JULY 2018 INSIGHT

Over the years our firm has periodically sent out a newsletter to advise our clients and friends about recent changes, trends and happenings in the healthcare field.  We are pleased to share the July issue of our newsletter with you.  Periodically, we will do our best to share with you "insight" that we find helpful in our practice and that should be helpful for you in yours. 

  Visit Our  Website .  B e sure to "like" our Facebook Page  and follow us so that we can provide real-time updates and information to you. You can also follow us on  Twitter  and on  LinkedIn  so that we can provide updates and information on all of the relevant social media platforms.  

Please give us a call to review just how we might be able to be of service.
  
Sincerely,
Jay B. Umansky
The Law Offices of Jay B. Umansky PC
jumansky@stllaw.net 

NEWS WORTHY NOTES AND OPINIONS 
Rising premiums price some Missouri and Illinois consumers out of healthcare exchange
By Sarah Fentem 
St. Louis Public Radio
July 11, 2018 

The rising costs of insurance plans available through the federal healthcare.gov website may make them unaffordable for some people in Missouri and Illinois.
Premiums for exchange plans on healthcare.gov have become more expensive, but most people who buy exchange plans on healthcare.gov receive tax credits to help them offset the cost and are insulated from rising costs. But those who don't receive those credits bear the brunt of those increased prices.
According to a report the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services  released this month , 28,000 people in Missouri who didn't receive that assistance left the health care exchange all together in 2017. In Illinois, more than 105,000 people without financial help dropped their exchange plans.
Individuals who make more than $48,000 a year or a family of four with an income of $98,000 a year do not receive federal subsidies. Even if they're making an otherwise comfortable living, they're still feeling squeezed, said Cynthia Cox, director of health reform and private insurance at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
ANDREW BABITZ NAMED TO THE 2018 MISSOURI AND KANSAS RISING STARS LIST

July 25, 2018  

We are pleased to announce that Andrew Babitz, associate attorney at the Law Offices of Jay B. Umansky, P.C.,  has been selected to the 2018 Missouri and Kansas Rising Stars list. This is the fourth consecutive year Mr. Babitz has been selected.   This is an exclusive list, recognizing no more than 2.5 percent of attorneys in the state. To be eligible for the Rising Stars list, a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger, or in practice 10 years or less.
Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.  Attorneys are selected from more than 70 practice areas and all firm sizes, assuring a credible and relevant annual list.
The annual selections are made using a patented multi-phase
process that includes:
  •  Peer nominations
  •  Independent research by Super Lawyers
  • Evaluations from a highly credentialed panel of attorneys
The objective of Super Lawyers is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys to be used as a resource for both referring attorneys and consumers seeking legal counsel.
The Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country, as well as the Minnesota Super Lawyers Digital Magazine.
Please join us in congratulating Andrew Babitz on his selection.
For more information about Super Lawyers, go to  SuperLawyers.com

Editorial: Health care issue isn't dead, though GOP is trying
The St. Louis Post Dispatch
Editorial Board
June 25, 2018 

Polls continue to show that the health care issue, despite being crowded out of the news by immigration, tariffs, North Korea and Trump administration scandals, remains near the top of voters' concerns. Republican candidates would be wise not to underestimate the power of this issue to sway votes this fall. Among major items of concern:

*   Two weeks ago, the Trump administration's Justice Department told a federal court that it would no longer enforce key parts of the Affordable Care Act that require insurance companies selling plans on the Healthcare.gov marketplace to cover consumers with pre-existing conditions. This decision also could affect the 160 million Americans covered by employer-sponsored health care plans, who could be free to resume charging higher premiums or imposing waiting periods for coverage of pre-existing conditions.

* The administration is rolling out new "association health plans" for individuals and small businesses. These policies would be cheaper and less comprehensive than current plans and might eliminate coverage for things like maternity services, emergency care or mental health treatment.

* In part because President Donald Trump ended cost-sharing payments to insurers selling Obamacare policies to lower-income customers, the costs for those policies have risen dramatically in most states. The price of the lowest-cost "silver plan" increased more than 40 percent in 15 states. In Missouri and Illinois, the costs went up about a third.

Fortunately, about 70 percent of those silver plan customers receive direct government subsidies because of their incomes. Direct government subsidies cost the government more than Trump saved by ending cost-sharing payments to insurers.

Polls consistently show Obamacare is viewed favorably by most Americans - this despite Trump's false claim that "for the most part, we will have gotten rid of a majority of Obamacare." One sign of its popularity is that Virginia just became the 33rd state to expand its Medicaid program to cover more of the working poor. In Utah, Idaho and Nebraska, voters might bypass their legislators and expand Medicaid by ballot measure.



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OCTOBER 10, 2018
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12460 Olive Blvd. Suite 118 St. Louis, MO 63141|  info@stllaw.net
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STAY CONNECTED:

Jay B. Umansky, Principal Attorney - jumansky@stllaw.net - 314-628-1177 X 101
Andrew F. Babitz, Associate Attorney - ababitz@stllaw.net - 314-628-1177 X 103
Kellie L. Roland, Office Administrator - kroland@stllaw.net - 314-628-1177 X 102