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Some Oregonians have been out of work more than 6 months - some have given up even looking for a job now. What's the experience of job hunters out there? Have their lost health care? Are they afraid of going bankrupt? Will they lose their home??

When can we expect job growth in Oregon to start again? Are people still moving to Portland looking for work and how does that impact people who are living here?

AARP, Life by Design, Easter Seals and Metropolitan Family services have been working with the 50+ population, but there are lots of organizations helping younger workers as well.

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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A primary aim for Medicare Savings proposals in the health care bill is to sustain Medicare over time. The Senate bill promotes cuts to some home health agencies, boosting payment for primary care, provisions for delivery system reforms and imiprovements in value and efficiency. The bill also phases out the Medicare Advantage government subsidy to insurance companies, and goes after fraud and abuse.

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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A question was asked about Cobra subsidies. Here is some current info from The Society for Human Resources Management:

COBRA Subsidy and UI Extension Signed Into Law

On Saturday, December 19, 2009, the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2010 Department of Defense (DOD) Appropriations Act by a vote of 88-10.  This federal spending bill included important provisions to both

1.   Extend and expand the COBRA subsidy program that was enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and

2.   Extend expanded unemployment benefits through February 28, 2010.

The House also passed this same spending bill on December 16, 2009 by a vote of 395-34.  President Obama immediately signed this bill into law (P.L. No: 111-118) after Senate passage on December 19, 2009.

COBRA

The COBRA subsidy program extension in the DOD bill will:

·    Expand the ARRA’s COBRA premium subsidy period from nine to 15 months

·    Change the end date for eligibility for the subsidy from December 31, 2009, to February 28, 2010

·    Provide a retroactive period of 60 days (commences upon enactment) for payment of premiums for eligible individuals whose subsidy period expired on November 30, 2009

·    Require a special notice outlining these changes within 60 days to all eligible individuals on COBRA on or after October 31, 2009, or those who are terminated after this date

·    Clarify the original COBRA subsidy program, noting that eligibility and notice are based on the timing of the qualifying event

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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Interestingly, Medicare Advantage is a govoernment financed health system. It receives a government subsidy to insurance companies. The senate bill set to pass tomorrow provides a phased in payment approach. In 2014, high performing MA plans are eligible for quality bonuses for care coordination and management activities. It may be possible for MA plans to grandfather extra benefits to current enrollees.  House and Senate bills go to conference when final details will be ironed out. 

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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Oregon's exceptional efficiency and quality of care for Medicare patients has ended up hurting our state. Doctors and hospitals in Oregon already receive some of the lowest Medicare payments in the nation. That's incredibly unfair. Hopefully the new legislation will open the door to improve Medicare rates for efficient states, to insure that Oregon seniors will have access to doctors and other providers.

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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Recently AARP  Oregon held workshops on Finding Work @ 50+. In a non-scientific poll of the participants, more than 30% were withouth health insurance. These are people who want to work! We estimate there are are 105,000 Oregonians aged 50-64 without insurance.

We've been working hard with our Congressional delegation to make sure this bill includes affordable, quality coverage for all - which means insurance coompanies can't charge outlandish premiums based on age.

To paraphrase former Sen. Mark Hatfield, you can't have a healthy economy without a health population. More than 422,000 Oregonians will receive coverage when this bill passes, and that's healthy news for all of us.

posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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