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And Delivering...
My new bumper sticker!
This is how Massachusetts is preparing to Launch it's ACA Outreach~ All part of Organizing for Action
Bringing the ACA to All Communities in Massachusetts – Launching ACA Outreach Campaign
Posted on July 23, 2013 by HCFA
We want to keep you up-to-date on all the great outreach work that HCFA has been doing. If you hadn’t already heard, we are proud to partner with The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services and 10 local community organizations to launch a major public outreach campaign targeted to individuals and families in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities to explain the benefits coming to Massachusetts through the Affordable Care Act.
This initiative includes public events, focused ethnic media outreach, an advertising campaign, and distribution of educational materials to individuals and families statewide. These efforts will direct consumers to the Massachusetts Consumer Assistance Program (our HelpLine at 1-800-272-4232). We kicked off this campaign in Lawrence the other week with our partners.
As regular readers of our blog know, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, there will be new, affordable insurance options available for those still without insurance in Massachusetts. All insurance plans will have to show the costs and what it is covered in simple language with no fine print. Help is available in several languages online, by phone and in person for consumers to find the plan that best fits their needs. And we are busy getting the word out to implement the Affordable Care Act, especially in ethnic media around the state. Here’s just a few of the great articles from the launch in Portuguese and Spanish:
Snip
The ethnic media campaign is featured by two consumers who will benefit directly from some of the provisions included in the Affordable Care Act. From January 1st 2014, National health reform will help consumers – in between the 300% and 400% percent of the Federal Poverty Level who currently don’t have access to subsidized programs in Massachusetts – pay for health insurance. An estimated of 50,000 people who are in that situation in the state will benefit from these tax credits.
http://blog.hcfama.org/2013/07/23/bringing-the-aca-to-all-communities-in-massachusetts-launching-aca-outreach-campaign/
Some History~
Updated as of January 22, 2013
Establishing the Exchange
On April 12, 2006, former Governor Mitt Romney (R) signed into law comprehensive health reform legislation designed to provide near-universal health coverage for state residents.1 The Massachusetts health reform law became the model for national health reform.
An important component of the law was the creation of the Massachusetts Health Connector, a health insurance exchange that manages several coverage programs. Commonwealth Care provides subsidized coverage for individuals with incomes below 300% of the federal poverty level ($33,510 for an individual and $69,150 for a family of four in 2012) and Commonwealth Choice enables those who are not eligible for Commonwealth Care to shop for and purchase insurance offered by private health plans. In 2010, the Massachusetts Connector launched the Business Express program for businesses with 50 or fewer employees. As of December 2012, the Connector enrolled over 225,000 individuals in coverage—over 190,000 in Commonwealth Care and more than 40,000 in Commonwealth Choice, including approximately 4,750 enrollees in Business Express.2 Enrollment is expected to continue to increase in fiscal year 2013, in part due to reintegration of legal immigrants who became eligible for enrollment in the Connector after a recent Massachusetts Supreme Court decision.
SNIP
Next Steps
On December 7, 2012, Massachusetts received conditional approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a state-based exchange.25 Final approval is contingent upon the state demonstrating its ability to perform all required Exchange activities on time and complying with future guidance and regulations.
Multiple state agencies have begun to coordinate and plan for a third ACA-reconciliation bill, currently slated for the 2013 legislative sessions.26 This bill will likely include a compilation of technical changes to previous state health reform legislation and additional substantive changes that reflect policy-decision making by various advisory committees and workgroups.
Additional information about the Massachusetts Connector can be found at: https://www.mahealthconnector.org/
http://kff.org/health-reform/state-profile/state-exchange-profiles-massachusetts/
BOG
****************This is Posted in the Barack Obama Group!****************************
23 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
I will send you one~
But it's going on my car as soon as it does!
Obamacare
Delivering....! Yes it is!
so much to so many many people!
I think this is the link I used for the CVS news, she
“Half of people who are eligible for a subsidy don’t know they’re eligible,” Helena Foulkes, chief health care strategy and marketing officer at CVS Caremark, said in an interview.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/cvs-caremark-will-help-promote-obamacare-94771.html
This was on there..
25 unforgettable Obamacare quotes
“It will be his Waterloo. It will break him.” — Former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), July 2009
Baggers of all stripes were hyping that meme.. rofl..
http://www.politico.com/gallery/2013/07/25-unforgettable-obamacare-quotes/001172-016561.html
BOG
she
We did this!
As for the naysayers~
There's more Cha as you know. As for his Waterloo? I suggest they take that to the Loo and crap their collective bullshit down the toilet. Flush it and please boys don't forget to wash your hands! You need to stop spreading your filth around!
