Health Care

• DATE: Thursday, November 14, 2013
• TIME: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
• PLACE: Conference Room 229 State Capitol 

One of the ways that the health reform is being funded is through cuts in disproportionate share funding for hospitals....

The interview contains a valuable introduction to what the Affordable Care Act is and clearly explains the “Hawaii Healthcare Connector,” which Lim initiated as its start-up executive director....

In more than half of the counties in the U.S., people have only one or two insurance carriers offering coverage on their exchanges....

By comparison, when Medicare Part D began, two-thirds of people who voluntarily enrolled in a plan did so after coverage began....

The Obama Administration has indicated it will propose a new regulation that could give many unions a break from one of Obamacare’s new fees....

It did not cover dependents in the manner set out by the law, and it did not cover pediatric dental....

“If you like your plan, you can keep your plan.” -- NOT!

Buried in rules issued last week is the disclosure that the administration will propose exempting “certain self-insured, self-administered plans” from the law’s temporary reinsurance fee in 2015 and 2016....

The last update given to reporters was October 18 when the Hawaii Health Connector reported only 440 applications had been completed online....

In response to the wave of insurance cancellations hitting millions of Americans, and the admission by some on the left that President Obama’s “if you like your plan” promise was false, Obamacare’s defenders are now taking a different tack....

Justin Hadley logged on to HealthCare.gov and found a big surprise—the eligibility information of another family in a different state....

"Apparently I qualify for Medicaid, even though I have quite a bit of assets---way more than most people have when they retire."

"...the glitch-ridden launch of the online exchanges, and other coverage-related problems, have raised serious concerns....”

Monday, November 04, 2013 Hearing Cancelled

Hawaii’s preterm birth rate fell to 12.2 percent but the change was not enough to change its grade on the 2013 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card....

Fifty years ago this week, President John F. Kennedy signed legislation creating a federally funded Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC) program....

Economists call the process "adverse selection" and warn that in its worst iteration it could lead to a "death spiral" of falling enrollment and climbing prices....

“The extensive report summarizes rates of treatment services in Hawaii and reflects substance abuse trends and areas of concern"

"If you like your health care, you can keep your health care plan." --Obama, 2009 

...there are plans both ON and OFF the Affordable Health Act's Hawaii Health Connector web site that you are being encouraged to compare....

• TIME:     1:30 p.m.
• PLACE:  Conference Room 309 State Capitol 415 South Beretania St

Individuals who now believe they face maximum out-of-pocket costs of $2,000 may end up paying hundreds more....

Hawaii’s Legislature appropriated $2.75 billion for fiscal year 2013 and $2.83 billion for FY 2014 — or about 20 percent of the state general fund budget — for “social services” operating expense....

CGI Technologies and Solutions, Inc., another subsidiary, had been responsible for overhauling the IT systems for the Hawaii tax department....

The abject failure of the Obamacare website, Healthcare.gov, is proving quite the analogy for Obamacare itself....

Obamacare is keeping businesses from hiring....

Health plans are sending hundreds of thousands of cancellation letters to people who buy their own coverage....

A death spiral occurs when pricing in an insurance market spins out of control....

Now that health plans and rates are available, standard weekly reports should be made public to chart the progress of enrolling Hawaii’s 100,000 uninsured residents....

The White House and Congress are inching closer to a conversation about serious entitlement reform....

Our national nightmare isn’t the government shutdown; it’s Obamacare....

The problem lies with the nature of the law itself, promising trillions in new government benefits while relying on dubious financing mechanisms. These problems were not only foreseeable, they were indeed widely foreseen....

HealthPocket also found that some exchanges did not allow for anonymous health plan shopping....

...while some consumers were able to view the information on plans and pricing, others continued to receive an error message....

Think small business owners really are going to get tax credits through Obamacare health exchanges? Think again....

Sorry, Hawaii is not included likely due to the last-in-the nation start for the Hawaii Health Connector....

On Friday (Sept. 27), the governor and his wife Nancie Caraway will travel to France.  Originally scheduled to return Oct 11, the governor is now planning to be back in Hawaii Oct. 20....

“This website is temporarily unavailable, please try again later."

Americans are learning the reason this law’s implementation was postponed until after the presidential election....

Most governments will need to summon substantial political will to use ObamaCare to drop retiree health care coverage....

The House has passed a variety of bills that would have reopened portions of the federal government, but the Senate has rejected them....

The shut down of the federal government pivots on which side will blink first....

Have you gotten a letter from your insurance company about your premiums going up? 

The web site went live Oct. 1, but those seeking health care coverage haven’t been able to review pricing or coverage information....

...this shady industry is trying to recover from a pretty good licking it received today from the FDA....