‘Health Care’ Archives
Author: deanfiihr Published: August 25th, 2011
To ensure more children get quality, affordable healthcare, the 2011 Iowa Legislature has made it easier for families to qualify for Hawk-I.
Hawk-I makes affordable health insurance coverage available to children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but too low to afford private family coverage. Under the new guidelines, a family of four making up $67,000 may qualify. Depending on income guidelines, children may be eligible for free or low cost health insurance. Iowa also now offers a “dental only” plan for children who may already have healthcare, but do not have dental care.
For an application or eligibility questions, call toll-free (877) KIDS-NOW. Information is also available at www.hawk-i.org and local schools or doctor’s offices.
Tags: Hawk-I, Health Care
Category Featured, Health Care, Recent News |
Author: deanfiihr Published: January 4th, 2011
Last year, Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield raised rates 18% without any public input. This year they have proposed an 11% rate hike in insurance premiums. This time Iowans have a chance to be heard at a public hearing sponsored by the Iowa Insurance Commissioner on Thursday, January 6 from 9-11 am at the Cerro Gordo County Courthouse.
Last year legislation was passed by the Iowa House of Representatives to hold insurance companies accountable and provide more transparency for consumers on health insurance plans and premiums, and rate
“Iowa families and small businesses deserve to know the specific reasons why their insurance rates are rising so dramatically every year,” said Steckman. “After years of double digit rate increases, small businesses deserve more warning and an opportunity to voice their concerns before rate increases take effect.”
The public hearing in Mason City will be via video conference over the state’s ICN network. Last November, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield filed requests for increases in base premium rates for individual health insurance policies. If approved, the increases will take effect for policies purchased or renewed on or after April 1, 2011. This will not affect group health insurance policies.
“I encourage you to participate in the hearing to voice your concerns. If you are unable to attend the hearing in Mason City, you can log on to www.insuranceca.wordpress.com and leave your testimony on-line for Wellmark,” said Steckman.
Under the Wellmark proposal, base rates will go up 10.8% for almost 46,000 individual policyholders under age 65 (it does not apply to Medicare policies). Base rates will increase 11.3% for about 3,000 individual basic and standard policyholders. In addition, base rates will increase 15% for about 2,500 Blue Transitions policyholders, which is a policy for those who transition from an employer group to individual coverage.
For more information, contact the Iowa Insurance Commissioner at 515-281-5705 or toll free 877-955-1212.
Tags: Health Insurance, Janet Petersen, wellmark
Category Featured, Health Care, Recent News, Uncategorized |
Author: deanfiihr Published: September 14th, 2010
Strengthening Iowa’s economy, creating jobs, and keeping the state budget balanced will be the main focus of the 2011 Legislative Session. The “Growing Jobs, Growing Iowa” agenda, used for the 2011 legislative session, was rolled out this week.
Signs are pointing to a stronger Iowa economy as Iowa adds another 15,400 jobs in the first three months of the year and a Manpower survey said Iowa had the third best employment outlook in the country.
Iowa’s leading index of economic indicators continues to rise steadily. Iowa’s unemployment rate is ninth lowest in the country and, according to the USDA, farm income is expected to rise by 10 percent this year.
For the third year in a row, Iowa was ranked in the top ten as one of CNBC’s “Top States for Doing Business” and a Kids Count survey ranked Iowa as the 6th best place to raise kids in the country.
After making Iowa a world leader in renewable energy with 8,700 “green” jobs and expanding support for small businesses across Iowa, would also work to encourage businesses that offer good paying jobs to locate or expand in Iowa.
Create Jobs & Keep Iowa’s Economy Growing
House Democrats will continue to focus on small businesses and renewable energy. We’ve already expanded support for Iowa’s Small Business Development Centers and launched a new Save Our Small Business Fund. By making Iowa a world leader in renewable energy, we now have over 8,700 good-paying “green” jobs across the state. We are 2nd in the nation in wind energy production and lead the nation in the production of ethanol and biodiesel.
Our plan to create jobs and keep Iowa’s economy growing will include, continuing to help small businesses get started or expand to create jobs, create good-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs by helping the renewable energy industry expand in Iowa, and encourage businesses that offer good-paying jobs to locate or expand in Iowa.
