State gets approval to operate health exchange
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington state has received conditional approval by the federal government to move forward with a state-based health insurance exchange starting Oct. 1, 2013.
Washington was one of six states to get the early approval announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The other states were: Maryland, Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado and Connecticut.
Washington Healthplanfinder will be the online portal for people to compare and enroll in health insurance coverage. Washington Healthplanfinder will begin enrolling consumers on October 1, 2013, for health insurance coverage beginning on January 1, 2014.
Gov. Chris Gregoire says 200,000 uninsured Washingtonians will be able to receive insurance through the exchange.
Washington was one of six states to get the early approval announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The other states were: Maryland, Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado and Connecticut.
Washington Healthplanfinder will be the online portal for people to compare and enroll in health insurance coverage. Washington Healthplanfinder will begin enrolling consumers on October 1, 2013, for health insurance coverage beginning on January 1, 2014.
Gov. Chris Gregoire says 200,000 uninsured Washingtonians will be able to receive insurance through the exchange.
I am interested to see how this goes... the success or failure of the system is how well or poorly it will be managed! I am certainly hoping they have some built in accountability to this. For now I am sticking with my employers health plan as believe it or not I actually got a very good package that covers the pills my private insurance didn't (cost me $161 for a one month supply of a generic of my ADD meds!... and no other pharmacies were any better or the ones that did have good programs did not sell my prescription... at least now I know I can get what I need to help me focus on my work as the time I was going without them it severely affected my ability to focus on my work and not have my mind constantly wandering off....
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My parents as I was growing up never looked into this and I struggled a lot in my school, I managed to get by in school however I can only wonder how much less struggling I would have had growing up spending twice the amount of time on my studies just to keep up with others. Tutors could not help me completely regardless of how much time I spent with them. I am doing ok now in my adult years after I saw a doctor myself about this...I am certainly curious how many people like me grew up with this and never knew why they could not read a chapter of a book and then have to re-read it because your mind was just not remember things... ADD and bad short term memory go hand in hand =\
A larger number of that 200,000 uninsured here in the state were on basic health and dropped in the last year by the state. Due to an injury we have a family income of only 22k for a family of 4. The state bounced us from basic health in August. And yes we were PAYING for our basic health. It cost us just over $250 a month. We qualified for basic health and $300 in food, that was it. We were told that if I left and then my wife could claim abandonment she could get almost 3k more a month. And people wonder why this state is in such trouble. The state does not want healthy families it wants people sucking of the welfare system that it can control.
Of course, what is this report is silent about is the cost of setting up and running the exchange. Maryland is imposing yet more taxes and fees to pay for the $35 million dollar cost of running the exchange. This is on top of fees and taxes imposed by obamacare. Healthcare will just get more expensive while services once enjoyed will disappear.Â
So they think they can build a better mousetrap, huh? Can anyone create such a good system that it leaves no cracks for people to fall through and get left out? Doubtful. I won't believe how good or bad this new proposal is until I see it with my own four eyes.....
 @Choircommie Well we sure have a great mousetrap now, don't we. No cracks in it. Nope. None at all. Everything is perfect now.
 @Hagar  @Choircommie Yeah, instead of imperfect, we'll now have imperfect, unworkable and expensive.
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 @GeorgeG. You're right George, Obama should have simply extended medicare to the masses instead of forcing Mitt's plan on us and thereby giving 30 million new customers to the insurance industry.Â
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No wonder Wonder Boy has generated a record 1.4 billion in campaign contributions huh? I think he is the smartest right winger President we ever had. Look how outlaw corporations dictate his every move with bail outs and wage cuts for the employees. The 6 industries that control these corrupt politicians have never had it so good and the population thinks he is a lefty lol, its great!
OH yea, we're from the government and we'er here to help - pick your pocket and deny freedom of action.
Everyone line up for failure! Blue States first!
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And of those 200,000 uninsured? Pray tell, how many are here in this country for the "free stuff?"
So let me get this straight, we have a population of almost 7 MILLION and we want to "fundamentally transform" our system of Health Insurance for 3% of the population? Â Not another word about Conservatives being "math-impaired."
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 @Getov Mylon 3%? more like 50+%....200,000 uninsured is an extremely low number....I can count on my hand how many of my friends and family HAVE insurance....other than their underage children.
 @Jalharad I am only going by the numbers the Governor quotes. Take it up with her. If she's not on vacation.
 @Getov Mylon "Job speaks without knowledge; his words lack insight" This Seems fitting, I'm guessing you read the Bible like all good red-blooded "patriots".
 @MaxVonToadenoff I'm agnostic which I believe is a polite way to say, "God? Maybe...who knows?"
Good to hear we're ahead of the curve on this rather than behind.