Voters Fret High Medical Bills Are Being Ignored by Presidential Rivals
Tom Zawierucha, 58, a building services worker in New Jersey, wishes candidates would talk more about protecting older Americans from big medical bills. Teresa Morton, 43, a freight dispatcher in Memphis, Tennessee, with two teenagers, wants to hear more about how elected officials would help working Americans saddled with unaffordable deductibles. Yessica Gray, 28, a…
Long-Term Care Facilities Must Provide Addiction Care, Advocates Say
When you think about the opioid crisis, the image of adults in their 20s, 30s, even sometimes those who are middle-aged, may come to mind. Rightly so, since most overdose deaths occur in people between ages 25 and 64. But did you know older adults are increasingly at risk of overdosing from opioids, too? In fact, from 2021…
Domestic partner health insurance: a coverage option for unmarried couples
In this article What is a domestic partnership? Which states recognize domestic partnerships? Are domestic partner health benefits the same for same-sex and opposite-sex couples? Do Marketplace plans offer domestic partnership health insurance benefits? Is my employer required to provide domestic partner health insurance? How do I add my domestic partner to my health insurance?…
DACA news: 100,000 Dreamers become eligible for Marketplace health insurance
Under a Biden administration rule change, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients will be eligible to enroll through the health insurance Marketplace and apply for tax credits starting Nov. 1, 2024.1 The federal government estimates that 100,000 people will be newly eligible for Marketplace coverage under the rule.2 Ever since the ACA Marketplaces opened…
Exclusive: Emails Reveal How Health Departments Struggle To Track Human Cases of Bird Flu
Bird flu cases have more than doubled in the country within a few weeks, but researchers can’t determine why the spike is happening because surveillance for human infections has been patchy for seven months. Just this week, California reported its 15th infection in dairy workers and Washington state reported seven probable cases in poultry workers.…
Georgia switches to state-run health insurance Marketplace for 2025 coverage
In this article How do Georgia residents currently enroll in Marketplace coverage? Can residents use Georgia Access to enroll in 2024 coverage? What’s changing for residents who need Marketplace health insurance? What’s staying the same for Georgia Marketplace enrollees? What do Georgia enrollees need to do this fall? Starting Nov. 1, 2024, Georgia residents will…
California Mental Health Agency Director To Resign Following Conflict of Interest Allegations
California’s mental health commission on Thursday announced its executive director would resign amid revelations that he traveled to the U.K. courtesy of a state vendor while he sought to prevent a budget cut that would have defunded the company’s contract. Toby Ewing, executive director of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, will step…
Presidential Election Puts Affordable Care Act Back in the Bull’s-Eye
Health care is suddenly front and center in the final sprint to the presidential election, and the outcome will shape the Affordable Care Act and the coverage it gives to more than 40 million people. Besides reproductive rights, health care for most of the campaign has been an in-the-shadows issue. However, recent comments from former…
Finalized federal rule reduces total duration of short-term health plans to 4 months
A finalized federal rule announced by the Departments of Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Labor in March 2024, has imposed new nationwide duration limits on short-term limited duration insurance (STLDI) plans. The rule – which applies to plans sold or issued on or after September 1, 2024 – limits new STLDI plans to three-month…
ACA open enrollment: what’s new for 2025
In this article DACA recipients may be eligible to use the Marketplace Georgia switches to state-run Marketplace platform State-funded health insurance subsidies change in several states Some Oregon enrollees may switch to Basic Health Program Individual and family premium increases average 6-7% At least 18 states will see carrier entries or exits New short-term health…