Prasad Yarlagedda, left, showed Gov. Steve Beshear on Oct. 2, 2013, how the new Kynect health exchange kiosks worked at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital. Most Lexington hospitals signed up to inform people about their health insurance options. Photos by Mark Cornelison | Staff MARKCORNELISONHerald-Leader|BuyPhoto

Kentucky's state-run implementation of health care reform, Kynect, has enrolled 15,000 people in insurance programs while the federal effort has been hampered by technical problems.

At a news conference Monday, President Barack Obama said he was frustrated with the issues that have plagued the federal system run through Healthcare.gov.

But in Kentucky, things appear to be running smoothly.

Kentucky was one of 17 states that decided to create its own health insurance marketplace known as an exchange. The mostly web-based program is centered at Kynect.Ky.gov, where Kentuckians register to be enrolled in health insurance and explore their options.

"We're incredibly proud of the continued success of Kynect, which has helped thousands of Kentuckians find affordable health coverage, many of them for the first time," Gov. Steve Beshear said Monday in a written statement. "In the first two weeks of operation alone, an average of 1,000 Kentuckians enrolled in new health coverage each day which made Kentucky's health benefit exchange among the nation's most reliable and successful."

Beshear added that Kynect, pronounced "connect," was "a national model for success."

As of Monday morning, 272,339 people had visited the Kynect website, viewing more than 6 million pages, according to the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Also, 241,000 people entered their personal information to see whether they qualified for subsidies, discounts or government-funded programs such Medicaid.

Beshear said that level of participation indicated the pent-up demand for health care.

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Health care enrollment operates smoothly in Kentucky, but federal website remains problematic

Health Care Workers Demand Pay from Richfield Health Agency
There are new developments in our 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigation into Crystal Care, the home health agency that hasn #39;t paid its workers in months. That #39;s de...

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Health Care Workers Demand Pay from Richfield Health Agency - Video

The Bottom Line : Health Care and the BBB
NISKAYUNA -- On top of any confusion about the Affordable Care Act, as the October 1st start date for some parts of it inches closer, the number of complaint...

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The Bottom Line : Health Care and the BBB - Video

Veterans enrolled in Veterans Affairs (VA) health care programs do not need to take additional action on their health insurance before Jan 1, 2014, to become compliant with the Affordable Care Act.

President Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires people who can afford health insurance to have coverage in 2014, or otherwise pay a fine.

The bottom line is that veterans who enrolled in the VA health care system are covered by the conditions of the Affordable Care Act, as far as having insurance, said Stephen Gaither, public affairs officer for Harry S Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia.

They dont really have to do anything, as long as theyve maintained their enrollment with VA Health Care, he said.

The VA health care programs include the Veterans Health Care Program, the VA Civilian Health and Medical Program and the Spina Bifida Health Care Benefits Program.

Gaither said the VA is encouraging veterans and other beneficiaries who are not enrolled in the VA health system to do so.

Check it out, fill out an application and submit it, he said. Now, they may not be eligible, but the only way to really find out is to fill out the application and submit it.

The VA health care application can be submitted online at http://www.va.gov.

You can also pick up the form at a local VA health care facility, such as the outpatient clinic there in Jefferson City or the medical center here in Columbia, Gaither said. Also, there are credentialed service officers for veterans service organizations, such as the Missouri Veterans Commission, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion and a lot of other additional organizations.

More information can also be found at http://www.va.gov/healthbenefits and http://www.va.gov/aca.

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VA counsels veterans on health care options

Article updated: 10/20/2013 6:52 AM

The greatest threats to the ultimate success of the new health care law come not from the technical problems that have plagued its rollout, but from a hostile political climate in many individual states and from potentially serious weaknesses in its design.

Those are the conclusions of a cautionary report just published by the Brookings Institution's new Center for Effective Public Management.

The authors are center director Elaine C. Kamarck, who served as a top policy adviser in the Clinton administration, and Sheila P. Burke, who was chief of staff and top health care adviser to former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan..

"The highly politicized environment in which this law takes effect means that in the short-term people will see what they want to see," Burke and Kamarck wrote.

