Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Caught In The Coverage Gap: Yawning Divide Between Medicaid And Subsidies Leaves Many Desperate
The New York Times: Life In Obamacare’s Dead Zone
“I tried to get Obamacare,” [Janet] Foy recalls. “I called the number, and when the woman told me what it would cost me, I just about dropped the phone. She told me I’d needed to make at least $12,000 a year for there to be any help to make it something I might be able to afford. Which still doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, even now, that having no money meant I got no help when I really needed it.” She also learned that she could not expect any help from Medicaid, which in her home state remained available only if you fit the criteria sometimes known by the shorthand “poor and” — poor and pregnant, poor and disabled. As a single childless woman, she could forget about it. (Verzemnieks, 12/6)
In other news —
Kaiser Health News: Insurers’ Flawed Directories Leave Patients Scrambling For In-Network Doctors
As consumers review their coverage and shop for 2017 insurance through the federal health law’s online marketplaces during the annual open enrollment period, many of the directories they are using are outdated and inaccurate. Some doctors in the directories are not accepting new patients and some are not participating in the network, say experts, brokers and consumers. Still other physicians in the directories, who are listed as “in-plan,” charge patients thousands of dollars extra per year in “concierge fees” to join their practices. (Hancock, 12/5)
