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The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 67, No. 52 - December 27, 2018
The 2018 District 4 Toy Drive
Councilman Ralph Franklin’s annual Toy Drive always brings food, fun and holiday spirit to Inglewood families during the holiday season. Photo: City of Inglewood.
Officials Say It’s Still Full Steam
Ahead on Obamacare Enrollments
By Rob McCarthy
Officials say the decision by a Texas judge
hasn’t changed their plans to enroll as many
Californians as possible in health plans before
the mid-January deadline. The Obamacare
law remains in force for next year even if
Congress did away with the penalty for being
uninsured.
On Dec. 14, U.S. District Court Judge Reed
O’Connor issued a ruling that the Affordable
Care Act law -- known as Obamacare
-- became unconstitutional when Congress
removed the penalty on individuals who defy
the 2010 law and don’t buy health insurance
for themselves or their children. His ruling
isn’t binding on California or any of the other
states that expanded Medicare and created
health care exchanges to make it easier for
consumers to price insurance and decide on
a plan. In fact, the ruling was handed down
so close to the deadline for enrolling for
Jan. 1 that California officials extended the
enrollment period over concerns the public
would be confused. The judge’s decision isn’t
the final say on the future of Obamacare and
so the law is safe for now.
“Open enrollment is full steam ahead and
continues in California and other states for
several more weeks,” said Covered California
Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “No one in
California should let this ruling discourage
them from enrolling in health coverage or be
worried about using the health plan they have.”
Individuals and families who haven’t selected
a health insurance plan yet have until
Jan. 15 to meet the Obamacare deadline for
next year. There is a 15-day waiting period
on the later enrollees, who won’t be covered
to see their doctor or receive care until Feb.
1, officials advise.
People who met the Dec. 15 deadline,
which was extended by a week after the Texas
judge’s ruling to overcome any confusion by
consumers, will have uninterrupted coverage
starting Jan. 1. California’s open-enrollment
period runs a month longer than the annual
campaigns in other states.
Since Obamacare took effect in 2013, the
uninsured rate among Californians has fallen
by 60 percent. It reached a historic low last
year, officials reported, and the 10-point drop
since the Affordable Care Act began was
a national high. Insurance Commissioner
Dave Jones vowed that California leaders
will protect Obamacare, which has survived
numerous legal challenges.
Republican governors filed in the latest
lawsuit in a Texas federal court, which was
heard by O’Connor. The case put Obamacare
to a legal test over whether Congress’ decision
to waive the penalty for non-coverage
makes the rest of the consumer protections
in the law invalid.
O’Connor sided with the governors who
asked the law be struck down. He decided
that elimination of the tax penalty in the
Obamacare law on people who ignore law
made the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.
That included the premium subsidies and the
expansion of Medicaid by the states.
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said
the judge overreached with his ruling and
vowed that California would defend the
consumer protection law by joining an appeal
of O’Connor’s decision. The federal
subsidies to help people afford coverage
and money giving to states that expanded
Medicaid programs are “completely unrelated
to the individual insurance mandate,”
Jones said.
Federal officials assured the public that
Obamacare will remain in place pending an
appeal.“This case will wind its way through
the courts and I’m confident the Supreme
Court will once again do the right thing and
uphold the Affordable Care Act,” Lee said.
Consumer interest spiked in the second
week of December, when nearly 58,000
people signed up for coverage in a single
week. As of mid-month, there were 179,000
new enrollees in the state-run health exchange
for insurance. Another 1.2 million Covered
California customers renewed their existing
coverage for 2019, according to the state’s
free assistance service for Obamacare plans.
It’s the second straight year there has
been confusion created by attempts to dismantle
Obamacare and parts of the consumer
protection law. President Trump last year
announced funding for the federal health
insurance exchanges was being reduced,
saying that outreach to educate and assist
uninsured Americans wasn’t needed as
much. The Affordable Care Act enters its
sixth year in 2019.
Covered California’s leader disagrees, saying
that four in five Californians who qualify
for a subsidized health plan don’t realize they
are eligible for the financial assistance. South
Bay individuals earning $25,000 per year pay
as little as $1 for coverage and have their
choice of plans offered through leading health
insurers, including Kaiser, Blue Shield and
Anthem. The other leading insurers among
California’s 11 companies offered Obamacare
plans are Molina and HealthNet. If you have
checked before, take the time to check again,
and don’t “leave money on the table,” says
Lee, “when you can get the peace of mind
and protection that comes with health care
coverage.”
Nearly 90 percent of the clients who use
the state-run health exchange receive some
financial help, Lee said. The average Covered
California enrollee pays about $5 per day for
See Obamacare, page 2