The Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted an event Wednesday addressing changes in health care reform.

The Chamber pulled together a panel of industry experts to help businesses understand the impact of health care reform on them. Topics included small business tax credits as well as potential penalties for employers.

Organizers said one of the misunderstood components is a health exchange for individuals.

"For individuals that earn less than 400 percent of the federal poverty level, they would be eligible for some type of subsidy in the exchange. The exchange right now for Ohio is going to be run by the federal government. But, we're also assuming the state will be in some kind of partnership with them," said John Cooper of Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, which was one of the event sponsors.

Health care experts also addressed the impact of changes on small businesses as well as large companies.

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Chamber Hosts Health Care Reform Seminar

Scores of people from around the world are coming to Las Vegas to see the future of technology at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, the world's largest consumer technology trade show. What might surprise people is that the next cutting-edge technologies may not be a smart TV or a tablet -- they are health-related innovations that are already in their hands.

A majority of Americans -- 53 percent, according to a recent national survey -- don't use consumer electronics to access important health care information, options and services. However, more than 60 percent of survey respondents anticipate increasing their use of consumer technology for just these purposes during the next year. This suggests the public is starting to realize how technology and consumer electronics can help them learn more about health, empower them to take better control of their individual health, and even simplify the entire health care system.

So what innovations at CES will help shape tomorrow's health care system?

Here are a few examples of how consumer technology already intersects with personal health:

Exergaming: Studies are showing that "exergaming," which refers to video games that also serve as a form of exercise, are becoming an increasingly popular and effective way to reduce the growing obesity epidemic among children and adults. Driven by interactive video game consoles that incorporate movement into game play, exergaming represents a new, fun way to get in shape, at home and in other settings. For example, UnitedHealthcare and Konami have teamed up to install DanceDanceRevolution Classroom Edition, the latest iteration of the popular dance game, in three schools. The participating schools, in Florida, Georgia and Texas, will track the impact the gaming system has on the students' health, well-being and exercise habits.

Health care pricing tools: Historically, patients often don't know how much their medical care actually costs, with the bill arriving months after treatment. That is starting to change as new online tools enable consumers to comparison shop for health care services, based on quality as well as cost. Some of these tools enable people to create side-by-side quality comparisons, ensuring consumers place just as much emphasis on quality as they do price.

Mobile applications: The growing prevalence of smartphones has started to empower consumers to take charge of their health like never before. The possibilities are almost limitless, with a range of apps already improving the health and well-being of people nationwide. Recently introduced apps enable friends, colleagues and families to participate together in health challenges of their own design, while other apps enable people to find in-network doctors, check benefit information and review the status of a specific claim.

CES is the place where America gets a sneak peek at the entertainment, information and education technologies of the future.

But we don't need to look too far ahead to see the future of health care in America; the answer is already in front of us. Just look down at the remote control, game console or smartphone that's already in your hand.

These innovations are enhancing the health care system, and people are taking more control of their personal health -- trends that will help create a happier and healthier America.

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Reed Tuckson: Health Care Technology at Your Fingertips

Cerner Certificate in Health Care Leadership in partnership with UMKC Bloch School
The Cerner Certificate in Health Care Leadership (CCHL) in partnership with UMKC Bloch School is one of the Henry W. Bloch School of Management Executive Education Center #39;s custom corporate programs designed for participants in a rapidly changing industry. The nine-month program enhances health care leadership capability for participants who are currently employed in Cerner #39;s health care technology field. With Bloch School faculty instructors and speakers from across the country, participants selected for the program are able to expand their knowledge of health care drivers, trends, policies, and changes that impact the industry. Supported by the Cerner Healthcare Leadership Advisory Board, the program focuses on strategy, growth, and increasing understanding between industry players.

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Real customers share their views about Axxess #39; web-based home health software. Brief and straight to the point.

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Congresss most recent spending battle left the health industry with some nicks and scratches, but its leery of having to hand over even bigger savings in the next battle looming two months from now.

From hospitals to doctors to insurers to drug makers, industry players are expecting theyll come up in the mix as lawmakers search for ways to pay for another deal to avert sequestration and increase the debt limit.

