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Time to Care: A Discussion on Improving Paid Leave Policies for Workers, Businesses, and Our Economy – Video

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Time to Care: A Discussion on Improving Paid Leave Policies for Workers, Businesses, and Our Economy
Engage in the conversation before and during the event using the hashtag #talkgoodjobs. Many working Americans today must regularly choose between earning a ...

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Time to Care: A Discussion on Improving Paid Leave Policies for Workers, Businesses, and Our Economy - Video

Health care questions? Help is avalable

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MASON CITY | North Iowans are signing up for health insurance coverage as required under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, and help is available for those still needing to do so.

"The number of patients wanting to sign up has increased tremendously since Jan. 1," said Katie Roderick, financial counselor at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa.

She assists patients with starting the initial enrollment process for health insurance coverage within the Health Insurance Marketplace, answers questions and provides follow-up assistance as needed.

Patients who have enrolled for insurance include all ages and circumstances, from single parents to young single adults with no children, Roderick said.

CoOpportunity Health, a new nonprofit insurance cooperative that offers insurance coverage in Iowa and Nebraska, is the insurance company affiliated with Mercy-North Iowa. It reported enrollment of more than 35,000 members as of Jan. 1, 2014, far surpassing its first-year goal of 12,000 members.

MEMBERSHIP WAS SPLIT nearly evenly among people under 30, 30- to 49-year-olds and people between the ages of 50 and 64.

Another insurance option for some people is the new Iowa Health and Wellness Plan. Part of the Medicaid Extension Program, it is for people who meet income guidelines but are not eligible for Medicaid.

The Health and Wellness Plan replaces IowaCare, which was discontinued at the end of 2013.

Alice Ciavarelli, Community Care coordinator with Mercy's Population Health Department, said patients who qualified for IowaCare should automatically have been enrolled in the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan.

"The Iowa Health and Wellness Plan is going to be a very good program for patients that qualify," she said. "We encourage people to sign up for it."

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Health care questions? Help is avalable

Health care’s impact on hiring decisions in 2014 and beyond

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For almost six years, health care has been one of the most highly debated topics among politicians, the news media and the general public. Even after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ACA, was signed by President Barack Obama in 2010, the debate raged on as some people trumpeted its positives, some highlighted its negatives, and many felt uncertain of its real impact. Employers, especially those with small businesses, generally fell into the uncertain category as they waited to see the ACA's effects.

Now that we've entered 2014 and seen many of the act's elements implemented, there's still a general feeling of confusion among small businesses that make up more than 99 percent of U.S. employers. However, one thing is clear: health care reform is impacting how small businesses think about and approach hiring. A study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Harris Interactive found that 71 percent of the small business executives surveyed said the ACA would make them less likely to hire employees.

Staff size matters

The primary reason for this is that many parts of the health care law are tied to the number of employees a company has. The most common breakdowns, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, are 1-24 employees, 25-49 employees, and 50-plus employees. Of all the aspects of health care reform that are linked to staff size, small business owners need to be especially aware of two specific areas.

Employee health coverage

Employers who have 49 or fewer full-time employees are not required to offer health insurance. However, those who do want to offer their staff health coverage can do so through the Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP. Currently, the SHOP Marketplace is only available for businesses with 1-49 employees, but in 2016 it will be opened to companies with up to 100 employees.

Due to some program difficulties, the federally run SHOP exchange, which was slated to have already opened, has been delayed a year. According to the Huffington Post, small businesses that planned to acquire their insurance through the marketplace can instead sign up through an insurance broker or health insurance company. And while small business employees were originally going to be able to choose from any plan available on the exchange, for 2014, the employer will have to select the coverage for everyone.

Beginning in 2014, there are two additional changes to employer-provided health coverage that were highlighted on Healthcare.gov's small business page. Insurance companies can no longer deny your business coverage due to the health status or pre-existing conditions of any of your employees or their dependents. They also cannot raise premiums for employees with higher-than-average medical costs or those who are women. These two new rules do not apply, however, to grandfathered plans.

Health care tax credit

Employers who fall below the 25-employee mark, with employees making an average of $50,000 a year or less, and provide health insurance to their staff, may be eligible for a small business health care tax credit. Beginning this year, small businesses could be reimbursed for as much as 50 percent of their contributions toward employee premiums. The health coverage must be through the SHOP Marketplace, but there are salary restrictions. Because of the delay of the SHOP exchange, businesses that want to apply for the credit can submit their application when they file their taxes for 2014.

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Health care's impact on hiring decisions in 2014 and beyond

Health care providers partner to provide mental health care

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Story by ElenaWatts

Originally published January 25, 2014 at 10:12 P.M., updated January 26, 2014 at 12:45 A.M.

A conversation between two Crossroads leaders seated next to each other at a meeting about Medicaid has sparked a partnership that is expected to benefit the community.

Gulf Bend Center and Citizens Medical Center have joined forces to streamline the delivery of health care services with a system that benefits patients, health care providers and taxpayers.

"The most important part of the association between Gulf Bend and Citizens is to set up the foundation for a model of integrated health care with a wholistic view of the needs of the patients," said Dr. Nestor Praderio, geriatric psychiatrist and owner of Psychiatric Consulting Service in Aransas Pass.

