Tag: Obamacare

Healthcare Representatives Say Obamacare is Good for W.Va.

The MBA program at Shepherd University hosted a panel discussion in Martinsburg Wednesday night that drew in a large crowd. The topic – the Affordable Care Act. The goal of the discussion was to look at the good, the bad, and the unknown and discuss how it directly affects West Virginians.

Dozens of people attended the event at the historic McFarland House in Martinsburg. Like most controversial pieces of legislation, the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, has received plenty of attention since it was first enacted in 2010 – good and bad.

Four panelists from various healthcare organizations were invited to speak Wednesday both in support of and against the law more commonly called Obamacare.

Louise Reese is the CEO of the West Virginia Primary Care Association and was one of the four speakers. She says it’s highly unlikely the nation will see a full repeal of the law like many opponents have called for.

“We have implemented so many components of the Affordable Care Act that trying to repeal or bring it back would create more chaos then it would be to correct the problems,” Reese explained, “so even if our political change is shifted to a Republican base where they would prefer to repeal Obamacare, I don’t think that, that is a reality once they begin to look at all the successes of the program that it would do more harm than intended if they were to try and repeal it.”

Reese believes many who call for the repeal don’t fully understand how the Affordable Care Act works. For West Virginia, Reese says Medicaid expansion alone under the ACA was a game changer.

“When people realize that they will have access to primary care, that they can go to have a radiology procedure that they were afraid to have done because of the cost, there’s just a tremendous burden taken off their shoulders. So most of the patients that the health centers are serving are thankful when they learn that they will now qualify for Medicaid.”

Reese says before the ACA passed, West Virginia had one of the highest rates of uninsured Americans. In the first year of expansion, more than 70,000 West Virginians were able to obtain coverage under Medicaid.

The third open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act will begin on November 1 and end in late January 2016.

Few Young People Among W.Va's New Health Care Law Enrollees

Almost 20,000 West Virginians have enrolled in health coverage through the federal marketplace.As of March 31, U.S. Department of Health and Human…

  Almost 20,000 West Virginians have enrolled in health coverage through the federal marketplace.

As of March 31, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said only 6 percent of West Virginia’s federal exchange signups were between 18 to 25 years old, tied with Minnesota for the lowest percentage in the country. At 13 percent of exchange signups, West Virginia is also tied with Arizona and Vermont for lowest percentage of 26 to 34 year olds enrolled.

Of about 19,860 West Virginia enrollees, 57 percent are female.

The next enrollment period for private health insurance coverage for 2015 under the health law is scheduled to run Nov. 15 through Feb. 15.

W.Va. Native Sylvia Mathews Burwell May Replace Sebelius as HHS Secretary

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is resigning and President Obama is expected to replace her with West Virginia native Sylvia Mathews Burwell.

Senator Jay Rockefeller, (D-W.Va.) released the following statement about Sebelius’ resignation:

“For the past five years, I have marveled at Secretary Sebelius’s grace under pressure. She never backed down from the tremendous responsibilities of her position, which were of a magnitude no other cabinet secretary has ever had to face with regard to domestic policy.”

Sebelius has been under attack for problems with implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

“Not once did she let attacks from both the left and the right deter her from the goal of bringing health care to millions of uninsured Americans, and working to improve the health of people across the nation,” Rockefeller said.

A year ago Mathews Burwell went through Senate hearing and was confirmed as head of the Office of Management and Budget. Before taking the position at OMB she served as President of the Walmart Foundation and was President of the Global Development Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

During President Clinton’s administration Mathews Burwell was Deputy White House Chief of Staff, and worked at OMB.

Mathews Burwell was featured on the series Inspiring West Virginians. Listen to Sylvia’s story – produced when she was President of the Global Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

Health Care Glitch Affects 18,000 W.Va. Residents

  A state official says a glitch in the federal health insurance marketplace has affected about 18,000 West Virginians trying to sign up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Jeremiah Samples of the state Department of Health and Human Resources tells the Charleston Gazette the federal exchange is having problems transferring account information to and from West Virginia’s system. He says some other states are having the same problem.

About 10,000 residents whose accounts should have been transferred because they’re eligible for Medicaid will have to sign up again, this time with the state. And about 8,000 residents who tried to sign up for Medicaid but were found to be ineligible now must go to the federal exchange if they want insurance because their information also was not transferred.

Analysis: West Virginia Second in Benefits from Obamacare

West Virginia ranks second only to New York as the state getting the best deal from Obamacare, according to a new report from the company Evolution Finance.

The report looks at what all 50 states received through the Affordable Care Act. It uses 11 metrics designed to gauge the law’s impact on consumers and each state’s budget.

States that chose to expand their Medicaid rolls under the law, such as West Virginia, benefited the most. Taxpayers in states that rejected Medicaid expansion are subsidizing health care in other states, the report says.

Here are some of the report’s top findings:

1. West Virginia receives a return of $5.11 for every $1 it spends on the ACA, according to the report, behind only Vermont in the rate of return.

2. West Virginia also had the highest percentage of people with pre-existing conditions who can no longer be denied insurance. More than 29 percent of West Virginians under 65 have such a pre-existing condition.

3. State residents are also saving more than $212 per person on uncompensated care because of Obamacare.

Uncompensated care is the cost hospitals have to pass on to other consumers because certain people cannot pay. West Virginia ranked third in that measure. It is expected to decline as a result of the ACA’s new minimum care requirements as well as the Medicaid expansion.

Credit Ashton Marra
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Governor Tomblin explains his decision to expand Medicaid in West Virginia during a Charleston press conference.

4. West Virginians have the most emergency room visits per capita of any state – 11 percent.

High emergency room visit rates are considered a sign of a poorly functioning health care system, as emergency patients are most commonly uninsured, low-income individuals who lack the means to pay for regular care and, therefore, only receive medical attention under dire circumstances.

Evolution Finance is a financial services company that runs personal financial websites such as Wallet Hub. It says the report “sought to cut through the rhetoric and uncertainty to provide an unbiased, non-partisan assessment of how the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act will affect each state from a purely economic standpoint, considering both the state government and individual perspectives.”

60,000 More Residents Qualify for Medicaid

West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Cabinet Secretary Karen Bowling announced today that a second round of 61,000 auto-enrollment…

West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Cabinet Secretary Karen Bowling announced today that a second round of 61,000 auto-enrollment letters have been mailed to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients and parents of children covered by Medicaid notifying them that they may automatically qualify for health insurance coverage.
 

To date, the DHHR has determined that 58,390 consumers are eligible for Medicaid expansion. 

The recipients of the second letter received a simple form asking if they wish to auto-enroll in Medicaid coverage.  A response is requested by December 18.
 
The Affordable Care Act of 2010 gave states, including West Virginia, the option to expand their Medicaid program to include individuals who were not previously eligible.  Governor Tomblin chose to expand Medicaid coverage.
 
Eligibility for Medicaid will depend on two factors: modified adjusted income and the size of the household.
 

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