Health Beat: ACA Adds 16.4 Million To Insured Ranks, Says HHS

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HEALTH LAW HAS HELPED INSURE 16.4 MILLION, HHS SAYS
Kaiser Health News reported Monday that a total of 16.4 million non-elderly adults have gained health insurance coverage since the Affordable Care Act became law five years ago this month – a “historic” reduction in the number of uninsured, it said.

Those gaining insurance since 2010 include 2.3 million young adults aged 18 to 26 who were able to remain on their parents’ health insurance plus another 14.1 million adults who obtained coverage through expansions of the Medicaid program, new marketplace coverage and other sources, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Officials say the percentage of people without coverage has dropped by about a third since 2012: from 20.3% to 13.2% in the first quarter of 2015.

HEALTH CARE CHANGES COMING WITH, WITHOUT OBAMACARE
The Affordable Care Act has reduced the number of uninsured Americans, but many of the most important changes in health care have come as a result of market forces that would have happened with or without the act, said Michael Sparer, chair, health policy and management at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Speaking at the Clinton School of Public Service Tuesday, Sparer said the system is in a period of transition amidst continued difficult and partisan debates. Read more here of his comments plus 10 marketplace trends he contends have slowed the rate of increase in health care costs.

SALINE MEMORIAL ADDING BRYANT CAMPUS OVER 10-YEAR PERIOD
Saline Memorial Hospital will spend the next 10 years growing a new campus in the Bryant community to meet growing demand and exponential population growth. Hospital leaders broke ground Tuesday on the new facility, which will be located around an existing five-acre lake close to the intersection of Market Place Drive and Highway 5.

“The intent is to develop a centralized location for SMH services in Bryant and to build an identity as the leading healthcare provider in the County,” said CEO Bob Trautman.

The outpatient campus will be in constant development and expansion as the hospital leadership team works through a phased plan that will take up to ten years to complete, he said. It will start by relocating existing clinics like Central Arkansas Women’s Group and Bryant Medical Clinic to the new location. Then, there will be an outpatient surgery center that will follow in another six to eight months.

“This is a ten-year plan that takes our existing leases into consideration,” Trautman added.

POLLY DAVENPORT NAMED PRESIDENT OF CHI ST. VINCENT INFIRMARY
Polly Davenport is the new President of CHI St. Vincent Infirmary replacing Chad Aduddell, who is now Interim Market Chief Executive Officer for CHI St. Vincent.

Davenport was most recently the Chief Executive Officer at Ochsner Medical Center – North Shore Region, Slidell and Covington La., since 2011. Ochsner is one of the largest independent academic health systems in the United States and is Louisiana’s largest health system.

From 2009-2011, Davenport served as CEO of Val Verde Regional Medical Center in Del Rio, Texas. From 2008-2009, she was Chief Nurse Executive and VP of Quality for Methodist Healthcare System in San Antonio Texas. From 2006-2008 she served as Chief Nurse Executive for Methodist Healthcare System while serving as Chief Nursing Officer for Methodist Hospital and Methodist Specialty & Transplant Hospital.