Health Care

...nonessential management employees are being furloughed three days per month for the next six months as part of a cost-cutting drive....

• DATE: Tuesday, December 17, 2013
• TIME: 10 a.m.
• PLACE: Conference Room 229, State Capitol

...amid the rush to enroll as many people as possible by the Dec. 23 deadline, there's a huge caveat that isn't getting much public attention: For coverage to take effect on Jan. 1, enrollees must pay their first month's premium....

To meet the promise of free preventive care nationwide, every family doctor in America would have to work full-time delivering it, leaving no time for all the other things they need to do....

In Hawaii, 48.2 percent of adults aged 25 years and older with at least a high school education report their health is very good or excellent compared to only 28.0 percent with less than a high school education....

...a health insurance premium sheet that will give consumers a better idea of what a new 2014 Affordable Care Act (ACA) plan will cost compared to their existing 2013 health plan....

On November 14, 2013, President Obama announced that States could decide whether to allow small group and individual health insurance policies existing on Oct. 1, 2013 to be renewed for a policy year starting between January 1, 2014 and October 1, 2014....

Matsuda resigned his post as Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation manager in the Governor’s office on Friday, Dec. 6....

A summary of changes coming up as a result of the Affordable Care Act in 2014....

The Healthcare Association of Hawaii (HAH) praised a select group of local, long term care member providers for their achievement....

Fifteen years after the 1998 state tobacco settlement, Hawaii ranks 5th in the nation in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking....

...state-run exchanges in Minnesota, Hawaii, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, New York, Maryland, and the District of Columbia are vulnerable....

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, one of the state’s most vocal advocates of Obamacare, predicted at a news conference Sept. 17 that the state’s 100,000 uninsured, plus thousands more, would sign up for insurance once the Health Connector launched Oct. 1....

In 2011, the Obama Administration suggested that as many as 129 million Americans with pre-existing conditions were “at risk” and “could be denied coverage” without Obamacare....

• DATE: Monday, December 9, 2013
• TIME: 2:00 pm
• PLACE: Conference Room 329, State Capitol 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating  the Hawaii State Hospital, hospital administrators have confirmed....

...recommended legislation related to Hawai`i’s insurance exchange for the 2014 legislative session....

The plan on the table in Congress would raise the federal minimum wage above $10 an hour (which is higher than all existing state rates)....

• DATE: Monday, December 09, 2013
• TIME: 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
• PLACE: Conference Room 229, State Capitol

The President said yesterday that he’s “learned not to make wild promises” anymore....

...the AG told the league the health connector is not required to provide voter information on its website because it is an independent, nonprofit agency....

High HIV prevalence, lack of awareness of HIV-positive status, unprotected anal sex, and increased viral load among HIV-positive MSM not on antiretroviral treatment contribute substantially to new infections among this population....

HealthCare.gov can’t fix anything that’s wrong with Obamacare....

Because Hawaii legislators exempted the health law from many of the rules that hold other government ventures accountable, there remain more questions than answers about the debacle....

From 1621, when the Pilgrims arrived in the New World, to 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared it a federal holiday, thanking God and practicing religion were of paramount importance....

• DATE: Monday, December 02, 2013
• TIME: 2:00 pm
• PLACE: Conference Room 329 State Capitol

Obamacare goes against prioritizing help for the disabled over assistance for able-bodied adults....

...Meanwhile HMSA Announces ANOTHER 4.4% Rate Hike Thanks to Obamacare....

...a commissioner who insists on lower premiums will reduce the amount of care available to subsidized voters without saving them a dime...

Organizing for America (OFA), President Obama’s campaign group, has a big push called “Health Care for the Holidays” that urges people to “have the talk” with their loved ones about getting health insurance....

As of Nov. 15, just 257 individuals have secured health care through the exchange....

Hawaii ranks best in the nation according to The Commonwealth Fund....

...the law perpetuates some of the country’s worst trends that trap people in poverty....

...how is the new health care initiative going to affect businesses?

Hawai‘i Health Connector today announced the appointment of Tom Matsuda, current Affordable Care Act implementation manager with the Governor’s office, as interim executive director....

Assaults on workers at the Hawaii State Hospital are all too common, and taxpayers are picking up the tab for the cost of treatment and workers compensation....

Obamacare’s menu labeling regulation will be costly and time-consuming for businesses ....

Hospitals may have to invest between $2 million and $5 million, and large health care organizations could spend as much as $20 million....

If old plans are restored, "fewer healthy people and younger people would be leaving their current plans" ....

The law that promised health coverage for all has so far stripped 3.5 million Americans of their insurance....

Between 25,000 and 30,000 Hawaii residents with individual plans and 140,000 people covered by small business policies had been notified their medical plans will be canceled or altered on Jan. 1....

25,000-30,000 Hawaii residents’ medical plans are set to be canceled January 1st....

The state Department of Taxation paid CGI Group more than $87 million over 12 years....

"...members who don't choose a new ACA plan by Dec. 15 will be re-enrolled in their current plan in December for another year to ensure they don't lose...." -- Yadao

Once upon a time, Obamacare was “settled” law that was “here to stay”....

President Obama said Thursday he will let Americans renew for one year any health plans that do not meet Obamacare's coverage standards....

...Education works: Who needs a Beverage Tax?....

“The Tonight Show” is a cultural bellwether, so when its studio audience roars its approval at Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) quip that Obamacare is “the biggest job killer in this country,” you know something’s happening across our land....

• DATE: Thursday, November 14, 2013
• TIME: 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
• PLACE: Conference Room 229 State Capitol