coverage Archives - Mediarabe

Axne-Young Rematch Centers On Health Coverage, Showing Up For Work

October 13, 2020

The Polk County Election Office provides stickers to early voters on Oct. 5, 2020. (Photo By Perry Beeman/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

The rematch between Democratic U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne and former GOP Congressman David Young in many ways is a rerun of their fight over Obamacare. They also have argued over Axne missing votes due to late flights and the disruptions of COVID-19.

Axne has hammered Young repeatedly for voting while he was in the House to dismantle Obamacare, threatening tp take away insurance coverage for many and protection for those with preexisting conditions. Young says he always supported protecting those with preexisting conditions and pushed for a replacement for Obamacare that would include those protections and more individual choice on coverage.

Young has repeatedly suggested he should get his seat back because he never missed a vote, and Axne has. “I showed up to every county (in the district) for

Health Coverage Takes Big Hit With Pandemic-Related Job Cuts | Health News

October 13, 2020

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By Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay)

TUESDAY, Oct. 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Up to 7.7 million U.S. workers lost jobs with employer-sponsored health insurance during the coronavirus pandemic, and 6.9 million of their dependents also lost coverage, a new study finds.

Workers in manufacturing, retail, accommodation and food services were especially hard-hit by job losses, but unequally impacted by losses in insurance coverage.

Manufacturing accounted for 12% of unemployed workers in June. But because the sector has one of the highest rates of employer-sponsored coverage at 66%, it accounted for a bigger loss of jobs with insurance (18%) and 19% of potential coverage loss when dependents are included.

Nearly 3.3 million workers in accommodation and food services had lost their jobs as of June — 30% of the industry’s workforce. But only 25% of workers in the sector had employer-sponsored insurance before the pandemic. Seven percent lost jobs with

73 000 Colorado Children Faced Pandemic without Health Coverage / Public News Service

October 12, 2020

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The number of Colorado kids without health insurance is likely to increase further after thousands of families lost employer-based coverage in the economic fallout from COVID-19. (Vperemen.com/Wikimedia Commons)

October 12, 2020

DENVER — Even before the coronavirus pandemic brought the economy to its knees, the number of Colorado children without health insurance was on the rise, according to a new Georgetown University Center for Children and Families report.

In 2019, 73,000 kids in Colorado were uninsured, a 28% increase from three years earlier.

Erin Miller with the Colorado Children’s Campaign said between 2018 and 2019 alone, nearly 10,000 more Colorado kids lost coverage, the largest single-year increase in more than a decade.

“Seventy-three thousand Colorado kids went into the pandemic lacking health insurance coverage, lacking access to health care services, lacking the financial security that health insurance provides,” Miller stated.

Colorado’s rate of uninsured kids, at 5.5%, is close to

Noncitizen immigrants to get health coverage in Illinois

October 10, 2020

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CHICAGO (AP) — Low-income immigrants ages 65 and older in Illinois will be eligible for health care coverage that is similar to Medicaid despite their immigration status.

Ananias Ocampo, who is at high risk of contracting the virus because of his age and health, does not qualify for Medicare, Social Security, or any other federal assistance because of his immigration status. But the 76-year-old will be able to apply for the program in December. The expansion was part of the state budget passed this year, the Chicago Tribune reported.

“At least now I can be at peace knowing that if I get sick, I can go see a good doctor that can help me heal without having to worry about not having the money to pay for the treatment,” Ocampo, who has diabetes, said in Spanish.

Hayley Burgess of the National Immigration Law Center said Illinois is the first state

Missouri Sees Staggering Reversal of Kids with Health Coverage / Public News Service

October 9, 2020

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Healthcare advocates worry that drops in children’s insurance coverage could only worsen as a result of the pandemic. (Adobe Stock)

October 9, 2020

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — During a time when the economy was notably strong, Missouri saw a significant increase in the number of children without health coverage.

An annual report released today by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families reveals in 2019, roughly 95,000 kids in Missouri were uninsured, a nearly 34% increase from 2016.

Lindsey Baker, research director for the Missouri Budget Project, said the trend has long-term consequences, both for children and communities across the state.

“Without health coverage, children can’t access the care that they need to grow and thrive,” Baker asserted. “And there are long-term implications, both for health directly but also for economic success as those children grow older.”

Missouri’s rate of uninsured kids mirrors the national rate and reverses a

Health Coverage Costs Continued Steady Rise Pre-Pandemic

October 8, 2020

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The average cost of employer health coverage surpassed $21,000 for a family plan this year, according to a new survey, a rise reflecting rates calculated before the pandemic upended normal patterns of medical care.

