Whether your group doesn’t offer a health plan for employees or you’re considering dropping your group plan and letting your employees migrate to the new health insurance exchange established by the ACA, your employees will appreciate some assistance with enrollment. States are setting up In-Person Assistance programs to help individuals and families enroll in the new health plans to become eligible for the premium assistance.
Archives for September 2013
Covered California wants “Boots on the Ground” Assistance
As Covered California ramps up for open enrollment for their “premium assistance” eligible health insurance plans starting in October, Julie Wiegand of Covered California declared they need “boots on the ground” in the form of Certified Enrollment Counselors. Formerly known as Assisters, Certified Enrollment Counselors (CEC) are expected to play a significant part with enrollment in many different communities.
Blue Shield Reduces Health Plan Premiums
In a market that most people won’t ever see, Blue Shield of California announced they were lowering their health insurance premiums for California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) HMO plans. This bucks the trend of the other carriers raising rates by as much as 9%.
Mandatory Group Health Plan Employee Notification under ACA
The Affordable Care Act requires that notices about the health insurance exchanges have to be given to current workers no later than Oct. 1, 2013. The notices have to be given to new workers on the day they are hired.
Mt. Judah and Donner Pass Hike
The original transcontinental tunnels and snow sheds over Donner Summit were abandoned in 1993 for the tunnel under Mt. Judah. After hiking to the top of Mt. Judah you can walk the many miles of tunnels and cliffs blasted out by Chinese labor in the 1860’s. The concrete snow sheds that replaced the wooden coverings that were prone to fire from the steam engine embers, is now a canvass for graffiti art.
Sacramento Rally for Improving Birth
While western medicine has made tremendous progress in reducing infant and mother mortality, we have also cultivated stereotypes and assumptions about the delivery of a baby that can be a disservice to the mother. Physicians and hospitals have perpetuated a myth that women can’t deliver a baby on their own and it is only safe to give birth at a hospital. Participants in this medical fantasy have also lobbied governments for laws giving them a near monopoly on for the reimbursement of maternity services limiting financial access to midwives and doulas.