More ACA implementation from KPBS and UAB

I began KPBS and others on the ACA for the week of Thanksgiving by justifying why I'm using KPBS's coverage of how California is putting the Affordable Care Act AKA Obamacare into effect.

Here is another entry in that vein, as I pass along KPBS's reporting on the implimentation of the Affordable Care Act AKA Obamacare in California.  It makes for a good mirror in which to see the process as it was intended.  That means any issues will be the result of intrinsic factors, not outside interference.

It's time for the next installment in my examination of the issue.

Under my "if it moves, it leads" policy, I begin with KPBS asking Second Opinion: Will Obamacare Streamline Care for Disabled People?

Christina Mitchell is a graduate student at the University of San Diego. She's working with families who care for disabled dependents to document the challenges of coordinating care for their loved ones through a tangled web of doctors, insurance providers and community resources.

That's a good question.  I hope the answer is yes.

Follow over the jump for more from KPBS and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

KPBS: Feds Slow To Roll Out Spanish-Language Health Care Website
Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The federal government plans to quietly roll out the Spanish-language version of HealthCare.gov any day now. The soft launch for the Affordable Care Act’s Spanish-language enrollment site is set for early December.

Many suspect adding Spanish speakers might jam the system with even more problems.

This looks like a possible answer to a problem I included in last week's post on the ACA--low Hispanic enrollment.

Capital Public Radio via KPBS: Californians With Food Stamps To Get ‘Fast Tracked’ To Health Care
Pauline Bartolone / Capital Public Radio
Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Soon, 600,000 uninsured Californians who receive food stamps will be able to 'check a box' and receive free health care under the Affordable Care Act.

Rene Mollow of the California Department of Health Care Services said letters will be sent out in February.

KPBS: Covered California Sets Goal To Enroll 7,000 Small Businesses By 2014
By Kenny Goldberg
Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Covered California has been marketing Obamacare aggressively to individuals. Now the online health insurance exchange has added a new target: small businesses.

The Affordable Care Act does not require businesses with fewer than 50 employees to provide health insurance.

Nonetheless, Covered California is encouraging small firms to sign up.

Capital Public Radio via KPBS: California Health Insurers Restrict Doctor Choice To Lower Costs
Pauline Bartolone / Capital Public Radio
Monday, December 2, 2013

Diane Shore of Mill Valley is one of a small group of Americans who received a letter that their health policy will be canceled.

The letter from Blue Shield of California suggested a new Blue Shield plan with a small premium increase.

But she’s not pleased.

“My physicians will no longer be in this network of physicians, or the hospitals won’t be as well,” said Shore.

I conclude with another installment of a continuing series, UAB's Michael Morrisey explains how the ACA will effect Medicare and taxes.


And that's it for this week's news stories originally included in Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Die, Selfish Gene!) on Daily Kos.