Some of the biggest ideas for cutting health care spending got pushed to the side when President Barack Obama and Congress turned their attention to cutting a smaller fiscal cliff deal. But now, Republicans say theyll insist on real spending cuts in the debt limit-sequestration fight. And if Obama continues to resist big entitlement changes, the health care industry could be in for another round of cuts.

In many ways, were kind of in the same place as before but there are just different drivers in relation to this cliff, said Rick Pollack, executive vice president at the American Hospital Association. A lot of the same issues are likely, unfortunately, to raise their head again.

Here is a guide to whats at stake for the health care industry in the next round:

Physicians

Doctors are breathing somewhat easier now that Congress has averted dramatic cuts in their Medicare payments for another year and paid for it without seriously docking them elsewhere.

Physician groups feared lawmakers would fund the doc fix by eliminating a part of the health care law that boosts Medicaid payments for primary-care services up to Medicare levels for two years. Medicaid is notorious for paying doctors low rates typically about two-thirds as much as Medicare pays which is one reason the programs low-income patients have trouble finding doctors who will treat them.

Instead, lawmakers pieced together a smorgasbord of savings that cut payments to hospitals and other providers. But that doesnt mean they wont return to the idea when the hunt is on for entitlement savings.

Temporarily increasing Medicaid payments was intended to improve access to care for low-income patients. But with a nearly $12 billion price tag, the measure offers lawmakers a source of savings if they so choose.

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Health care guide to debt limit battle

LAS VEGAS - The beginning of the year means new facets of the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare are now in effect.

Doctors are preparing for 2014 when the majority of the healthcare law takes effect. That's when penalties begin to set in for those who don't have insurance or employers who don't offer it. This year, patients might notice some other changes.

Learn More About the Affordable Care Act

The former president of the Clark County Medical Society says Medicaid coverage will expand slowly into 2014. While that means more people will be covered under the program, it could also mean longer wait times at hospitals.

The law also establishes a program that encourages hospitals, doctors and medical providers to bundle payments, which would eliminate extra costs.

Additionally, more funding will be provided for the Children's Health Insurance Program or CHIP.

When it comes to unintended consequences of the law, some are saying the cost of health care will go up this year by about four-percent.

Local employers are trying to figure out how this law affects their business, because they'll need to start covering employees or face fines next year. The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce sees the law as a hindrance on the employment rate.

"The Chamber thinks it's going to have a real chilling effect on hiring, particularly with our real fragile economy right now," said Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Senior Director of Marketing and Communications Cara Roberts. "This applies differently for full-time employees versus part-time employees, so there may actually be less incentive to hire full-time employees and more of an incentive to hire part-time employees going forward."

Another provision taking effect this year that many agree is a good thing is a requirement that insurance companies must detail all plans in easy-to-understand terms that most people can understand.

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Health Care Law Provisions Taking Effect in 2013

A new medical school curriculum, adapting to electronic medical records, more yoga and extra servings of fruits and vegetables these are all on the 2013 agenda for Dr. Marsha Rappley, the dean of Michigan State Universitys College of Human Medicine.

Rappley plays a key role in shaping the practice of medicine on a local, state and national level. This spring, the expanding medical school will reach full capacity and graduate 200 students for the first time.

In addition to leading the College of Human Medicine, she is chair-elect of the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges. She serves on the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting authority for U.S. medical schools. And she is on the board of directors of the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs.

In a question-and-answer session, Rappley discussed some key health care issues for the coming year. And she shared her goals to eat healthier and exercise more amid the daily stresses of a demanding job.

What innovations in medical school education would you like to see considered and possibly implemented this year? This year the College of Human Medicine will pilot an innovative curriculum that is designed to keep students in close contact with the needs of patients, and to learn the science, critical thinking, the skill and the art of medicine within that immediate context, from the first day of medical school. Traditionally, students begin with two years of the sciences, problem-based learning and simulated patient medical education, followed by two years of clinical experience in hospitals and clinics. With our new curriculum, each day students will learn the science in a multimedia classroom and its application in clinical settings.

Related: Dr. Marsha Rappley elected to lead national council of deans Five Grand Rapids health stories to remember from 2012 Five Grand Rapids health headlines we expect to read in 2013

Across the country, medical schools are creating new programs to help students develop as problem solvers, physicians who tackle the big problems of health, disease and delivery of care. We will see positive changes in creating the physician workforce that America needs, in reducing the cost of a medical education, and increasing the accountability of all that we do in health care.

