Business groups differ on health insurance exchange

This Week's Healthcare News



P.J.Star.com
Business groups differ on health insurance exchange
Mar,19,2013
by:+ Dean Olsen
SPRINGFIELD —

A proposal to create an Illinois health-insurance exchange with the power to turn away plans based on affordability and quality would be a good deal for employers, representatives of small businesses said Tuesday.

“Small businesses need a level playing field,” said Mark Burris of Glenarm, the owner of seven Springfield-area Subway restaurants.

Burris is part of the Small Business Health Care Consortium, a project of the Champaign-based Campaign for Better Health Care. The consortium supports an amendment to Senate Bill 34 as the blueprint for forming a state-based health-insurance exchange to help carry out a section of the federal Affordable Care Act.
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Modern Healthcare.com
Federal EHR payouts top $12.3 billion
Mar,19,2013
by:+Joseph Conn
An estimated 219,257 hospitals, office-based physicians and other eligible professionals have shared in just over $12.3 billion in federal electronic health-record incentive payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to government figures through February.

The CMS, which operates EHR incentive payment programs under Medicare, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage, reported that $725 million was spent on incentives by the programs in February alone.
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New York Times
States Urged to Expand Medicaid With Private Insurance
Mar,21, 2013
by:+Robert Pear
WASHINGTON — The White House is encouraging skeptical state officials to expand Medicaid by subsidizing the purchase of private insurance for low-income people, even though that approach might be somewhat more expensive, federal and state officials say.

Ohio and Arkansas are negotiating with the Obama administration over plans to use federal Medicaid money to pay premiums for commercial insurance that will be sold to the public in regulated markets known as insurance exchanges.

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Featured Report: Some states won't enforce reform law, so feds must
Fierce Health Payer
Mar,20, 2013
by:+Dina Overland
With multiple health reform deadlines looming, some states are declaring they won't enforce the law, deferring instead to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to guarantee insurers in their state comply with the provisions. So far, five states--Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming--already have notified HHS that they either can't or won't police insurers to uphold the reform provisions, Politico reported. Florida, for example, won't penalize insurers for violating new consumer protections but will report those insurers to HHS to take further action. Other state officials say their legislatures haven't granted them the authority to oversee reform requirements. In Wyoming, the state insurance department said it lacks regulatory authority for the reform law, reported Kaiser Health News.
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Hello Businesses Owner,

I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do.

That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC). This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority.

And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC I am personally inviting you to join our network of small businesses who know that only through our collective voices that will assure that the Affordable Care Act live up to its goal of making healthcare affordable for all.

Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of the SBHCC to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. The SBHCC discusses the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits.

Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side.

As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage. The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. To that end I like for you to hear my own personal story about how the new healthcare law will effect me.

Please go to this link at Healthcare.gov to see my story Watch My Story

Then Join the SBHCC do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or thoughts. I may be reached at wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology

Sincerely,
Howard Lee
CIO
Wirehead Technology
Tel-312-286-8416