Tag Archives: health insurance

Let the budgetary games begin

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The House takes up the budget today, with over 300 amendments and riders queued up for votes. A couple of things to watch for as the debate goes on: Killing vouchers. Lawmakers in the Texas House will have a chance … Continue reading →

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Diabetes

Posted on March 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

What happens when you expand access to health care in America? More people with previously undiagnosed illnesses can get the diagnosis and treatment that they need. Putting off visits to the doctor because you don’t have insurance is common, says … Continue reading →

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Rural hospitals

Posted on March 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

If this story was meant to evoke my sympathy, I’m afraid it failed. Since the hospital closed in Paducah, a town 30 miles to the north, patients in Guthrie have 60 long miles to travel to Childress for care. It’s … Continue reading →

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Cruz may go on Obamacare

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Go ahead, laugh it up. You know you want to. Ted Cruz, one of the loudest critics of Obamacare, will soon be using it for health insurance coverage. “We will presumably go on the exchange and sign up for health … Continue reading →

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Lots of newly insured folks in Texas

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Obamacare! More than half of 1.2 million Texans who enrolled in private health insurance plans through the federally operated marketplace this year were new customers, according to a government report released Tuesday. The analysis from the U.S. Department of … Continue reading →

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From the “Be careful who you vote for” department

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Because you never know when the consequences of your voting actions will directly affect you. Erin Meredith, a fifth-generation Republican who lives in Austin, was no fan of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which she considered just another wasteful government … Continue reading →

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One point two million Obamacare signups in Texas

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not too shabby. McCarter was one of nearly 1.2 million Texans who signed up or were re-enrolled in health coverage before open enrollment ended Sunday. The newly released numbers show Texas ranking behind only Florida in the number of people … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS could really screw Texas on Obamacare

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

You know how all those Texans have been signing up for health insurance via the Healthcare.gov exchange? Every single one of them stands to lose if the Supreme Court decides to play politics. Nearly 1 million Texans have now signed … Continue reading →

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Approaching a million Obamacare signups in Texas

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We are well ahead of last year’s pace. More than 256,000 Houston-area residents have selected plans or been re-enrolled in coverage through the health insurance marketplace mandated by the Affordable Care Act, and federal and local health officials and experts … Continue reading →

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918K and counting

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Obamacare enrollment numbers in Texas keep going up. More than 7 million people, including 918,890 Texans, have selected a plan or were automatically re-enrolled in coverage in the federal health insurance marketplace under the Affordable Care Act, according to government … Continue reading →

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Texas Obamacare enrollments top 850K

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And counting. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services Wednesday announced nearly 860,000 Texans so far have enrolled in health insurance marketplace coverage with a month left still left to go until the 2015 open enrollment period ends. … Continue reading →

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Texas: Still not expanding Medicaid

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This should put a stake through the heart of these stories. Governor-Elect Greg Abbott (R., Texas) will not expand Medicaid despite hopes by Obamacare supporters that he would do so following a report that he inquired about Utah’s variation of … Continue reading →

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Bringing health insurance to the customers

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s learning from experience. The federal government and insurers learned from the last year’s inaugural open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act that it takes more than low premiums to persuade the uninsured to buy federally mandated health coverage, … Continue reading →

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Does any of this sound like “Medicaid Expansion” to you?

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So Wonkblog, TPM, and BOR, all riffing off the same news story in which Greg Abbott had a clandestine meeting with Houston-area legislators and may have said some things that made them think he might be open to “Medicaid expansion”, … Continue reading →

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It’s still not Medicaid expansion

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Legislature may do something that could sort of be called “Medicaid expansion”, if only for lack of a better term, but we would all do well to remain deeply skeptical of what they might consider. The once taboo subject … Continue reading →

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Obamacare 2.0

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The open enrollment period for the Obamacare insurance exchanges is going on right now. This year, the feds are taking a more direct approach to getting people to enroll. Secretary for Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell, whose appearance at … Continue reading →

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Even Rick Perry appointees back Medicaid expansion

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s just the right thing to do. A board of medical professionals appointed by Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that the state should provide health coverage to low-income Texans under the Affordable Care Act — a move the Republican-led Legislature … Continue reading →