The College of Human Medicine graduates its first class of 200 students this spring, completing the expansion of the school in Grand Rapids and East Lansing. How is the college fitting into Grand Rapids medical mile?

Books she is reading:

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell How a Dog Became the Dog, from Wolves to our Best Friends, by Mark Derr The Seasons of Emmalee, by Michael Lindley

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Health care reform and extra veggies: MSU College of Human Medicine dean Marsha Rappley looks ahead to 2013

The two state senators who represent Jackson County as the 2013 legislative session nears see challenges for the General Assembly in funding increased health care costs in the wake of passage of the Affordable Health Care Act.

Sen. Frank Ginn represents the bottom half of Jackson County following the realignment of his 47th District last year. A Republican from Madison County, Ginn has represented the district for two years.

Sen. John Wilkinson (R-Toccoa) represents the eight Jackson County precincts in the northeast half of the county including all of Commerce. A former program manager for the Department of Education, he was elected to the Senate in a special election in 2011.

Wilkinson expects the Affordable Health Care Act to have a big impact on the budget in terms of the states costs for Medicaid and Medicare.

The big issue is the assessment on hospital beds, he said. That comes up to be renewed this year.

The fee was implemented during the administration of Gov. Sonny Perdue. The state levies a per-bed fee against hospitals and leverages that to get federal funding.

We charge a fee, the federal government matches it, but if that assessment is not renewed, well have to come up with $400 million, said Wilkinson.

What the legislature will do, he added, is difficult to say.

Where the challenge is, some people view that as a tax, he noted, which can be fatal for a revenue stream in Georgia. Its something that has been in place already and we actually get two federal dollars for every state dollar. Its a good deal for the state.

Ginn said that the Affordable Health Care Act is basically a $400 million cost in the budget for increases in the state portions of Medicare and Medicaid.

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Senators: Health care funding to hit budget

A three-year federal grant will help health centers across Montana improve their care for patients.

The Montana Primary Care Association announced Thursday that it has been awarded nearly $1.5 million over three years by the federal Health Resources and Services Administrations Bureau of Primary Care Health Center Controlled Network. The grant calls for annual payments of $475,000.

Within 90 days of the award, the Primary Care Association will meet with participating health care centers to complete a work plan. There are 15 health centers that are members of the association.

Health centers are defined as community-based and patient-directed organizations that serve populations with limited access to health care. In Montana, theyre found in both remote locations, such as Ashland, Chinook and Libby, as well as in more populous cities including Helena, Missoula and Billings.

The ultimate goal of the grant is to improve health outcomes in patient treatment, Bob Marsalli, the executive director of the Primary Care Association, said on Thursday.

The grant will help constrain or reduce health care costs, improve the health care experience for patients and seek to improve the health of a population, he added.

Without the grant, Marsalli noted, the innovations already under way at health centers would take longer to complete and each organization would be left to improve its operations without assistance.

David Mark, the CEO of Big Horn Valley Health Center in Hardin, said assistance provided by Primary Care Association is vital to our existence and that is offers a source of technical advice and support services.

The association also gives health centers a unified voice and helps them network on issues, Mark said. The association serves as an advocate for health centers although it does not have a management role in their operations.

Having access to electronic medical records, Mark said, will improve the ability to share information and examine how health care is being provided to patients.

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Health care group lands $1.5 million grant

Sisters of Mercy headed toward Peru in 1961. A year later, the Catholic Church changed the rules regarding nuns.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- The baby boomer generation's efforts at creating social justice dramatically transformed history -- from the Vietnam War to gay rights.

Even institutions that kept tradition at their very core -- institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church -- were radically changed by this generation.

Within the church, perhaps the biggest agents of this change were its nuns. A wave of new thought during the 1960s opened cloister doors.

While modernization of the church did leave fewer nuns in the pipeline to carry out work in the health care and education fields, the ones who stayed -- this baby boomer generation of religious sisters -- undertook a kind of grass-roots, social justice-oriented health care.

Even today, their work continues to fill in the gaps left by our general health care system.

Vatican II revolutionizes religious life

It was Pope John XXIII who initiated the Roman Catholic Church's modernization movement in 1962. The pope was decidedly not a baby boomer -- he was born in 1881. But he inspired the boomers, who were left to carry out his reforms.

