Despite the economic ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of adults in the United States without health insurance held steady at approximately 11 percent, a new analysis shows. Researchers saw large shifts in the source of coverage for many people, as pandemic-related layoffs decreased the number of people receiving health insurance through their employers and increased enrollment in public coverage programs.

The Urban Institute analysis, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, examined changes in health insurance coverage among nonelderly adults. Researchers found that between March 2019 and April 2021:

 

• The percentage of U.S. adults reporting they had employer-sponsored coverage declined from 65 to 62.3 percent, a decrease of approximately 5.5 million adults. 
• The share of adults reporting public coverage increased from 13.6 to 17.5 percent, an increase of approximately 7.9 million adults. 
• Public coverage gains occurred in states that did and did not expand access to Medicaid under the ACA: 
  • The percent of adults reporting public coverage in states that expanded Medicaid increased from 14.9 percent to 19.2 percent.  
  • The percent of adults reporting public coverage in nonexpansion states increased from 10.7 percent to 14.3 percent. 
• In April 2021, the uninsurance rate in nonexpansion states was more than double that of expansion states (18.2% versus 7.7%). 
  • More than one in three low-income adults in nonexpansion states were uninsured in 2021, compared with about one in seven low-income adults in expansion states.

“Unlike the last recession, losses in employer-sponsored insurance during the pandemic did not lead to growth in the number of uninsured,” said Michael Karpman, senior research associate at the Urban Institute. “Medicaid and the health insurance Marketplaces provided many people with a safety net that allowed them to maintain coverage during difficult times.”

“Those who suffered the most from the economic fallout associated with COVID were low wage workers, so the loss of job-related coverage was less than in previous recessions,” said Katherine Hempstead, senior policy adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “The enhanced safety net provided by the ACA was critical in keeping people covered, especially in states that expanded Medicaid.”

The brief uses data from the Urban Institute’s Health Reform Monitoring Survey, a nationally representative, internet-based survey of adults ages 18 to 64, conducted in March 2019, March/April 2020, and April 2021. Approximately 9,000 to 9,500 adults participated in each survey round.

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Originally Appeared Here

A fully approved vaccine means employers can require you to get it, and if you don’t, your healthcare costs could increase.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Some people claim they haven’t gotten the COVID-19 vaccine because it isn’t fully approved by the FDA, well that’s expected to change soon. The FDA is expected to give full approval to the Pfizer vaccine on Monday. 

Infectious Disease Doctor Manoj Jain and Wade Symons with Mercer said while it would still be your decision to get the COVID vaccine once it’s fully approved, but people who choose not to get vaccinated could experience more limitations in their daily activities. 

“The FDA has done extensive studies on the vaccine and what they have found is one, it’s safe, and two it is effective, and it works,” Jain said.

Doctor Jain said a fully approved vaccine means employers can require you to get it, and if you don’t, your healthcare costs could increase because employers may have to pay more if an unvaccinated employee gets hospitalized from COVID.

According to Symons, more than 20 major employers are waiting for FDA approval to charge their unvaccinated employees $20 -$50 dollars more for their health insurance. He couldn’t specify which companies but said it’s mainly the industries that can’t offer work from options like hospitality, construction, and manufacturing. 

“There’s more potential health risk for those who are unvaccinated than those who are vaccinated,” Symons said.

Symons adds it’s similar to tobacco users paying more for health insurance.

“A tobacco user will usually pay more than a non-tobacco user because of the health risks tobacco creates,” Symons said.

With the delta variant quickly spreading in our communities, Jain said the best option is to get vaccinated to avoid these inconveniences. 

“They should very seriously think about getting vaccinated and get themselves and their families protected,” Jain said

Jain also said it remains unclear what a fully FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine would mean for approving the vaccine for children under 12.

Here is the @ShelbyTNHealth #COVID19 update for Sunday, August 22, 2021.

For more information, please visit https://shelby.community/ for access to the COVID-19 Data page.

Posted by Shelby County Health Department on Sunday, August 22, 2021

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Originally Appeared Here

Thousands of patients across the country had their medical data breached, and some attorneys claim they may not have been notified.

ST. LOUIS — We hear about data breaches all the time, but it’s more troublesome when it includes protected health information, also known as PHI to those in the medical industry. On top of having a social security number compromised, a thief could also learn and expose your diagnosis — something that a hospital or its contractor should legally protect under HIPPA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Note: The video above is about employers asking employees about vaccination status as it relates to HIPPA.