To an extraordinary degree, they argued, the Affordable Care Act's fate has been put in the hands of individual states and therefore, will be subjected to political forces within those states.

Its launch also coincides with an election year, which means that the agendas of the two parties will come into play. The law that is the signature achievement of Barack Obama's presidency was passed by a Democratic-led Congress without a single Republican vote.

"Going forward, politicians are hoping to use the health care issue to impact the midterm elections of 2014," Burke and Kamarck wrote. "For Republicans, the hope is that the long-standing skepticism about the law will be reinforced as it is implemented and yield a political bonus in the 2014 midterm elections. Democrats obviously hope that a positive start will help reduce barriers to implementing the law and improve their political prospects."

State elected officials have moved in partisan directions as they have exercised their options within the law. Among those choices: whether to expand their Medicaid programs to cover the poor, whether to set up their own health insurance exchanges or rely on the federal one, and how aggressively to promote the new coverage options.

Most Democratic governors have built their own state exchanges, expanded their Medicaid programs, and are devoting intense effort toward making the Affordable Care Act work. Generally, their efforts have been proceeding relatively smoothly thus far.

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Health care law's fate could hinge on political climate in states

We've seen a bit of a bumpy ride when it came to the roll out of health care exchanges and plans under President Obama's Affordable Care Act. But New York state officials involved in the exchange say the wrinkles in the program should be ironed out soon. Capital Tonight's Nick Reisman gives us a status update.

NEW YORK STATE -- Obamacare supporters are urging patience as the rollout of the health care law takes effect. New York's health exchange went into place October 1st and while some users experienced issues with website, state health officials more than 130,000 people have completed the application process. But the department is not releasing the number of people that have bought insurance.

"Our projections are at full implementation, which is about three years, 1.1 million New Yorkers sign up for coverage in our marketplace and we think we're on target with our estimates in the first year," said Donna Frescatore, New York State of Health Executive Director.

The exchange is meant to be a market place where insurance companies enter a pool and customers can pick a plan at a lower cost in order to meet the individual mandate requirement under the health care law. Though the site had a bumpy start several weeks ago, health department officials stress it's under control.

Frescatore said, "Some individuals continue to run into minor technical difficulties and so we have our customer service center available to help them as well as our technicians who are on site twenty four seven to make enhancements as they need to make them."

Meanwhile, organizations want to ensure that New Yorkers are aware of the insurance exchange and how to access it. The Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy is trying to spread awareness of the new law in minority and low-income areas of the state.

"What success is going to look like is going to be making sure people get the care that they need and I think as people understand this is a way for them to get the care at an affordable we'll continue to see folks going to register for coverage," said Kate Breslin of the Schuyler Center.

While the exchange on the federal level has experienced widespread glitches and made it difficult for some customers to access, Kate Breslin of the Schuyler Center says it's too early to judge the effectiveness of Obamacare before the potential benefits are realized.

Breslin said, "What we have right now is a seed and we get to see whether it grows and it would be hard to make a judgment about the success until people start using their health care coverage."

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Smooth ride ahead for health care exchanges?

Young, healthy people are the targets, crucial to the success of the nations new federal health care law. They rarely see a doctor and would pay premiums for years to come. Their money would help cover the care of older and sicker customers.

And one of the largest experiments to educate and ultimately enroll them is underway in California.

California State University, with more than 437,000 students across 23 campuses, is applying a $1.25 million federal grant to reach students, their families, part-time staff and even those who apply to universities but dont enroll. Plying them with pizza and luring them with hip-hop, campus leaders and student ambassadors are dangling subsidies for signing up and warning that even a simple sports injury could spell financial ruin.

They are talking to people like Martina Rose Rocks, who was scurrying across campus on a recent afternoon when she came upon multicolored tents outfitted with flat-screen televisions. A DJ spun records, fitted in an oversized sweatshirt bearing a portrait of President Barack Obama.

Rocks, a full-time student at Chico State University, is without health coverage, so the pitch she would get from a volunteer with the state insurance marketplace caught her attention. Especially attractive was paying as little as $5 a month after receiving a federal subsidy based on her age, income and residence, she said.

