Obamacare Enrollment Drives Down NJ's Uninsuranced Rate By 38 Percent
The first look at the Affordable Care Act’s impact on New Jersey reveals the percentage of uninsured people is on track to reach its lowest level in nearly a quarter of a century, according to a new report released Thursday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The proportion of uninsured adults decreased 38 percent from September to early March, according to the foundation. That decline is likely to accelerate, knowing that many people waited until the last minute to beat the March 30 enrollment deadline.
"These findings suggest that uninsurance in New Jersey is at its lowest level since 1990," according to the report produced by the foundation and the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy.
The survey results suggest that many concerns about the law — from Gov. Chris Christie hand-off approach to its implementation, to the Obama administration’s troubled launch of the HealthCare.Gov website — did not create insurmountable roadblocks.
The foundation report said that in September, about 21 percent of New Jerseyans age 18-64 were uninsured. It was down to about 13 percent in early March.
"What this tells us is mandates work," said Joel Cantor, director of the Rutgers center, which collaborated with the foundation to analyze survey results from about 450 New Jerseyans. "What we are seeing here that the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion really did crack the affordability barrier for people."
About 162,000 New Jerseyans signed up for private insurance using the federally run health exchange, and 140,000 for Medicaid, according to federal officials.
About 26 percent of eligible New Jerseyans signed up for health coverage through the marketplace, compared to the 28 percent of eligible people who signed up in New York, according to the Urban Institute, the public policy research center whose analysis of national enrollment data formed the basis of the New Jersey survey.
"Despite the fact that New Jersey did not build its own exchange and did relatively little at the state level to promote the Affordable Care Act, New Jersey’s enrollment performance was not significantly different than that of New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut, three states that are considered to have built successful state marketplaces," according to the report.
The New Jersey analysis also found:
• 85 percent of enrollees qualified for a tax break;
• 25 percent enrollees were 18 to 34 years old;
• 63 percent of enrollees are white; about 16 percent are Asian; about 13 percent are black and just under 7 percent are Latino.
Over time, Cantor predicts uninsured people who have relied on charity care and emergency rooms for their medical needs will form relationships with doctors and other medical providers.
"It is hard to say when charity care would decline. You won’t see reduction in demand for ER services right away if that is where you are going for your care. It will take more than an insurance card to get people out of ER," Cantor said.
For its inaugural year, the law succeeded in reaching low-income uninsured, said Stephen Zuckerman, a health economist at the Urban Institute. About half of those who enrolled qualified for Medicaid, and 40 percent qualified for subsidies.
"The people who are gaining coverage are the ones who needed it," Zuckerman said.
Alescia Marie Teel, spokeswoman for Enroll America, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization of staff and volunteers that held 1,500 events to promote the law, said the decline in the rate of this who don’t hve insurance os gratifying.
"We are thrilled that so many uninsured New Jersey residents now have access to affordable health coverage — many for the first time," Teel said. "We look forward to continuing to deliver information to residents where they are and connecting them to in-person enrollment assistance to ensure that they have every opportunity to access affordable, quality health insurance." -Nj
The first look at the Affordable Care Act’s impact on New Jersey reveals the percentage of uninsured people is on track to reach its lowest level in nearly a quarter of a century, according to a new report released Thursday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The proportion of uninsured adults decreased 38 percent from September to early March, according to the foundation. That decline is likely to accelerate, knowing that many people waited until the last minute to beat the March 30 enrollment deadline.
"These findings suggest that uninsurance in New Jersey is at its lowest level since 1990," according to the report produced by the foundation and the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy.
The survey results suggest that many concerns about the law — from Gov. Chris Christie hand-off approach to its implementation, to the Obama administration’s troubled launch of the HealthCare.Gov website — did not create insurmountable roadblocks.
The foundation report said that in September, about 21 percent of New Jerseyans age 18-64 were uninsured. It was down to about 13 percent in early March.
"What this tells us is mandates work," said Joel Cantor, director of the Rutgers center, which collaborated with the foundation to analyze survey results from about 450 New Jerseyans. "What we are seeing here that the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion really did crack the affordability barrier for people."
About 162,000 New Jerseyans signed up for private insurance using the federally run health exchange, and 140,000 for Medicaid, according to federal officials.
About 26 percent of eligible New Jerseyans signed up for health coverage through the marketplace, compared to the 28 percent of eligible people who signed up in New York, according to the Urban Institute, the public policy research center whose analysis of national enrollment data formed the basis of the New Jersey survey.
"Despite the fact that New Jersey did not build its own exchange and did relatively little at the state level to promote the Affordable Care Act, New Jersey’s enrollment performance was not significantly different than that of New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut, three states that are considered to have built successful state marketplaces," according to the report.
The New Jersey analysis also found:
• 85 percent of enrollees qualified for a tax break;
• 25 percent enrollees were 18 to 34 years old;
• 63 percent of enrollees are white; about 16 percent are Asian; about 13 percent are black and just under 7 percent are Latino.
Over time, Cantor predicts uninsured people who have relied on charity care and emergency rooms for their medical needs will form relationships with doctors and other medical providers.
"It is hard to say when charity care would decline. You won’t see reduction in demand for ER services right away if that is where you are going for your care. It will take more than an insurance card to get people out of ER," Cantor said.
For its inaugural year, the law succeeded in reaching low-income uninsured, said Stephen Zuckerman, a health economist at the Urban Institute. About half of those who enrolled qualified for Medicaid, and 40 percent qualified for subsidies.
"The people who are gaining coverage are the ones who needed it," Zuckerman said.
Alescia Marie Teel, spokeswoman for Enroll America, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization of staff and volunteers that held 1,500 events to promote the law, said the decline in the rate of this who don’t hve insurance os gratifying.
