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Why young Americans dread turning 26: Health insurance chaos
Elisabeth Rosenthal and Hannah Norman, KFF Health News, Aug. 11
Amid the challenges of adulthood, there is one rite of passage unique to the United States: the need to find your own health insurance by the time you turn 26. That’s the cutoff age for young adults to be covered under their parents’ health plans under federal and state laws. Today, an estimated 15 percent of 26-year-olds go uninsured, the highest rate among Americans of any age. Traditionally, most Americans with private health insurance got it through their jobs. But the job market has changed dramatically with the rise of the gig economy. Over 30 percent of people aged 18 to 29 said in recent surveys that they were working or have worked in short-term, part-time or irregular jobs.
Related: A Guide to Finding Insurance at 26, Elisabeth Rosenthal, KFF Health News, Aug. 11
“We want to save this investment”: Advocates race to secure maternal health funding before it runs out
Cassandra Jaramillo, ProPublica, Aug. 8
Seven years ago, when President Donald Trump signed the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act, it was hailed as a crucial step toward addressing the nation’s maternal mortality crisis. The law pumped tens of millions of dollars a year into a program to help fund state committees that review maternal deaths and identify their causes. The committees’ findings have led to new protocols to prevent hemorrhage, sepsis and suicide. But now the program that enabled this progress — known as Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to Eliminate Maternal Mortality, or ERASE MM — is in danger, advocates say. The program’s funding expires on Sept. 30, and efforts to renew it have thus far not succeeded.
The hidden costs of cutting Medicaid
Emily Crawford, NPR, Aug. 12
With the passage of the big tax and spending bill, the federal government is poised to reduce support for Medicaid and the insurance marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that these cuts could cause 10 million Americans to lose health insurance by 2034. Lawmakers have justified these cuts as a necessary step to address the budget deficit exacerbated by tax cuts and other spending increases in the big bill. However, that doesn’t capture how these cuts will send costs spilling out around society, to be paid by hospitals, clinics, individuals and then in the end, back to the federal government.
CT insurers ask for bigger health plan rate increases: What to know
Jenna Carlesso, The Connecticut Mirror, Aug. 12
Amid a storm of policy changes, new cuts to Medicaid, tighter restrictions on care at community health centers and expiring federal subsidies, Connecticut insurers want to boost the cost of state-regulated individual health plans by an average of 17.8% next year. They have also asked for an average rate increase of 13.1% on small group policies. The plans collectively cover about 224,000 residents (158,000 in individual policies and 66,000 in small group). The state’s insurance department can choose to approve the full requested increases, reject them or amend them. Here’s what to know about the proposed rate hikes.
Related: Considering a Life Change? Brace for Higher ACA Costs, Julie Appleby, KFF Health News, Aug. 12