.jpeg)
October 16, 2012
The Affordable Care Act allows states to establish and requires states to show significant progress by January 1, 2013. If the states are not showing this progress, the federal government must step in and set up the exchanges. JoAnn Grossi, the regional head of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), spoke at an event in Norfolk in early October. At the event, she said that HHS is assuming that Virginia cannot meet the deadlines for setting up a Health Benefit Exchange (HBE). She said that HHS is making plans now to run the HBE in Virginia, at least for the short term. Governor McDonnell has been saying that the state is making satisfactory progress and that Virginia could decide in the next General Assembly session whether or not to set up a HBE.
The Kaiser Family Foundation did a study recently on how small business owners (with fewer than 25 employees) get health insurance coverage. The study found that 25% are uninsured, 19% get insurance through their small business, 21% get insurance through a spouse, 30% buy individual coverage and 6% use Medicaid or Medicare. See the full study at http://policyinsights.kff.org/
There is a federal income tax credit for small businesses that provide health insurance for their employees. The credit will carry over into the future if it is not all used in one year. IRS form 8941 contains information http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-
In a 2009 study, Families USA looked at how medical care for the uninsured is provided. The study noted that the uninsured receive over $100 billion in medical care each year. The study found that while the uninsured and charities help, about 1/3 of this bill is passed on to those with insurance. The study found that insured families pay about $1000 more each year to cover the uninsured. The study can be found at www.familiesusa.org/resources/
Follow us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/
