ObamaCare 411 smartphone app release Monday at LOB

This Monday Small Business for a Healthy CT will host a live demonstration of Obamacare411, a suite of user-friendly information tools, to answer questions and cut through the confusion of national health reform. January 1st consumers and small businesses will face a confusing array of new opportunities, responsibilities and costs. The Obamacare 411 learning center, www.ombamacare411.info, includes an Iphone App on the Apple Store, a website of tools, and a Help Book Series on Amazon.com. The tools give consumers and small businesses individual answers to costs, subsidies, and what it all means for businesses and families. The demonstration will be 11:00 am Monday, April 1st at the 2nd floor atrium of the Legislative Office Building, Hartford CT.

CT nursing collaborative funded to build capacity

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded the CT Nursing Collaborative Action Coalition a two-year grant to prepare CT nurses to address coming health care challenges including an aging and increasingly diverse population. The program supports efforts to transform health care through “a more highly educated, diverse nursing workforce that will improve health outcomes for patients, families and communities.” CT is among twenty states that will share in the $3 million initiative.

What can Charter Oak teach the CT health insurance exchange?

A comparison finds lower consumer costs in the current Charter Oak plan than the Access Health CT (the CT Health Insurance Exchange) standard silver plan. Governor Rell created Charter Oak almost five years ago for the same purpose as the exchange – offering affordable, decent coverage options for CT’s uninsured. While Charter Oak premiums started out at an affordable $257 monthly premium, because of high cost sharing and limited provider panels, the plan grew less attractive to healthier people, driving enrollment down by 61% and premiums up to $589 monthly. It never came close to meeting expectations or addressing the needs of CT’s 300,000 uninsured. Unfortunately the exchange is poised to make the same mistake. Costs in the exchange standard silver level plan are higher than Charter Oak for most services. The total out of pocket maximum is $1,800 in Charter Oak but $6,000 for in-network care and $12,000 for out-of-network care in the exchange. CT’s exchange and Board need to sharpen their pencils to keep costs down for uninsured consumers. One of the best tools for that is active purchasing – negotiating rates with insurers – used with success by other states and most large groups. A bill directing the exchange to actively purchase coverage on behalf of consumers and small businesses is moving through the legislature.

CT individual premiums expected to rise 29% next year

A new analysis by the Society of Actuaries predicts that non-group health insurance premiums will rise from the current monthly average of $339 to $514 in 2014. According to the authors, acknowledged by HHS Secretary Sebelius, the increase will result mainly from provisions of the Affordable Care Act. CT can expect our individual market to grow by 77% to 255,216 people. Nationally 80% of that growth will be within insurance exchanges. The rate of uninsurance in CT is predicted to drop from 12.7% to 6% with reform.

HUSKY parents cut – costs outlined, rally planned

The Governor’s budget proposed cutting 37,500 working parents from Medicaid in 2014. Families affected have incomes between 133 and 185% of the federal poverty level -- $25,975 to $36,131 for a family of three this year. The administration argues that those parents will be able to purchase federally subsidized coverage in the new insurance exchange. A new analysis from the CT Health Foundation finds that out-of-pocket costs for those families will average $1,800/year and estimates that 7,500 to 11,000 working parents will not be able to afford coverage and will become uninsured. Total costs for HUSKY parents’ coverage will rise by one third – from $4,800 in HUSKY to $6,400 in the exchange. The Caring Families Coalition is planning a rally to protest the cuts Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 10:00-11:30 am at the State Capitol-North Steps. For more information, call 860-524-0502 ext. 12.

Insurance Exchange web portal needs work

The access health CT (formerly the CT Health Insurance Exchange) web portal got a chilly reception from stakeholders at its first demonstration Wednesday. The web portal is the foundation of the state’s health reform efforts. People searching for coverage, in public programs or private insurance, will be directed to the website. The audience of brokers and consumer advocates had many concerns. The slides were very difficult to see. There were 34 webpages estimated to take over 50 minutes to complete to get to the point of a determination of what people qualify for. There were numerous places where the wrong answer would disqualify applicants. Terms were not adequately explained, i.e. Are you offered affordable coverage at work? Only four slides were devoted to comparing health plan offerings. All 75 exchange plan offers will be displayed, prioritized by price, but there is an option to filter in several ways. Unfortunately the quality filter is only by NCQA rankings – every CT plan now has a B rating (80 to 90 points) with little meaningful difference between them. People are told as they start each section what documents they will need, requiring several stops, and making it very difficult to navigate the system anywhere but at home. Using Social Security Numbers to link to a federal data hub including income information, credit bureau reports, citizenship, DMV, and other sensitive sources raises privacy concerns. Help cues are links out off the page. The process requires people to estimate their incomes and itemize deductions for both 2013 and 2014 at the end of 2013 – very difficult for low-income, often hourly workers often with more than one job. If a family member is eligible for Medicaid, at the end of all this they are shifted to the DSS Medicaid application system as it exists now. Advocates raised numerous concerns that the system did not fully explain people’s rights and risks. Exchange staff and consultants noted that they are collecting feedback and revising the system.

Room change -- Insurance exchange experts panel coming to CT

Tomorrow’s panel -- Health Insurance Exchanges: How Connecticut Can Benefit -- a panel of national and state experts sponsored by the Council of State Governments/Eastern Region will be in Room 2D (not 2C) of the LOB at 1:30pm. (It’s a very busy day at the Capitol.) The panel will describe what is happening in leading exchange states, federal guidance and expectations, and where CT is currently. Speakers include Dave Chandra, Senior Policy Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Christie Hager, Regional Director, US Dept. of Health and Human Services, and Vicki Veltri, CT State Health Care Advocate. Kevin Lembo, CT’s Comptroller, will moderate.