He convened the Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, whose leaders created 16 documents that redefined the role of the church in the world. They allowed Catholics to work and pray with members of other faiths, replaced the Latin Mass with church services held in local languages, and dramatically changed how religious sisters lived and worked.

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Baby boomer nuns help revolutionize health care

Editors note: This is the third of a four-day series previewing the major issues before the 2013 Montana Legislature, which convenes next Monday in Helena. The full series is posted online at Missoulian.com.

HELENA Once again, health care will be a contentious issue at the Montana Legislature and the biggest battle is likely over whether Montana approves new, federally funded health coverage for 60,000 people in the state.

Most Democrats and health care providers are solidly behind the proposal to expand Medicaid for low-income Montanans in 2014, funded by the federal health care reform bill passed three years ago.

Were talking about a billion dollars a year of new economic activity in the state, largely affecting the health care industry, says incoming House Minority Leader Chuck Hunter, D-Helena. I think that is a very telling story that is hard to ignore.

Supporters of the expansion say it will improve peoples health, help the states economy and cut costs, because those with insurance are more likely to visit a doctor or clinic than show up at a hospital emergency room for high-cost care.

But theyll be up against a Republican majority clearly skeptical, if not downright hostile, toward the idea of expanding government health coverage and the reach of Obamacare.

I have to wonder about the wisdom of increasing reliance on a federal government that cant seem to get its financial house in order, incoming Senate President Jeff Essmann, R-Billings, said.

The federal government is funding nearly all the costs of Medicaid expansion from 2014-17 and most of the costs for ensuing years. However, the state Legislature must approve the expansion and any state cost of administering it.

Its estimated the expansion would bring $210 million a year in federal funds to the state over the next 10 years.

A wild card in the Medicaid and health care debate is Gov.-elect Steve Bullock, a Democrat, who has steadfastly refused to say whether he supports expanding the program.

Continued here:

Medicaid, health care issues likely to be contentious at 2013 Legislature

Sisters of Mercy headed toward Peru in 1961. A year later, the Catholic Church changed the rules regarding nuns.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- The baby boomer generation's efforts at creating social justice dramatically transformed history -- from the Vietnam War to gay rights.

Even institutions that kept tradition at their very core -- institutions such as the Roman Catholic Church -- were radically changed by this generation.

Within the church, perhaps the biggest agents of this change were its nuns. A wave of new thought during the 1960s opened cloister doors.

While modernization of the church did leave fewer nuns in the pipeline to carry out work in the health care and education fields, the ones who stayed -- this baby boomer generation of religious sisters -- undertook a kind of grass-roots, social justice-oriented health care.

Even today, their work continues to fill in the gaps left by our general health care system.

Vatican II revolutionizes religious life

It was Pope John XXIII who initiated the Roman Catholic Church's modernization movement in 1962. The pope was decidedly not a baby boomer -- he was born in 1881. But he inspired the boomers, who were left to carry out his reforms.

He convened the Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, whose leaders created 16 documents that redefined the role of the church in the world. They allowed Catholics to work and pray with members of other faiths, replaced the Latin Mass with church services held in local languages, and dramatically changed how religious sisters lived and worked.

See the rest here:

Nuns help revolutionize health care

Published: Tuesday, January 1, 2013 at 5:42 p.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, January 1, 2013 at 5:42 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns ends his 24-year career in Washington on Thursday, giving way to Ted Yoho, the political upstart who shocked the long-term incumbent with an 875-vote primary win then sailed past a Democratic foe to become North Central Florida's new congressman.

Stearns, an Ocala Republican and one of 13 House members from both parties to be upended by a primary challenger in 2012, recently reflected back on his career on Capitol Hill, calling attention to his major accomplishments and regretting that some initiatives he rigorously championed fell short.

He believed foremost that he was accessible, hosting roughly 650 town hall meetings over his tenure.

"I think I was very transparent," he said. "I was always trying to get the feeling of the people."

Stearns ranked high on his list of achievements his work in the decommissioning of the federal government's Cross Florida Barge Canal project, his advocacy on behalf of military veterans, and some health care legislation that captured some of his own medical history.