Maureen Brady, a Missouri attorney who handles personal injury cases with the law firm McShane and Brady, says she and partner Lucy McShane are representing clients in Missouri and Kansas who received notice of such a breach. These are people who received letters from a company called Med-Data informing them that their social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, medical conditions, and diagnoses were also compromised. 

Med-Data is a health care provider that houses and stores private medical information and as a third party for hospitals, runs billing and accounting for those providers. The class-action lawsuit was filed in Jackson County, Missouri, and served to a registered agent in St. Louis. 

“We as citizens have to be very vigilant about our information already,” said Brady. “But particularly with medical information because it is so valuable, and it can be used against the patient.”

In a redacted copy of the disclosure letter sent from Med-Data, the company said a journalist informed the company in December 2020 that data had been uploaded to a website. Med-Data said it launched an internal investigation and discovered that a former employee had saved files to personal folders from December 2018 to September 2019 while employed with the company.

Anyone in Missouri or Washington receive a letter that their medical and personal info had been breached?

This is concerning #MedData, a third-party health provider.

Cases filed in MO, KS, TX, WA…and more to come. Potentially 750,000 people impacted. @mcshanebradylaw pic.twitter.com/cPToyZAy4r

— Michelle Li (@MichelleLiTV) August 21, 2021

Brady and McShane estimate nearly 750,000 patients may have had their data compromised for nearly a year. They say they’ve seen cases where people have lost their jobs, homes, or even custody of their kids in extreme cases because of personal and protected health information disclosures. It’s no surprise crooks have filed false medical insurance claims, fake tax returns, received loans or filed someone else’s social security or Medicaid benefits. 

It’s a matter of mandated trust, says McShane.

“Even though it’s a third party, it still has to keep your information protected,” said McShane. “Your hospital can’t pass that responsibility off under HIPPA. They fall under the hospital’s purview.”

Not only does it fall under HIPPA, but consumers pay for this privacy protection in the price point of their services.

Brady says Med-Data failed on a number of fronts, from the response time to the actions taken after realizing the breach. Brady says under HIPPA, the company is supposed to contact each patient, though she questions if everyone has been notified. She also says the company was supposed to give notification within 60 days of the breach, which also didn’t happen as the letters were dated in late March. She says multiple lawsuits have been filed, including Texas and Washington state, and more are certainly coming. 

“Our medical information goes to the very core of our own personal self,” said Brady.” “And that information is for us to disclose and how we want.” Brady hopes more people will come forward and contact their office.

Med-Data said in its letter to patients that it is offering identity theft protection services through IDX, a data breach and recovery services expert. It also includes a year of credit and CyberScan monitoring, a $1,000,000 insurance reimbursement policy, and fully managed ID theft recovery services. The company encourages anyone who received a letter about the breach to call 1-833-903-3647 or go to https://response.idx.us/holdings.

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Originally Appeared Here

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Wilkes-Barre, Pa. – PA 211 Northeast, Lycoming County United Way, and Maternal and Family Health Services are collaborating to help uninsured Pa. children access free, or low-cost, insurance through Medicaid and CHIP.

Their new regional education program, a localized “211 Get Kids Covered” campaign, will encourage parents and caregivers to call their regional 211 provider for information about enrolling children in Medicare or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), if they do not have healthcare coverage through an employer-based family plan.

Residents of Lycoming, Sullivan and Tioga counties can contact PA 211 Northeast, a free information and referral service provided by FSA, by dialing 211, texting 211 (898 211 and zip code), or logging on to PA 211 NE’s website.

Parents and caregivers who experience high call volume at regional 211 centers can also text INSUREKIDSNOW to 211-211 for necessary eligibility information and directions on how to enroll in the programs.

Additional information is also available.

“We provide essential programs for families with young children in Northeast Pennsylvania. Making sure children have access to a regular source of health care is a key component of our service to the community,” said Maria Montoro Edwards, Ph.D., president/CEO of MFHS, explaining her agency’s role in improving community health.

“Through the WIC Nutrition Program and the Nurse-Family Partnership Program, MFHS is a trusted resource for families in Luzerne County. We are often the first point of access for families in need of services for infants and young children, and we work in partnership with PA 211 Northeast to connect families to CHIP and other resources to improve overall health and wellness,” added Edwards.

Overall, Pennsylvania has the eighth highest number of uninsured children in the country with nearly 128,000 lacking coverage, according to a 2020 report by Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.

