Health Care

...Meanwhile HMSA Announces ANOTHER 4.4% Rate Hike Thanks to Obamacare....

...a commissioner who insists on lower premiums will reduce the amount of care available to subsidized voters without saving them a dime...

Organizing for America (OFA), President Obama’s campaign group, has a big push called “Health Care for the Holidays” that urges people to “have the talk” with their loved ones about getting health insurance....

As of Nov. 15, just 257 individuals have secured health care through the exchange....

Hawaii ranks best in the nation according to The Commonwealth Fund....

...the law perpetuates some of the country’s worst trends that trap people in poverty....

...how is the new health care initiative going to affect businesses?

Hawai‘i Health Connector today announced the appointment of Tom Matsuda, current Affordable Care Act implementation manager with the Governor’s office, as interim executive director....

Assaults on workers at the Hawaii State Hospital are all too common, and taxpayers are picking up the tab for the cost of treatment and workers compensation....

Obamacare’s menu labeling regulation will be costly and time-consuming for businesses ....

Hospitals may have to invest between $2 million and $5 million, and large health care organizations could spend as much as $20 million....

If old plans are restored, "fewer healthy people and younger people would be leaving their current plans" ....

The law that promised health coverage for all has so far stripped 3.5 million Americans of their insurance....

Between 25,000 and 30,000 Hawaii residents with individual plans and 140,000 people covered by small business policies had been notified their medical plans will be canceled or altered on Jan. 1....

25,000-30,000 Hawaii residents’ medical plans are set to be canceled January 1st....

The state Department of Taxation paid CGI Group more than $87 million over 12 years....

"...members who don't choose a new ACA plan by Dec. 15 will be re-enrolled in their current plan in December for another year to ensure they don't lose...." -- Yadao

Once upon a time, Obamacare was “settled” law that was “here to stay”....

President Obama said Thursday he will let Americans renew for one year any health plans that do not meet Obamacare's coverage standards....

...Education works: Who needs a Beverage Tax?....

“The Tonight Show” is a cultural bellwether, so when its studio audience roars its approval at Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) quip that Obamacare is “the biggest job killer in this country,” you know something’s happening across our land....

• 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....