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2014 is just beginning, and is also just the beginning for issues surrounding healthcare and agriculture. The past few days have revealed a state of the union that is citizen-strong with a reformed healthcare system that is providing much needed assurance to many, lacking Americans. The year has also revealed a farm bill enactment that puts a five-year bill closer to helping farmers and businesses create jobs across the country.
Much need has been met, but much is still needed and on the horizon. With TACT, your need for healthcare is met! We now serve ALL of TEXAS AGRICULTURE, we are expanding and advancing and we want to hear from you! Obamacare is upon us? Are you covered? Do you have questions? Are you fielding concerns from employees and contractors?
We have the answers you are looking for. We have the product to meet your need. And, best of all, we are Texas and we are personal. With TACT, you are our business!
You are a partner in health care decision making and you are partnered with a coverage provider that is thriving amidst pending change.
Now serving ALL of Texas Agriculture -
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TACT - Dedicated Insurance Professionals
you know and trust...like Family.
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40 Hour Work Week Being Challenged on Capitol Hill
The National Association of Health Underwriters released information on pending change of full-time employ that TACT is now closely monitoring. The issue deems 30 hours per week as full-time vs. the normally accepted 40 hour work week and is rapidly gaining traction on Capitol Hill!
Earlier last week, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the challenges the 30-hour rule creates for employers and how it will hurt the nation's employees in 2015. The Committee announced that it will be marking up a House bill that seeks to reinstate the definition of a full-time employee to one who works 40 hours a week.
NAHU will be at the mark up and TACT will keep you up to date on the issue. In the meantime, TACT urges any concerns by those affected to be addressed by contacting your member of Congress about this issue!
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Obama Administration Cutting Ties with Healthcare.gov
The Obama administration is cutting ties with contractor CGI Federal over its handling of the problem-plagued HealthCare.gov, months after the troubled Oct. 1 launch.
The decision to move from CGI Federal to Accenture was confirmed by a statement from the the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.
"As CMS moves forward in our efforts to help consumers access quality, affordable health coverage, we have selected Accenture to become the lead contractor for the HealthCare.gov portal and to prepare for next year's open enrollment period," the statement read.
The statement continued: "We are pleased that more than 1.1 million consumers already have enrolled in a private plan in the federal Marketplace thanks to existing efforts and look forward to working with all of our contract partners to ensure a smooth transition of this work."
The government's contract with CGI was up at the end of February anyway, but the administration apparently is deciding not to renew it. According to the Washington Post, officials concluded CGI was not effective in fixing the myriad problems with the federal ObamaCare website.
At first the administration said the problem was not having enough equipment to handle the high level of interest. But major software and design flaws quickly emerged. For example, unlike most e-commerce sites, HealthCare.gov had no way for prospective customers to browse health plans without first opening an account. That only created more computing work for the overwhelmed system to handle.
The administration later acknowledged HealthCare.gov was down 60 percent of the time in October.
The White House sent in a troubleshooter, management consultant Jeffrey Zients, who managed to turn things around by the end of November. Since then, more than 1 million people have signed up for coverage, and when state-run websites are counted, enrollments total more than 2 million.
CGI and other contractors have told Congress that there was not enough time to properly test the system and also meet the administration's Oct. 1 deadline for launching it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Borrowing Crisis Tactics to Aid the Uninsured in Texas
Courtesy, Texas Tribune
 HOUSTON - In an effort to coordinate education and outreach efforts associated with the Affordable Care Act, the Houston Department of Health and Human Services is taking an approach that mirrors how the Federal Emergency Management Agency might react to a catastrophe.
The Enroll Gulf Coast initiative has set up an "incident command structure" to synchronize the activities of 13 organizations in Harris and 12 nearby counties. An "intelligence committee" created maps showing the ZIP codes with the region's highest numbers of uninsured residents and "access" points, like community centers and libraries, to connect with people in those neighborhoods. An "operations committee" uses that information to host canvassing and health insurance enrollment events in targeted neighborhoods.
"The number of uninsured people that we have here in Harris County, 1.1 million - yeah, that's a public health emergency," said Ben Hernandez, the deputy assistant director for the Houston health department. "That's why it's easy for us to say let's treat it like we'd treat a hurricane."