President Barack Obama is delivering! Yes he is.
BOG Cha!
bloody wars of 2009 over Obamacare.
Victory is Sweet for so many peeps.. that's who we(including the Prez) wanted it for..
BOG she~
freaking out!?
Thanks freshwest!
However most everything I posted was for MA.
Check this.
http://www.cvs.com/insurance
Then go to Whitehouse.org
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/05-01-12_community_health_center_report.pdf
I did not read it, it's late here...however it has to have info for your friend or loved one.
Hekate, it's working!
By Secretary Kathleen Sebelius - July 30, 2013
Ed Note: This is a cross post from The Huffington Post. You can find the original post here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sec-kathleen-sebelius/strengthening-medicare-to_b_3677242.html
My 92-year-old father first ran for public office after he finished his military service in World War II. He served on the city council, and later was elected to Congress. In 1965, he helped write and voted for Medicare and Medicaid, which celebrate their 48th anniversary today.
Since then, Medicare has been a guaranteed benefit earned after a lifetime of hard work for millions of America's seniors. Medicaid has provided affordable health coverage for millions of low-income working Americans and families. Both programs have helped keep people from falling into poverty. Both have been lifelines to better health and sources of peace of mind and security.
That's why President Obama has made it a top priority to strengthen Medicare and Medicaid so that our seniors and future generations can get the health care they need and peace of mind they deserve.
Because of the health law, seniors are seeing more dollars saved in their wallets and better benefits to their health.
More than 6.6 million people on Medicare have saved an average of more than $1,000 on prescription drugs since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act. That's money that has been used for groceries, utilities, and visits with grandchildren instead of being sent to drug companies -- and that's how the Affordable Care Act is closing the "donut hole" that too many seniors fall into.
More than 16.5 million people with traditional Medicare were able to take advantage of at least one preventive service with no out-of-pocket cost in the first six months of 2013. These services included annual wellness visits, mammograms, and other cancer screenings.
The health law is also making Medicare stronger by helping hospitals and doctors coordinate quality care, instead of focusing on quantity of care. Since last year, avoidable -- and costly -- hospital readmissions in Medicare have fallen for the first time on record, resulting in an estimated 70,000 fewer readmissions in 2012.
Another way we're strengthening Medicare is by rooting out fraud, waste and abuse in the system -- ensuring we protect taxpayer dollars and the health of our seniors. Earlier this year, Attorney General Eric Holder and I announced another take-down of Medicare fraud schemes involving hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in cities across the country. The law makes it harder for criminals to submit fraudulent claims and get paid in the first place, and our work has resulted in record Medicare fraud recoveries: Nearly $15 billion in the last four years.
The Affordable Care Act reforms ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and have led to historically slow growth in Medicare spending per beneficiary. And it has led to an actual drop in Medicaid spending per beneficiary last year.
Medicaid, a federal-state partnership, provides health coverage to 57 million people, including 4.6 million low-income seniors -- nearly all of whom are also enrolled in Medicare. The Affordable Care Act allows all states to expand Medicaid coverage to reach even more people -- and to ensure that your zip code doesn't determine your health care.
Medicaid expansion is a critical piece of the puzzle to ensure more Americans get the care they need. Expanding Medicaid also reduces the burden of uncompensated care. It injects significant resources into your local economies and local hospitals.
In some states, the governor and legislature have already decided to expand Medicaid. The door is open, and we will keep working until all states sign up. Speaking as a former governor, since the federal government will pay 100 percent of the costs of newly insured beneficiaries for the first three years, and at least 90 percent thereafter, this deal is too good to pass up.
Because of the law, those who count on Medicare and Medicaid -- our grandparents, parents, friends, and neighbors, and in many cases ourselves -- will have secure coverage for years to come.
That includes me.
Like 3 million other baby boomers, I turned 65 this year and joined the more than 43 million seniors who already rely on the peace of mind and security our parents had with Medicare. For me, this year is personal.
My dad and I are enrolled in Medicare. And just like he fought for the health and economic security of America's seniors 48 years ago, I will continue to work to ensure Medicare and Medicaid is there for all of our children and grandchildren, as it has been for us and our parents.
Note. Kathleen Sebelius is the Secretary of Health and Human Services and her writing is in the Public Domain. I believe that the Huff Po link does not make it leave PD. Anyone thinks differently, let me know and I'll edit this.
Those of us in states that are implementing Obamacare and the Medicaid exchanges are greatly relieved. I see the 'I love Obamacare' bumper stickers daily in my area.