It ’ s not too late to sign up for Obamacare- But if you wait much longer you could face a fine
Note to HealthBeat readers: I have recently begun writing posts about healthcare and healthcare reform for Consumer Reports. Below, an excerpt from my latest post. M.M
It’s still not too late to sign up for insurance in your state’s marketplace. Open enrollment for Obamacare continues until Feb. 15. Meet that deadline, and you will be insured on March 1, with no penalty.
And if the plan you purchased in 2014 was automatically renewed on Jan. 1, you can still change your mind, comparison shop, and pick a new policy in February. There are lots of good reasons to shop around, as plans change from year to year.
Even bett...
Source: Health Beat - January 22, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: deadline February 15 fines Obamacare open enrollment period penalties state marketplace Source Type: blogs
It’s not too late to sign up for Obamacare- But if you wait much longer you could face a fine
Note to HealthBeat readers: I have recently begun writing posts about healthcare and healthcare reform for Consumer Reports. Below, an excerpt from my latest post. M.M
It’s still not too late to sign up for insurance in your state’s marketplace. Open enrollment for Obamacare continues until Feb. 15. Meet that deadline, and you will be insured on March 1, with no penalty.
And if the plan you purchased in 2014 was automatically renewed on Jan. 1, you can still change your mind, comparison shop, and pick a new policy in February. There are lots of good reasons to shop around, as plans change from year to year.
Even bett...
Source: Health Beat - January 22, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: deadline February 15 fines Obamacare open enrollment period penalties state marketplace Source Type: blogs
Classic Children’s Books Banned By Schools and Libraries In America (via Buzzfeed)
Winnie the Pooh was banned because “talking animals are an insult to God.”
Diary of Anne Frank banned because it was considered “too depressing.”
The Wizard of Oz” banned by all public libraries in Chicago because of its “ungodly influence” for “depicting women in strong leadership roles.”
Think about that last one.
See the entire list. (Source: Health Beat)
Source: Health Beat - September 23, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: Banned Books Banned Children's Books U.S. Schools Uncategorized Diary of Anne Frank The Wizard of Oz Winnie the Pooh Source Type: blogs
Obamacare Enrollment 2015: How Many People Will Sign Up Next Year? (Public Support for Obamacare Is About to Turn a Corner) Part 1
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, some 10 million previously uninsured adults gained coverage during the open enrollment period that began on October 1, 2013. Last month, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that the share of Americans who are “going naked” has plummeted from 21 percent in September of 2013 to 16.3 percent in April of this year.
Even though open enrollment officially ended on March 31, 2014, people are continuing to sign up. Anyone who experiences a major life change (getting divorced, losing a job, having a baby) can still purchase insurance on the Exchanges this summer. Others are dropping o...
Source: Health Beat - August 26, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: Charles Gaba and attrition enrollment and word-of-mouth Jeffrey Young and trouble sign up as many uninsured Jeffrey Young and Obamacare and 2015 Medicaid expansion Mikey Dickerson Obamacare and attrition Obamacare and customer satisfaction Source Type: blogs
OBAMACARE ENROLLMENT (part 2) Who Will Remain Opposed to Obamacare in 2015? “Zero-Sum Thinking”
In 2015, I predict that Obamacare enrollment will soar, matching 2014’s success.
This may seem counter-intuitive. After all, in recent months, the public’s perception of Obamacare seems to have soured. The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation’s health care tracking poll for July reveals that 53% of those surveyed last month said they view the Affordable Care Act unfavorably—a jump of 8 percentage points since June. July’s results mark the first time since January, that more than half of all Americans opposed the health reform law
Is this because people who have enrolled in the Exchanges are unhappy with the insuranc...
Source: Health Beat - August 26, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: the more you know about Obamacare attack ads on Obamacare California Obamacare 2015 Obamacare and mid-term elections Obamacare and zero-sum thinking Obamacare enrollment polls on Obamacare popular support for Obamacare Robert Blendon and Source Type: blogs
Border Crisis: Fictions v. Facts (Part 2 of “Children from Central America”)
Despite extensive media coverage, there is probably much that you don’t know about the history of the border crisis—and what we can or should do in response. Too often the headlines are designed to stir passions, rather than inform.
At the end of next week, Congress will leave for its five-week August Recess. Between now and then legislators will be debating the issues, and no doubt many of your friends will be taking positions.
Here are the facts you need when weighing what you hear–whether on television or at a neighbor’s barbecue.
Are you aware that since President Obama took office, it has become...
Source: Health Beat - July 26, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: unaccompanied children border Border Crisis Central America illegal immigrants Immigration Reform National Guard Obama and border crisis refugees August recess Congress El Salvador Guatemala Honduras rape Vox Source Type: blogs
Children from Central America Surge Across Our Border: Congress Must Now Decide Whether to Change the Immigration Law that George W. Bush Signed in 2008
If you think fertilized eggs are people but refugee kids aren’t, you’re going to have to stop pretending your concerns are religious– Syd’s SoapBox
News reports have been filled with conflicting theories explaining why tens of thousands of unaccompanied children from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, have been streaming into the U.S. Some observers say that their parents are sending them here, so that they can take advantage of the social services and free education available in the U.S. Others argue that they are not coming here willingly, but that they have been forced to flee gang violence in their hom...
