News
Insurance
Beauty and Race
a state-based marketplace and it performed
dismally.
In, April, the Cover Oregon board voted
to switch from an exclusively state-based
marketplace, to a hybrid that includes the
federal government. Note that customers
who enrolled in a 2014 private plan through
Holm reminds that the site has been up
year round processing special enrollment
periods and changes in circumstances. She
also notes those eligible for Oregon Health
Plan can sign up for coverage any time
throughout the year.
Though Healthcare.gov made national
Customers who enrolled in a 2014 private plan
through Cover Oregon, as well as anyone else
who would like private coverage to begin
Jan. 1, 2015, need to enroll in a 2015
plan by Dec. 15, 2014
Cover Oregon, as well as anyone else who
would like private coverage to begin Jan. 1,
2015, need to enroll in a 2015 plan by Dec.
15, 2014.
That switch means, come Nov. 15, instead
of heading to the Cover Oregon site, Orego-
nians should head to the federal government
run interface Healthcare.gov to shop for the
plan that best fits their lifestyle.
“Oregon is moving to a better way to
enroll in health insurance,” says Cover Ore-
gon spokesperson Ariane Holm. “It will be
easier because people will be able to enroll
in one sitting.
“Based on what our federal partners at
HealthCare.gov have shared with us, they
are making good progress to ensure they’re
ready for a successful second open enroll-
ment.”
headlines for months, due to its own glitch-
es and limited functionality initially, the site
is now reported working properly with Pres-
ident Obama affirming that the site “works
great now,” back in May this year.
Washington Health Benefit Exchange
(Wahexchange.gov) will continue to be
the official site for consumers in Washing-
ton State to shop and compare plans. Unlike
Oregon, this marketplace performed
extremely well from the beginning, and on
the whole the Evergreen State’s state-based
exchange has served as a national model of
how to successfully utilize the open enroll-
ment period. Note, 46 plans are available in
Washington exchange while Oregon holds a
notably 11 to shop and compare.
Many will be seeking out help with this
enrollment period, and there are people des-
the first fashion director at Vibe,
Michaela Angela Davis; Mimi thi
Nguyen, associate professor at the
university of Illinois and blogger at
threadBared; and Patrice Grell
Yursik, aka Afrobella (pictured at
right) speak at the upcoming 11th
annual Ray Warren Symposium at
Lewis & Clark, Nov. 12-14; all
events are free and open to the
public. the event explores
questions of race, beauty, and
desire from a range of angles—the
politics of black hair, hierarchies of
skin color, cosmetic surgery
practices to reduce characteristics
associated with racial or ethnic
groups, appropriation in the name
of fashion, the interplay of racism
and fatphobia, and the
connections among race, beauty,
and disability. Additional panels
focus on topics including racism in
the Pacific Northwest and
American Indian fashion designers.
For a complete schedule of events
and speakers, visit
http://go.lclark.edu/warrensymp.
ignated to help you; they’re called ‘naviga-
tors.’ Trained and certified specifically to
assist people through the enrollment
process, navigators come at absolutely no
cost to consumers.
In October it was announced that Health
and Human Services would be awarding
PHOTO CREDIT LEWIS & CLARK
continued from page 1
$60 million in navigator grant monies to 90
organizations in states with federally and
state-based marketplaces.
Read the rest of this story online at
www.theskanner.com
VA
continued from page 1
Eventually, McDonald would like all vet-
erans to have one user name and password
for all VA services. McDonald hopes to
complete the reorganization within a year.
Veterans also should be able to communi-
cate with officials in a single region to solve
problems, McDonald said. Under the cur-
rent structure, a veteran may live in one VA
region for health care, another region for
mortgage services and a third for veterans’
benefits.
The reorganization, to be known as
“MyVA,” is designed to provide
veterans with “a seamless, integrated and
responsive customer service experience —
whether they arrive at VA digitally, by
phone or in person,” McDonald said.
McDonald, a former CEO of consumer-
goods giant Procter & Gamble, has been
pushing to refocus the VA on customer serv-
ice since taking over the troubled agency in
July, following a scandal over long patient
wait times for veterans seeking health care
and widespread falsification of records by
A whistleblower reported that dozens of veterans
may have died while awaiting treatment at the
Phoenix VA hospital, and that appointment
records were manipulated to hide the delays
VA employees and managers to cover up the
delays.
