Obamacare cuts isle uninsured rate

The uninsured rate in Hawaii has dropped by 49 percent since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010, with 54,000 residents gaining coverage over the last six years, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday.

In addition, hundreds of thousands more individuals and those covered by Medicaid and Medicare, the government health insurance program for low-income residents and seniors, have benefited from protections of the health care law, the department said.

Under Obamacare, 13,313 people in Hawaii have coverage through the health insurance exchange. An estimated 9,000 young adults have benefited from the ACA provision that allows them to stay on their parents’ health insurance up to age 26. And 33,000 residents gained coverage through an expansion of Medicaid, according to a new report by DHHS.

In addition, 10,958 moderate- and middle-income residents receive tax credits averaging $270 per month to help them get covered through the federal exchange, HealthCare.gov.

Prospect Mortgage expands to Big Island

A firm making home loans has expanded in the state with its first office on Hawaii island.

Prospect Mortgage announced Wednesday the opening of its new office at the Lanihau Professional Center in Kona.

The company also has one office on Oahu, one on Maui and two on Kauai.

On The Move

Charles Mole Jr., former district director for Toastmasters International District 49, named Don Baluran as outstanding district area director (2015-2016) at this years’ recent fall conference. Baluran was selected from among 16 area directors for the designation, which honors exemplary service to clubs and members. Baluran, a compliance BSA/AML senior analyst for American Savings Bank, is a toastmaster with Olelo O ASB Club and is division director for District 49.

Lee Cranmer has joined the advisory board for the Salvation Army’s Hawaiian & Pacific Islands Division. Cranmer is a site development director for the Howard Hughes Corp.

Bret Flanders has been named marketing representative for Xerox Hawaii. Flanders has 20 years of account and sales management experience, including serving as a southeast territory sales representative with InHealth Systems and Services/Neb Doctors in Savannah, Ga.