Obamacare Could Be On High Court’s Docket Again
The U.S. Supreme Court begins a new term Monday, and justices have been asked to consider several challenges to the Affordable Care Act, including whether subsidies can go to residents of states that rely on the federally run insurance marketplace. Meanwhile, insurers are notifying thousands of consumers of canceled plans, and the new CEO of healthcare.gov says it will become more user-friendly.
Politico: Obamacare And SCOTUS, The Sequel?
The U.S. Supreme Court will begin its new term Monday and, once again, Obamacare could be on the docket. The justices have been asked to weigh in on whether the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies can go to any American, regardless of whether their state runs a health insurance exchange or relies on the federal one. They’ll soon be asked, too, whether religious nonprofits have to provide contraception in employee health plans, a follow-up to last spring’s Hobby Lobby case. And there is a third, very long-shot issue in the wings: whether the health care legislation was a tax bill that under the Constitution had to start in the House of Representatives instead of the Senate (Haberkorn, 10/2).
Kaiser Health News: Canceled Health Plans: Round Two
Thousands of consumers who were granted a reprieve to keep insurance plans that don’t meet the federal health law’s standards are now learning those plans will be discontinued at year’s end, and they’ll have to choose a new policy, which may cost more. Cancellations are in the mail to customers from Texas to Alaska in markets where insurers say the policies no longer make business sense. In some states, such as Maryland and Virginia, rules call for the plans’ discontinuations, but in many, federal rules allow the policies to continue into 2017 (Appleby, 10/2).
The Wall Street Journal: Health Insurers Notify Consumers Of Canceled Plans
Tens of thousands of consumers across the country are set to receive notices this fall from their insurers canceling their health plans in the latest sign of how the Affordable Care Act is reshaping the insurance market. The cancellations are far less widespread than last fall, when millions of people were told their individual insurance plans didn't meet the law's more-stringent coverage requirements. The reasons for this year's cancellations are more varied than last year's (Radnofsky and Wilde Mathews, 10/2).
Bloomberg: Raving Fans For Obamacare: Goal Of Program’s New CEO
Kevin Counihan, the new chief executive officer of healthcare.gov, expects Obamacare will become so user-friendly that “raving fans” will emerge for the U.S. health insurance enrollment program. Americans buying coverage for 2015 using healthcare.gov should expect an easier experience than during its troubled first year, Counihan said yesterday in his first interview since starting the job Sept. 8. While shopping will remain imperfect, “it’s night and day from last year,” he said (Wayne, 10/2).