“Lycoming County United Way fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community,’’ said Ronald A. Frick, president and chief executive officer of Lycoming County United Way.

“Working with community partners, we mobilize the collective resources in our communities to strengthen families and change the lives of people. We accomplish this goal by assessing the needs of each community, generating resources, investing in programs, and measuring results,” Frick said.

“Every child in Pennsylvania should have health coverage and we are excited to partner with PA 211 NE on such an important community-outreach project that impacts many low-income children,’’ added Frick. “This campaign takes on an added layer of importance due to COVID-19 and the imminent return of students to classrooms over the next several weeks.’’

“211 Get Kids Covered” is a United Way Worldwide campaign that features local United Way agencies collaborating with providers of 211 services throughout the country.

Pennsylvania 211 oversees six regional 211 providers in the commonwealth, including PA 211 NE, which covers 17 counties in Northeastern and Northcentral Pa.

Tom Foley, right, director of PA 211 NE / Help Line services for Family Service Association of NEPA, speaks to WBRE-TV 28 report Mark Hiller at the press conference announcing the ‘Get Kids Covered’ awareness campaign.

PA 211 NE

“PA 211 NE is proud to play an integral role in helping parents and caregivers secure the healthcare coverage their children need to lead healthy lives,’’ said Janyne Gurnari, interim CEO of FSA.

“For more than 125 years, the Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania has worked to connect people to the health and human service programs they need to address challenging situations in their lives. Through community partnerships, like this one, we have been able to lessen the impact of those situations on the people and communities we aim to lift up,” Gurnari said.

Financial guidelines, state residency, citizenship, and age determine eligibility for Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Program. A family of four, for example, can earn up to $35,245 and may be eligible for coverage. The income limit increases to $41,284 for a family of five and continues to increase based on the size of the family.

Annual household income levels and eligibility requirements are different for the state’s CHIP Program. A family of four that earns $79,500, for example, but is ineligible for Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Program, may qualify if they meet certain criteria, such as age, state residency and citizenship status.

Overall, the benefit programs offer free or low-cost health insurance that covers doctor’s visits, well visits, hospital stays, prescriptions, vaccines and more. For complete information about coverage and eligibility, individuals may contact PA 211 NE by phone, text, or website.

United Way Worldwide launched the national campaign on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Local United Way agencies and FSA also will utilize social media platforms to provide information on how to enroll children in the state’s benefit programs. The local, regional and national campaigns will feature hashtags, such as #coveragematters, #healthykids, and #healthinsurance.

The public can also follow Lycoming County United Way (@LycomingCountyUnitedWay on Facebook, @LyCoUnitedWay on Twitter and @lycomingcountyunitedway on Instagram) and FSA (@FSANEPA on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) on each of their social media accounts to receive information and directions about enrolling in the benefit programs.

PA 211 NE operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for 365 days a year. It is a safety-net service that connects people to information and referrals they need to address a large variety of services that address food, housing and financial insecurity, physical or mental health care, drug and alcohol detoxification or rehabilitation, crisis management, and much more.

PA 211 NE is available in 17 counties, including Bradford, Clinton, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe, Montour, Northumberland, Pike, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

Our content is free, but our journalists work hard. 100% of your contribution to NorthcentralPa.com goes directly toward helping us cover the important news and events in our region. Thank you for saying that local news matters!

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Originally Appeared Here

In hours of livestreamed videos, Floyd Ray Roseberry demanded Democrats step down and complained about illegal immigrants getting health insurance.

WASHINGTON — In hours of live-streamed video Thursday, a North Carolina man ranted against President Joe Biden, Democrats, illegal immigrants and the health care system while daring federal agents to shoot him – the trigger, he said, to detonate a bomb inside of the truck he’d parked outside of the Library of Congress.

Congressional staffers were alerted to a suspicious building on the Capitol campus around 10 a.m. Thursday morning. Capitol police eventually decided to evacuate several office buildings – including the Madison, Jefferson and Cannon buildings – and businesses and residents in the immediate surrounding area as police attempted to negotiate with a man they identified Thursday afternoon as 49-year-old Floyd Ray Roseberry, of Grover, North Carolina.

Roseberry was eventually taken into custody without incident around 2 p.m. Investigators said they did not find an explosive device in his truck, but did find “possible bomb-making materials.”

