Obamacare Comes To Skid Row
In Los Angeles, there’s a concerted effort to enroll the homeless into Medicaid, as the federal-state health insurance program opens for the first time to all poor adults.
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In Los Angeles, there’s a concerted effort to enroll the homeless into Medicaid, as the federal-state health insurance program opens for the first time to all poor adults.
How valuable people find their new health coverage will help shape public opinion of the law going forward.
Experts say that potential trouble spots for out-of-pocket spending include prescription drugs; specialist care, including that provided by academic medical centers; and services such as physical therapy.
Going without insurance “is like gambling,” says a 43-year-old social worker. But the high deductibles of Affordable Care Act plans make them a hard sell.
Those buying some bronze and silver plans could have to spend thousands before full coverage kicks in.
Even with lots of money and navigators at supermarkets and other places, Colorado is only about 17 percent of the way to the goal of enrolling 136,000 people by the end of March.
Health law backers have stepped up efforts to persuade people aged 18 to their mid-30s to give Obamacare a chance. Reaching this demographic group is viewed by many as one of the overhaul’s biggest challenges.
Rule changes and deadline shifts have complicated the efforts of health insurance companies to prepare for a wave of new customers and “post-enrollment snafus.”
Some blame the health law, but experts say many of the trends fueling cost increases predate it.
KHN’s consumer columnist says if he lives abroad at least 330 days per year, he doesn’t, but he will eventually.
Consumer columnist Michelle Andrews outlines the health insurance options for people offered coverage at work.
Rich Roodman, Valley Medical Center’s chief executive, has won a new two-year employment contract that will pay him more than $1 million annually in salary and bonuses.
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