Empowering patient voices through voter registration
While roughly 83% of adults in the United States will visit a health care provider in the next year, an estimated
News
12-14-12 Affordable Care Act Update
January 3, 2013
Federal Update
Congressional leaders and President Obama continue deficit reduction conversations, as the January 2nd deadline that would trigger across- the -board cuts to discretionary and defense funding draws closer. President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) have continued to lead the negotiation process over the past few weeks communicating their positions on important issues, including raising tax rates for high income earners, allowing an extension of the Bush era tax rates for families earning less than $250,000 annually and proposed funding cuts in federal health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid in an effort to come to an agreement on a deficit reduction plan that will keep the government from going over the so called "fiscal cliff". It is possible that Members may be required to stay in town during the holidays until a final deal is struck.
ACS CAN sent a letter to President Obama and Congressional leaders in the House of Representatives and the United States Senate to protect the fight against cancer in budget discussions. To view the full text of the letter, visit: http://bit.ly/TP84yn.
State Update
The deadline for states to officially declare if they plan to set up their own exchange is tomorrow. The original deadline set by HHS has already been extended once. According to Politico, the states that have not yet formally declared if they will set up their own exchange include Florida, Idaho, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.
Critical meetings regarding state exchange issues were held on Thursday in the states of Massachusetts, Mississippi, and New Hampshire, while Hawaii announced this week a four-year, $53 million contract with CGI Technologies and Solutions to build its online marketplace.
Media and Polling
Health Care Costs
Average health insurance premiums for workers with employer-sponsored health insurance rose 62 percent between 2003 and 2011, while employees' share of those premiums increased 74 percent, according to a new Commonwealth Fund state-by-state analysis. The study also found that annual deductibles more than doubled during the same period. In short, the analysis shows that rising premiums and higher cost sharing continue to strain the budgets of middle- and low-income families. If current trends continue, the average premium for family coverage will reach nearly $25,000 by 2020. Meanwhile, even though they are paying more, consumers are increasingly finding their benefits have been scaled back.
The Commonwealth Fund's findings underscore the importance of the work being done now to lay the groundwork for implementation of provisions in the Affordable Care Act designed to slow the increase of insurance costs and improve coverage. If annual premium growth can be slowed by one percentage point, by 2020 employers and families would save $2,029 annually for family coverage. The report's authors, however, do not view the law as a panacea. To fully address the problem, they recommend public and private stakeholders work together toward more systemic reforms dealing with the root causes of why health insurance and care are so expensive.
As always, thank you for all you do every day to support laws and policies that help cancer patients and their families.
Chris Hansen | President
ACS Cancer Action Network | American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Inc.