Annual premiums rose 4% to hit $21,342 for an employer-provided family plan in 2020, up from $20,576 last year, according to the yearly poll of employers conducted by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. On average, employees paid $5,588 of the total this year, with the rest of the cost borne by the employers. The amount of the employee contribution was statistically unchanged from 2019.

The average cost of an employer health plan for an individual for 2020 was $7,470, also up about 4% from last year.

The Kaiser survey also found that employers were tapping the brakes on deductibles, which have risen steadily over the past decade. The average 2020 general deductible for individual-worker coverage was

Walgreens Launches Find Rx Coverage Advisor to Help Customers Navigate Health Coverage Options

October 8, 2020

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Find Rx Coverage Advisor builds on Walgreens efforts to support patients in maintaining affordable access to medications as health insurance shifts for many

At a time when millions of Americans face unemployment and the loss of health insurance, Walgreens has launched Find Rx Coverage Advisor, a new resource providing personalized guidance to customers seeking information on available health and prescription drug coverage options. With Medicare Part D and individual marketplace open enrollment approaching, Find Rx Coverage Advisor connects eligible customers directly to health plan partners who can assist with questions about enrollment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201008005277/en/

Walgreens Launches Find Rx Coverage Advisor to Help Customers Navigate Health Coverage Options (Photo: Business Wire)

“Shifts in health insurance coverage because of job loss, life events or as you qualify for Medicare Part D can be a complicated maze of options,” said Rick Gates, senior vice

UN chief: Pandemic shows need for universal health coverage

October 8, 2020

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The United Nations chief says the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the “utterly inadequate health systems” around the world and he argues that universal health coverage is essential for nations to deal with future health crises

EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press

October 8, 2020, 12:44 AM

3 min read

UNITED NATIONS — The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the “utterly inadequate health systems” around the world, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday in arguing that universal health coverage is essential for nations to deal with future health crises.

He said the failure to respond adequately to the outbreak has claimed more than 1 million lives, infected over 30 million people in 190 countries, wiped out 500 million jobs and is costing the global economy $375 billion a month. Indicators of human advancement and well-being are going in reverse for the first time since the U.N. started measuring them in 1990,

Negative coverage on steroids: Trump’s victory lap angers the media

October 7, 2020

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President Trump, as always, has an uncanny knack for giving his journalistic detractors plenty of ammunition.

But man, much of the media are acting like it’s a national tragedy that an ailing president was released from the hospital.

My eyeballs are hurting from watching all the negative coverage.

MSNBC’s Joy Reid called Trump’s appearance on the Truman Balcony a “Mussolini moment.”

CNN’s David Gergen, usually the most mild-mannered of men, said he’s “practically feeling like we’re in the grips of a madman.”

WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN SAYS TRUMP ‘MAY NOT ENTIRELY BE OUT OF THE WOODS YET’ IN FIGHT AGAINST CORONAVIRUS

CNN morning host John Berman, when a producer ran B-roll of the Trump balcony appearance, complained: “Take it off, please, don’t even put it on the screen! Please take it off, because that’s gonna kill people.”

I know this sounds insane in the current environment, but shouldn’t the country be

Older people will soon receive health coverage in Illinois regardless of immigration status under first-in-nation program: ‘It’s a relief’

October 5, 2020

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When Ananias Ocampo, 76, learned that in December he’ll finally have access to health care coverage even though he lacks legal immigration status, he smiled and managed to get up from the chair next to his ice cream cart despite his trembling and extreme knee pain because of arthritis.

a person standing in front of a store: Ananias Ocampo, 76, pushes his cart along 18th Street to Paulina Street to sell ice cream in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood on Sept. 25, 2020. Ocampo has arthritis, diabetes and osteoarthritis.

© Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune/TNS
Ananias Ocampo, 76, pushes his cart along 18th Street to Paulina Street to sell ice cream in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on Sept. 25, 2020. Ocampo has arthritis, diabetes and osteoarthritis.

Paletero Ananias Ocampo, 76, left, sells ice cream to Ray Hernandez near 18th and Paulina streets in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2020. Ocampo suffers from severe arthritis, diabetes and osteoarthritis.

© Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune/TNS
Paletero Ananias Ocampo, 76, left, sells ice cream to Ray Hernandez near 18th and Paulina streets in Chicago on Sept. 25, 2020. Ocampo suffers from severe arthritis, diabetes and osteoarthritis.

He could not believe it.

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“Enserio, no lo puedo creer, que alivio!” cried out Ocampo while selling ice cream on the corner of 18th and