Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
ACA Navigators Begin Shutting Down Operations
Modern Healthcare: With Funding Slashed And No Contracts In Hand, ACA Marketplace 'Navigators' Are Shutting Down
Navigator groups that help educate and enroll consumers in the Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges are shutting down because the federal government isn't paying them. Several navigator organizations, including the University of South Florida, which received the country's largest federal grant for navigation services in 2016, are suspending education and outreach activities ahead of the 2018 open enrollment period that is slated to begin Nov. 1. (Livingston, 9/11)
In other health law news —
The New York Times: For One Hedge Fund, A Bet On The Affordable Care Act Sours
Wagering that the new federal health care law would be a boon, the billionaire investor Larry Robbins bet big on hospital stocks five years ago. Those investments helped propel his hedge fund, Glenview Capital Management, to the ranks of the top-performing funds in 2013. Since then, the bet has soured. Glenview suffered steep losses as the stocks of many for-profit hospital chains sank, hurt by weak earnings and, more recently, by uncertainty over the lasting impact of the law, the Affordable Care Act. (Creswell and Abelson, 9/11)
Bloomberg: Equifax Holds Contract To Verify Data Of Obamacare Customers
Equifax Inc., which said last week it suffered a breach that exposed the personal data of 143 million Americans, holds a contract to check incomes and other data of people who bought health insurance in the Obamacare markets. The credit data firm has a $329 million, five-year government contract which ends in March to verify the incomes of people purchasing coverage through the health exchanges. The Affordable Care Act provides subsidies to help people afford health insurance depending on their income levels. (Edney and Murphy, 9/11)
