COVID-19 & Healthcare

Time to learn about the health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Elections have consequences, and the most important consequence of the 2012 election is that the Affordable Care Act (aka "ObamaCare") is the law of the land and will now be fully implemented.

The Obama administration will allow states additional time to plan
health insurance exchanges, and
to set up the marketplaces at the heart of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For hurried states, Obama administration extends health law deadlines:

States now have an extra month to send the federal government
“blueprints” for how they will have the health exchange up and running
by 2014, according to a letter Health and Human Services Secretary
Kathleen Sebelius sent to governors Friday.
They must still inform the Obama administration whether they plan to
set up an exchange by the original deadline of Nov. 16. Planning
documents must follow by Dec. 14.

Many states have already decided they will not build the insurance marketplaces, leaving the task to the federal government.

The governors of Florida, Virginia and Kansas announced Thursday they
would take this route. As many as 17 states are expected to have the
federal government run their exchanges, according to an analysis from
consulting firm Avalere Health.

* * *

Sebelius wrote to governors that the agency had “heard from many
states that additional time would allow you to submit a more
comprehensive, complete Blueprint application for your Exchange.”

“We are committed to providing you with the flexibility, resources,
and technical assistance necessary to help you achieve successful
implementation of your state’s Exchange,” she wrote.

States also have the option of pursuing a “partnership” exchange.
Under that model, the state and federal governments would each take
partial responsibility for running parts of the insurance marketplace.

States pursuing that model must notify the federal government in just over three months, by Feb. 15.

The Obama administration must certify that all states planning to
administer their own exchanges have made sufficient progress by Jan. 1.
Next October, the marketplaces will need to launch for open-enrollment
periods.

* * *

“If states don’t make this decision in the next 15 to 30 days, it’s
going to be really hard to catch up,” said Sam Gibbs, senior vice
president of sales at eHealthInsurance, which is helping states build
insurance exchanges. “That’s why Sebelius is saying, ‘You can give me
your plans later, but I still need to know which direction you’re
going.’ ”

The extended deadlines will not affect the overall implementation
timeline: Health insurance exchanges are still slated to launch at the
start of 2014.

Leslie Gore: ‘You don’t own me’ PSA

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I have three sisters who used to act out and sing along to this Leslie Gore classic, "You don't own me," when they were kids. This video brings back a lot of memories.

Kathleen Geier writes at the Political Animal blog, The women of America have a message for Mitt Romney and the G.O.P.:

[S]ome of the women in video above include Carrie Brownstein, Lena
Dunham, Natasha Lyonne, and Miranda July. I think it’s a terrific use of
a brilliant and powerful recording/song. I’m a huge fan of girl pop and
this is definitely one of the classics.

* * *

“You Don’t Own Me,” which was released the year after The Feminine Mystique
was published, was a giant hit. It was one of Gore’s most popular
songs, second only to “It’s My Party” in sales. It climbed to number two
on the charts, right behind the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

This PSA details the GOP's war on women's rights and healthcare.

Video below the fold.

Martha McSally: The anti-feminist (video)

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Even feminists own recipe boxes.
Even feminists own recipe boxes.

Republican Congressional candidate Col. Martha McSally says she has been “fighting for women’s rights and women’s equality [her] whole life.”

McSally is well known as the first woman combat pilot and the Air Force officer who fought against a government rule requiring US service women to wear Arab garb when they leave the base. Does this make her a champion for women’s rights?

Let’s look beyond these headlines to answer that question. More on McSally’s stances on choice, women’s health, equal pay, and the War on Women.

Choice

Although McSally bristles when called a “cookie cutter” Republican candidate, her stances on women’s issues are in lock-step with Congressional War on Women stalwarts like Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan and fellow Arizonan Jeff Flake, who is running on the Republican ticket for US Senate against Dr. Richard Carmona.

McSally’s website says she believes in “the sanctity of every human life”. This right-wing code for saying that she agrees with the Republican Party’s anti-abortion platform. Ironically, small-government McSally believes that the government should dictate when American women have children. Not supporting a woman’s right to make decisions governing her own body is a deal breaker for many women.

Read more

The House Majority PAC ad: ‘AZ-01: Jonathan Paton – Why’

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The House Majority PAC is up with a closing ad in CD 1 against Jonathan "Payday" Paton entitled "Jonathan Paton – Why." Tthe House Majority PAC teamed up with Emily’s List (aka Women Vote!) to target Paton’s views on women’s healthcare.

Paton has been a consistent vote for the fetus fetish "culture warriors" at Center for Arizona Policy who want to criminalize abortion and subject women to second class citizen status to a fertilized egg.

Video below the fold.

Kyrsten Sinema ad: ‘Vernon Parker, Tea Party Candidate’

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Tea-Publican congressional candidate Vernon Parker (CD 9) has promised the "forced birth" culture warriors at Center for Arizona Policy that he would ban all abortions except in cases that would prevent the death of a mother. This abortion ban would not make any exception for cases of rape, incest or even when the health of the mother is endangered.

In response to Parker's extreme views on the issue of abortion rights, Kyrsten Sinema's campaign has released the following ad entitled "Vernon Parker, Tea Party Candidate."

Video below the fold.