In multiple livestreams to his Facebook page beginning around 7 a.m. Thursday, Roseberry vented a litany of complaints, ranging from the quality of modern coinage – at one point saying “Your pennies are rotting, Joe!” – to the American treatment of Afghans during the ongoing troop withdrawal. He also repeatedly called on Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats to step down.

“You step down out of office, I’ll step down out of this truck,” Roseberry said. “You go home. I’ll go to federal prison.”

🚨CONFIRMED🚨 Deputy Chief Philip Todd of the Cleveland County, NC Sheriffs Office confirms the man seen live-streaming on Facebook is man being investigated for sitting in a truck full of explosives outside US Capitol, Floyd Ray Roseberry. FBI, Homeland questioning wife @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/87wG9XuzxX

— Eric Flack (@EricFlackTV) August 19, 2021

Sign up for the Capitol Breach Newsletter. Don’t miss an update about arrests, charges or investigations into the assault on the Capitol.

In his videos, Roseberry said he was “picked by the American [expletive] people to come up here and take a stand.” Much of his ranting was directed specifically at Biden and suggested he believed in the baseless election fraud conspiracy theories pushed by former President Donald Trump and other prominent Republicans that Biden was not legally elected.

“I just got chose for the job. Unlike you,” Roseberry said. “This ain’t about politics. I don’t care if Donald Trump ever becomes president again. I think ya’ll Democrats need to step down. Ya’ll need to understand people don’t want you there.”

The truck Roseberry drove from North Carolina was filled with bags and tubs of loose change apparently designed to turn the vehicle into a huge IED. Roseberry was vague about the nature of the supposed explosive device. At one point he claimed he had a “toolbox full of ammonium nitrate.” At another, he said police should ask their experts “what a 7-pound beg of gunpowder would do with 2.5-lbs. of Tannerite.”

“Biden, there’s a change shortage for a reason. I’ve got it all. I got loads of it,” Roseberry said. “And it don’t take but a half a roll of nickel to equal a .50-caliber bullet. And I’m telling you, they come in, they start shooting this window out… this bomb’s going off.”

Roseberry stated at times that he had driven up alone to “build the foundation of the revolution,” and at others that he was one of five people in explosive-laden vehicles around D.C. As of Thursday afternoon, police had not confirmed the existence of any other suspicious vehicles in the District.

“Southern boys are here,” Roseberry said. “You can take me out. But when you do, you know what’s going to happen Joe Biden? There’s going to be a chain reaction. And that chain reaction’s going to be on your hands.”

‘Where’s your insurance at, Biden?’

While Roseberry at times attempted to paint himself variously as the embodiment of “the South” or as a handpicked representative of the American people, much of his motivation seemed to derive from a personal animus against the U.S. health care system.

Roseberry’s mother died of cancer, he said, and his wife had been denied insurance coverage for treatment of an unspecified cancer on her face. He claimed he had recently been denied coverage as well for shots “just so I can walk.”

“I went to the doctor yesterday to get some of those cell therapy shots they’ve been bragging about giving to athletes all these years. The doctor says, ‘No shots today. Insurance don’t cover it anymore,’” Roseberry said. “My wife goes to the doctor. She’s got cancer. And they told her it wouldn’t cover it anymore because it’s cosmetic. It’s on her face. Where’s your insurance at Biden? Obama? You keep on letting all these illegal Mexicans in here, all these illegal immigrants in here from Afghanistan… we’re going to have free health care for us. You’re [expletive] giving it to them. The South’s fed up!”

Roseberry’s home state of North Carolina is one of a dozen states with Republican-controlled legislatures that have not yet adopted expanded Medicaid eligibility granted by the Obama-Biden administration’s signature health care legislation, the Affordable Care Act. In states that have adopted expansion, the law allows households to qualify for Medicaid coverage if their income is below 133% of the federal poverty level – roughly $35,000 a year for a family of four. Roseberry is a registered Republican who voted most recently in the November general election, according to a public records search.

Capitol bomb threat suspect Floyd Roseberry spent a lot of time on stream talking about his insurance woes. But the registered Republican comes from a state, North Carolina, where his own party has blocked the ACA’s Medicaid expansion. Map via @KFF: https://t.co/1V3IknYFQt pic.twitter.com/jTMjkFG3ly

— Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord) August 19, 2021

Those same records showed no significant property assets in Roseberry’s name – but a history of financial troubles. Court records show he filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in 1998, which establishes a payment plan for unpaid debts, and then Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2000. Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows a trustee to sell off whatever assets are available to pay off creditors. His most recent employment was listed as an assistant supervisor at a women’s apparel manufacturer.

