Health Care
Health Care Law Protects Consumers
The 2010 Affordable Care Act protects consumers by requiring health insurance companies to spend between 80-85 percent of your premium dollar on medical care or improvements, instead of on advertising or executive salaries. The term used for this rule is “medical loss ratio,” and it protects consumers from insurers who increase prices without good reason or justification.
EPA Regulations Usher in Industry Change
The Clean Air Act is already one of the most successful public health programs in American history, with a return of more than $30 in benefits for every dollar invested in pollution reductions. In 2010 alone the program prevented an esti¬mated 160,000 cases of premature mortality, 130,000 heart attacks, 86,000 hospital visits, 13 million lost work days, and approximately 1.7 million asthma attacks.
Legislature Should Act on Health Care
In today’s health insurance market, too many Nebraskans pay too much for too little coverage or simply go without. Nebraska farmer Jim Knopik understands the challenge. As a farmer, his only option is increasingly unaffordable coverage in the individual market.
The Nebraska Health Benefit Exchange Act (LB 835) will create a new marketplace where people like Jim can come together to buy more affordable insurance.
Small businesses will also benefit. Businesses with up to 25 employees and a median wage of less than $50,000 will be able to access a tax credit worth up to 50 percent of their share of the premiums.
And by coming together into larger pools to purchase insurance, individuals and small businesses will be treated more like large employers are now.
With 10 cosponsors, including both Democrats and Republicans, as well as support from both consumer advocates and medical provider groups, the bill deserves the support of the legislature and governor.
By acting this session, Nebraska’s Senators can finally bring fairness to the health insurance marketplace.
Hospital lures rural doctors with unusual offer
Sun, 01/01/2012 - 16:21 — Casey FrancisThe Associated Press | By Roxana Hegeman | December 31, 2011
In this Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011 photograph, Dr. Daniel Shuman, a member of the medical staff at Ashland Health Center, leaves the records area in Ashland, Kan. The center draws doctors to rural Kansas by offering paid time for international mission work. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner) |
ASHLAND, Kan. (AP) — The hospital had lost the last doctor in a succession of those who came to the remote Kansas town and left again. A sole physician assistant kept watch over the 24-bed facility and its adjacent nursing home. It was on the verge of closing.
Then officials at the Ashland Health Center, seeking to reverse the drain of talent symptomatic of what happens across rural America, embraced an unorthodox approach to bring doctors back.
All employees, from maintenance people to physicians, get eight paid weeks off each year that they can use to do missionary work in other countries. The idea: people willing to care for the sick and suffering in developing nations might be content to do the same in a town of 855 people, more than two hours away from the nearest Starbucks.
The public hospital began advertising that benefit — which employees can use for other volunteer work or any purpose they choose, not just mission work — in Christian publications and at Catholic-run medical schools. Today, the hospital has a chief medical officer, a medical technologist, a nursing director, a nurse practitioner and other staff drawn by its so-called mission-minded recruiting. It's now looking for nurses, a dentist and a physical therapist.
Delivering Value in the Health Insurance Marketplace
If set up right, the new health insurance marketplaces will be able to organize individuals and small businesses into larger groups that are able to negotiate for better deals.
State legislators face an important decision in implementing the Affordable Care Act. Will they set up the new state-based insurance marketplaces to bring consumers together to negotiate with insurance companies for a better deal – or will they elect not to.
Affordable Care Act Will Revive and Sustain Rural Areas
Nearly 15 million young adults (19-29 years of age) in America are without health insurance. However, over 12 million of those uninsured will obtain coverage under provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
Ounce of Prevention Worth Pound of Cure
We should turn our current sick care system into a true health care system. A new Center for Rural Affairs report, Prevention and Public Health, examines how the Affordable Care Act seeks to place a greater emphasis on disease prevention and health by promoting strategies that will help create healthier people and healthier communities.
Delivering Value in the Health Insurance Marketplace
State legislators face an important decision in implementing the Affordable Care Act.
Will they set up the new state-based insurance marketplaces to bring consumers together to negotiate with insurance companies for a better deal – or will they elect not to.
Saving Money, Protecting Montana
This bill will also give the Commissioner of Insurance authority to review rate increases to determine if they are excessive, unjustified, or discriminatory. If a rate is found to be “excessive” it will be labeled as such and posted to appropriate websites.
