The New York Times (4/20,
Rabin) reports, "According to the Congressional Budget Office,
some 32 million more Americans will have insurance by 2019 under
the new [healthcare] law, about half of whom will be buying
health insurance on the individual market for the first time
(the other half will be covered for the first time under
Medicaid, which is being expanded to include more of the poor)."
Yet, some experts are "skeptical that so many uninsured people
would actually start buying insurance." Data show that most
uninsured people "earn less than 200 percent of the federal
poverty level," and 60% cite price as the main barrier to
obtaining health coverage. Still, officials say that the new law
includes subsidies which will help to offset the cost of health
insurance.
Some
Health Insurers Extending Young Adult Coverage Ahead Of Sept. 23
Deadline.
USA Today (4/20, Young)
reports that on Monday, "United Healthcare, Humana, Kaiser
Permanente, and WellPoint said they will put into effect some
provisions of the new healthcare law ahead of schedule to let
adult children stay on parents' plans until age 26." Although
"the law's provisions relating to young adults won't take effect
until Sept. 23...the companies said they are changing rules now
to prevent young adults from falling into a coverage gap. Many
plans have required adult children stay in school to keep
dependent coverage, and age cutoffs vary by state."
The AP (4/20)
reports that "UnitedHealth...said its extension starts
immediately and extends coverage that graduating college
students currently have from their parents until the healthcare
reform provision takes effect.." For its part, WellPoint "said
its extension starts June 1 and will extend coverage to all
dependents." Notably, "the extension, which maintains coverage
for young customers who generally use less healthcare, is not
expected to affect premiums overall."
According to the
Minneapolis Star Tribune (4/20, Yee), "Minnesota insurers
said Monday they are looking at the issue. Blue Cross and Blue
Shield of Minnesota said it would follow the lead of the
national insurers for its members in the individual and small
group markets," while "Medica said it would do so for members in
the individual market, according to the Minnesota Council of
Health Plans."
Modern Healthcare
(4/20), Dow Jones Newswire
(4/20, Wisenberg,) also cover the story, as did the
NPR (4/19, Rovner) "Shots"
blog and the Business Courier of
Cincinnati (4/19).
Middle-Income Americans Losing Health Insurance Faster Than
Others.
The
New York Times (4/19,
Andrews) "Prescriptions" blog reported, "A combination of rising
health insurance premiums and falling wages has hit
middle-income people especially hard, causing them to lose
health insurance coverage faster than workers both poorer and
richer than they are," according to data released by the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation. "Over the 10-year period between 1999
and 2008, more than two million people with incomes from 200 to
399 percent of the federal poverty level (roughly $44,000 to
$88,000 for a family of four), became uninsured -- an increase
of 2.4 percentage points to 12.9 million people." That
"represents an uninsurance rate of 16.2 percent," whereas "the
5.9 million people with incomes at or greater than 400 percent
of poverty experienced an increase in uninsurance of 1
percentage point, to 5.8 percent in 2008."
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