While no one thought that carrying out the Affordable Care Act in Texas would be easy, a series of additional requirements have slowed efforts to enroll the 6.2 million Texans without insurance. The start of the federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov, was a technical disaster, and the state's Republican leadership, calling Medicaid broken, has refused to expand the program for impoverished adults. Also, last week, the Texas Department of Insurance issued state regulations that added further training and other requirements for the navigators hired and trained by recipients of federal grants to help people enroll.
Still, government officials and community-based organizations are working together to incorporate new rules, maximize their resources, and educate uninsured Texans on how to take advantage of the federal law.
Click here to read more.
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US House Passes Farm Bill
Courtesy, AgWeb - January 29
 The farm bill took yet another step forward as the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill with a 251-166 vote.
"I am pleased a majority of my House colleagues joined me in supporting a five-year, comprehensive farm bill. I appreciate the efforts of everyone who helped get us here," said House Ag Committee Chairman Frank Lucas. "This is legislation we can all be proud of because it fulfills the expectations the American people have of us."
"We are on the verge of achieving major reform," said Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow. "Today's House vote puts us one step closer to finally enacting a five-year farm bill that helps farmers and businesses create jobs across the country and saves taxpayers billions."
The farm bill, called the Agricultural Act of 2014, includes major spending reforms, including:
- The elimination of direct payments
- Improved crop insurance tools
- Reduced payment limits, tightened eligibility requirements and streamlined means tests
- A permanent livestock disaster assistance program
- Dairy policy reform with a new, voluntary livestock margin protection program, but no government-mandated supply controls
- Support for beginning farmers
The bill also includes about $8 billion in food stamp cuts, as well as reforms to conservation and land programs.
"I am hopeful this legislation will enjoy the same success when the Senate considers it, and I encourage the president to sign it quickly into law," Lucas said.
"It's now up to the Senate to take the final step," Stabenow said. "The Senate has twice passed the farm bill with overwhelming bipartisan support. I have no doubt we'll do it again, and show that it is possible to do something to reduce the deficit and boost the economy when people work across the aisle."
Read coverage of the Farm Bill
Read full text of the Agricultural Act of 2014
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2013 - Banner Year for Conservation
2013 - A Banner Year for Voluntary Conservation
The 2013 numbers are in, and they show the importance of voluntary, locally based conservation.
Data released by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) shows how the USDA agency, in partnership with farmers and ranchers across the country, conserved and protected natural resources on tens of millions of acres of America's privately-owned lands last year.
Among other things, NRCS and conservation-minded farmers, ranchers and other partners:
* Developed conservation plans for more than 43.8 million acres.
* Enrolled more than 279,000 acres into conservation easements, setting aside valuable wetlands, grasslands and farmlands. These landscapes help create wildlife habitat, clean air and water, and lead to other environmental benefits.
* Worked with producers in the Ogallala Aquifer region, the nation's breadbasket, to implement conservation practices that use water wisely on more than 70,000 acres.
*Improved habitat for at-risk wildlife.
Two initiatives geared toward the Lesser Prairie Chicken and sage grouse put conservation practices on more than 220,000 acres and 570,000 acres, respectively.
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World Cancer Day
Today is World Cancer Day.
 Every year, the Union for International Cancer Control's (UICC) World Cancer Day aims to bring the growing cancer crisis to the attention of the public, government leaders and health policymakers worldwide. World Cancer Day is February 4th. AICR is helping to raise awareness of World Click the link below to see more about the effort.
To see this and other health news,
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Contact Us
Texas Ag Coop Trust
1802 East 50th St., Ste. 107
Lubbock, TX 79404
806-747-7894
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Texas Ag Coop Trust
Officers, Board of Trustees
Kimberly Tullo-Holcomb
TACT Executive Director
Lubbock, TX
Jim Turner, Chairman
Dalhart Consumers Fuel Association
Dalhart, TX
Bret Brown, Secretary/Treasurer
Sunray Coop
Sunray, TX
Jim Turner
Dalhart Consumers Fuel Association
Dalhart, TX
Paul Wilson United Cotton Growers
Levelland, TX
Cary Eubanks
Slaton Coop Gin
Slaton, TX
Dean Sasser
Farmers Coop Elevator
Levelland, TX
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Texas Ag Coop Trust
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Texas Grain & Feed
Association
Texas Cotton Ginners Association
 Texas Coop Marketing Exchange
Texas Corn Producers |
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