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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

List: Top 3 Commonwealth Health Care Questions

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Wednesday, April 16, 2014   

BOSTON - Although things have calmed down a bit since the open-enrollment period just ended, the folks at the nonprofit Health Care for All still expect their phone to keep ringing - thousands of times a month.

Hannah Frigand, who manages the Helpline, said the third-most-asked question is, "How do I find a doctor?" The runner-up question is, "What does my insurance cover?" The No. 1 most-asked question, she said, is, "What do I qualify for?"

"This is in regards to people who are usually uninsured," she said. "Well, does this person qualify for subsidized health insurance or a subsidy, or do they need to go to a private insurer, to really getting them down the right path."

She said she anticipates an upswing of calls from people who want to know what their options are after missing the enrollment deadline. However, she added, those numbers won't be too large because the state's insurance exchange has been up and running for a number of years already.

Frigand said the phones are staffed Monday through Friday during the day, and voicemail kicks in at other times.

"We get about 30,000 calls a year on average," she said. "It does fluctuate basically based on what's going on in the health care system.

With open enrollment for private insurance ending last month, Frigand said she expects they'll be getting more calls from people who missed the deadline. She said they may find there is good news.

"There have been some of those calls already," she said. "If you could qualify for Medicaid or subsidies, you might still be able to go through the marketplace. In most instances you can."

The organization has six full-time counselors taking questions in English, Spanish and Portuguese at 1-800-272-4232.


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