Just days before new online health insurance markets are set to open, the Obama administration Wednesday released a look at average premiums, saying rates in most states are lower than earlier projected -- and that 95 percent of consumers will have at least two insurers to choose from. The report – released the same day that President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton touted the law's benefits -- comes as part of a stepped-up administration effort to explain and defend the health law as congressional Republicans target it for defunding. Until today's report, little information was available about insurance rates in most of the 36 states whose online marketplaces will be overseen entirely or partially by the federal government because state leaders opted out of running their own.
When patients check into a hospital, they expect doctors there to fix what ails them, but one in 20 patients seeking care at hospitals contract a health care–based infection. Those infections escalate care costs to the tune of billions of dollars. And many of them–one in five–are part of the scary alphabet soup of superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics. The problem is not a new one, top health officials say, but as more patients receive minor surgeries and care at clinics and doctor's offices instead of pricier hospital settings, that shift could fuel the growth of infections outside of hospitals.
Obamacare has already transformed Esther Redd's health, like that of thousands of other Americans. Redd had been admitted to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York seven times over six months, spending 24 days there for conditions ranging from kidney failure to high blood pressure and diabetes. Each time she was released, Redd would later miss doctor's appointments and skip medications only to wind up back in the emergency room for basic care. "I was living on the edge," said Redd, a 53-year-old from Harlem. "I wasn't used to going to the doctor."
NEW YORK — In one of his first acts as President Obama's new health-care adviser, Chris Jennings traveled to Harlem last month to pay a visit to his old boss, Bill Clinton. Armed with a PowerPoint presentation detailing how the new health-care law will go into effect, Jennings made his pitch: Obama needs your help, both to persuade millions of uninsured Americans to sign up for coverage and to combat Republican attempts to undermine the law. Clinton tried and failed to enact an expansion of health-care coverage as president. Now Obama, who signed the Affordable Care Act into law, is relying on Clinton to help make it a legacy.
How many ads will it take to get the uninsured signed up for the new coverage options launching Oct. 1? States do not know yet. But those running their own marketplaces are rolling out some creative new outreach techniques to get there as quickly as possible. In Oregon, where recent television ads resemble a Portlandia acid trip, the state is making a play for tech-savvy young invincibles by holding Google Hangout sessions, chats on Reddit and making their catchy jingles available on Pandora and iTunes. In both Oregon and Maryland, public schools are sending students home with fliers in their backpacks that explain Obamacare to parents who may be newly eligible.
TAMPA — Saying they will be stronger as a team, leaders of Tampa General Hospital and the Florida Hospital system announced Tuesday they are joining forces to develop new health care services around the bay area. They didn't say exactly what those offerings might be, but emphasized that they are joining only for new ventures, not consolidating existing operations. Each side will contribute $1 million to establish a board that will figure out how they could partner. Possibilities include a freestanding rehabilitation complex like one Tampa General has for several years considered for Kennedy Boulevard in South Tampa, officials said, or a "big box'' concept with numerous outpatient services provided under one roof, outside of a hospital.