While checking out the Healthcare.gov website, I came across information on Federally-funded health centers. The page says:

Federally-funded health centers care for you, even if you have no health insurance. You pay what you can afford, based on your income. Health centers provide:

• checkups when you’re well
• treatment when you’re sick
• complete care when you’re pregnant
• immunizations and checkups for your children
• dental care and prescription drugs for your family

To find a list of federally-funded health centers go to http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/ and type in your zip code.

Here is a partial list from the website:

• EL RIO CLINICS
  several across town
• CLINICA DEL ALMA
  3690 S PARK AVE STE 805, TUCSON, AZ 85713
•  MHC Primary Care (Tucson Medical Center)
  5301 E GRANT RD, TUCSON, AZ 85712-2805
•  Wilmot Community Health Center
  6524 E CARONDELET DR, TUCSON, AZ 85710
• FREEDOM PARK HEALTH CENTER 
  5000 E 29TH ST, TUCSON, AZ 85711-6401

More than 85.7 percent of Arizona small businesses with fewer than 25 employees will be eligible this year for tax credits to help pay the cost of employee health coverage, according to a new report issued by the consumer health organization Families USA. The tax credit program, a key element of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, targets small employers with up to 25 workers.

In Arizona, this means 72,600 small businesses will qualify. The report, “A Helping Hand for Small Businesses: Health Insurance Tax Credits,” also notes that 18,900 Arizona small businesses will qualify for the maximum tax credit of 35 percent. These are businesses that employ 10 or fewer workers who earn an average wage of less than $25,000 and traditionally have the most difficult time affording insurance.

“Many small businesses—like the local diner, the hardware store down the street, or the neighborhood repair shop—face special challenges in providing health coverage for their small number of employees,” said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA. “They will now receive substantial help.

“For example, in 2008, employers with fewer than 10 workers had to pay, on average, nearly $350 more for each employee’s health insurance than firms with 50 or more workers,” Pollack said. “It’s no surprise, therefore, that less than half of these smallest businesses offered coverage to their employees. This new tax credit should certainly help to improve that record.”

“There’s been a lot of speculation about how many small businesses will qualify for tax credits, and this report clears up a lot of those questions,” said John Arensmeyer, founder and CEO of Small Business Majority. “We now have real numbers that show the vast majority of small businesses in Arizona will qualify for tax credits under the new law. That’s huge.”

Small businesses are financially less able to provide health coverage for their workers than larger businesses. Nationally, 72 percent of small businesses with 10 to 25 workers offer health coverage, while more than 95 percent of businesses with 50 or more workers offer coverage.

The new law aims to redress that imbalance with tax credits, offering the maximum credit of 35 percent to the smallest companies. Nonprofit employers also benefit, with a maximum credit of 25 percent. As the number of employees and their average wages rise, the tax credit is reduced on a sliding scale.

To further provide assistance, the law allows employers to count two half-time workers as one full-time worker, meaning that an employer with mainly part-time workers will be able to qualify for the tax credit.

“Employers have been willing to provide health coverage for their employees, but economies of scale have made this almost impossible for many small businesses,” Pollack said. “Starting this year, they will have access to a new tax credit to help provide this essential benefit, enabling them to hire and keep good workers who want and need health coverage.”

The report notes that the health reform law has additional provisions to aid small businesses now and in coming years. Among those provisions:

• Starting this month, small business owners are able to view all existing health coverage options in their state on a user-friendly website, Healthcare.gov
• Starting in 2014, small employers will be able to purchase quality coverage with strong consumer protections through state-based health coverage marketplaces called “exchanges.”
• Starting in 2014, small employers will be eligible for tax credits up to 50 percent, or 35 percent for nonprofits, to cover their workers with policies obtained through the state exchanges.
• Starting in 2014, insurers will be prohibited from charging small employers higher premiums based on their workers’ pre-existing conditions.

Saturday’s Republican debate between John McCain, JD Hayworth, and Jim Deakin gets high marks from me for the candidates’ presentation skills and their well-tuned messages – unlike the amateurish presentations by the Democrats the previous week.  But on a topic that is dear to my heart, I think the Republicans failed miserably.

When moderator Bill Buckmaster asked the candidates what they thought about one million Arizona residents who don’t have health insurance, the candidates didn’t have much to say. They seemed more interested in talking about illegals than legal Arizonans without health insurance.

Jim Deakin said many of the one million Arizonans without health insurance are illegal aliens. He then went on to say that a lot of people without health insurance are young people who don’t want it.  He said Americans shouldn’t give up their freedom to go without health insurance.

JD Hayworth said we already have a health care program for indigents – and then returned to his attack on John McCain for backing illegals and amnesty.

John McCain said “the problem is not with the quality of care, but cost of care” – though he never addressed how one million people without health insurance can afford any healthcare at all. McCain sent shivers down my spine when he declared that a Republican majority in the House and Senate in January will repeal “ObamaCare”.

The hour-long debate spent less than five minutes on the question of people without health insurance, and it was clear to me that these candidates don’t give a hoot about one million uninsured Arizonans.  The one thing they do agree on is the need to repeal the health insurance changes that are part of “ObamaCare”.

Just a few of those changes include:

• Insurers will no longer be able to deny people coverage because of a pre-existing condition, or drop coverage when they get sick. (Begins in 2014.)
• Insurers will no longer be able to charge higher premiums based on a person’s gender or health status. (Begins in 2014.)
• Insurers will be required to spend more of their premium dollars on actual medical care and quality measures. (Begins in 2011.)
• Young people can stay on their parents’ employer health insurance until they are 26 years old. (Takes effect this year.)
• Small businesses will get tax breaks for providing health insurance for their employees. (Takes effect this year.)
• A Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan for people who have been without insurance for six months and have been turned down by an insurance company. (Began taking applications this month.)

According to Statehealthfacts.org, 68% of uninsured Arizonans are in families with at least one person working full-time. According to FamiliesUSA, over 45% of Arizonans between the ages of 55 and 64 have pre-existing conditions that would prevent them from getting individual health insurance.

As an insurance agent, I have met too many women in their 50’s and 60’s who are uninsurable. They are willing to pay any reasonable cost for health insurance – but McCain, Deakin, and Hayworth don’t think these women exist, or they don’t care that they exist.

Back in 1965, Medicare was called a socialist plot that would take away Americans’ freedoms and was bad for the country. The same has been said about healthcare reform today.

The Cholla Jumps blogger thought JD Hayworth won this debate “hands down”.  From my point of view, all three candidates get a failing grade when it comes to their lack of interest in one million Arizonans without health insurance. I suppose there are more important issues in the campaign, but not for me.