According to THOMAS, the Library of Congress' website that monitors and archives congressional legislation, Stearns has authored 359 bills, amendments and resolutions during his time in Congress.

The first, introduced in May 1989, advocated a time extension for senior citizens to qualify for housing under the Fair Housing Act. The most recent, proposed this past July, blocked the Obama administration from charging military veterans an enrollment fee for the Tricare health care program.

Along the way, nine of the bills sponsored by Stearns passed the House and four were eventually signed into law, according to GovTrack, another legislative-monitoring website. (Numerous amendments he tacked on to other bills also were adopted.)

Stearns indicated in an interview that many of the causes he fought for mirrored his own personal circumstances.

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Health care, veterans are part of Stearns' legacy

If you think wait times at Toronto hospitals are already too long, just wait until 2036.

Twenty-five years from now, Toronto is expected to have one million new residents. Its projected the GTA will reach 9.2 million by 2036, a 44 per cent increase from 2011.

Density is rapidly increasing to well above the old city average of 4,077 people per square kilometre, a trend expected to continue to intensify in coming decades.

The citys health-care services, particularly hospitals, are already plagued by long wait times and stretched resources. The average current wait time in a Toronto emergency room is about eight hours.

So what needs to happen to keep quality health care from taking a dive?

Its a question that must be addressed if the province is to prepare for the coming growth in Canadas biggest city.

Dr. Tarek Sardana, president of Orleans Urgent Care in suburban Ottawa, said health-care delivery in high-density urban cores like Toronto could benefit from facilities similar to the one he leads. He describes it as a walk-in clinic on steroids.

Since opening in 1994, at a time when hospitals were facing budget cuts and ER-trained staff were losing their jobs, the Orleans clinics, staffed with emergency-experienced staff, have seen 60,000 patient visits on average annually.

We fill a niche between the hospital, big-city stuff, and the family doctor, Sardana said, adding that most of the costs of a visit there are covered under OHIP. Urgent care, if done properly and not affiliated with a public facility because costs go up in the right spots, where there are crowded emergency departments and difficulty accessing care, they could fill the gap.

The cost of seeing a single patient, who is typically treated and out the door within a few hours, is minimal next to the single-patient cost at a hospital.

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Density and the city: How will Toronto health care cope with population growth?

Health care professional Jaya

By: Rob Levendosky

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Health care professional Jaya - Video

WASHINGTON

Confused about the federal budget struggle? So are doctors, hospital administrators and other medical professionals who serve the 100 million Americans covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

Rarely has the government sent so many conflicting signals in so short a time about the bottom line for the health care industry.

Cuts are coming, says Washington, and some could be really big. Yet more government spending is also being promised as President Barack Obama's health care overhaul advances and millions of uninsured people move closer to getting government-subsidized coverage.

"Imagine a person being told they are going to get a raise, but their taxes are also going to go up and they are going to be paying more for gas," said Thornton Kirby, president of the South Carolina Hospital Association. "They don't know if they are going to be taking home more or less. That's the uncertainty when there are so many variables in play."

Real money is at stake for big hospitals and small medical practices alike. Government at all levels pays nearly half the nation's health care tab, with federal funds accounting for most of that.

It's widely assumed that a budget deal will mean cuts for Medicare service providers. But which ones? How much? And will Medicaid and subsidies to help people get coverage under the health care law also be cut?

As House Speaker John Boehner famously said: "God only knows." The Ohio Republican was referring to the overall chances of getting a budget deal, but the same can be said of how health care - one-sixth of the economy - will fare.

"There is no political consensus to do anything significant," said Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere Health, a market analysis firm. "There is a collective walking away from things that matter. All the stuff on the lists of options becomes impossible, because there is no give-and-take."

As if things weren't complicated enough, doctors keep facing their own recurring fiscal cliff, separate from the bigger budget battle but embroiled in it nonetheless.

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Budget struggle raising anxiety for health care

Nothing makes a better New Years resolution than to promise to stay healthy.

Less than a week into 2013, the Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its 16th annual Health Fair, bringing together health care organizations from around the community in one place.

The free fair will be held in Southgate Mall on Saturday, Jan. 5, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Darr Tucknott, the chambers director of programs and events, said the goal of the fair is to provide access to free or low-cost health care screenings and information for the public.

