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In U.S., Uninsured Rate Lowest Since 2008

In the U.S., the uninsured rate dipped to 15.6% in the first quarter of 2014, a 1.5-percentage-point decline from the fourth quarter of 2013. The uninsured rate is now at the lowest level recorded since late 2008.

The uninsured rate has been falling since the fourth quarter of 2013, after hitting an all-time high of 18.0% in the third quarter — a sign that the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” appears to be accomplishing its goal of increasing the percentage of Americans with health insurance coverage. Even within this year’s first quarter, the uninsured rate fell consistently, from 16.2% in January to 15.6% in February to 15.0% in March. And within March, the rate dropped more than a point, from 15.8% in the first half of the month to 14.7% in the second half — indicating that enrollment through the healthcare exchanges increased as the March 31 deadline approached.

The results from the first quarter are based on more than 43,500 interviews with U.S. adults from Jan. 2 to March 31, 2014, as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

Fewer Americans Across Age Groups Uninsured in 2014

The Obama administration has made young adults’ enrollment in a health insurance plan a top priority, as healthcare experts say 40% of new enrollees must be young and healthy for the Affordable Care Act to be successful. However, Gallup’s quarterly trends indicate the uninsured rate dropped by about the same amount among adults aged 26 to 64 as it did among those aged 18 to 25 — two points. The uninsured rate among 18- to 35-year-olds fell to 21.7% in the first quarter; the rate fell to 26.4% among those aged 26 to 34, and to 16.1% among those aged 35 to 64.

Read the full report here.

Contact Steven Cosby with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.

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Statement by the President on the Fourth Anniversary of the Affordable Care Act

Since I signed the Affordable Care Act into law, the share of Americans with insurance is up, and the growth of health care costs is down, to its slowest rate in fifty years – two of the most promising developments for our middle class and our fiscal future in a long time.
More Americans with insurance have gained new benefits and protections – the 100 million Americans who’ve gained the right to free preventive care like mammograms and contraception, the eight million seniors who’ve saved thousands of dollars on their prescription drugs, and the untold number of families who won’t be driven into bankruptcy by out-of-pocket costs, because this law prevents insurers from placing dollar limits on the care you can receive.

Read full report here.

Contact Steven Cosby with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.
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House Now Counts Work Week as 40 Hours

The House passed legislation this afternoon revising the Affordable Care Act’s definition of full-time employment to 40 hours a week. The vote was 248-179, with 18 Democrats supporting the bill.

The measure, offered by Indiana Republican Todd Young, would narrow a requirement for employers to offer health coverage to their workers. Qualifying workers would include only those working at least 40 hours a week instead of the current 30 hours.

Supporters of the bill say it would remove a disincentive for businesses to cut workers’ hours below 30, while opponents argue that it would simply shift the threshold and leave more people without insurance.

According to the CBO and Joint Committee on Taxation, the change would cause 1 million fewer people to receive employer-sponsored health coverage and send between 500,000 and 1 million more people to Medicaid, CHIP or the ACA insurance marketplaces. They also project it would increase budget deficits by $73.7 billion over 10 years.

By some counts, today’s vote is the 57th time the House has voted to change or repeal parts or all of the ACA. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn’t likely to bring it to the floor in that chamber.

View H.R. 2575 here.

Self-Employed Workers’ Big Concern About Obamacare Subsidies

Question: In 2013, my husband and I were both employed and had company-provided health insurance. In 2014, we are both unemployed and starting our own business. We’re not sure what kind of income we’ll bring in this year so we’re not sure how to figure out if we qualify for Obamacare subsidies. Our 2013 income will be too high to use as an estimate. Also, if we qualify for large subsidies, can we take them now and then reduce them later if our business takes off and we make more than expected? This seems like an obvious concern for many self-employed people.

Answer: This is indeed a large concern and it is particularly tough for you, since first-year business income can be wildly unpredictable. Even for the long-term self-employed, the uncertainty around estimating income to determine eligibility for subsidies is one of the major complications of signing up for state and federal Affordable Care Act marketplaces, oftentimes called Obamacare exchanges.

Basically, as I explained last year, Affordable Care Act subsidies are available on a sliding scale to individuals making up to about $45,000 annually and four-person households bringing in about $94,000. The idea is to help reduce the out-of-pocket cost for insurance, since it is now mandatory.

Read full article here.

Contact Steven Cosby with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.
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The I.R.S.’s Final Mandate Reporting Rules? Still Complicated

Last summer, the Obama administration delayed implementing the employer mandate in the Affordable Care Act because, it said, it needed time to figure out how it might simplify the law’s complicated reporting requirements for businesses with 50 or more employees. “We don’t necessarily need to load up the vast majority of companies that are already doing the right thing with a bunch of additional paperwork,” President Obama told The Times in an interview in July, asking, “Are there simpler ways for us to allow them to certify that they’re providing health insurance?”

But the final regulations were released last week, and business groups are complaining that the only streamlining the Internal Revenue Service appears to have achieved is for itself.

Contact Steven Cosby with questions or to request more information and to schedule a healthcare plan evaluation, savings analysis or group plan solution for your company.
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