare’s new state-level marketplaces, according to a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services, Think Progress reports. Under Obamacare, Millions Of Americans Will Pay Less Than $100 Per Month For Health Insurance:
The Obama administration calculated the expected premiums for people
buying “silver” plans, which are the second-cheapest option on the new
insurance marketplaces. Even though not every marketplace has announced
its premium rates yet, researchers were still able to estimate those
payments based on the health law’s rule for determining subsidies.
[See Subsidy Calculator | The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.]
Americans who make up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level —
which works out to be $94,200 for a family of four — are eligible for
subsidies that ensure they’ll only pay a certain percentage of their
income for a health plan. Using census data on Americans’ income levels,
researchers were able to extrapolate how many of them would be paying
less than $100 for monthly premiums for silver plans.