Rocks, 32, said she plans to sign up for a plan after doing more research. She hopes to have coverage as soon as the first of the year.

Its really scary not to have health insurance, she said.

While they may not use much health care, costs for students tend to be extremely low because they qualify for sizable subsidies, said Peter V. Lee, executive director of Covered California, the states health care exchange.So they have huge rationale, he said.

The man selected to lead the systems outreach campaign is Dr. Walter Zelman, chair of the Department of Health Science at California State University, Los Angeles. Zelman has spent decades working on health policy, including with Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi in the early 1990s when he helped develop a universal coverage plan that became a model for plans proposed by the Clinton administration.

Two years ago, he was working at CSU with interns whose project involved contacting the state exchange and urging officials to give special attention to students because of the high numbers of uninsured.

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California universities pitch health care reform with deejays, pizza and peace of mind

Health Care Hacking - Is Your Personal Information Safe? - Wake Up America
A Real Problem - Hackers Are Targeting New Health Care Website Health Care Hacking - Is Your Personal Information Safe? - Wake Up America.

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Health Care Hacking - Is Your Personal Information Safe? - Wake Up America - Video

Covered California: Your destination for affordable, quality health care, including Medi-Cal
Covered California https://www.coveredca.com Millions of Californians will be able to choose affordable, quality health insurance coverage offered through Co...

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Covered California: Your destination for affordable, quality health care, including Medi-Cal - Video

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 17, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA) announced today that it will issue its 2013 third quarter earnings release after close of market on October 23, 2013.

A conference call to discuss the 2013 third quarter earnings will be held on Thursday, October 24th at 10 am Pacific Time. The dial in number for the conference call is (888) 401-4669 and the participant code is "Sabra." A replay of the call will also be available by dialing (888) 203-1112, passcode 2072138 for 30 days following the call.

ABOUT SABRA

Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. (SBRA), a Maryland corporation, operates as a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust (a "REIT") that, through its subsidiaries, owns and invests in real estate serving the healthcare industry. Sabra leases properties to tenants and operators throughout the United States.

The Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=8563

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Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. Announces 2013 Third Quarter Earnings Release Date and Conference Call

Community Care Incorporated, the non-for profit health care organization, is currently being investigated for possible fraud with their Medicaid billing.

The organization gets most of its funds from the Medicaid program. Federal regulations require all payments be temporarily suspended during the investigation and with that, CCI would have to close down. But the board of directors was able to make a deal.

David Pillers, Vice President of the organization's Board of Directors says in order to keep all of their facilities up and running the board had no choice but to fire their management team. That's including the C-E-O, C-O-O, C-F-O and The Director of Human Resources.

"It was very difficult for us to do. We've had a long standing relationship and we considered them to be very qualified employees, and management staff working closely with those. So it's always a difficult decision to terminate people," he said.

Community Care provides health care services to the disabled in-homes, and facilities in several Eastern Iowa Counties, but its main administration office is based in Dewitt. The news has people in the small town wondering about the impact.

"Yes, it's shocking. I mean there are a lot of people working. The paychecks come in to our community," said Don Ron of Dewitt, IA.

The Community Care Board of Directors has been able to keep operations going by also bringing in an outside management consulting company. They don't know how long the investigation will take, but they hope to keep services up and running in the meantime.

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Local Health Care Organization Fires Management After Fraud Investigation

Inside a command center at a Chicago marketing agency, a small team of social media experts hunkers down to monitor online chatter about President Barack Obama's health care law, answer questions on Facebook from discouraged consumers and post information and advice on Twitter.

They are holding down the fort for a $33 million ad campaign planned for Get Covered Illinois, the new health insurance marketplace that's a cornerstone of the law, also known as "Obamacare," in what is arguably the biggest social media campaign rolled out by the state of Illinois.

As the state-contracted agency pivots away from a full-force marketing barrage because of early technical problems with the law's federal website, the social media team has assumed responsibility for educating consumers and tending to their frustrations in Obama's home state.

