kbp

Mar 24 2015, 08:58 AM

LTC8K6

Mar 24 2015, 08:30 AM

Why are we looking back 5 years, though?

Because it was signed into law 3/23/2010, 5 years ago.

Quote:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/us/many-will-need-to-repay-health-subsidies.html

Many Will Need to Repay Health Subsidies

Half of the households that received subsidies to help pay health insurance premiums last year under the Affordable Care Act will probably have to repay some of that money to the federal government, according to a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The foundation also predicted that 45 percent of households that received subsidies will probably get a refund, because their 2014 income was lower than what they estimated when they applied for coverage. Under the law, people can receive subsidies to help cover the cost of insurance purchased through online marketplaces if they earn between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Taxpayers generally receive subsidies in advance, with the amount based on their projected household income for the year the insurance policy will be in effect. But they must then reconcile the estimate with their actual income when filing federal taxes. Kaiser estimated that subsidy recipients who underestimated their incomes will owe $794 on average, while those who overestimated will receive average refunds of $773.

• 
  
• Half of the households that received subsidies...will probably have to repay... Kaiser estimated [they] will owe $794 on average

LTC8K6

Mar 24 2015, 09:24 AM

kbp

Mar 24 2015, 08:58 AM

LTC8K6

Mar 24 2015, 08:30 AM

Why are we looking back 5 years, though?

Because it was signed into law 3/23/2010, 5 years ago.

But no one would have been signing up for Obamacare plans until late 2013...

Quote:

 

We actually saw a reduction in the number of uninsured by 2012.

LTC8K6

Mar 24 2015, 10:12 AM

Quote:

 

We actually saw a reduction in the number of uninsured by 2012.

Says who?

LTC8K6

Mar 24 2015, 10:12 AM

Quote:

 

We actually saw a reduction in the number of uninsured by 2012.

Says who?

Quote:

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/03/24/394906828/feds-claim-obamacare-launch-is-hindering-government-transparency

Feds Claim Obamacare Launch Is Hindering Government Transparency

A heavy workload caused by the Affordable Care Act, government technology limits and staff shortages are causing unusually long delays in filling public records requests, federal health officials say.

The waits in some cases could stretch out a decade or more.

The Freedom of Information Act requires federal agencies to respond to records requests in 20 working days, though providing documents often takes much longer. The FBI, for instance, recently reported that complex requests could average more than two years to fill.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has a backlog of some 3,000 FOIA requests and says it may need 10 years or more to dig out from under some large cases.

The Justice Department disclosed the bottleneck in court papers filed Friday in a FOIA lawsuit brought by the Center for Public Integrity against the Department of Health and Human Services, the parent agency of CMS.

The suit, filed in May 2014, seeks a broad array of records as part of the Center's ongoing investigation into overcharges by private Medicare Advantage insurance plans for the elderly. The center filed suit after failing to receive any records as a result of its initial FOIA request in 2013.

In its court filing, the Justice Department argued that CMS resources "have been placed under unusual strain" in the past year due to demands of launching Obamacare

"The ability of HHS to meet its obligations under the FOIA is limited by the scarcity of its available resources," officials wrote. The CMS office that handles FOIA requests has "only a staff of 19 people to discharge the agency's FOIA responsibilities," officials wrote.

Justice Department lawyers also said CMS has been "handicapped by a lack of technology."

That's particularly the case when it comes to providing email communications. CMS said it has about 80 gigabytes of information, mostly emails, stored on software for delivery in other FOIA lawsuits, which it said came to 8 million pages.

Looking for more, the agency said, is "already straining labor hours and budget of the FOIA staff." CMS said it had only recently acquired software which should speed things up.

Liz Hempowicz, a public policy associate at the Project on Government Oversight in Washington, dubbed the status quo "ridiculous." "I think the excuse that record keeping is not up to date is absurd in 2015," she said. "These agencies need to get record keeping systems up to date. It shouldn't take that long."

The emails CMS has delivered to the Center for Public Integrity so far have been less than revelatory. Scores of messages in which CMS officials appear to be discussing important policy matters, such as how generously to pay Medicare Advantage plans, are totally blacked out.

[...]

