DCG posted: " NY Times: The Obama administration has told Vista
volunteers and other AmeriCorps workers that their government-provided
health coverage does not measure up to the standards of the new health care
law, and that they may be subject to financial penalti" Respond to this
post by replying above this line
New post on *Fellowship of the Minds*
<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/dcgere/> Vista Workers Told Their
U.S. Health Plan Fails
Test<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2013/12/30/vista-workers-told-their-u-s-health-plan-fails-test/>
by
DCG <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/dcgere/>
[image:
obamacare]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/obamacare.jpg>
NY
Times:<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/27/us/vista-workers-told-their-us-health-plan-fails-test.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&smid=tw-nytimes&partner=rss&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1388143034-u90RuGCdgBMPy4oa3kfIAQ&;>The
Obama administration has told Vista volunteers and other
AmeriCorps<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/americorps/index.html?inline=nyt-org>workers
that *their
government-provided health coverage does not measure up to the standards of
the new health care law
<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/health_insurance_and_managed_care/health_care_reform/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>,
and that they may be subject to financial penalties unless they obtain
insurance elsewhere.*
*The notice has surprised and worried workers in AmeriCorps*, the federal
community service program that is often described as a domestic version of
the Peace Corps.
Mary Strasser, the director of AmeriCorps’ Vista program, described the
changes in a bulletin to members on Dec. 16. The coverage provided by the
agency — the AmeriCorps Health Care Benefits Plan — “does not satisfy the
individual responsibility requirement of the Affordable Care Act,” which
takes effect on Jan. 1, Ms. Strasser said. Accordingly, she said, *Vista
members may be required to pay a tax penalty if they do not have other
coverage and do not receive an exemption*.
The impact on community service workers is another unanticipated
consequence of the health care law, which is making coverage available at
little or no cost to many uninsured people but disrupting coverage for
others who already had it.
Abby Grosslein, a Vista member in New Orleans, said she thought it was
strange that the health benefits provided by a federal agency did not meet
the standards of a law adopted more than three and a half years ago. *“It
would be nice if the government waived the penalty because we are a
federally funded program,”* said Ms. Grosslein, 24, who is completing her
third year of service with AmeriCorps. “It’s as if the right hand does not
know what the left hand is doing.”
Moreover, she said: *“The Affordable Care Act has been on the books since
2010. Why are we hearing only now that our health plan is not compliant?”*
Thousands of private employers and state and local government agencies have
revamped their employee health plans to meet the law’s requirements. *But
AmeriCorps says that its members are technically not employees, and that it
does not have to provide them with the “minimum essential coverage” they
need to comply with the individual mandate. “*There will be no changes to
the AmeriCorps Health Care Benefits Plan,” Ms. Strasser wrote.
Vista, or Volunteers in Service to America, was proposed by President John
F. Kennedy in 1963, authorized by Congress in 1964 and folded into the
AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993. Its members work in education,
housing, jobs and social service programs.
President Obama — a onetime community organizer — is a big supporter, and
he has called public service “a central cause” of his administration. In
March, the White House said that “*AmeriCorps may be one of America’s best
assets,” transforming communities every day.*
Rick Christman of Lexington, Ky., a former member of the board of
AmeriCorps’ parent organization, the Corporation for National and Community
Service, said *no one expected that Vista workers would be subject to
penalties because their health coverage was inadequate*. “It’s
unfortunate,” Mr. Christman said.
Samantha Jo Warfield, a spokeswoman for the agency, said AmeriCorps members
had several options: They can keep their current coverage; they can shop
for coverage on the new insurance exchanges, including HealthCare.gov; and
if they are under 26, they may be able to stay on their parents’ insurance.
In addition, some might be eligible for
Medicaid<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/medicaid/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>,
the federal-state program for low-income people, which is being expanded in
about half the states.
AmeriCorps members say their existing coverage, which pays for doctors’
services, hospital care and prescription drugs, meets most of their needs.
However, according to the members’ handbook, “AmeriCorps does not provide
benefits for any diagnosis that is considered a pre-existing condition,”
and the coverage for preventive care appears to be less than the law
requires.
Sarah L. Sklaw, a 22-year-old Vista member from New York City, said: “*I
really support the Affordable Care Act, and I don’t want to be a naysayer.
But it was surprising and frustrating to be told that our health coverage
would not meet the law’s standards*, especially because the Corporation for
National and Community Service told us at orientation in August that we did
not need to worry about the issue.”
Other AmeriCorps members said they occasionally needed more extensive
coverage to pay for treatment of pre-existing conditions or injuries
requiring specialty care, and they noted that some members did dangerous
work, such as fighting wildfires or building trails on steep mountains.
The AmeriCorps health plan is available at no cost to members of Vista and
the National Civilian Community Corps, a residential program for young men
and women, who help build homes, tutor children and provide disaster relief
and other services.
Vista officials said that some members might qualify for exemptions from
the individual mandate penalty because of their low incomes. Vista members
receive allowances to cover the cost of food, housing and other basic
necessities. But the amounts are low because members are expected to live
at approximately the same economic level as those they serve.
[image: useful
idiot]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/useful-idiot.jpg>
DCG
*DCG <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/dcgere/>* | December 30,
2013 at 3:45 am | Categories: Health
Care<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=20052>,
Liberals/Democrats/Left <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=115894710>,
Obamacare <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=15633789> | URL:
http://wp.me/pKuKY-oKl
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