Your Health In the News
78% Percentage of grandparents over age 65 who say their adult grandchildren motivate them to stay healthy.
Zeroing In on Insurance Exchanges
In October, if all goes as planned, millions of Americans will start signing up for health insurance much the way many book their vacations—at one-stop websites. ; Small businesses, members of Congress and anyone whose employer
doesn’t offer affordable health insurance will be able to compare private plans and
buy coverage on new health insurance exchanges mandated by the Affordable Care
Act. ; These online marketplaces aim to be simple and seamless, identifying those
eligible for coverage and tax-credit
premium subsidies or for Medicaid
or the Children’s Health Insurance
Program. Coverage will begin Jan.
1, 2014. ; Most Americans are required to have health insurance in
2014 or face a tax penalty. About 9
million people are expected to buy
health insurance through exchanges in 2014, rising to 25 million in
2022, the Congressional Budget Office projects. ; States could choose
to run a state-based exchange, work
in partnership with the federal government or opt out and let the federal government run the exchange. ; As of mid-December,
17 states and the District of Columbia had declared they
would run their own exchanges, 5 planned to partner with
the federal government, 18 said they would default to a federal exchange, and 10 were undecided, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
; Since 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $2 billion
in grants to states to plan, build and market the exchanges, says Amanda White,
health analyst with Deltek, which tracks federal contracting. ; Foes of the health law
are fighting the exchanges in states and the courts, and Congress is watching to see
how well the exchanges work. ; “We’ll find out, ultimately, whether the insurance exchanges reach the goals we want to reach,” says Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. —Marsha Mercer
The Poll
Priorities for Washington
Is it very
important that the
president and Congress work on the
following issues?
(yes responses)
Health insurance
exchanges will be
an option for the
uninsured.
So Long,
Social
Security
Checks
Getting Social Security benefits by paper check will soon be a thing of the past. Starting March
1, a new regulation requires almost all recipients of
federal benefits to receive payments electronically.
Payments will be accessible through direct deposit
or a Direct Express prepaid debit card. ; Of 63.5
million beneficiaries, about 5 million people still receive paper checks, says Walt Henderson, director
of the Treasury Department’s GoDirect campaign. A
limited number of hardship cases and people in their
90s who do not convert to electronic payments by March 1 will continue to receive
paper checks, but the number of allowable waivers will dwindle over time. ; To sign
up for direct deposit, go to GoDirect.org or call 800-333-1795. —Katherine Borgerding
Age 18-49 50-plus
Develop more cooperative political parties
59 78%
Reduce budget deficit
73 80%
Fortify Social Security
66 75%
Strengthen Medicare
63 72%
Reform immigration
43 54%
Reform tax code
by closing loopholes
55 69%
Improve the nation’s
roads and bridges
44 51%
Help more Americans
find jobs
87 % 85%
Improve education
79 76%
Survey of 1,000 adults age 18 and over conducted
by Woelfel Research, Nov. 17-27, 2012.