North Carolina court records show Roseberry has a limited criminal history. He was found guilty of obstruction of police in 1993 and sentenced to 60 days in jail and 2 years of supervised probation. In 2000 he was charged with assault on a female, but the case was resolved in mediation and the charges were dismissed.

We’re tracking all of the arrests, charges and investigations into the January 6 assault on the Capitol and the ongoing fallout from the “Big Lie” that helped fuel it. Sign up for our Capitol Breach Newsletter here so that you never miss an update.

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Originally Appeared Here

You may have noticed recently that your favorite restaurant is closed some new random nights or that you can’t get an appointment with your veterinarian immediately. We can blame covid for some of the workplace crunches, but there are other factors. The face of veterinary medicine is changing, and I want to talk a little bit about it.

Most veterinary clinics are facing staffing shortages. This limits the hours we can be open and the services we can provide. Most vets are conditioned to push themselves to the breaking point to help one more pet, and we do. However, it is important to know that three pets after “one more pet” happens very often. Vets can only work as their best selves with their best technicians when they aren’t bone tired. I have heard a lot of chatter about various veterinary clinics changing their hours and coverage, and this is to implore all clients to understand these changes. No vet can be their best when they work 24/7, and any vet that assures you they can is doing your pet a disservice.

This is also to implore you to be kind to all of our veterinary staff (and all staff!) Most vets are working past the breaking point to help pets, but we also have a limit of what we can do. If your pet has a non-urgent need, please be understanding that it may be a long time out to book than usual. If your pet has an extremely urgent need and we already have double-booked appointments, we may recommend that you seek out an urgent care veterinary facility. This isn’t because we don’t want to or even because we don’t have the skills to help your pet, we just may not have the ability to do so right now. The most important thing is that pets are getting the best possible care. Sometimes this is with us, sometimes it is at an emergency hospital.

And this brings me to emergency care. Emergency care is often expensive. This isn’t new, but since so many veterinary clinics are booked out so far clients are having to turn to specialty emergency hospitals more often than previously. The benefits of emergency and specialty hospitals are that they are fully staffed 24 hours a day. They have all the bells and whistles to provide anything that is needed at any time. They can blood type, do transfusions, do emergency surgery, do blood gasses, have a veterinarian on-site, and can do all of these things essentially on demand.

All of those things mean that you will be paying for top-notch care. Unfortunately, emergencies are just that – an emergency. This means that you often haven’t planned the time or money.

When you are looking at the option of spending several thousand dollars or putting down a pet, there just is not an easy answer. Often we just do not have the money. I am a strong proponent of either an emergency pet savings fund or health insurance for pets. It is so easy to look at a fluffy kitten and not envision the day it jumps off your roof. Or to snuggle your sweet puppy without seeing the day they chase a squirrel into the road and get hit by a car.

I am often accused of catastrophizing, usually by my husband. Not to make light of it, because I certainly don’t have a disorder. But I am very adept at visualizing the worst possible scenario. Thankfully I haven’t let it dictate my life, but I do have specific savings funds for my child, pets, and my healthcare needs. I often imagine the worst-case scenarios for my pets and kid. Maybe this is from life experience or work experience, but the benefit is that I am ready at any time for them to need worst-case care (up to a point.)

While this is dramatic, I often encourage clients to do the same. Health insurance for pets can make an amazing difference when their life is on the line. A savings account is also great because you then have that money if you don’t need it for their healthcare. The difference is that many pet insurances have paid out up to 15k in care, while that seems like a very unrealistic savings goal for most of us.

Most of this week’s article came off sounding like a lecture, which I apologize for. But the truth is that veterinary clinics are stretched thin and owners should always be prepared in the case of an emergency. So look into health insurance for your pets, hope you never need it, and offer your veterinary staff an extra smile. Even if we can’t see them through the masks, we know when they are there.

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Originally Appeared Here

Editorial Note: Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations.

Compare & Buy Travel Insurance For 2021

Compare Quotes With Over 22 Travel Insurers

After more than a year of travel disruptions due to the pandemic, some countries now require travel insurance for Covid-19 related medical expenses before you can enter the country.

If you are hoping to get some new stamps in your passport, here’s what you need to know.

Travel Insurance Requirements by Destination

Anguilla: All visitors must show proof that they have health insurance that covers Covid-19 medical expenses.

