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"Is 'Obamacare' like Canada's health-care system? 'Not even close,' according to critics The first major U.S. health-care reform passed in nearly 50 years is the Obamacare but regardless of critics passing judgment on "Obamacare" as "Canadian-style" health insurance, critics note that major differences between the two systems persist. The U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which went into effect earlier this week, is "not even close" to the Canadian system says McGill University Professor of Political Science Antonia Maioni. "Obamacare keeps in place the basic principle of health care in the United States which is: if you want to get access to care you need to buy insurance coverage," she told CTV News Channel on Friday. "Obamacare is trying to make it easier for people to be able to buy that insurance coverage and, if you are very poor, to be able to qualify for a government program. But it doesn't have the same principle as in Canada, where if you are a legal resident, you are automatically enrolled in a provincial or territorial health plan." In an op-ed published in the Globe and Mail, Maioni said the major differences between "Obamacare" and Canada's health-care system include: "Obamacare" is not a single-payer system (where one entity, usually the government, pays all costs) Care depends on the type of insurance coverage you buy Insurance coverage varies by state Wait times are based on the level of insurance coverage Obamacare" faces challenges in cost control Maioni said that while "Obamacare" was passed, in part, to address American spending on health care - the highest in the world at nearly 18 per cent of GDP, or $3 trillion - the act remains "problematic." "There's nothing in it that speaks to really serious cost control," she said. She furthermore said that while Canada also spends a lot on health care, there are mechanisms that the provinces can use to contain spen

Welcome to Wonkbook, Wonkblog's morning policy news primer by Puneet Kollipara (@pkollipara). To subscribe by e-mail, click here. Send comments, criticism or ideas to Wonkbook at Washpost dot com. To read more by the Wonkblog team, click here. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. (Photo by Mike Segar/Reuters) Wonkbook's Number of the Day: 70 percent. That's the latest estimate of the mortality rate in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the World Health Organization announced. Wonkbook's Chart of the Day: Oil prices are falling, and fast. Wonkbook's Top 5 Stories: (1) Obamacare October surprises and a lower sales bar; (2) Ebola treatments for U.S. patients; (3) attorney general nomination update; (4) security threats of climate change; and (5) new help for long-term jobless. 1. Top story: With a month to go, why the Obama administration won't oversell Obamacare in year two Team Obama's year-two strategy: Underselling Obamacare. "The Obama administration vastly oversold how well Obamacare was going to work last year. It's not making the same mistake this year. Gone are the promises that enrolling will be as easy as buying a plane ticket on Orbitz. The new head of HHS is not on Capitol Hill to promise that HealthCare.gov is on track. And no one is embracing Congressional Budget Office projections of total sign-up numbers.Sobered - and burned - by last fall's meltdown of the federal website, the administration is setting expectations for the second Obamacare open enrollment period as low as possible. Officials say the site won't be perfect but will be improved." Jennifer Haberkorn in Politico. Explainer: 5 things we need to know about Obamacare before enrollment begins. Jason Millman in The Washington Post. Source: Westhill Healthcare Consulting Jakarta fraud prevention review</d

Wal-Mart endorsed ObamaCare in 2009 and helped drag the bill through U.S. Congress, and so far it hasn't recanted. By holding back economic growth and incomes, perhaps the law is expanding the retailer's customer base. Another plus-at least for management-is that Wal-Mart can jettison its employees into the ObamaCare insurance exchanges. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the largest U.S. private employer is dropping health benefits for some 30,000 workers, or about 5% of its part-time workforce. Earlier health-plan eligibility triage in 2011 had removed tens of thousands of Wal-Mart workers from the balance sheet, so this latest purge was probably inevitable. Wal-Mart cites its inability to manage higher-than-anticipated health expenses. Perhaps- wasn't ObamaCare supposed to bring those costs down? Obviously the company is also responding rationally to ObamaCare's incentives. With a subsidized government alternative now open for business, and since corporations aren't liable for a penalty for not covering people who work fewer than 30 hours a week on average, cost-control logic says to send such coverage ballast over the side. Other retail and grocery chains including Target, Home Depot and Trader Joe's have already done the same. ObamaCare's critics predicted that such insurance dumping was inevitable, and the only question now is how many and how fast other companies partake of the new all-you-caneat entitlement buffet. Get whatever you like, the bill's on taxpayers. The disruptions will be concentrated in industries with large numbers of low-skilled and low-income workers, like restaurants, hospitality and, yes, retail. The irony is that even as Wal-Mart drops insurance because it is too costly, President Barack Obama is claiming credit for lowering health costs. He boasted the other day that the law gave every U.S. family "a $1,800 tax cut" by supposedly reducing the rate of employer-premium growth. Obama