If it is not passed, the state of Montana will be powerless to stop unreasonable rate hikes, or even review rate hike justifications. Thus, these rate increases would be born on the backs of the consumer. Knowledge is power – and this bill gives the consumer the information necessary to decide whether to continue with his or her insurance when rates increase, or to switch to a lower cost policy with another insurer.
This bill has already had a public hearing in a House committee, but the committee has yet to vote on whether to pass the bill out of committee.
Medicaid Cut Worries Rural Hospitals
A Health Care Marketplace that Works for Rural
Don't you wish there were a marketplace where you could go and easily compare health insurance policies for your family or small business?
Right now, your Department of Insurance is responsible for addressing this need by setting up a state marketplace (or maybe you've heard them called a "health insurance exchange") before 2014 to help rural people access health insurance.
At this marketplace you will be able to buy health insurance for yourself, your family, or the employees of your small business. Your state's Department of Insurance needs to hear from you today about how our marketplace should be structured to best serve the unique needs of rural Americans. Click here to find out who your insurance commissioner is and how to contact her or him.
Here are some points to address in your comments:
- Quality insurance plans should be available and accessible. The marketplace should include plans that provide choice and quality for consumers. To access these plans, we need both web-based and non web-based platforms, including phone and in-person options with trained public and private entities who can help rural residents navigate the marketplace.
- Governance of the marketplace must be transparent and represent the interests of consumers. The people most likely to buy from the marketplace (self employed, farmers and ranchers, small business owners) should be represented on the governance board. The board should be diverse in geography, expertise, and age. Individuals with a direct conflict of interest due to a financial stake in the health system should not be on the board.
- The marketplace should help individuals and small businesses pool together to negotiate for better rates. This is what big businesses do now. By allowing the new marketplace to negotiate on behalf of large pools of individuals and small businesses, we can put them back on an even playing field with the deals big business gets. Rural small businesses, their employees, and families will benefit from this function of the marketplace. Personal stories will make your comments much more powerful. Has the new health care law already benefited you, your family, or your employees? How will the marketplace be a valuable resource for you? What are your main priorities as the Department of Insurance works to develop this health insurance marketplace for Nebraskans? Be sure to include these stories in your comments below.
Personal stories will make your comments much more powerful. Has the new health care law already benefited you, your family, or your employees? How will the marketplace be a valuable resource for you? What are your main priorities as the Department of Insurance works to develop this health insurance marketplace? Be sure to include these stories in your comments below.
USD Cited For Rural Medicine Program
Mon, 03/28/2011 - 21:37 — Casey FrancisRapid City Journal | By the Assoicated Press | March 26, 2011
VERMILLION - The Sanford School of Medicine of The University of South Dakota is one of the top 10 medical schools in the country for its rural medicine program, according to the U.S. News and World Report. The magazine's "America's Best Graduate School's 2012" guide ranks USD's medical school No. 8 overall, ahead of the University of North Dakota, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and University of Wisconsin-Madison. The University of Washington was the top-ranked medical school for its rural medicine program. Medical school deans and senior faculty were polled by the publication in selecting the best programs in the U.S. The medical school's mission places an emphasis on family medicine and encourages graduates to serve people in rural areas and other underserved places in the state. The med school rankings are part of the U.S. News Media Group 2012 Best Graduate Schools rankings available online at www.usnews.com/grad . Highlights of the rankings will be published in the "Best Graduate Schools 2012" edition book, on sale April 5. http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_8c6c87f4-5940-11e0-90a0-001cc4c002e0.html
Got Health Care Questions? - Beatrice Community forum set to answer health care
Individuals interested in attending the forum can contact Steph Larsen at the Center for Rural Affairs (402.687.2103 ext 1014 or stephl@cfra.org) to RSVP or for additional information. Free pizza will be served before the forum at 6:00 pm.
What: A community forum to answer your questions about health care and the Affordable Care Act.
When and Where:
Wednesday, April 6
6:30-8:30pm
Sargent Room of the Beatrice Public Library
100 North 16th St.
Beatrice, NE
See www.cfra.org for more information about the Center for Rural Affairs.
Health Insurance Exchanges that Work for Rural
Lower population density will lead insurers to charge higher and ultimately unaffordable rates for rural residents. To avoid this, rating areas in health insurance markets should be at least statewide. Rural areas have more small businesses and more self-employed residents. Small business workers are more likely to be uninsured due to high costs in small risk pools. Therefore, health insurance marketplaces must be attractive to small employers to be successful on our rural mainstreets.
