Healthcare Daily Digest for Wednesday, 13 March: The Application Process for the Uninsured Under the Affordable Care Act

If you’re insured and seeking coverage under the Affordable Care Act, there’s the possibility of a 15-page form in your future.

That form has gone through a number of permutations. Font size has been increased, colors tried and scrapped. The latest version seen by anyone had been dated 16 January 2013. That’s the 15-page aforemention one, and it’s possible it’s being revamped as we speak. “The AP reported that the form is being revamped after critics feared it might be too daunting for some Americans, who then wouldn’t finish the application.”

After submitting the form — it will be reviewed by the IRS among others — and getting the go-ahead, you’ll still have to pick a healthcare plan.

And you have…carry the two…thirty-days-hath-September…not quite 10 months left to get this done. “Under the Affordable Care Act law, Americans are obligated to have healthcare insurance by Jan. 1, 2014, or pay a penalty. That fee is set for $95 in 2014, but could increase to nearly $700 by 2016 if current the rule proposals are approved.”

Wednesday headlines:

Isn’t There a Saying About Too Many Cooks?: “A long list of health industry leaders, many familiar faces and a few new ones, have been enlisted by David Seltz, executive director of the state Health Policy Commission, to serve on an advisory council that will guide the commission’s implementation of the new health care cost control law.”

No One Likes a Show-off, Maine: “Health care leaders celebrate successes of Bangor’s effort to keep costs low.” (And anyway, isn’t every one of Stephen King’s terrible books set in Bangor?)

Speaking of Show-offs: “Carolinas HealthCare System netted nearly $501.2 million last year at facilities across its system, a 302 percent increase from the $124.5 million it earned in 2011.”

Free Webinar Alert: “Free Webinar Features Providence Health Discussing How to Drive Business Success Amid Changing Healthcare Regulations.”

You Can’t Throw Money at Cancer: “Significant regional variations in Medicare spending for U.S. patients with advanced cancer are not linked to differences in survival, according to new research.”

And Finally, This Heartwarming Story About a County That is Paying a Burglar’s Medical Bills Because Crime Sometimes Pays: Ugh.