Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Dropout Rate For ACA Exchanges Stays Steady To Previous Years
The Associated Press: HealthCare.Gov Dropout Trend Continues Under Trump
Continuing a dropout trend seen in the Obama years, about 16 percent of consumers who signed up for coverage this year through public health insurance markets had canceled their plans by early spring, the government said Monday. Figures released from the Health and Human Services department show that 10.3 million people were signed up and paying their premiums as of March 15. That's 1.9 million fewer than the 12.2 million who initially signed up during open enrollment season, which ended Jan. 31. (6/12)
Politico: Nearly 2M Fell Off Obamacare Coverage Rolls Through Mid-March
CMS said high costs and lack of affordability were the most common factors individuals cited when asked why they didn't keep their coverage. A separate report on enrollment trends attributed the drop-off to other factors, including securing a job with employer-sponsored insurance. (Pradhan, 6/12)
Modern Healthcare: Nearly 2 Million Dropped Obamacare Coverage Through Mid-March
For the nearly 4,000 people who dropped coverage prior to paying the first month's premium, 49% said they found coverage elsewhere and 46% attributed the move to premium increases or ineligibility for financial assistance, the CMS said. Enrollment data also showed that individuals whose insurer left the market were more likely to forgo coverage. (Livingston, 6/12)
Meanwhile, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) wants to investigate the administration's actions regarding the marketplaces —
The Wall Street Journal: Sens. Murray, Warren Request Probe Of Whether Trump ‘Undermined’ Obamacare
Two Senate Democrats have sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services’s independent watchdog, asking for an investigation into Trump administration actions that could have “undermined” the Affordable Care Act. Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate’s Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), a member of the committee, requested that the department’s inspector general make public any actions taken by the Trump administration to destabilize the individual health-insurance market. (Hackman, 6/12)