McDonald has been urging VA employees
to refer to veterans as customers and to refer
to him as “Bob,” rather than “Secretary.” He
also has given out his cell phone number to
reporters and veterans alike and urged them
to call him with questions and suggestions.
Some members of Congress have disputed
the inspector general’s report on the Phoenix
deaths and suggested that language casting
doubt on the link between the delays and
patient deaths was inserted at the suggestion
of top VA officials in Washington. The IG’s
office and the VA have denied that claim.
Three high-ranking officials at the
Phoenix facility have been placed on leave
while they appeal a department decision to
fire them. Four other high-ranking execu-
tives around the country were targeted for
removal, but only one was fired. Two offi-
cials retired and a third was granted an
extension for more time to respond to the
VA’s decision.
The scandal led to the ouster of former VA
Secretary Eric Shinseki and to a new law
making it easier forveterans to get VA-paid
care from local doctors. The law also short-
ens and streamlines the appeals process for
employees who are fired.
McDonald told the CBS News program
“60 Minutes” on Sunday that the VA is con-
sidering disciplinary action against more
than 1,000 employees. “We’re talking about
people who violated our values,” he said.
McDonald’s comment about 1,000
employees facing discipline is one of sever-
al numbers regarding employee discipline
the VA secretary has offered in recent days.
At a news conference last Thursday,
McDonald said the VA has proposed disci-
plinary action — up to and including firing
— against more than 40 employees nation-
wide since June. Those cases are all related
to the wait-time scandal and manipulation
of records to hide delays.
At an appearance Friday at the National
Press Club, McDonald said the VA has
taken or is considering disciplinary action
against 5,600 employees over the past year,
although aides later clarified that most of
those actions were not related to the health-
care scandal.
“We are very serious about making sure
that we hold people accountable,” McDon-
ald said.
Medicare
continued from page 1
plan gets a number of stars on a scale of 1 to
5—with 5 being the best—based on quality
and performance. These ratings are
designed to help people with Medicare,
their families, and caregivers compare
plans, in addition to information on their
premiums and benefits.
This year, people with Medicare who
choose to enroll in a Medicare health or pre-
scription drug plan will have access to more
high-rated, four- and five-star plans than
ever before. Approximately 60 percent of
Medicare Advantage enrollees are in a
Medicare Advantage Plan earning four or
more stars in 2015, compared to an estimat-
ed 17 percent back in 2009. Likewise, about
53 percent of Part D enrollees are currently
enrolled in stand-alone prescription drug
plans with four or more stars for 2015, com-
pared to just 16 percent in 2009. Since the
This year, people with Medicare who choose to
enroll in a Medicare health or prescription drug
plan will have access to more high-rated, four-
and five-star plans than ever before
passage of the Affordable Care Act, enroll-
ment in Medicare Advantage will increase
to 42 percent to an all- time high of over 16
million and Medicare Advantage premiums
will have decreased by 6 percent.
For people with Medicare, this is good
news in how they receive care. Plans that
are higher rated deliver a high-level of care,
such as improving the coordination of care,
managing diabetes or other chronic condi-
tions more efficiently, screening for and
preventing illnesses, making sure people get
much-needed prescription drugs, or getting
appointments and care quickly. A high rat-
ing also means these plans give better
customer service, with fewer complaints or
long waits for care.
If you have Medicare and need assistance,
you can visit Medicare.gov, call 1-800-
MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), or contact
your State Health Insurance Assistance Pro-
gram (SHIP). You should have received the
2015 “Medicare & You” Handbook and
important notices from your current plan,
Medicare, or Social Security about changes
to your coverage. If you’re satisfied with
your current coverage, there’s nothing you
need to do.
Better quality in Medicare health and pre-
scription drug plans isn’t the only good
news for people with Medicare. For most
seniors who have Original Medicare, the
2015 Part B premium will stay unchanged
for a second consecutive year at $104.90.
This means more of seniors’ retirement
income and any increase in Social Security
benefits will stay in their pockets. The Part
B deductible will stay the same as well.
Medicare is working hard to make sure
this good news continues so that seniors and
people with disabilities will continue to get
the health care coverage they deserve.
November 12, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 3