Friday Variety: College Student Healthcare, An Arizona Law Bites the Dust, & Texas and California Agree on ACA

So Many Health Plans for College Students

Under the ACA, college students have many health plans to choose from.  First, if you're under 26 years old, the law allows you to stay on your parents plan if they have health insurance that offers coverage for family members.  Whether you're financially independent, single, or married, a person under 26 can stay on their parents' plan.

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Second, students can elect to purchase a health plan offered by their college.  However college students should be aware that self-insured schools -- that is, schools who who pay claims directly, instead of hiring an insurance company to do so -- do not have to meet the ACA's essential benefits requirement that otherwise mandates health plans to provide the full menu of "essential" health benefits.

Third, recent federal government regulations clarified that even if students who are eligible for student health plans at self-insured schools, they may still qualify for subsidized coverage on a state Marketplace, or exchange. Coverage purchased on the exchange would start in January, however, so college students would need to obtain coverage elsewhere for the Fall 2013 semester.

Finally, an even lower-cost option for college students may be Medicaid - the federal-state insurance program for low-income people.  Prior to the ACA, Medicaid coverage was reserved for children, pregnant women, and people with disabilities. However since the passage of federal healthcare reform, some states have expanded Medicaid coverage to include low-income adults, including college students.

Arizona Cannot Cut Planned Parenthood out of its Medicaid Program

The 9th Circuit struck down struck down an Arizona law that attempted to bar Medicaid patients from receiving care from medical providers who perform elective abortions, such as Planned Parenthood. The three-judge panel ruling was unanimous.

Texas and California Agree: Long Live the ACA

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Elected officials from both Texas and California traveled throughout their respective states yesterday to tout the ACA.  Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) sang the ACA's praises to constituents in East Austin.  Doggett also took time to criticize Texas Senator Ted Cruz for his attempts to defund the law.

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Simultaneously, CA Sen. Barbara Boxer spoke to a health center in North Hollywood about the importance of spreading the word about the ACA.  She emphasized that insuring CA's 7 million uninsured residents will have a big effect on the success of the law.  "California is key." Boxer said.  "As California goes, I think so goes the Affordable Care Act."

Friday Variety: The Uninsured Gap, Veterans' Mobile Health, & (of course) Abortion

The Uninsured Gap

In the 27 states that have not committed to expanding Medicaid, many individuals and families could fall into a health insurance "black hole" where coverage would continue to be unaffordable.  In those states, individuals or families whose income amounts to 99% of the federal poverty level would not be eligible for Medicaid or premium subsidies on their state health insurance exchange. However individuals or families making 101% of the federal poverty level would be eligible for those premium subsidies that would make purchasing health coverage more affordable. 

According to a new analysis by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, about 6.4 million people will be uninsured next year, unless those 27 states change their minds and agree to expand Medicaid coverage.  Nearly 2/3 of the uninsured live in 21 of the states that are not expected to expand as of January 1, and the six states that are on the fence.  The Kaiser Commission analysis reported that 55 percent of the uninsured live in Texas, Florida and Georgia alone.

Veterans' Mobile Health

The Department of Veterans Affairs has begun "testing the viability and potential of mobile health technologies after launching several pilot projects," according to Healthcare IT News. One such pilot is a Veteran Appointment Request App.  The App offers approximately 600 veterans the ability to request primary care and mental health appointments from their computer or mobile device.

Additionally, the Family Caregiver pilot is offering iPads to 1,000 caregivers of serious injured veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars enrolled in the program.

Abortion Rights Groups to Challenge Texas Bill

On Thursday, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed the controversial abortion bill into law.  The law includes some of the nation's toughest restrictions on abortion, effectively forcing the closure of all but 5 of the state's 42 abortion clinics, unless those clinics can can upgrade their facilities within a year after the law takes effect this October.

Opponents of the bill may file a lawsuit against the state of Texas to stop the implementation of the law.  Executive Director of the Texas ACLU, of of several organization considering a legal challenge to the bill, stated, "There are no decisions about litigation, but I think that maybe the course we have to follow."

According to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court case that followed Roe v. Wade, state laws cannot erect substantial obstacles to women seeking abortions.  If the Texas law causes the widespread closure that many have projected, this "serious obstacle" standard may have a fighting chance in court.