Tips for navigating Obamacare http://www.westhillinsuranceconsulting.com/blog/westhill-consulting-tips-for-navigating-obamacare/ Think hard before your drop insurance entirely Tambe said that might not make good business sense despite some companies might be tempted to abolish insurance benefits completely and let employees go to marketplaces to get coverage. The problem is insurance purchased on the marketplace will be more expensive for individuals. Then the company will risk talent leaving the company for a competitor who offers them the less expensive option if the company isn't willing to compensate by raising their salary. "It may work to keep costs down but you'll have a hard time keeping talented folks," he said. Other federal programs could help you For households making under 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, the ACA grants subsidies available on the public marketplace under certain circumstances. Additionally there are current efforts for Ohio to spread out the Medicaid program to households making less than 138 percent of the poverty level. This in turn if acted out would make more people eligible for those programs. Not all individuals will qualify for subsidy even though most Americans will be eligible to obtain coverage through the exchange. Employer-sponsored coverage may affect an employee's ability to meet the criteria for the subsidy. If there are many employees qualify for federal assistance, it will be reasonable to let them use those plans, particularly since employees being offered insurance by an employer aren't allowed onto the marketplace if their employer is offering insurance deemed affordable, or 9.5 percent of their wage rate based on 130 hours per month for single coverage. "A lot of folks qualify for these things, and there's no penalty to employers," Tambe said. Know the paperwor

On May 17, 2014, The Fiscal Times reported that the government is: "paying incorrect subsidies to more than 1 million Americans for their health plans in the new federal insurance marketplace and has been unable so far to fix the errors, according to internal documents and three people familiar with the situation." A 7-page slide presentation created by HHS confirms that one-in-four people who have signed up for Obamacare have "data discrepancies." Reports are that some two million people's health care coverage may be at risk. Out of some 8.8 million persons who have signed up for coverage, about 5.5 million are in the federal insurance exchange receiving reduced rates, or benefits, to pay for their health insurance policies. The sliding scale subsidized policies are priced based on income, family size, and geographical location of the individual. Under the law, only citizens and legal immigrants are entitled to subsidized coverage. The presentation shows that the data errors involve information concerning details on income, citizenship and immigration status.

I have really bad eyes. I like to get them checked often, but since I don't have health insurance, no doctor's going to really want to take a look at me," he said. He found out that he may qualify for Medicaid, which was long-drawn-out under Obamacare. So far, 9,123 have enrolled over Connecticut's ultimate goal is to sign up 275,000 people. Kevin Counihan, chief executive officer of Connecticut's health exchange, says he's not discouraged by the number of people signing up for private health insurance. "Buying health insurance is expensive and it's expensive and it's confusing and it's complicated. So no, I am not disappointed by it. However, we clearly have a strong goal to meet by March," he said. Counihan look forward to have 100,000 people enrolled by the end of March. He credits the state's computer system with the smooth even out. "Number one is, less is more. Do fewer things well than try to do more things inconsistently. Two is test the heck out of the system and make sure that before you go live, you are pretty darn confident that you know what is going to happen. And three is hire the best people that you can," he said. Counihan was implicated with Massachusetts' health insurance rollout in 2006. He says that taught him people don't buy insurance like they do a book or car. They usually consider the options an average of 18n times before making up their minds. He foresees a sprint of people signing up between Thanksgiving and Dec. 15, which in case is the deadline for coverage beginning on Jan. 1.