"Application has been pending for days. (hash)gettingimpatient," read one incoming tweet last week, a few days before The Associated Press was given an exclusive peek inside the command center at FleishmanHillard.

"We're making sure we're listening and we're supportive and we're there for them when they're having difficulties," said Meg Poulelis, 28, who leads the team and worked previously on social media accounts for Gatorade and Chevrolet.

Compared to other states, Illinois is in an unusual spot, with millions to spend on promotion but no control over fixing the federal site's technical glitches. Most of the other 35 states relying on Washington to run their marketplaces are led by Republicans who've been hostile to the law and have done nothing to promote it. States promoting the law generally are running their own marketplaces.

Months before the rollout of the law's marketplaces, one for every state, Illinois officials envisioned a social media marketing push aimed at uninsured healthy young adults, a key demographic for the law's success.

The campaign would use Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to convince young people to buy health insurance. It would be part of an ad blitz with TV, radio, billboards and other paid advertising.

Now, nearly three weeks after the launch, the social media campaign is underway, but it's muted. Paid advertising is on hold. With technology problems plaguing the federal website, state officials decided there's no reason to boost traffic now.

While most Republican-led states are taking a hands-off approach, Illinois sought federal grants that could be used for advertising. The $33 million campaign is funded entirely by those grants.

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Health care law turns to social media in Illinois

Iliana Mora, COO of Erie Family Health Center, talks about the Affordable Care Act.

As political debate continues to rage over President Barack Obama's signature health care overhaul, the law already is reshaping health care in the most troubled communities in Chicago and its suburbs.

Since 2010, Illinois health clinics have received more than $50 million in development grants under the Affordable Care Act to build new facilities, expand operations, modernize equipment and improve the overall quality of care for the state's poor and uninsured.

The money has sparked a building boom for health centers across the region and is ushering in a new era of competition to care for the growing pool of insured Americans. Supporters say this competition will drive down costs for patients and expand their options, allowing them to shop around for the best care and not just the most affordable.

But competition is a new challenge for small community health clinics that operate on shoestring budgets. As treating the poor becomes more profitable, bigger and better-funded medical centers are expected to seek a larger share of the marketplace.

"If the larger organizations decide they're going hard after all those newly insured patients, you could see a feeding frenzy," said Dr. Robert Winn, associate vice president for community-based practice at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System. "I hope it doesn't happen, but I'd be wary of it."

On Chicago's West Side, work crews this week continued to install the glass and metal exterior on a $44 million five-story clinic that will treat four times the number of patients seen at the university system's current largest facility.

Six miles north, construction is winding down on a new 24-room health center with updated technology and even a rooftop garden. When it opens this fall, it will be the ninth clinic run by the nonprofit Near North Health Service Corp.

In Waukegan, on a commercial street lined with taquerias and other Latino-owned businesses, the Erie Family Health Center of Chicago is embarking on a $7 million renovation of a vacant bank building into a modern medical facility.

And on Chicago's Far South Side, in the historic but blighted Pullman neighborhood, city officials recently joined employees of the Chicago Family Health Center at the opening of a sun-filled $10 million health clinic that triples the capacity of the cramped center it's replacing.

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Will health care boom harm small clinics?

UPMC -- Your Health Care Simplified
Wall-to-Wall Studios designed and executed this animated motion graphic video that promotes UPMC #39;s website, http://www.YourHealthCareSimplified.org, where you and e...

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UPMC -- Your Health Care Simplified - Video

Health Care Services in BC Part 2
Health care services in BC are a for-profit commodity or a not-for-profit human right? David Schreck a former member of the legislative assembly in BC answer...

By: Ion Delsol

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Health Care Services in BC Part 2 - Video

Londoners alarmed by attacks on health care
We #39;ve launched a poster campaign in seven European capitals, supported by the European Commisssion, to highlight the threat to health care in the world #39;s con...

By: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

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Londoners alarmed by attacks on health care - Video

Overstating Effects: Obama on Health Care #39;s Cost Curve
http://www.flackcheck.org - President Barack Obama (D) exaggerates when he credits the health care law with bending the health care spending curve.

