Health Care

On his first full day in office, newly elected Governor John Bel Edwards made good on a pledge to ‘Together Louisiana’ to expand Medicaid. Edwards signed the executive order for this expansion flanked by Together Louisiana leaders Fr. Rick Andrus, Rev. Patti Snyder, Ms. Pat LeDuff and Ms. Alma Stewart (with LA Health Equity). The expansion is expected to provide healthcare to an additional 300,000 Louisiana residents within the next six months....

With open enrollment starting Saturday for the second year of the online Affordable Care Act insurance exchange, a recent report shows that Common Ground Health Care Cooperative added the most enrollees of Wisconsin insurers in the first year....

Cathy Mahaffey grew up in small town in southwestern Wisconsin along the Mississippi River, where she learned to fish — a passion she still shares with her two sons and husband, Tim.

Away from the water, the Mahaffeys form a health insurance power couple as both Cathy and Tim lead separate Wisconsin-based health insurance organizations. She looks and sounds like a businesswoman in her professional attire and expertise in referencing insurance industry lingo.

Claretian Father Bruce Wellems, pastor of San Gabriel Mission, testified that increasing funds to cover the “residually uninsured” [undocumented residents] is “the right thing to do. It’s the just thing to do. It’s a good investment and will save money in the end. We think it should be done right, and we don’t want to create a waiting list during the year.”

After identifying $11 million in otherwise sunsetting County funds, One LA-IAF leaders testified to the Board of Supervisors about their year long enrollment effort and the the gaps that remain even after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act...

White House press secretary Jay Carney responds: “Dallas is one of the 10 cities with the highest rates of uninsured residents that participate in the federal marketplace, and Dallas has one of the most active groups in the community working on enrollment and outreach efforts.  President looks forward to meeting with these folks who are playing such an important role in the outreach effort to make sure that Americans who are uninsured get the insurance that’s available to them...

For years, Dallas Area Interfaith has zeroed in on ways to expand access to insurance and to reduce the cost of medical care overall. Now, "Dallas-area church and community groups are hoping to sort out the confusion of the federal Affordable Care Act, using a colorful new booklet that explains the law to people who are uninsured. About 300 people kicked off the educational effort Thursday night at Temple Emanu-El in North Dallas.

With about 100,000 Bexar County residents eligible to get healthcare insurance through the exchange, leaders from COPS/Metro Alliance and University Health System brought together close to 100 community stakeholders to evaluate ACA implementation readiness and identify concerns. 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge David Matia estimates that area residents could save millions in local taxes if the offenders he sees in drug court had health insurance.
And if Ohio were to expand Medicaid, as being debated by state legislators, many of the defendants in his court would qualify for the state and federal health insurance program for the poor.... As the clock ticks on a decision, local lobbying for expansion has stepped up: On Monday, community activists held a rally at the Neighborhood Family Practice Center, a federally qualified community health center on Cleveland's West Side. In addition, Greater Cleveland Congregations announced that dozens of volunteers from area religious organizations and neighborhood groups will go door to door in the legislative swing districts of Rocky River, Berea and Solon this week to urge people to contact their legislators. 

COLUMBUS, Ohio --Ohio's Medicaid expansion is down, but not out.  House Republicans kept alive the possibility that Ohio may expand its Medicaid program to cover the working poor, approving an amendment to its budget that could open the door to changes later this year.... The amendment drew praise from Greater Cleveland Congregations, one of several groups that organized a rally outside the Statehouse last week urging lawmakers to support extending Medicaid. "The fact that this amendment passed with in a near-unanimous bipartisan vote shows that the legislature listened to the overwhelming outpouring of public support from Ohioans over the past 10 days, and wants to keep the conversation moving forward," Ari Lipman, lead organizer for the coalition, said in a statement. "Our diverse coalition will continue to work with House leadership, the Senate, and Governor Kasich through the budget process to achieve the best outcome for Ohio."

On a bipartisan vote, Bexar County commissioners Tuesday urged Texas lawmakers to expand the state’s Medicaid program and take advantage of federal matching funds under the Affordable Care Act.2014 to 2017, expansion will bring $27.2 billion in federal revenue to Texas for just over $3 billion in state investments,” said [Republican] County Judge Nelson Wolff.