Considering these unique rural challenges requires that states listen. Governing and advisory boards for health insurance marketplaces should include serious rural representation. States should do aggressive outreach to farmers, ranchers and small town residents. After all, the key to making reform work is empowering consumers with information.
Health Insurance Marketplaces that work for Rural American Families - Report examines insurance marketplaces as Affordable Care Act reaches first anniversary
A full copy of the report can be viewed and downloaded at: http://files.cfra.org/pdf/Health-Insurance-Exchanges.pdf,
“As the first anniversary of the Affordable Care Act being signed into law arrives, we believe it is crucial to reflect on what the Act really does... what it actually has to offer, especially to rural Americans who have faced stern challenges in finding and accessing quality, affordable health care coverage,” said Jon Bailey, Center for Rural Affairs Rural Research and Analysis Director and author of the report.
The Affordable Care Act requires states to have an operating health insurance marketplace by January 2014. States have the authority to create two such marketplaces -- an American Health Benefits Exchange for individuals and a Small Business Health Options (SHOP) Exchange for businesses with up to 100 employees.
“Competitive health insurance marketplaces will benefit everyone, but since rural areas have high numbers of people without health insurance, have vastly higher numbers of people who purchase health insurance on the individual market and have more small businesses -- as well as farmers, ranchers and many other self-employed individuals -- these marketplaces will be crucial for access to affordable, quality health insurance in the countryside and in our rural communities,” explained Bailey. “Many of the questions and issues facing states as they develop their health insurance marketplaces are important to making them work for rural people.”
This report identifies issues with exchange, or marketplace, systems that affect rural areas, for example:
* Outreach to rural residents... Outreach in rural areas is challenging for a number of reasons. Residents are scattered across vast expanses of land, making personal or community outreach difficult. Communication vehicles in rural areas are limited and different than in urban settings. Resources dedicated to rural outreach are also limited. Grant programs established by the Affordable Care Act should also be written to specifically address rural outreach initiatives and some portion of grant resources be made available to implement rural outreach initiatives...
* Rating areas... the Affordable Care Act allows for geography to be used as one of the factors that insurance companies may take into account when assigning insurance rates. Lower population density may lead insurers to charge rates in rural areas that are higher and ultimately unaffordable for many rural residents. Therefore, rating areas in plans offered through health insurance marketplaces should be at least statewide. In states with particularly small populations, interstate rating areas should be allowed...
* Making the Exchanges attractive to rural employers, small businesses and the rural self-employed... Small businesses and self-employed individuals make up a substantial percentage of the rural population. Historically these workers have the highest likelihood of being uninsured due to the high cost resulting from very small risk pools. Because of the importance of small businesses to the rural economy and to rural communities, health insurance marketplaces must be attractive to small businesses employers in order to be successful in rural areas...
* Exchange governance... Existing state agencies, new state agencies or contracts with a nonprofit entity are the administrative options provided by the Affordable Care Act. Whatever option is selected by the state, there is likely to be some sort of governing or advisory board for the Exchange. These boards should include broad representation of state agencies with which the marketplace must work, interested parties and those with expertise on related matters. Governance should include geographic diversity, including rural representation, and representatives from those who will purchase coverage through the health insurance marketplace (primarily the self-employed and small businesses).
“Almost all states are in the process of developing health insurance marketplaces with an eye toward having them ready in 2012 or by early 2013. This is a new undertaking by most states -- Massachusetts, Utah, Washington, Connecticut and California are the only states that have some form of insurance marketplace already established,” added Bailey. “Given the newness of this state function, state policy-makers have many questions to answer and issues to address.”
According to Bailey, rural places and the residents of them have unique circumstances that must be considered and addressed in the development of Exchanges, state-based or otherwise. By their very nature rural places and their residents are more isolated. That is particularly true of low-income rural residents. Information about health insurance marketplaces will be difficult to spread to these populations without a specific emphasis and significant resources.
“For example, conventional wisdom appears to be that Exchanges must be web-based to be effective and efficient. This may be true for the largest number of people across the nation, but it is not necessarily true for many rural residents who generally have less access to high speed telecommunications technology. Again, that is particularly true for low-income rural residents and residents of remote rural areas,” concluded Bailey.
