Crunch Time In The Countdown To Health Exchanges’ Opening Day
News reports also offer insights to how these online marketplaces are taking shape in Oregon and Connecticut.
CNN: Gearing Up For Health Exchanges: Crunch Time For Obamacare
A calendar on the office wall of senior White House communications adviser Tara McGuinness counts the days until marketplaces under the sweeping health care law championed by President Barack Obama open in states nationwide. McGuinness and others working to insure the uninsured have fewer than 10 weeks until open enrollment in state and federally managed insurance exchanges begins on October 1. Then they'll have just six months to educate as many people as possible about the Affordable Care Act, a 2010 law that for many is just a political attack line (Aigner-Treworgy, 7/24).
The Wall Street Journal: Low-Cost Insurance Offer Limits Federal Subsidies For Portland Buyers
Federal subsidies in the new health-care law will help offset the cost of insurance for lower-income buyers. But in the Portland area, the subsidies will be smaller than expected because of the low prices offered by a regional insurer. The subsidies are based on the cost of the second-cheapest midlevel plan, as well as annual incomes (Weaver and Radnofsky, 7/24).
The Associated Press: Apple-Inspired Conn. Stores Planned For Health Law
Besides television and radio advertisements, billboards and signs on buses, Connecticut's new insurance marketplace is planning to open storefronts inspired by Apple to help get the word out about President Barack Obama's health care law and coming enrollment. Officials at Access Health CT, the state's marketplace, believe Connecticut is the only state running its own marketplace that plans to set up insurance stores modeled after computer giant Apple's establishments (Haigh, 7/24).
