Washington health care purchasers unify in support of primary care transformation Sydney Kurle | Jan 28, 2021
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The Washington Health Alliance (WHA) and the Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH) sent a letter Tuesday joining purchasers in support of the state’s efforts to transform primary care delivery. The letter, sent to the Washington Health Care Authority (HCA), asks providers and health plans to work together with purchasers to generate new payment models for primary care.
Signers of the letter include employers and union trusts that represent upwards of 350,000 people in Washington. Some of the purchasers included are the Association of Washington Cities, King County, Puget Sound Energy, SEIU 775 Benefits Group and the Washington Health Benefit Exchange.
State-based marketplaces open special enrollment periods alongside federal exchange Emily Boerger | Jan 28, 2021
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President Joe Biden announced on Thursday he will sign an executive order to open HealthCare.gov, the federally run health insurance marketplace, for a “Special Enrollment Period” from February 15, 2021 – May 15, 2021. The new enrollment period aims to offer Americans another opportunity to sign up for health coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The executive order applies to the federal marketplace, where the majority of states currently participate. However, other states that run their own state-based marketplaces have announced their plans to open a special enrollment period alongside the federal period.
Evidence from states that tried something similar last spring suggests that the extra enrollment time could be an effective way to bring coverage to hard-to-reach populations: younger Americans, and those who have remained uninsured despite the health law’s coverage expansion.
“It wasn’t a deluge of people, but we were pleased with the type of people we were drawing in,” said Audrey Gasteier, chief of policy and strategy at the Massachusetts Health Connector. It ran a special enrollment period for nearly five months last year, and had 22,800 sign-ups as a result.
Usually, about a quarter of the Connector’s enrollees are between 18 and 34. But that figure was 40 percent for those who signed up during the special enrollment period, suggesting that the pandemic may have nudged so-called Young Invincibles to decide health insurance was worth the cost.
Lauren Smith: Coronavirus updates: State moves into Phase 1B of vaccine plan
News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. 1/19/2021 Lauren Smith, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)
Jan. 19 This page includes coronavirus developments around Washington state for Tuesday, Jan. 19.
Inslee announces changes as vaccine distribution moves into Phase 1B
Updated 9 a.m.
Washington state has moved into the next phase COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
The vaccine is now available to residents in Tier 1 of Phase 1B, which includes people 65 or older, people who are 50 or older and live in a multi-generational household (where individuals from two or more generations live) and people who were already eligible in Phase 1A, according to the state Department of Health. Phase 1A included health care workers, first responders and long-term care facility workers and residents.
Statewide child care strike remains on the table as grants go out to providers yakimaherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yakimaherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.