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Many of her clients don’t believe it when Maryland tax preparer Diana Avellaneda tells them they might qualify for low-cost health insurance. Or they think she’s trying to sell them something. In reality, she wants to help her customers take advantage of an underused feature of her state’s tax forms that allows them to get financial assistance for health insurance.

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Avellaneda said she wants people to avoid the financial risk of a medical emergency: “I have health insurance right now, and I feel very, very peaceful. So I want my community to know that.”

The process is simple: By checking a box, taxpayers trigger a qualifying event, enabling them to sign up for insurance outside the traditional open enrollment period and access subsidies that can bring the cost of that insurance down, if their income is low enough. Doing so also allows Maryland’s comptroller to share a person’s income information with the state’s insurance exchange, created under the Affordable Care Act.

After checking the box, people receive a letter with an estimate of the kind of financial assistance they qualify for, whether subsidies for an exchange-based plan, Medicaid, or, for eligible minors, the Childrens Health Insurance Program. Also, a health care navigator may call taxpayers offering them enrollment assistance.

Avellaneda said most of her clients who apply end up qualifying for subsidized insurance. Many are surprised because they had assumed financial assistance was available only to those with extremely low incomes. Avellaneda thought this as well until she did her own taxes a couple of years ago.

“I was one of the persons that thought that I couldn’t qualify because of my income,” said Avellaneda, with a chuckle. Email Sign-Up

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A growing number of states including Colorado and Massachusetts are using tax forms to point people toward the lower-cost coverage available through state insurance marketplaces; by next year, it will be at least 10, including California, Maine, and New Jersey. Illinois is working on a program as well.

“We all file taxes, right? We all know we’re filling out a bazillion forms. So what’s one more?” said Antoinette Kraus, executive director of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, who advocated for Pennsylvania to create a program modeled on Maryland’s.

Often, efforts to enroll people in health insurance are scattershot because the data sets of uninsured people are incomplete. This can lead outreach workers to try to find people who have submitted unfinished Medicaid applications to try and sign them up for coverage.

But nearly everyone has to file tax paperwork, and that existing infrastructure helps states connect the dots and find people who are open to signing up for insurance but haven’t yet.

“It’s hard to imagine more targeted outreach than this. I think that’s one reason it’s become popular,” said Rachel Schwab, who researches the impact of state and federal policy on private insurance quality and access at Georgetown University.

The rise of these initiatives, known as easy enrollment, is happening at a time of incredible churn for health insurance.

The end of some policies launched during the height of the covid-19 pandemic is forcing people to reenroll in Medicaid or find new insurance if they make too much money to qualify. At the same time, marketplace subsidies created in response to the pandemic have been extended through the end of 2025 via the Inflation Reduction Act. So having a simple way to connect people to health care coverage and make the most of federal dollars is a good idea, said Coleman Drake, a health policy researcher at the University of Pittsburgh.

He cautions that these initiatives won’t get everyone covered. Data bears this out: Only about 10,000 Marylanders have gotten insurance this way since 2020, less than 3% of that state’s uninsured population. The number in Pennsylvania is estimated to be small, too. Still, it’s a step in the right direction.

“Uninsurance in general is extremely costly to society,” said Drake. “Whatever we can do here to make signing up for health insurance easy, I think, is an advantage.”

This article is part of a partnership that includes WESA, NPR, and KFF Health News.

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Sports

Sovereignty rallies to win Jim Dandy at Saratoga

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Sovereignty rallies to win Jim Dandy at Saratoga

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes champion Sovereignty rallied after losing position heading into the final turn to win the $500,000 Jim Dandy by a length at Saratoga on Saturday.

Ridden by Junior Alvarado, Sovereignty ran nine furlongs in 1:49.52 and paid $3 to win as the 1-2 favorite against four rivals, the smallest field of his career.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said Sovereignty would be pointed toward the $1.25 million Travers on Aug. 23 at the upstate New York track.

Approaching the turn, there were a few tense moments as it appeared Sovereignty was retreating when losing position to the advancing Baeza and deep closers Sandman and Hill Road, leaving Sovereignty in last for a few strides.

Alvarado said he never had a doubt that Sovereignty would come up with his expected run.

“It was everybody else moving and at that time I was just like, ‘Alright let me now kind of start picking it up,'” Alvarado said. “I had 100% confidence. I knew what I had underneath me.”

Baeza, third to Sovereignty in both the Derby and Belmont, finished second. Hill Road was another 9¼ lengths back in third. Mo Plex was fourth and Sandman fifth.

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UK

Man suffers cardiac arrest onboard boat trying to reach UK

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Man suffers cardiac arrest onboard boat trying to reach UK

A man has died after suffering cardiac arrest onboard a boat attempting to reach the UK.

The vessel turned back towards Equihen beach on the French coast yesterday morning.

A nurse tried to resuscitate the man but was unsuccessful.

Pic: PA
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Pic: PA

French authorities have now launched an investigation into the circumstances.

A spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, has criticised authorities on both sides of the Channel.

Jacob Burns said: “Yet again we have a tragedy in the Channel, that is the consequence of the deadly, costly and ineffective security policies implemented by the UK and France.”

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Pic: PA

Later on Saturday, a lifeboat carried migrants who have made the voyage into the Port of Dover.

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Photographs showed them huddled under blankets and orange life jackets on board.

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Protesters clash over asylum hotels

Provisional statistics from the Home Office suggest almost 24,000 people have arrived on small boats in the UK so far this year.

Towns and cities across the UK have seen protests in recent days, primarily outside hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers.

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US

Michigan: 11 people stabbed in US supermarket – with six in critical condition

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Michigan: 11 people stabbed in US supermarket - with six in critical condition

At least 11 people have been stabbed at a Walmart supermarket in Michigan, with six in a critical condition.

Officials say a suspect is in custody – and at this stage, it is believed the attack was a “random act” that involved a folding-style knife near the checkout area.

Sheriff Michael Shea told reporters: “Eleven is 11 too many, but thank God it wasn’t more.”

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Pic: AP

The suspect, who is from Michigan, is not known to police – and was captured within three minutes thanks to “citizen involvement”.

The attack unfolded in Traverse City – and Tiffany DeFell, who was in the car park at the time, described scenes of chaos.

“It was really scary. Me and my sister were just freaking out,” she said. “This is something you see out of the movies.”

Beyond the six people in a critical condition, it is believed the remaining five were seriously hurt. All 11 are still being treated in hospital.

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Pic: AP

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said: “Our thoughts are with the victims and the community reeling from this brutal act of violence.”

A Walmart spokesperson added that the retailer is working closely with law enforcement.

“Violence like this is unacceptable. Our thoughts are with those who were injured and we’re thankful for the swift action of first responders,” a statement said.

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Pic: AP

At this stage, the ages of the victims is unclear – but it is not thought any of the victims were Walmart employees.

Traverse City is about 255 miles northwest of Detroit.

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