Latest KFF Health News Stories
State Highlights: As Nation Implements Health Law, Mass. Eyes Lowering Costs
A selection of health policy stories from California and Massachusetts.
The impasse in Washington sparked many opinions.
Viewpoints: Obamacare Marketplaces’ ‘First-Day Jitters’; The Need For Healthy Young Adults To Enroll
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Gov’t Shutdown Takes Focus Off GOP’s Obamacare Opportunity
Some say Republicans missed a political opportunity Tuesday to point at the difficulties Obamacare’s new online exchanges were having because news of the government’s shutdown dominated headlines. In the meantime, Ohio has become a political battleground for fights over the health law as the state is home to both Republican House Speaker John Boehner — who is central to repeal efforts — and Gov. John Kasich, whose support for the law’s Medicaid expansion has him split from other conservatives.
Obama Admonishes Republicans On ‘Ideological Crusade’
Surrounded by beneficiaries of the federal health law, President Barack Obama blamed Republicans for the government shutdown, noting the law’s insurance marketplaces had opened for business even as most of the federal government had shut down.
New Ads, New Conservative Appeals For Obamacare Repeal
A conservative group and the National Republican Congressional Committee are aiming new ads at Democrats and Obamacare, urging the law’s repeal via radio and other avenues.
Neither Side Budging On Health Law As Gov’t Shutdown Continues
Neither Republicans nor Democrats appear ready to budge in the short-term to end a government shutdown and their impasse over funding for the health law. House Republicans are looking to pressure moderate Democrats in the Senate by sending the upper chamber a series of bills aimed at funding popular government services, but Republicans are beginning to feel the pressure building over who will get the blame for the shutdown.
First Edition: October 2, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including news reports about how the health law’s new online insurance marketplaces — glitches and all — went live at both the federal and state levels.
Obamacare Day One: A Tale Of Two States
There was a party atmosphere at Affordable Care Act events in California, where the law has been embraced, and in Virginia, where it has been resisted. But consumers will have very different experiences in the two states.
HHS Releases List Of Premium Rates For 36 States
Consumers trying to price health insurance in the new federally run health marketplaces may have been having trouble getting through the government’s main web site, healthcare.gov, but there’s a backdoor way to see the plans that are being offered in 36 states. The Department of Health and Human Services has posted premiums for more than […]
Three Things To Know Before Buying A Health Plan — And Where To Find Them
Consumers shopping in the new Obamacare marketplaces will want to know these three things before buying coverage.
Seven Things To Know About Signing Up For Obamacare
What you need to know about signing up for ACA marketplace coverage: There are new benefits, and what you pay depends on your age, your address and how much you earn.
Obama Says Marketplaces Overwhelmed By Demand
In remarks in the Rose Garden to mark the opening of these centerpieces of the health law, the president says federal officials are working to overcome the technical problems.
Obamacare Marketplaces Open, Despite Technical Glitches And Government Shutdown
The online marketplaces, also known as exchanges, sell plans effective as soon as Jan. 1. But they got a rocky launch, with software glitches in some cases and implementation delays in others.
Language, Knowledge Are Barriers For Immigrants Seeking Insurance In California
The Obama administration is counting on outreach efforts to enroll Latinos and other immigrants. They tend to be younger than the general population, and so they balance out the costs of older, sicker people in the insurance pool.
Live Blog: Exchanges Launch, Government Shuts Down
Celebrity tweets, presidential remarks, computer problems, consumers enrolling, and more, in continuous updates from KHN throughout the day.
Live Blog: Exchanges Launch, Government Shuts Down
It’s Oct. 1, which means that the online insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act are launching. But it also means that the start of the new federal fiscal year was marked by a government shutdown. KHN helps you make sense of the day’s developments on this live blog and with our coverage of […]
As Missouri Marketplace Opens, Focus Is On Recruiting Young Adults
They can expect to be bombarded by messages from both proponents and critics of the law.
It’s Oct. 1 — Health Exchanges Go Live … Glitches And All
Despite three-and-a-half years of political intrigue and hijinx culminating with a government shutdown, this key health law provision is rolling out. Administration officials expected some glitches, but are confident in the marketplaces ultimate success. However, if the exchanges are to achieve their intended goal, people will have to sign up.
50 States, 50 Views Of Health Exchanges
Media outlets across the country spotlight the opening of federal and state-run websites that are designed to be a portal into new insurance marketplaces where those without group coverage can compare and purchase plans. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel describes a fund created by the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics to pay the premiums of those who would have been eligible for expanded Medicaid had the state opted into that health law program. The Texas Tribune spotlights potential problems as a result of state restrictions on the navigators who are supposed to act as consumer guides.