Balance the Budget & Reform Government
When the recession hit Iowa last year, House Democrats reduced spending and reorganized state government to save taxpayers $300 million and keep the state budget balanced. At the same time, we cut pay and eliminated out-of-state travel for legislators and staff. Without raising taxes, we ended the last fiscal year with $265 million more revenue than projected, boosting our savings accounts to $550 million. Iowa is also one of a few states to score the “triple crown” of state financing by earning “AAA” ratings from all three major national credit rating agencies. The non-partisan Pew Center for the States recently rated Iowa #2 in the country for fiscal strength.
Our plan to balance the budget & reform government by balancing the budget without raising taxes, refill the state’s savings accounts within two years, review corporate tax credits to ensure they create the jobs promised, and establish a toll-free line to report wasteful government spending.
Strengthen Iowa’s Middle Class
House Democrats believe a strong middle class is the foundation of Iowa’s economy. Even in tough economic times, a quality education and health care are essential for a prosperous middle class. A growing middle class also depends on keeping young people in Iowa with a high quality of life and good-paying jobs. While reducing other areas of the budget, we boosted funding for K-12 schools, expanded voluntary preschool, and kept tuition in check at community colleges and state universities. In an effort to keep health care affordable for middle class families, we’ve expanded coverage to all children, required insurance companies to cover the services Iowans expect, and stopped massive rate hikes by insurance companies without explanation.
Our plan to strengthen Iowa’s middle class includes raising state standards so our kids have the skills to succeed in the competitive job market, ensure state funding goes to classrooms, not bureaucrats and continue to ensure every Iowa child has access to health care.
Tags: 2011 Agenda, 2011 growing jobs growing iowa, 2011 House Democrats, Growing Iowa, growing jobs
Category Education, Featured, Health Care, Jobs & Economy, Recent News |
Author: deanfiihr Published: August 10th, 2010
HIPIowa-FED, a new health insurance pool in Iowa, that will accept uninsured Iowans who have pre-existing health conditions, is now accepting applications.
The pool offers members a $1000 deductible policy. Premiums for members will range from $177.64 per month to $739.45 per month, depending on the applicant’s age and other variable factors.
As specified in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which created funding for states to establish and operate pools for uninsured residents, certain conditions must be met to qualify for acceptance. An applicant must:
- Be a citizen or national of the United States or lawfully present in the United States
- Have been uninsured for at least six months prior to making application
- Have had a problem getting insurance due to a pre-existing condition.
Persons interested in applying are encouraged to promptly begin the process of acquiring, completing and submitting an application. Applications are available online now at www.iid.state.ia.us and soon will also be posted at www.hipiowa.com.
Tags: Health Insurance, HIPIowa-FED, Insurance, Pre-Existing Conditions
Category Featured, Health Care, Recent News |
Author: deanfiihr Published: July 27th, 2010
According to a new Kids Count survey, Iowa is the 6th best place to raise kids in America. Here’s the story:
Iowa Ranks 6th in Latest National Kids Count Child Well-Being Report
Iowa ranks 6th nationally in the 2010 national Kids Count report on child well-being. The 21st annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, compares and ranks the fifty states on ten health, education, welfare and economic indicators of child well-being.
Iowa ranks first in the nation on two indicators, the high school dropout rate (3%) and the percent of teens not attending school and not working (4%). Iowa also showed improvement since 2000 on four other indicators. The teen death rate, infant mortality rate and child death rate all have experienced significant improvement since 2000 decreasing 27 percent, 15 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Iowa also showed slight improvement in the teen birth rate.
Iowa did experience a significant deterioration in the low birthweight rate, which has increased 12 percent since 2000, in addition to moderate deteriorations in the single parent family and child poverty rates.
“Iowa’s overall ranking is indicative of the emphasis the state puts on providing for its children and families, and Iowans should be proud of that,” said Michael Crawford, Iowa Kids Count Director with the Child and Family Policy Center in Des Moines, Iowa. “However, there are a few areas such as babies born at low birthweight, single parent families and child poverty that have worsened the past few years, and do need further emphasis.”
The 2010 KIDS COUNT Data Book annually is produced and disseminated by the Annie E. Casey Foundation of Baltimore, Maryland. Iowa Kids Count also produces a Kids Count Data Book annually providing county, substate, state and national data.
Category Education, Featured, Health Care, Jobs & Economy, Recent News, Uncategorized |