"Tuesday, November 12, statistics put out by Connecticut demonstrate that its website is the only one to sign up more folks for private insurance than for Medicaid. Angel Medina, 21, went to talk to an Affordable Health Care act navigator in Hartford. Medina was dropped from his mother's health insurance two years ago. "I have really bad eyes. I like to get them checked often, but since I don't have health insurance, no doctor's going to really want to take a look at me," he said. He found out that he may qualify for Medicaid, which was long-drawn-out under Obamacare. So far, 9,123 have enrolled over Connecticut's ultimate goal is to sign up 275,000 people. Kevin Counihan, chief executive officer of Connecticut's health exchange, says he's not discouraged by the number of people signing up for private health insurance. "Buying health insurance is expensive and it's expensive and it's confusing and it's complicated. So no, I am not disappointed by it. However, we clearly have a strong goal to meet by March," he said. Counihan look forward to have 100,000 people enrolled by the end of March. He credits the state's computer system with the smooth even out. "Number one is, less is more. Do fewer things well than try to do more things inconsistently. Two is test the heck out of the system and make sure that before you go live, you are pretty darn confident that you know what is going to happen. And three is hire the best people that you can," he said. Counihan was implicated with Massachusetts' health insurance rollout in 2006. He says that taught him people don't buy insurance like they do a book or car. They usually consider the options an average of 18n times before making up their minds. He foresees a sprint of people signing up between Thanksgiving and Dec. 15, which in case is the deadline for coverage beginning on Jan. 1."

Charging you for help getting new insurance Someone contacts you, offering to help you navigate the Health Insurance Marketplace for a fee - or saying that you need a new insurance card now or you'll have to pay a penalty. Regardless of the set-up, their goal is to get your bank account or credit card number. Don't give your information. The people who offer legitimate help with the Health Insurance Marketplace - sometimes called Navigators or Assisters - are not allowed to charge you. In fact, you can't pay them. What's more, you don't need to buy a special insurance card, or pay any penalties for not buying one, either. Bottom line: Never give your money or your information to anyone who contacts you. Medicare cards Someone gets in touch, saying you need a new Medicare card because of "Obamacare." They tell you that you'll lose Medicare coverage if you don't pay a fee for a new card or give them your Social Security number and bank account or credit card number. Not true. The Affordable Care Act doesn't say you need a new Medicare card, or another health insurance card. Nor does the law say you'll lose Medicare coverage. Don't give your personal or financial information to anyone who contacts you. When in doubt, call 1-800-MEDICARE, before you give anyone your money or information. Medical discount plans Someone contacts you, offering discounts on health services and products. They might say the discount plan will save you money and that it meets the minimum coverage required under "Obamacare" so you won't have to pay a penalty or look at other plans. Medical discount plans are not health insurance. Sometimes, medical discount plans illegally pretend to be insurance. The only way to know is to ask specific questions and not pay until you read the terms. Most medical discount plans are a membership in a "club" that claims to offer reduced prices from certain doctors, certain pharmacies, and on some procedures.

The typical cost of health care for a family of four with employer-based insurance this year is $23,215, according to a new report from the Milliman actuarial firm. The bad news first: That amount has more than doubled in the past 10 years. The goodish news: That cost grew just 5.4 percent between 2013 and 2014, the slowest growth rate since Milliman started keeping track in 2002. That $23,215 figure isn't what the employee pays, though. Employers pay about 60 percent of those costs ($13,520), while workers pay the rest through payroll deductions ($5,908) and out-of-pocket costs ($3,787). The employee share of the costs have been rising faster - increasing 73 percent since 2007 - than the employer contribution, which has grown 52 percent over the same period. The Milliman numbers are for family coverage under preferred provider plans, so it excludes the increasing prevalence of consumer-driven health plans, in which employees handle a higher share of the costs. Don't blame the four-year-old Affordable Care Act for these changes, though. Milliman says Obamacare has barely had any impact so far on these large employer plans, but that's about to change. The actuarial firm cites Obamacare's impending excise tax on "Cadillac" plans - valued at at least $27,500 for family coverage starting in 2018 - as a factor that will force employers to scale back health plans. Milliman points to other factors that will push down cost increases. Higher out-of-pocket costs are fueling efforts around health-care price transparency, and that's making consumers become better health-care shoppers. Conversely, an improving economy and an increase in expensive specialty drugs will pressure costs to rise.

