Obamacare got a bad rap after the disastrous launch of the federal and state exchanges in October. But enrollment has since improved, but not quite to the level that the president extolled. Obama said Tuesday that more than 9 million people have signed up for insurance thanks to Obamacare. Here’s how it breaks down: Some 2.1 million had signed up for private insurance through the state and federal exchanges as of Dec. 31. This figure was updated to 3 million last week. However, it includes both people who have paid their first month’s premium and those who have not yet fully enrolled. Those who don’t pay by their insurers’ deadline will not be covered. More than 3 million young adults under age 26 obtained insurance through their parents’ policies. This provision was one of the earliest ones to take effect, starting in September 2010. And another 3.9 million people learned they’re eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in October and November. But this final figure is pretty squishy since it includes people who already had Medicaid and were simply renewing. Administration officials could not give the percentage of renewals. Experts say renewals could be a sizable chunk of that figure.
webpage http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/28/news/economy/obamacare-enrollment/index.html
Better health care policy
However, the focus remains on providing clinical or curative treatment without giving much attention to other sectors of the health care industry e.g. preventive, rehabilitative and palliative care. The flaws in health care policies structure can better be envisaged by having a brief retrospective view of the health tragedies brought to light by the media. Deaths of hundreds of patients in various health tragedies like that of PIC-drug related deaths, TYNO syrup-related deaths and Gujranwala health incident are some to mention here. Various surveys and researches, conducted over the past many years, conclusively highlight two main areas: lack of coordination between research institutions and the health care industry, and, second, absence of a drug monitoring system in Pakistan. Without identifying vulnerable areas and filling them with the latest research input, the contemporary health care structure cannot deliver. Similarly, in the absence of a centralised drug monitoring system, drug-related deaths are inevitable. Whenever authorities witness any health emergency in the form of post-flood contagious outbreak, dengue or cholera, billions are spent to save face under public pressure. Political insensitivities and misplaced priorities are clearly visible. As provinces are going to have local bodies elections, districts must be allowed to have a share in health policy making. A top-down approach has been tried, now its the time for a bottom-up methodology. Dr. Zaib Ali Shaheryar
next page http://www.dawn.com/news/1083415/better-health-care-policy
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