Aruba: Incoming visitors must purchase Covid-19 travel insurance from the Aruba government. Your own travel insurance can supplement Aruba visitors insurance, but it cannot replace it.

Bahamas: All international visitors age 18 and older are required to get a Bahamas Travel Health Visa. The cost of Covid-19 health insurance is included with the cost of the visa and includes trip interruption coverage of $500 per day to a maximum of $7,000 and Covid-19 emergency medical expenses up to $50,000. The cost of the visa varies for vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers.

Bermuda: Visitors are required to have a travel insurance policy that covers Covid-19 medical emergencies. If you do not have coverage, you will be responsible for all Covid-related health and accomodation costs.

Cambodia: Visitors must purchase a local health insurance package that covers at least $50,000 in Covid-19 medical benefits and must be valid for 20 days.

Cayman Islands: Visitors are required to have coverage for Covid-19 medical expenses.

Chile: Visitors must show proof of a health insurance policy that covers Covid-19 medical expenses and include at least $30,000 in coverage.

Costa Rica: Fully vaccinated adults and minors under age 18 can enter without travel insurance. Acceptable vaccines include Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Unvaccinated adults must provide proof of Covid-19 medical insurance with a minimum of $50,000 in coverage for Covid-related medical treatment and $2,000 for lodging expenses due to Covid-related illness.

French Polynesia: Visitors are required to buy travel insurance with Covid-19 coverage, or must sign a declaration to pay all medical costs if they contract Covid-19.

Israel: Travelers must have travel medical insurance that covers Covid-19.

Jamaica: Travelers must pay a mandatory $40 fee as part of the “Jamaica Cares” program to cover Covid-related medical expenses. The Jamaica Cares program includes travel medical insurance up to $100,000 per person and on-island health coverage up to $50,000.

Jordan: Visitors are required to buy a travel insurance policy that covers Covid-19 medical expenses.

Lebanon: Visitors must have a travel insurance plan that covers Covid-related medical treatment.

Nepal: Tourists must have proof of travel medical insurance that covers the duration of their trip.

St. Maarten: Travelers must buy Covid-19 insurance from the St. Maarten government. The cost is $15 for ages 15 and older and free for children age 14 and under.

Thailand: All visitors are required to have at least $100,000 in travel medical insurance that covers Covid-related medical expenses.

Turks and Caicos: Visitors must provide proof of a travel insurance policy that covers Covid-related medical expenses.

Ukraine: All visitors must have an insurance policy issued by an insurance company registered in Ukraine that covers Covid-related medical expenses.

Source: Squaremouth

Why Do Countries Require Covid-19 Travel Insurance?

Many countries require visitors to buy travel medical insurance so they do not absorb the financial burden of treating uninsured tourists who contract Covid-19. Generally, your policy must cover you for the entire length of your stay.

Related: Best Covid-19 travel insurance plans

Some countries require you to buy travel medical insurance from the government. For example, visitors to the Bahamas are required to purchase the Bahamas Travel Visa, which includes coverage for Covid-related medical expenses. You can also purchase your own travel insurance policy to supplement the Bahamas Travel Visa coverage.

In countries that do not require you to purchase a policy from the government, make sure your travel insurance policy meets the country’s requirements and covers Covid-related expenses. For example, visitors who travel to Thailand must have at least $100,000 of travel insurance that covers Covid-related medical costs.

What Happens If You Don’t Buy the Required Insurance?

If you arrive in a country that requires travel insurance and you don’t have a policy, you will not be permitted to enter.

Note that many countries also require a recent negative Covid test for entry. Some countries might specify the type of test that is acceptable and it must be performed by an accredited laboratory.

For example, to enter Turks and Caicos you must take a test no more than three days before you arrive. Acceptable tests include RT-PCR, NAA, RNA or molecular tests, and antigen tests completed via nasopharyngeal swab.

More Travel Insurance Options

It’s a good idea to consider buying more coverage than your destination country’s minimum requirements. The required insurance may not be adequate for you.

For example, in many countries, the U.S. Department of State recommends a travel insurance plan that includes emergency medical evacuation coverage.