Tulsa - October marks the start of when many health insurance plans open enrollment.Medicare and Obamacare will also soon begin enrolling for next year's coverage. 2NEWSProblem Solver Jamil Donith has a word of caution before you shop for health insurance online. According to the Federal Trade Commission, health insurance scams are preying on consumers shopping for or comparing health plans online. Scammers use websites or phony non-profit sites that seem to offer discount medical plans. In reality, the sites are set up to get your personal information. Things like your age, occupation, contact information, marital status and whether you have pre-existing medical conditions. The FTC advises: Be stingy with your personal information when you're on the web. When a site asks for your personal information know that data could end up in the wrong hands. A health insurance website might look like the real deal, but many are fronts for criminals wanting to steal your money and personal information. Research a company before giving it your business. Enter the company's name and the "complaints" into an online search engine to see what comes up. And, before giving any personal information ask the company for the details in writing about what you want to buy. If it can't provide the fine prince, that's a big red flag. Finally, check to find out if the plan you want to buy is really insurance. The State Insurance Department can tell you whether the plan is legitimate and whether an insurance provider is licensed to do business in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Insurance Department website link is www.oid.ok.gov

Starting a business is risky enough in the best of circumstances. Most new ventures fail, and the prospect of forgoing a salary is enough to keep many would-be entrepreneurs from taking the plunge. But think about how much harder it would be if your child had a health condition, and you couldn't get her insurance if you struck out on your own. That's less of a problem in the U.S. than it was a few years ago, thanks to Obamacare, but until recently it was a very real conundrum. So does the extension of publicly provisioned health insurance prompt more people to start companies? That's the question asked by a paper released earlier this year by Gareth Olds of Harvard Business School. Olds analyzed Census data from before and after the passage of the Children's Health Insurance Program in the U.S. in 1997 to assess its impact on entrepreneurship. CHIP, or SCHIP as it was previously known, provides publicly funded health insurance to children whose families don't qualify for Medicare, but whose incomes still fall below a cutoff (typically around 200% of the federal poverty line). His results suggest that the policy did significantly increase business creation by those families affected. The self-employment rate for CHIP recipients increased from just under 15% of those eligible to over 18%. That amounts to an a 23% increase. The rate of ownership of incorporated businesses - a better proxy for sustainable, growth entrepreneurship - increased even more dramatically, from 4.3% to 5.8%, an increase of 31%. What about all the other factors that might skew this sort of analysis? Olds used several quasi-experimental statistical methods in his research to control for such variables. The basic intuition behind his methods is that a family just above the CHIP cutoff isn't all that different from a family just below it. Whether you make 199% of the poverty line or 201% doesn't matter for much, except whether or not you'll be able to enroll in the program.

Thom Tillis is stuck at the state capitol trying to resolve a budget quarrel as speaker of the North Carolina House. It's a spot that helps Hagan emphasize Tillis' role leading a Republican-controlled state government that Democrats contend has gone overboard with conservative zeal by restricting access to abortion and the voting booth while cutting corporate taxes and slashing spending on schools. (Hagan, the daughter of Joe P. Ruthven, grew up in Lakeland.) If Tillis is worried by Hagan's portrayal, he doesn't show it. Drinking coffee last week from a hand-grenade-shaped mug in his no-frills legislative office, he's got his own message in his campaign to take Hagan's Senate seat. "Obamacare," he said, "continues to be a big problem." Similar themes are playing out in other crucial Senate races, as voters have four months to decide which party will control the chamber in the final two years of Barack Obama's presidency. For Republicans, it's all about tying Democrats to Obama - especially to a health care law that remains unpopular with many Americans. And for Democrats, the election is about just about anything else, especially if they can steer attention away from Washington and federal matters. It's a political strategy that sometimes gives the campaigns an inside-out feel, with veteran senators running as if they were first-timers without a Washington resume to defend or tout.