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Expand Medicaid or else

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Turns out the federal government has more leverage over Texas than you might think. If Texas wants to keep receiving billions of federal dollars to help hospitals care for uninsured patients, state lawmakers may have to look again at expanding … Continue reading →

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Where Texans got their Obamacare information

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Baker Institute tells us. While most Texans used healthcare.gov earlier this year to get information or to enroll in a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), larger percentages of Texans found talking to the call center … Continue reading →

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Woodfill gets another injunction

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

WTF? A state district judge on Wednesday ordered the city of Houston to stop offering health and life insurance benefits to the same-sex spouses of married employees, but city attorneys say they plan an immediate appeal that, once filed, could … Continue reading →

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Jared Woodfill sues again

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Dude is obsessed. Former Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill isn’t giving up on his fight to block the city of Houston from providing benefits to the same-sex spouses of employees. After Mayor Annise Parker extended benefits to same-sex spouses … Continue reading →

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All married city employees may continue to receive spousal benefits for now

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Married same-sex couples will continue to receive health and life insurance benefits from the city of Houston, a federal judge ruled Friday, pending the outcome of an appeal in a separate lawsuit. […] [Mayor Annise] Parker’s policy change … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit over same sex benefits for city employees moved back to state court

Posted on August 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The passage of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance and the efforts to put a repeal referendum on the ballot have been one of the big local stories this year, but you may recall that before we were all talking about … Continue reading →

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Just don’t call it “Medicaid expansion”

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the public policy that dare not have its name spoken, at least by Republican legislators. State lawmakers renewed efforts Thursday to find a “Texas solution” to expand health-insurance coverage for low-income residents without accepting the Medicaid expansion in President … Continue reading →

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Just a reminder: Medicaid expansion is still a great deal

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

But only if you do it. We learned late last week that the decision by 24 states to reject Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion comes as a startling cost — $423.6 billion in lost federal funds from 2013 to 2022, according to … Continue reading →

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Houston municipal employees may see health insurance costs get hiked again

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s one of many possible proposals for closing the upcoming budget shortfall. A key option, [Mayor annise] Parker has said, is to increase the share of health care costs employees pay. The city now pays three-fourths, and employees pay one-fourth. … Continue reading →

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Expanding Medicaid the hard way

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A lot smaller than it should have been, but it’s still something. More than 80,000 additional Texans have enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program since the rollout of the Affordable Care Act last fall despite Republican state … Continue reading →

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Don’t sweat that court ruling on Obamacare tax credits just yet

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s too soon to say what effect, if any will be felt in Texas. Opposing rulings from two federal courts Tuesday left unclear the future prospects of federal financial aid to Texans who qualify for assistance to purchase health insurance … Continue reading →

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The people who signed up for insurance via Obamacare got themselves a pretty good deal

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It worked the way it was supposed to work, in other words. Texans who received financial assistance to purchase health coverage through the federal insurance exchange are paying less in monthly premiums than individuals in most other states using that … Continue reading →

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If Louisiana can do it…

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

By “it” I mean expand Medicaid. What’s Texas’ excuse if that happens? Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter on Monday left open the possibility of expanding Louisiana’s Medicaid program to cover more of the working poor. Vitter, a candidate for governor … Continue reading →

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Medicaid expansion: Still a great deal, especially for cities

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So many uninsured people could get covered if Medicaid expansion were universal instead of just here and there. Expanding Medicaid under the new health care law would do a lot to slash the number of uninsured people, at least in … Continue reading →

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Teacher health insurance costs

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Another thing on the list of things the Legislature needs to deal with but won’t. Health care insurance costs for hundreds of thousands of Texas teachers and other public school employees are scheduled to go up again this fall, prompting … Continue reading →

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The Texarkana experience

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The city of Texarcana literally sits on the border between Texas and Arkansas, partly in one state and partly in the other. That means that some of its residents may be eligible for a health insurance subsidy under Arkansas’ Medicaid … Continue reading →

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Two million Texans used healthcare.gov

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, we had lots of demand for health insurance. That’s what happens when you have so many uninsured people in a state. Almost all adult Texans knew of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace before its open enrollment ended … Continue reading →

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