Aside from Covid-related expenses, it’s good to have travel insurance for other types of problems, like trip cancellation and lost baggage. Here are some other coverage types that can be included in a comprehensive travel insurance plan:

• Trip cancellation insurance will reimburse you 100% for prepaid, non-refundable deposits if you have to cancel your trip for a reason covered by your policy, such as a death in the family, or injury or illness of a traveler.
• Trip delay and interruption coverage helps if you miss a portion of your trip or it is cut short for a problem covered by your policy (such as a late flight). This coverage reimburses you for extra costs you might incur because of the delay or interruption.
• Baggage loss coverage pays for lost, damaged or stolen luggage and belongings during your trip.
• ”Cancel for any reason” travel insurance. With so much uncertainty surrounding travel, this coverage gives you the flexibility to cancel your trip (at least two days before departure). “Cancel for any reason” coverage will typically reimbursed a portion of your pre-paid trip costs (usually 50% or 75%, depending on the plan).

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Originally Appeared Here

Dive Brief:

• CMS is extending the timeframe states have to complete pending verifications, redeterminations based on changes in circumstances and renewals for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Basic Health Program beneficiaries after the federal public health emergency for COVID-19 ends, according to a Friday letter from the agency.
• Due to significantly increased workloads, state health officials will now have 12 months instead of six after the PHE ends to complete those tasks. It doesn’t change the four-month timeframe after the PHE ends that they have to resume the timely processing of all applications, however.
• The letter also does not confirm when the federal PHE will end, as it has been extended multiple times. CMS will provide additional detailed guidance on the updated policies in the coming months, it said.

Dive Insight:

Enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP has grown to a record high, with more than 81 million beneficiaries. That’s largely due to the Medicaid continuous enrollment requirement tied to pandemic relief legislation that ceased typical churn, according to the letter.

A disruption in operations caused by the pandemic and the continuous enrollment requirement mean states will be faced with high volumes of eligibility and enrollment actions they’ll need to complete after the PHE and flexibilities that came with it end to ensure eligible beneficiaries don’t lose coverage.

States expressed concern that the original six-month timeframe CMS gave in December 2020 to complete growing backlogs would result in a “renewal bulge,” causing greater administrative burden that could be much more manageable within a larger time frame, according to the letter.

Beneficiaries also risk losing coverage if states held to that timeframe are unable to conduct outreach and put in place strategies to make accurate redeterminations and renewals.

The previous guidance also allowed states to avoid completing another redetermination before terminating coverage after the PHE ends if certain conditions are met, including that eligibility actions processed during the PHE were finished within six months of the beneficiary’s termination after the PHE.

But allowing states to avoid “repeat redeterminations” carries the risk that coverage will be terminated for some eligible beneficiaries, and CMS is rescinding that option in the new guidance. 

Under the updated policy, states can’t terminate any person determined eligible for Medicaid during the PHE, including people who failed to respond to requests for information, until the state has completed a redetermination after the PHE ends.

Before taking an adverse action toward any beneficiary, states must complete an additional redetermination that includes checking available information and data sources without contacting the beneficiary and requesting documents to obtain reliable information when eligibility cannot be renewed based on available information, according to the letter.

With the extended timeframe, CMS said states should reassess their risk-based approach to prioritizing pending work and prepare to restore routine operations after the emergency ends. Their risk-based approach should promote continuity of coverage for those eligible and limit delays in processing for those newly eligible or eligible for more comprehensive coverage.

“CMS is available to provide technical assistance to states that are working to complete pending eligibility and enrollment work within the 12-month timeframe, and we remain interested in hearing state feedback and concerns as states plan for and resume routine operations consistent with the expectations outlined in this letter,” the agency said.

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Originally Appeared Here

While employers and observers are mulling over increasing the cost of health insurance for those who have not gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, some argue those proposals could jeopardize crucial healthcare reform. 

Writer and researcher Natalie Shure said in an Aug. 16 piece for The New Republic that proposed price hikes tied to the unvaccinated is a dangerous path, as health is often “socially produced.” 

Ms. Shure argues that the mentality underwriting the trend is, “Why should we all pay for someone else’s reckless choices?”

When the Affordable Care Act allowed insurers to upcharge members who smoke, Ms. Shure wrote that instead of reducing smoking, it increased uninsured rates. Smokers are also more likely to be poor and suffer from health conditions, so the move severed ties between the newly uninsured and providers.

In the same vein, Ms. Shure said she fears that current discourse about vaccination could lead the unvaccinated — who are also disproportionately poor and uninsured — to have decreased access to healthcare. 

Ultimately, Ms. Shure said that the mentality reopens the “individual responsibility” mentality that is a slippery slope to undoing ACA protections for Americans.

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Originally Appeared Here