Understanding 'Obamacare'
"Understanding 'Obamacare'" is a series of occasional stories examining how the Affordable Care Act — widely called Obamacare first by critics and now also by some supporters — will change how you access and pay for health care. The series will look at the impact the new law has on individuals, businesses and health care providers in Southwest Virginia.
Details still murky about health insurance exchanges under 'Obamacare'
With the insurance exchanges set to begin on Oct. 1, many pieces of the system still have to be designed and implemented. Over the course of five years, Charlene Humphrey’s kidney stone has grown to nearly the size of a walnut, demanding an operation she cannot afford. Humphrey makes $9.25 an hour working the front desk of a Christiansburg motel.
Reporter Laurence Hammack is hosting discussion about the series on his blog:
- Meeting details insurance plans offered through Affordable Care Act, July 17, 2013
- "Understanding Obamacare" series to continue this Sunday, July 12, 2013
- Roanoke health center gets grant under Affordable Care Act, July 11, 2013
- State panel takes first hard look at expanding Medicaid, June 18, 2013
- "Understanding 'Obamacare'" series to kick off today, June 16, 2013
Virginia near bottom in spending for health care law outreach
RICHMOND -- Only one state will spend less per capita than Virginia to promote public awareness of the new health care reform law. According to data compiled by The Associated Press from federal and state sources, the $3.9 million in outreach spending in Virginia amounts to 49 cents per resident. Only Wisconsin, at 46 cents, is spending less per capita. States that resisted President Barack Obama's health overhaul generally are spending less to promote it.
State officials fighting clock to ready health exchange by October
RICHMOND — For that rare bird in the health care world — a high income, young and healthy man who bothers to buy health insurance — the Affordable Care Act is likely to mean a rate shock, health plans’ presentations to the State Corporation Commission suggest. Insurers who aim to offer coverage through the new health insurance exchanges sketched their proposals to the commission on Tuesday, even as the staff
Appeals court rejects Liberty University's health care reform suit
A federal appeals court in Richmond rejected Liberty University's challenge to the Obamacare federal health care law Thursday, but it left a door open for the school to appeal its case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although it was the third time courts have ruled against its claim, LU isn't giving up, said Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, which is handling the university's challenge of the law. click here! "The next
New Horizons earns $87,083 federal grant
A community health center in Roanoke is getting a federal grant to help spread the word about how low-income residents can find assistance through the new federal health care law. New Horizons Healthcare will receive $87,083, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday. The money is part of a national effort by the Obama administration to make health care more accessible through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. A
Delay of employer-coverage requirement raises questions about health care law
WASHINGTON — The sudden delay of a major part of President Barack Obama’s historic health care overhaul is raising questions about other potential problems lurking in the homestretch. The requirement that many employers provide coverage is just one part of a complex law. But its one-year postponement has taken administration allies and adversaries alike by surprise. White House officials said Wednesday that the delay was firm and won’t be extended
Medicaid expansion could give Virginia flexibility, official says
RICHMOND — Virginia is in a strong bargaining position to get the flexibility it wants if it opts to expand Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled, the state's top health official said today. And the state has already made much progress reforming its Medicaid services on the lines that this year's budget compromise on expansion calls for, said the chairman of the legislative panel that
Virginia still undecided on Medicaid expansion
Lois Casto takes home $1,260 a month from her job serving students at a Virginia Tech dining hall, hardly enough to feed her family of six. Unable to afford health insurance, she gets most of her care from a free clinic. But in some times of sickness, she says, “I’ll just ride it out.” She does not qualify for Medicaid. * * * In the small white frame house where
McDonnell wants ‘dramatic’ cost-saving reforms to expand Medicaid in Virginia
If Medicaid is expanded in Virginia, it will only be after major changes are made to what some call a cumbersome and inefficient system. “The federal mandates, regulations, taxes and spending create an expensive, top-down, bureaucratic system,” Gov. Bob McDonnell wrote in a March 5 letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. McDonnell made it clear that he does not support an expansion, and that the state
1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County
2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
7. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area
THE ROANOKE TIMES
