OPINION: SENATE VOTE NEXT LOGICAL STEP IN OBAMACARE REPEAL

By Laurie Ehlbeck

Obamacare has been, to put it mildly, burdensome for small businesses in New Jersey. Soon, the Senate will have a chance to do something about it.

Year after year, when the National Federation of Independent Business surveys its members, they say their number one priority is healthcare, but the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, has made things more difficult for them. Its onerous taxes and mandates have increased costs and reduced choices.

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N.J. residents with Obamacare only have two choices next year

TRENTON — New Jersey residents will only be able to choose between two companies this year in the federal health insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act. Open enrollment for 2017 begins on Tuesday and lasts through January. New Jersey residents can choose between plans from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey or… Read the rest of this entry »

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Are N.J. smokers lying when they apply for Obamacare?

Now that we’re in the third full year of Obamacare, the folks at Kaiser Health News have found something intriguing in the numbers: The percentage of Obamacare applicants who say they smoke is far lower than the percentage of smokers in the general population. This can mean only one of two things, they say: Either a… Read the rest of this entry »

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Deception and Distraction: An Inaccurate Report on Health Benefits Remains Inaccurate Nearly 4 Year later

By Joseph M. DiBella

Recently the Asbury Park Press published a story based on a widely criticized and discredited State Comptroller’s 2012 report examining the state of health benefits for public workers of municipalities, county governments and school districts. The report, which was panned by most benefit and insurance professional at the time as being actuarially and statistically invalid, also failed to accurately reflect the process local governments must use when selecting benefits for its employees. The report made for good headlines, but it didn’t make for good policy.

The takeaway of the report was that local entities in New Jersey — counties, townships, boroughs, school districts — could simply join the state health benefit plan and save the state $100 million dollars. But that wasn’t correct then and it isn’t correct now. The report overlooked the fact that benefits are collectively bargained for and can’t simply be changed on whim or all at once. It also made the false assumption that just by merging all the groups across the state, their claims history, which is how insurance policies are priced, would miraculously get better and generate savings. Finally, the report largely blamed local benefit brokers and consultants for the high cost of health care for public plans even though the cost of brokerage services is about 2% to 3% of the total cost of healthcare. The state plan is a solution for many public employers as are other private plan options. The key is to examine all of the options and align the entity with the best solution for their circumstances.

The report was largely discredited and dismissed at the time of its issuance by industry experts for being naïve and non-factual. But because it includes an eye-popping alleged savings number, the nearly 4 years old report is regularly dusted off and re-circulated by political operatives and media types looking to re-create a controversy that never existed.

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Premiums to jump more than 10 percent on many Obamacare policies

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Obamacare enrollment deadline looms

This time, the Obamacare deadlines actually mean something. New and returning enrollees have until late Monday to sign up for health insurance on the federal online exchange and be covered by Jan. 1 – a hard deadline and stark turnaround from last year, when glitches on HealthCare.gov blurred pre-Christmas deadlines. Instead of fretting over a website,… Read the rest of this entry »

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Medicare To No Longer Cover Penis Pumps, Saving $444 Million

Men who can’t afford the little blue pill often turned to penis pumps which were covered by the federal government.Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Medicare may soon be prohibited from spending money on vacuum pumps that treat erectile dysfunction in the coming years — an effort that could save up to $444 million but might upset those who can’t afford drugs like Viagra to treat their condition. The plan of cutting coverage of the pumps was proposed to help offset… Read the rest of this entry »

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Obamacare approval hits new low – 37 percent – in survey

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Online Help for New Jersey’s Uninsured, Just in Time for Open Enrollment

Uninsured New Jerseyans will have a new tool to help them buy health insurance this fall, just in time for the next Affordable Care Act open enrollment period, a website geared to connecting them with people and resources that can make it easier to sign up for coverage. The New Jersey for Health Care coalition, which… Read the rest of this entry »

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Obamacare website won’t reveal insurance costs for 2015 until after election

Those planning to purchase health insurance on the Obamacare exchange will soon find out how much rates have increased – after the Nov. 4 election. Enrollment on the Healthcare.gov website begins Nov. 15, or 11 days after the midterm vote, and critics who worry about rising premium hikes in 2015 say that’s no coincidence. Last year’s… Read the rest of this entry »

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