By: FlackCheck

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Overstating Effects: Obama on Health Care's Cost Curve - Video

10/17/2013 - West Side Leader

AKRON As of Oct. 15, the city of Akron has opened two computer-assisted Affordable Care Act (ACA) health care sign-up sites for citizens who do not have computer access or who need help electronically signing up for health care.

The Lawton Street Community Center, 1225 Lawton St. in West Akron, and Firestone Park Community Center, 1480 Girard St. in South Akron, will be open each Tuesday and Thursday (until further notice) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3:30 to 6 p.m. Certified application counselors from Summit County Public Health will be at each site to assist residents and to answer any questions.

The Affordable Care Act can help many of our residents, but only if they sign up, said Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic. It is important that our residents get all the assistance they need to sign up for health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act. I am thankful to County Executive Russ Pry and the Summit County Public Health Department for partnering with us to help our citizens.

The city also has information on the new ACA and the Health Insurance Marketplace on its website, http://www.akronohio.gov. From the citys homepage, residents can access the national website, http://www.HealthCare.gov, or Summit County Public Health to obtain online applications. Residents also can call 800-318-2596 to reach the 24-hour, seven-days-a-week national call center where trained customer service representatives will answer all questions about the Health Insurance Marketplace in 150 languages, according to city officials.

The city also is providing a short-form paper application to residents. Those are available at all city of Akron recreation centers and in the lobby of the Municipal Building, 166 S. High St. in Downtown Akron.

CLEVELAND Residents who had been paying fees to the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) will not be paying them now that a judge has ruled against the district.

In the case Northeast Ohio Regional Storm District v. Bath Township, et al, the Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals ruled against NEORSD. In the Sept. 26 ruling, judges said the district does not have the authority to collect fees from residents to fund its storm water projects.

Sewer district officials said they plan to appeal the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court, but in the meantime the fees will be suspended.

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City of Akron opening two computer-assisted health care sign-up sites

When Lake Shore Health Care Center in Irving closes Jan. 31, many residents in need of an emergency room will have to drive longer distances for treatment of their medical emergencies, according to a Chautauqua County legislator.

We can measure Lake Shores closing in lost jobs and in peoples lives, said Legislator George Borrello, R-Irving.

Those needing mental health care will have to travel farther, too, but still might struggle to find the help they need.

I am really worried about services that have been provided by the behavioral health unit, said Christine Schuyler, director of the county Department of Health and Human Services.

She said Lake Shores unit has 24 inpatient beds. Another nearby place for inpatient mental health services is at WCA in Jamestown. But patients already fill that facility most of the time, she said.

The residents of the northern area of the county and even Erie County and Cattaraugus County who need mental health services will suffer with the loss of those beds, she said.

Hospital officials announced Lake Shores closing Wednesday, leaving 460 employees without jobs and eliminating one of Chautauqua Countys largest employers.

The facility also has 120 beds for long-term care. The health care center includes an emergency room and a residential program for rehabilitation of womens chemical dependency.

Many people are dependent on the facility, including those in the Seneca Nation, Borrello said.

Patients at Lake Shore at the time of closing will be transferred to Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk, and those in the program for long-term care will be relocated to other facilities with skilled-nursing services.

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Closing of Lake Shore Health Care Center prompts concerns over impact on patients, employees

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) will release its analysis of the latest quality results in its State of Health Care Quality Report 2013. Findings include:

The 2013 State of Health Care Quality Report summarizes calendar year 2012 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) results from health plans covering 136 million people, or 43 percent of the U.S. population. HEDIS is health cares most widely used performance improvement tool.

WHO:

NCQA President Margaret E. OKane will brief journalists on the report.

-- Joseph V. Agostini, Chief Medical Officer for Medicare Collaborations, Aetna

-- Charles J. Homer, MD, CEO, National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality

-- Mark A. Lepage, MD, CEO, Security Health Plan

-- Nora Wells, Co-Director Family Voices National Center for Family Professional Partnerships, Family Voices

WHEN:

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Health Care Quality Study: Good News, Bad News and in Between