Curated by AAPS Executive Director Jane M. Orient, M.D.
ObamaCare Terminations:
Some 115,000 people will lose their ObamaCare coverage as of Sept. 30, according to Andrew M. Slavitt, the No. 2 official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the federal insurance marketplace, because they had failed to prove that they were United States citizens or legal immigrants eligible for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
CMS also told 363,000 people that they could lose financial aid because their incomes could not be verified. Many claimed they had tried to submit documents repeatedly through HealthCare.gov, or had sent the documents by mail to a federal contractor in Kentucky. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/us/us-to-end-coverage-under-health-care-law-for-tens-of-thousands.html?_r=0
Close to 2 million Americans will be denied Exchange or Medicaid coverage if employers offer “affordable” coverage to workers but not their families. One “solution” is for couples to obtain a legal separation or not get married. http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/18/study-obamacare-family-glitch-could-hit-up-to-2-million-people/
Contrary to Obama’s promise that federal funds would not be used to pay for abortion, ObamaCare will pay for your abortion—but it may be virtually impossible to add a newborn to your Exchange plan. http://www.lifenews.com/2014/01/03/obamacare-will-pay-for-your-abortion-but-not-include-your-baby-in-your-health-insurance
Vermont Health Connect has been put into a “medically induced coma” in an attempt to repair it before open enrollment. This dysfunctional website is the cornerstone of Vermont’s effort to comply with the ACA. Vermont is supposed to be a beacon of health care reform and aspires to have the first state single payer system. A real-time interaction with the system is shown on video by New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss. http://www.newsweek.com/vermonts-flawed-health-care-site-put-life-support-271031
The Obama Administration has stopped reporting monthly enrollment. The second open enrollment period, which begins just after the November election, is expected to be disastrous. http://healthblog.ncpa.org/obamacares-second-open-enrolment-starts-in-two-months-and-it-is-going-to-be-awful/
We don’t know how many people are enrolled, or the impact on the number of uninsured. http://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2014/09/18/we-still-dont-know-how-many-people-obamacare-enrolled/
Information technology is eating the health care system, and the health insurance industry is heading over the cliff, writes Barbara Duck. http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/09/health-insurance-business-is-driving.html
IT may also be the culprit in making doctors the targets of tax fraud—possibly through a data breach at a national organization that certifies or credentials physicians. http://ducknetweb.blogspot.com/2014/04/doctors-big-target-this-year-with-tax.html
Wars:
A perspective on the War on Poverty on its 50th anniversary: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/19/rector-the-war-on-poverty-50-years-of-failure/#ixzz3E3jpZhOs
Obama sending American troops into War on Ebola: http://www.wnd.com/2014/09/military-expert-obama-confused-on-national-security/
Social Media:
WHO: Death toll in W.Africa #Ebola epidemic reaches 2,622, 5335 cases – @Reuters – http://t.co/aE0ETsKTpi
— HealthMap (@healthmap) September 18, 2014
It’s Become A War To Keep Patient Medical Records Secure And Out of the Hands of Hackers http://t.co/r1LwxzYgLc
— MedicalQuack (@MedicalQuack) September 18, 2014
Medical Records For Sale Found On the Black Market – Evolution Market Where Narcotics And Stolen … http://t.co/m7eDKRrg52
— MedicalQuack (@MedicalQuack) September 20, 2014
BREAKING: CDC’s Ebola worst-case scenario said to project 550,000 or more infections http://t.co/XXlGTGEiD4
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) September 19, 2014
Why the math of the #Ebola outbreak is so scary http://t.co/bCB57mOonN
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) September 19, 2014
#Ebola continues to spread quickly, up to two new cases for each person infected – much higher than past outbreaks: http://t.co/HifFNx1Wa1
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) September 15, 2014