WASHINGTON — Robyn J. Skrebes of Minneapolis said she was able to sign up for health insurance in about two hours on Monday using the Web site of the state-run insurance exchange in Minnesota, known as MNsure. Ms. Skrebes, who is 32 and uninsured, said she had selected a policy costing $179 a month, before tax credit subsidies, and also had obtained Medicaid coverage for her 2-year-old daughter, Emma. Read more....
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Law of the Land: Bumpy Start to Health Care Exchanges No Surprise, but Some Opponents' Tactics Outrageous On one matter, supporters and opponents of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act agreed—the days and months immediately after Oct. 1, when the new health exchanges open for business, would be bumpy. No law as complicated as the ACA has ever started without glitches and missteps. Read more... On October 7, The Tori Group was thrilled to welcome Kathleen Solorio as Principal and Chief Operating Officer. Kathleen brings over 20 years of extensive and diverse operations experience in the health insurance industry. Most recently, Kathleen served as a Senior Director at Blue Shield of California, where she created a global learning strategy supporting the enrollment, claims, and call center service centers. In this capacity, she was a strategic partner to each of the functional units, driving performance optimization locally and off-shore. As a business architect, Kathleen created efficiencies as Director of Large Group enrollment and billing operations. Managing the enrollment for Blue Shield's largest clients, including CalPERS, Kathleen's teams assured that large scale, custom benefit groups were implemented successfully.Prior to Blue Shield, Kathleen held several C-level positions, including COO for Benefit Partners (third party administrator for health insurance purchasing pool PacAdvantage), General Manager at Interplan (provider network), and CEO at Staff Builders (healthcare provider). Kathleen earned her Bachelor of Science in Business from CSU Sacramento. She is an active supporter of community causes and currently serves as Board President of Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Dorado County. Tori Group founder Leesa Tori said, "I've worked with Kathleen for many years and am thrilled she's joined our growing team. Her contribution will be invaluable, and I welcome her." Peter Lee's father and uncle fought for then-controversial Medicare 50 years ago. Now the Covered California chief must enroll millions in Obamacare, and his performance may set the tone for other states. Read more... We want to congratulate those in the health insurance community today, especially Covered California, on making health care available and affordable to so many Americans. As open enrollment for our nation’s Affordable Care Act begins today, access to health care is no longer an abstraction for uninsured and underinsured Americans. Millions will be looking to their new state Health Insurance Exchange marketplaces for affordable, comprehensive health insurance coverage. In fact, by the end of 2014, Covered California aims to have insured more than one million Californians newly enrolled in Medi-Cal, and up to 1.2 million who qualify for assistance with paying for their health insurance plans. These health care exchanges have worked tirelessly, within tight timeframes, to develop highly complex programs. And while their work continues, they deserve high praise for what they have accomplished. Here at The Tori Group we are honored to call these people our colleagues. And we know our work is not over. Rather, we continue to have weeks and years of work ahead of us – work that requires dedication and passion. As Peter Lee, Covered California Executive Director said, “…this is not the finish line, it’s the starting line. Stand and be proud!” Today, Covered California announced the 13 qualified health plans that will be offered in its Individual Marketplace. (For more information go to www.coveredca.com) Beginning Fall 2013 these plans will be available to 5.3 million Californians. More importantly 2.6 million of those Californians will be eligible for a subsidy through Covered California. Each of us at The Tori Group knows someone who will benefit from today's announcement. A family member, a friend, a co-worker, neighbors and members of our community. In Peter Lee's opening remarks he reminded us all that this law is not only historical but its personal - its about people who deserve access to affordable and quality health care. We are one step closer to making "real" the hotly debated and always controversial Affordable Care Act in California. All of us at The Tori Group are proud to work side by side with an amazing and tireless team and to do our part in opening the doors for effective dates starting January 2014! Please join us in congratulating Covered California on this giant step forward in the Individual market. And stay tuned for the Small Business Health Options Program announcement on June 6, 2013. By Leesa Tori |