Rural health insurance resources related to rural health and human services, with information provided by the Rural Assistance Center Copyright 2009 Rural Assistance Center http://www.raconline.org/info_guides/insurance/ HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the availability of up to $10 million in grants to help reach American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children who qualify for, but are not yet enrolled, in Medicaid and the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP). http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12591 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:38:08 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12591 Reviews the full range of individual state activity on health reform during 2008 and provides facts about the number and percent of uninsured Americans. -- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation http://www.academyhealth.org/files/publications/SCI_SoS09.pdf Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:30:51 CST http://www.academyhealth.org/files/publications/SCI_SoS09.pdf Iowa Dependent article tells of a new white paper released by The Iowa Policy Project that focuses on the disparities at play when rural residents seek health care insurance. http://iowaindependent.com/22073/study-rural-health-care-costs-rising-at-an-unsustainable-trajectory Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:28:43 CST http://iowaindependent.com/22073/study-rural-health-care-costs-rising-at-an-unsustainable-trajectory Medicare Update article reports that in an effort aimed to strengthen the U.S. government's capacity to investigate and prosecute waste, fraud and abuse in government health care programs and private health insurance, Senator Ted Kaufman has introduced the Health Care Fraud Enforcement Act of 2009 (S.1959). http://medicareupdate.typepad.com/medicare_update/2009/11/healthcarefraudenforcementact.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:03:12 CST http://medicareupdate.typepad.com/medicare_update/2009/11/healthcarefraudenforcementact.html Daily Yonder article reports that Congressional legislation to reshape the U.S. health insurance system, H.R. 3962, passed by a tiny five-vote margin late Saturday night, as 39 Democrats most of them representing rural districts -- broke with the president and opposed the sweeping bill. http://www.dailyyonder.com/democrat-defectors-rural-districts/2009/11/09/2441 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:58:03 CST http://www.dailyyonder.com/democrat-defectors-rural-districts/2009/11/09/2441 Kaiser Health News reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says she will have enough votes to pass Democratic health care legislation by Saturday, and the American Medical Association and AARP also announced they will support the health reform bill. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/05/Pelosi-votes-ama-aarp.aspx Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:35:50 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/05/Pelosi-votes-ama-aarp.aspx HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today called on states and communities to join with HHS to redouble efforts to find and enroll the 5 million children who are currently eligible for Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but are not yet covered. http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12502 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:29:11 CST http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=12502 Kaiser Health News article reports that the House is moving toward a floor vote Saturday on its big health care overhaul, after Democratic leaders worked to nail down votes from some of their members who want stronger anti-abortion language in the bill. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/04/Managers-amendment.aspx Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:58:58 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Daily-Reports/2009/November/04/Managers-amendment.aspx Center for Rural Affairs article reports that a poll of 4,000 Americans shows that 74 percent of rural Americans believe that improving access to health care and making health care more affordable should be a high or top priority for our nation's elected officials. http://www.cfra.org/newsrelease/2009/11/03/polling-shows-support-rural-us-health-care-reform Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:19:31 CST http://www.cfra.org/newsrelease/2009/11/03/polling-shows-support-rural-us-health-care-reform Kaiser Health News reports that for all the controversy over a government-run insurance option, the program outlined in health overhaul legislation likely would play a minuscule role in efforts to expand health care coverage, according to many health care experts and lawmakers. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/October/31/health-insurance-public-option-negligible.aspx Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:28:10 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/October/31/health-insurance-public-option-negligible.aspx Reports that rural residents have a higher uninsured rate than their urban counterparts, and describes health care reform initiatives that can help improve coverage of rural Americans. -- Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Rural Health Panel http://www.rupri.org/Forms/Health_ReformBrief_Oct09.pdf Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:39:26 CST http://www.rupri.org/Forms/Health_ReformBrief_Oct09.pdf Argues through statistical analysis and research that health insurance reform will lower premiums for small businesses and lead to additional benefits. -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/smallbusiness2/smallbusiness2.pdf Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:58:50 CST http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/smallbusiness2/smallbusiness2.pdf Describes how the economic downturn may increase many of the health and access disparities that are already a problem in rural communities. Presents possible health insurance reform solutions. -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/ruralamerica/ruralmorechoicesmorecoverage.pdf Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:59:23 CST http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/ruralamerica/ruralmorechoicesmorecoverage.pdf Kaiser Health News reports that the COBRA law covers anyone laid off between Sept. 1 of last year and Dec. 31 of this year, but with the first discounts having gone into effect March 1, many people are about to see the benefit expire, including many who remain unemployed. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/October/28/COBRA.aspx Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:12:48 CST http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/October/28/COBRA.aspx Los Angeles Times, (CA) article reports that in a dramatic sign of Democrats' growing confidence that they have the votes to pass a far-reaching healthcare overhaul, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday that the bill he intended to send to the Senate floor next month would include a "public option." http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-healthcare-reid27-2009oct27,0,7425185.story Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:33:22 CST http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-healthcare-reid27-2009oct27,0,7425185.story A national coalition of public interest organizations that support effective insurance industry reforms to control skyrocketing insurance rates, reduced insurance coverage, arbitrary policy cancellations, mismanagement and other insurance industry abuses. http://www.insurance-reform.org/ Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:49:10 CST http://www.insurance-reform.org/ Illustrates premiums and government assistance under the types of reform proposals being considered in Congress for people under age 65 who purchase coverage on their own in an exchange or gateway and are not covered through their employer, Medicare or Medicaid. -- Kaiser Family Foundation http://healthreform.kff.org/Subsidycalculator.aspx Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:02:33 CST http://healthreform.kff.org/Subsidycalculator.aspx Data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey shows the critical role played by Medigap coverage, especially for low- and moderate-income beneficiaries, and those living in rural areas. -- AHIP Center for Policy and Research http://www.ahipresearch.org/pdfs/MedigapLowIncomeRuralReport09-11-09.pdf Mon, 14 Sep 2009 08:49:40 CST http://www.ahipresearch.org/pdfs/MedigapLowIncomeRuralReport09-11-09.pdf Provides the latest income, poverty, and health insurance data from the Current Population Survey. -- U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:22:15 CST http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/p60-236.pdf Explains how health insurance reform can work to ensure that older and senior women get quality, affordable health care. Includes information on women's health in rural areas. -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http://healthreform.gov/reports/seniorwomen/seniorwomenreport.pdf Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:14:28 CST http://healthreform.gov/reports/seniorwomen/seniorwomenreport.pdf Reports that rural residents-particularly in the most remote rural communities-are in greater need of health reform, as demonstrated by an uninsured rate higher than that of urban residents. The rural-urban disparity in coverage is driven by higher uninsured rates among rural adults, a group that should be part of any strategic effort to improve coverage. Analyses are based on the 2004-05 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. -- Maine Rural Health Research Center http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/Publications/rural/pb/Rural-Health-Insurance-Profile.pdf Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:11:03 CST http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/Publications/rural/pb/Rural-Health-Insurance-Profile.pdf Focuses on health insurance coverage among those with middle incomes its availability,affordability, and stability. -- Kaiser Family Foundation http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/7951.pdf Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:35:48 CST http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/7951.pdf Reports that there are rural-urban and regionaldifferences in the race and ethnicity ofqualified-but-uninsured children; about 6 in 10 qualified-but-uninsured children have family incomes below the federal poverty level; children of all ages are qualified for Medicaid or CHIP but not enrolled. -- North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center (Cecil G. Sheps Center) http://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/research_programs/rural_program/pubs/finding_brief/FB91.pdf Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:05:01 CST http://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/research_programs/rural_program/pubs/finding_brief/FB91.pdf Reports that rural residents are less likely than their urban counterparts to have private health insurance coverage. -- Maine Rural Health Research Center http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/Publications/rural/pb/Rural-Private-Health-Insurance.pdf Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:34:08 CST http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/Publications/rural/pb/Rural-Private-Health-Insurance.pdf Provides statistics to identify how Americans with pre-existing medical conditions face discrimination in the private individual health insurance market. -- Center for American Progress http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/04/pdf/preexisting_conditions.pdf Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:40:41 CST http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/04/pdf/preexisting_conditions.pdf Summarizes findings of two reports studying the adequacy and transparency of health insurance in Massachusetts and California. Suggests a new method of developing benchmarks to illustrate types and cost of medical care under a variety of scenarios. -- Center for American Progress Action Fund http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2009/05/pdf/CoverageWhenItCounts.pdf Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:27:51 CST http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2009/05/pdf/CoverageWhenItCounts.pdf Discusses the current state of health care in rural areas and the need for health care reform. Covers the use and cost of insurance and health care for farm and ranch operators, poverty and unemployment rates, health disparities, and the state of health care provider workforce in rural America. -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http://healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes/ruralreport.pdf Wed, 06 May 2009 08:55:17 CST http://healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes/ruralreport.pdf Interprets the results of an AHA survey of 1,078 U.S. community hospitals conducted in March 2009 about the effects of the economic downturn on patients and providers. -- American Hospital Association http://www.aha.org/aha/content/2009/pdf/090427econcrisisreport.pdf Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:59:52 CST http://www.aha.org/aha/content/2009/pdf/090427econcrisisreport.pdf Presents data for 2006 on the percentage of full time workers who had any private insurance during the year, had public insurance only, or who were uninsured for the entire year. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st234/stat234.pdf Sat, 04 Apr 2009 21:42:10 CST http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb/data_files/publications/st234/stat234.pdf Examines the COBRA provisions of the current legislation and answers key questions how they would work, who might benefit and how they interact with other laws and programs helping people obtain and maintain health coverage. -- Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/7875.pdf Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:38:04 CST http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/7875.pdf