Instead of having to go around to all these different places and make appointments, we want to gather them together so there is one place to go to learn about good health, Tucknott said.

More than 50 vendors will be at the fair, and Tucknott said she expects about 2,000 people to attend.

The event will cover the full spectrum of health-related sectors. That includes nutritional, mental, dental, chiropractic and exercise, said Paul Heihn, who chairs the chambers Health and Human Services committee.

***

Screenings at the event include stress and overall health surveys, spinal analysis, blood pressure and fitness assessments. Community Medical Center will be administering blood tests for a small fee in the morning. Booths with information on Medicare and Medicaid also will be present.

Vibrant Hearing will have audiologists there to conduct hearing screenings and let people know if they should get a more thorough evaluaTion.

Lindsay McKittirick, Vibrants outreach coordinator, said in addition to hearing loss, damage also can lead to problems with balance and tinnitus.

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Health care in one place: Start new year with free or low-cost screenings, information at Missoula Area Chamber of ...

ATLANTA Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who made a fortune as a health care executive, long opposed President Barack Obama's remake of the health insurance market. After the Democratic president won re-election, the Republican governor softened his tone. He said he wanted to "have a conversation" with the administration about implementing the 2010 law. With a federal deadline approaching, he also said while Florida won't set up the exchange for individuals to buy private insurance policies, the feds can do it.

In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie held his cards before saying he won't set up his own exchange, but he's avoided absolute language and says he could change his mind. He's also leaving his options open to accept federal money to expand Medicaid insurance for people who aren't covered. The caveat, Christie says, is whether Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius can "answer my questions" about its operations and expense.

Both Republican governors face re-election in states that Obama won twice, Christie in 2013 and Scott in 2014. And both will encounter well-financed Democrats.

Their apparent struggles on the issue, along with other postures by their GOP colleagues elsewhere, suggest political uncertainty for Republicans as the Affordable Care Act starts to go into effect two years after clearing Congress without a single Republican vote. The risks also are acute for governors in Democratic-leaning or swing-voting states or who know their records will be parsed should they seek the presidency in 2016 or beyond.

"It's a tough call for many Republican governors who want to do the best thing for their state but don't want to be seen as advancing an overhaul that many Republicans continue to detest," said Whit Ayers, a consultant in Virginia whose clients include Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee, a Republican who didn't announce his rejection of a state exchange until days before Sebelius's Dec. 14 deadline.

Indeed, cracks keep growing in the near-unanimous Republican rejection of Obama's health care law that characterized the GOP's political messaging for the last two years. Five GOP-led states Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are pressing ahead with state insurance exchanges. Ongoing monitoring by The Associated Press shows that another five Republican-led states are pursuing or seriously a partnership with Washington to help run the new markets.

Democrats, meanwhile, hope to use the law and Republican inflexibility to their advantage, betting that more Americans will embrace the law once it expands coverage. The calculus for voters, Democrats assume, will become more about the policy and less about a polarizing president.

"It shouldn't be complicated at all," said John Anzalone, an Obama pollster who assists Democrats in federal races across the country. Anzalone said Republicans could use their own states-rights argument to justify running exchanges. Instead, he said, "They are blinded by Obama-hatred rather than seeing what's good for their citizens."

Governors can set up their own exchanges, partner with Sebelius' agency or let the federal government do it. The exchanges are set to open Jan. 1, 2014, allowing individuals and businesses to shop online for individual policies from private insurers. Low- and middle-income individuals will get federal premium subsidies calculated on a sliding income scale. Nineteen states plus Washington, DC, most led by Democrats, have committed to opening their own exchanges.

The law also calls for raising the income threshold for Medicaid eligibility to cover people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, or about $15,400 a year for an individual. That could add more than 10 million people, most of them childless adults, to the joint state-federal insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans. Together, the exchanges and the Medicaid expansion are expected to reduce the number of uninsured by about 30 million people within the next decade.

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Health Care Reform Forces Republican Governors To Walk Fine Line

Medicaments and health care
Subscribed to Relate4ever Publishing on cristianpaduraru.com for inspirational videos on healthy natural living and communication in relationships for parents and leaders. Will we restore the truth for a life to the full of love?

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Silva Pediatric Clinic will be acquired by Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, which was about to be closed.

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Hayward health care clinic serving 3,000 low-income children will remain open