skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Uphill Battle for TN Health-Care Navigators to Sign People Up

play audio
Play

Monday, August 28, 2017   

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- More than 260,000 people purchased private health care plans through the Health Care Exchange in Tennessee, but navigators report an uphill battle this year because people feel uncertain about the future of the Affordable Care Act.

Mary Moore is program coordinator with Get Covered Tennessee and is a health care navigator. She's been telling people she encounters it's better to have coverage, regardless of whether the ACA is short-lived.

"It is a contract when you sign up for a plan between you and the insurer,” Moore said. "It's more important than ever to make sure you do have coverage so that if and when anything does change, you know that you've had continuous coverage."

There have been reports that the federal government won't run any ads to promote enrollment this year, unlike in years past under the Obama administration.

The open enrollment period is also shortened this year, from November 1 through December 15.

Moore said she knows it can be discouraging as large insurers pull out of Tennessee cities, but there remain people who don't have another way to secure health coverage.

"It's very important for those people to still be able to buy affordable, individual coverage that again is not going to penalize them for having a pre-existing condition,” she said.

Earlier this year, the government ended funding to 18 cities intended to help people sign up for coverage, though none of them were in Tennessee.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021