Source: Health Beat - July 18, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: Central America children George W. Bush law murder rape refugees Senator Patrick Leahy 2008 law deported El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Source Type: blogs
Polarized Politics Led To Cantor’s Defeat– and Cochran’s Victory. Why the “Uncommitted Center” Is So Important (Cantor part 2)
Please scroll down for Part 1 of this post.
When House Majority leader Eric Cantor lost his seat to ultra-conservative David Brat, the Washington Post’s Ruth Marcus summed up the majority view among political pundits: “The episode offers a disturbing commentary about the poisonous, polarized state of American politics.”
I cannot agree. I don’t think “polarization” is toxic. To the contrary, as the poet William Blake once wrote “Without Contraries, No Progress.” Conflict can clarify issues, and help us move forward. Indeed, the clash of opinions is a time-honored way of testing their validity.
Do ...
Source: Health Beat - June 27, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: Cantor centrists Cochran and McDaniel compromise Mississippi run-off polarization Tea Party ultra-conservative Uncategorized American Values conservative Republicans global warming gun control immigration reform liberals mini Source Type: blogs
Cantor’s Defeat—What It Does Not Mean– Part 1
Shocked by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s defeat in last week’s Virginia primary, many in the media have decided that this “earthquake” has re-shaped the political landscape.
Immigration reform is dead, they say, and tea party radicals are far stronger than many suspected.
Meanwhile, the alarmists warn, political polarization has divided the country, poisoning our democracy. On that last point they are half-right; Republican voters have moved to the far right, while politically active Democrats are beginning to shift toward the left.
But polarization is not necessarily a threat to the Republic. Pointed deba...
Source: Health Beat - June 21, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: Central America and children Eric Cantor Immigration Reform polarization Tea Party Virginia Primary David Brag Hunduras polarizaiton unaccompanied chidren Source Type: blogs
Cantor’s Defeat—What It Does Not Mean
Shocked by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s defeat in last week’s Virginia primary, many in the media have decided that this “earthquake” has re-shaped the political landscape.
Immigration reform is dead, they say, and tea party radicals are far stronger than many suspected.
Meanwhile, the alarmists warn, political polarization has divided the country, poisoning our democracy. On that last point they are half-right; Republican voters have moved to the far right, while politically active Democrats are beginning to shift toward the left.
But polarization is not a threat to the Republic. Debate can clarify the iss...
Source: Health Beat - June 21, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: Central America and children Eric Cantor Immigration Reform polarization Tea Party Virginia Primary David Brag Hunduras polarizaiton unaccompanied chidren Source Type: blogs
The “Cholesterol Con”–Eggs
In the past, I have written about the “cholesterol con” (part 1), the widespread belief that high levels of “bad (LDL) cholesterol” can cause heart attacks. As I have explained (part 2), the myth has generated enormous profits for many commercial interests, including companies that peddle statins. (Please read both parts of the post.) No surprise, manufacturers have poured millions of dollars into perpetuating the myth, and thus have succeed in convincing a great many Americans that they should avoid high-cholesterol foods–including eggs.
According to Harvard University’s...
Source: Health Beat - June 15, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: cholesterol cholesterol con eggs heart attacks Carolyn Thomas Heart Sisters Source Type: blogs
Cantor’s Defeat–Wittiest One-Liners
Eric Cantor’s shellacking has drawn much attention–perhaps two much commentary. (After all, this was just a primary. I don’t think that it “Changes Everything.”)
That said, here are my favorite comments on this event::
– “‘Brat Upsets Cantor’ . . . The headline sounds like a failed Bar Mitzvah” — Delaware Dem
–On Tuesday night, Ezra Klein wrote:“John Boehner must be having an emotionally complicated evening.”
(Source: Health Beat)
Source: Health Beat - June 12, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: Uncategorized Brat Cantor's defeat Eric Cantor Ezra Klein immigration reform Source Type: blogs
The Doctor-Patient Relationship
Posted on May 9, 2014 by Maggie Mahar
What would happen if my doctor wore the johnny and I had on a fancy robe?
See the cartoon from Member Stories on Healthcare Savvy
(Source: Health Beat)
Source: Health Beat - May 19, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Longevity and Long-Term Care: The Medical Crisis of the 21st Century : Part 2
Throughout the 20th century, most Americans saw “longevity” as a goal. If we took care of our bodies, we reasoned, we could “live longer and better.”
But in the 21st century, I suspect that some of us will learn to fear “longevity” the way we now fear cancer.
This is the second in a series of posts that will explore the anguish that some experience when they live into their late eighties and nineties–and how we, as a society, can address the hardships of “old, old age.”
Senile Dementia
Thanks to better diets, exercise, and advances...
Source: Health Beat - May 19, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Maggie Mahar Tags: Knocking on Heaven's Door Alzheimer's Alzheimer's drugs Compassion and Choices fast medicine Long-term care longevity over-treatment pacemakers palliative care senile dementia slow medicine Uncategorized Consumer Reports Katy B Source Type: blogs