Praderio oversees inpatient psychiatric units in Aransas Pass and Corpus Christi and treats patients with mental health issues in the Crossroads by televideo.

At the Medicaid meeting, David Way, associate executive director of Gulf Bend Center, shared his ideas about integrative health care with Stephen Thames, hospital administrator for Citizens Medical Center, to secure a letter of support for his proposal.

Thames offered more than his endorsement. He offered hospital space and medical professionals.

The $1.2 million project, funded by a Texas Department of State Health Services grant and an in-kind match from Citizens Medical Center, began in January.

Citizens Medical Center provides space on the sixth floor of the hospital for the six-person outpatient extended observation unit as well as a nursing staff.

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Health care providers partner to provide mental health care

Real Men Get Checked 2011 Health Fair – Produced by JupiterLeo.com – (646) 450-9169 – Video

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Real Men Get Checked 2011 Health Fair - Produced by JupiterLeo.com - (646) 450-9169
Produced by http://www.JupiterLeo.com - (646) 450-9169 Get Checked 4 Life (GetChecked4Life.com) (GC4L) is a non profit organization created by a concerned ph...

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Real Men Get Checked 2011 Health Fair - Produced by JupiterLeo.com - (646) 450-9169 - Video

Health care top priority at the polls: Survey

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Jessica Hume, Parliamentary Bureau Jan 24, 2014

, Last Updated: 5:33 PM ET

OTTAWA Health care is the biggest issue for Canadian voters, a new poll suggests.

In a national survey conducted this month by Abacus Data, polled Canadians regardless of age or voting intention listed health care as their top priority at the polls, at 19%.

It was followed by taxes (13%), job creation (13%) and accountability and trust (12%).

"Even though federal politicians are not talking much about health care, it remains the most important issue for Canadians," Abacus Data CEO David Coletto said.

Only surveyed Canadians between 30-44 listed something other than health care as a top concern 46% said taxes were their the primary issue as opposed to health care, at 44%.

After health care, Canadians 60 years and older were most concerned about retirement security, at 41%, and accountability, at 33%.

Fewer than 5% of respondents listed the environment or natural resource development as a top priority.

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Health care top priority at the polls: Survey

Cutting health care for refugee claimants expensive in long-run, Ont. Health Minister says

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A federal government decision to cut health care coverage for some refugee claimants is actually more expensive in the long-run than simply paying for their benefits upfront, Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews is warning in the latest salvo in the back-and-forth turf battle between the province and Ottawa.

In 2012, Ottawa clawed back health care funding for refugee claimants from 37 democratic countries people who, the federal government says, are likely to be making bogus claims. Asylum seekers whose claims are turned down are also cut off.

To the federal governments chagrin, Ontario decided to reinstate health coverage for all refugee claimants and pick up the tab itself. Ms. Matthews said Friday it is less expensive to allow these people full access to the health care system where they can get preventative treatment than to only give them care in emergencies.

Lets just pause for a moment and think about what the implementation of [the federal cut] means for frontline providers. It means that they have to say sorry, pregnant woman about to deliver baby, youre not covered, were not going to care for you, Ms. Matthews said at a health promotion event in Toronto. Do you really think our health care professionals will do that? Of course they will not, they should not, they cannot. So in the end, we were paying anyway but we were paying more than we would have had we provided better early care.

In the case of a child with a fever, for instance, Ms. Matthews said, it is cheaper for the system if that child is checked by a doctor early on than if it waits until the condition is so bad, it must visit an emergency room.

But federal Immigration Minister Chris Alexander fired back, arguing that providing health care for all refugees will only encourage those without legitimate claims to come to Canada.

It will force Ontario taxpayers and their families to line up for care behind failed asylum seekers, and it will make Canada and Ontario in particular a bigger magnet for bogus asylum seekers in the future, he said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Mr. Alexander said the money spent on benefits for refugee claimants without valid claims would be better used to help people with legitimate asylum claims travel to Canada.

Were very conscious of the fact that the most vulnerable, the most needed, the most impoverished, dont make it on our shores. They dont get a ticket on Air Canada. They dont even have a passport to make it, and they certainly dont show up in our airports. Those are the people we want to dedicate most of our resources to, he said in an interview. We were not able to do that in this pre-reform era because so much of our resources were absorbed by bogus claimants.

The health change is part of a larger overhaul of immigration policy designed to reduce the number of false claimants. Asylum seekers from the 37 countries also face fast-track hearings designed to eject as many people with bogus claims as possible, to clear the way for legitimate refugees.

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Cutting health care for refugee claimants expensive in long-run, Ont. Health Minister says

Feedback Kyle Wall Volunteer Honduras La Ceiba, Health Care Medical + Spanish Immersion Program – Video

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Feedback Kyle Wall Volunteer Honduras La Ceiba, Health Care Medical + Spanish Immersion Program
https://www.abroaderview.org Feedback Kyle Wall Volunteer Honduras La Ceiba, Health Care Medical + Spanish Immersion Program from January 1st to January 22nd...

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Feedback Kyle Wall Volunteer Honduras La Ceiba, Health Care Medical + Spanish Immersion Program - Video


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