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/03/25/obama-to-tout-health-care-law-on-fifth-anniversary/

Obama to tout health care law on fifth anniversary

President Obama will tout the Affordable Care Act on its fifth anniversary Wednesday as he continues his bid to frame the health care law as a success in the face of legal and political challenges.

Obama is set to make remarks at an event with Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, where they will announce the creation of a network of public and private partners tasked with ensuring that the health care law improves services for medical patients.

[...]

Quote:

 

http://pjmedia.com/blog/hillary-more-journalists-needed-to-get-to-the-hard-truths-that-matter/

Hillary: More Journalists Needed to ‘Get to the Hard Truths That Matter’
Then leaves journalism award ceremony before any reporters can ask her questions

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton decried “wild claims about socialism and death panels” in Obamacare as “fear tactics” that have distracted from consequential healthcare questions.

Addressing the results of Obamacare, Clinton said, “There is a lot to be proud of.”

“Today is the fifth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act and over these five years we’ve heard plenty of scare tactics – wild claims about socialism and death panels –but not nearly enough about how to keep expanding access, lowering costs and improving quality. These are complicated but very consequential questions,” Clinton said at the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting celebration.

Clinton mentioned some of the questions she thinks should be asked more often.

“Why is it, for example, that healthcare costs for our economy as a whole are finally slowing down but out-of-pocket costs for many American families are still rising? Is it at least in part because too many pharmaceutical companies take advantage of the lack of competition to charge Americans the highest prices in the world?” Clinton said.

“Is it really possible that the Supreme Court will decide to strip more than 7 million people of their ability to pay for health insurance? What will the new Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it mean for middle-class families? These are critical questions and their answers will impact tens of millions of Americans,” she also said.

Clinton told the audience Americans should be asking themselves how to improve the Affordable Care Act and how to build on the successes of Obamacare.

“Sixteen million Americans have gotten coverage, millions of young people are able to stay on their parents’ plans, insurance companies can no longer discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions or charge women higher rates just because of our gender,” Clinton said. “Innovations are actually moving us toward a better model based on the quality of care instead of the quantity. That is an important record and one that there is a lot to be proud of.”

[...]

Quote:

 

http://dailycaller.com/2015/03/23/exclusive-democratic-senators-beg-for-another-obamacare-delay/print/

EXCLUSIVE: Democratic Senators Beg For Another Obamacare Delay
Posted By Patrick Howley

A group of Democratic senators is urging the Obama administration to delay a key portion of Obamacare because the results could be “harmful and disruptive.”

In a letter exclusively obtained by The Daily Caller, Senate Democrats pleaded with Health and Human Services secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell to delay an Obamacare rule change that puts companies with 51 to 100 employees in the costlier “small group” market instead of the “large group” market. The rule change, which will result in higher premiums for many companies, goes into effect in 2016.

The letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill, Heidi Heitkamp, Chris Coons, Joe Manchin, Joe Donnelly and Jon Tester and independent Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats.

“We are writing to share our concerns regarding scheduled changes to the definition of the small group market under the Affordable Care Act (ACA),” the senators wrote in the letter, dated March 12.

“Under the law, employers with 51 to 100 employees will be included in the ACA’s definition of small group market starting in 2016. Instead of providing stability, we believe expanding the definition will force those historically defined ‘large group plans’ into the ‘small group market,’ where they could experience higher premiums, less flexibility, and new barriers to coverage. We therefore encourage you to delay the effective date in the definition change for two years so the market can more smoothly transition to the new rules.”

“We appreciate the Administration’s efforts to ensure the law is implemented in the least disruptive, most beneficial manner. For example, the Administration has delayed implementation of the employer shared responsibility requirements. At the same time, the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) has experienced delays in implementation. As enacted, the ACA was to have provided this market segment two full years of experience under the employer mandate and in SHOP exchanges before re-categorizing their plans into the small group market. Because these two very significant building blocks have not occurred as anticipated, we believe continuing on with the redefinition of small group next year would be particularly harmful and disruptive.”

Baldo

Mar 25 2015, 11:14 AM

Why do they want to delay the effective date in the definition change for two years? That puts it pass the 2016 Elections, so the Senators up for re-election won't have to face the consequences.