"We are thrilled that so many uninsured New Jersey residents now have access to affordable health coverage — many for the first time," Teel said. "We look forward to continuing to deliver information to residents where they are and connecting them to in-person enrollment assistance to ensure that they have every opportunity to access affordable, quality health insurance." -Nj
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New York Is Being Sued For $2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One man is suing Manhattan, Au Bon Pain and a bunch of people for $2 undecillion
A New York City man is reportedly suing an Au Bon Pain, Carepoint Health, Hoboken University Medical Center, Kmart (Store 7749), the St. Luke’s Emergency Dept., New York City Transit Authority, the City of New York, NYC MTA, LaGuardia Airport Administration and a whole bunch of people for $2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. That’s $2 undecillion, or a two with 36 zeroes behind it, which is way more money than what the world can offer, and, as XCKD’s What If blog points out, pretty much anything anyone can imagine.
Sixty-two year old Anthony Purisima, who is representing himself, filed the 22-page complaint in Manhattan federal court reports the New York Post. The suit claims that the alleged violations, which include “Civil rights violations, personal injury, discrimination on national origin, retaliation, harassment, fraud, attempted murder, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy to defraud,” began when a ‘rabies-infected’ dog on an MTA bus bit and infected Purisima’s middle finger, and a ‘Chinese couple’ took photos of him against his permission at the hospital.
Though the lawsuit lists the damage as “priceless,” but Purisima decided that $2 undecillion seems appropriate. –Salon
One man is suing Manhattan, Au Bon Pain and a bunch of people for $2 undecillion
A New York City man is reportedly suing an Au Bon Pain, Carepoint Health, Hoboken University Medical Center, Kmart (Store 7749), the St. Luke’s Emergency Dept., New York City Transit Authority, the City of New York, NYC MTA, LaGuardia Airport Administration and a whole bunch of people for $2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. That’s $2 undecillion, or a two with 36 zeroes behind it, which is way more money than what the world can offer, and, as XCKD’s What If blog points out, pretty much anything anyone can imagine.
Sixty-two year old Anthony Purisima, who is representing himself, filed the 22-page complaint in Manhattan federal court reports the New York Post. The suit claims that the alleged violations, which include “Civil rights violations, personal injury, discrimination on national origin, retaliation, harassment, fraud, attempted murder, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy to defraud,” began when a ‘rabies-infected’ dog on an MTA bus bit and infected Purisima’s middle finger, and a ‘Chinese couple’ took photos of him against his permission at the hospital.
Though the lawsuit lists the damage as “priceless,” but Purisima decided that $2 undecillion seems appropriate. –Salon
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Christie Being Investigated For Yet Another Bridge Scandal
Investigators are said to be examining whether the Port Authority deceived bond holders at Christie's request
It may be hard to believe, but if a report from the New York Times is true, Chris Christie may have yet another bridge-related scandal on his hands.
According to the Times, prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney’s office public corruption unit and two lawyers from the SEC are investigating whether the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA) committed securities violations in 2011 when it agreed to pay for repairs to the Pulaski Skyway, the elevated roadway connecting Jersey City and Newark.
This was done, the Times reports, despite multiple warnings from in-house lawyers that the PA lacked the authority to pay for the Skyway’s upkeep.
Reportedly pressured by the Christie administration to approve and finance the repairs, the PA may have broken the law when, in bond documents, it described the Skyway expenditures as being related to “Lincoln Tunnel Access Infrastructure Improvements,” even though the Skyway and the Tunnel are not connected.
According to New York state’s Martin Act, whether or not the PA’s deception was intended is immaterial; prosecutors can level felony charges without having to prove a further intent to defraud, or even show that any fraud occurred at all.
In addition to the Pulaski Skyway, the Manhattan district attorney is also in the early stages of investigating repair projects on the Goethals and Bayonne Bridges, among others. While prosecutors have issued dozens of subpoenas, no formal accusations have been made and the precise targets of the inquiry, whether individuals or agencies, remain unclear.
…
One person briefed on the matter said the funds had been used to fill a hole in the New Jersey state budget, noting that the inquiries seek to determine whether the fiscal contortions were creative politics or criminal maneuvers. –Salon
Investigators are said to be examining whether the Port Authority deceived bond holders at Christie's request
It may be hard to believe, but if a report from the New York Times is true, Chris Christie may have yet another bridge-related scandal on his hands.
According to the Times, prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney’s office public corruption unit and two lawyers from the SEC are investigating whether the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA) committed securities violations in 2011 when it agreed to pay for repairs to the Pulaski Skyway, the elevated roadway connecting Jersey City and Newark.
This was done, the Times reports, despite multiple warnings from in-house lawyers that the PA lacked the authority to pay for the Skyway’s upkeep.
Reportedly pressured by the Christie administration to approve and finance the repairs, the PA may have broken the law when, in bond documents, it described the Skyway expenditures as being related to “Lincoln Tunnel Access Infrastructure Improvements,” even though the Skyway and the Tunnel are not connected.
According to New York state’s Martin Act, whether or not the PA’s deception was intended is immaterial; prosecutors can level felony charges without having to prove a further intent to defraud, or even show that any fraud occurred at all.
In addition to the Pulaski Skyway, the Manhattan district attorney is also in the early stages of investigating repair projects on the Goethals and Bayonne Bridges, among others. While prosecutors have issued dozens of subpoenas, no formal accusations have been made and the precise targets of the inquiry, whether individuals or agencies, remain unclear.
…
One person briefed on the matter said the funds had been used to fill a hole in the New Jersey state budget, noting that the inquiries seek to determine whether the fiscal contortions were creative politics or criminal maneuvers. –Salon
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