Kalwis Lo, 24, says Obamacare saved his life. But his story is also a cautionary tale about the limitations of Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act — especially as it applies to young people.
Author: Callie Shanafelt
What happens at Veteran’s Treatment Court is anything but typical. Modeled on drug treatment courts, they provide extra support and treatment opportunities for vets.
St. Anthony’s, a free clinic in San Francisco, has a long history, one that reveals decades of challenges in providing health care for the poor people who line up for the clinic’s help – challenges that likely won’t end when health care reform takes full effect in 2014.
The country’s First Peoples are uniquely affected by the federal reforms. But because of federal responsibility for tribal health is already in place, individual Native Americans may not notice the effects of Obamacare as much as Native American clinic directors.
More than four million kids are covered by Denti-Cal, but with only 35 percent of dentists accepting their insurance, they are having a difficult time getting their oral health needs met. With more than a million more children expected to enroll as health reforms take effect, advocates worry dental access will only worsen.
Health-care seekers visiting the federal Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan website February 16th were met by a window with large red letters reading “Enrollment Suspension.” The plan has stopped adding new subscribers and state administers of the plan will do the same March 2nd.
Jeff Oxendine wanted to pursue a developing interest in public health in college – but he didn’t know how, until he found an internship program that set him on his path. Now an Associate Dean at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, he’s also the founder of an innovative program that helps more students like him find their way into the health care field.
Coordination and effective use of existing resources can save money. That’s the idea behind the push for innovations built into the health care reform law, like electronic health records, pay for performance and accountable care organizations. But it’s unlikely that any of these innovations will be a silver bullet in the battle against rising health care costs, including accountable care organizations. Those familiar with the provider conglomerates say they may not be as much of a cure-all as health-care reform suggests.
Obamacare does away with the lifetime limit on most – but not all- health insurance plans. And through a quirk in the law, the student plan at University of California campuses is one of those few plans not required to eliminate the lifetime limit.
Federal health care reforms are trying to cut costs and improve quality—two objectives that are often at odds. Policy makers hope that strategies like changing how providers are can balance cost and quality. But studies suggest that current programs like pay-for-performance aren’t silver bullets for rising costs.