Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Insurers Propose Double-Digit Obamacare Rate Increases In Pa. And Ariz.
The Associated Press: Insurers Ask Pennsylvania Regulators For Big Rate Increases
A national upswing of health insurance rates is coming to Pennsylvania, and that could mean bigger-than-expected cost increases next year for at least a couple hundred thousand Pennsylvanians who bought insurance in the marketplace created by the 2010 federal health care law. Last week's deadline to file paperwork with the state Department of Insurance showed that some insurers selling plans on the marketplace want rate increases of almost 10 percent — or well above that — in one or more of their plans. (Levy, 6/7)
The Arizona Republic: Health Insurers Seek Rate Increases Of Up To 27 Percent
Next year, tens of thousands of Arizona residents who buy their own health insurance may need to brace for double-digit rate increases, which insurance companies say reflect the higher medical expenses of their customers. (Alltucker, 6/5)
The Hill: Hawaii To Shutter State Health Insurance Exchange
Hawaii will abandon its state-based health insurance exchange and transition to the federal marketplace, known as HealthCare.gov, the state announced Friday. Gov. David Ige (D) announced Hawaii Health Connector, a private nonprofit, would be shut down because it “has been unable to generate sufficient revenues to sustain operations.” (Shabad, 6/6)
The Huffington Post: Hawaii Pulls The Plug On Embattled Health Insurance Exchange
Hawaii's health insurance exchange announced on Friday that it will be shutting down, and its nearly 40,000 enrollees will be transitioned to the federal Obamacare marketplace, Healthcare.gov. The private, nonprofit Hawaii Health Connector, which has been embattled from its inception, has not generated “sufficient revenues to sustain operations,” according to the office of Hawaii Gov. David Ige (D). (Fox, 6/6)
In other health law news, 100 percent of eligible Floridians signed up for Obamacare in some zip codes, and the Austin Statesman parses the facts about Obamacare insurance cards -
The Miami Herald: South Florida Sign Ups Nearly All Eligible Consumers In Obamacare
The long reach of South Florida’s Obamacare enrollment efforts can be quantified in one number: 100. That’s the estimated percentage of eligible people who signed up for health coverage in the country’s top-performing ZIP codes. One hundred percent. A report released last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated each ZIP code’s eligible population of consumers who could sign up for coverage and compared it to those who did enroll for 2015. In the nation’s top 10 ZIP codes — all in South Florida — the report found that nearly the entire eligible pool signed up for health insurance. Across the state, the average was 64 percent. (Herrera, 6/5)
Austin Statesman: PolitiFact: No Scarlet ‘S’ on Texas Health Care Cards
MSNBC host Al Sharpton accused Texas Republicans of trying to slap a “scarlet letter” on people who use private health insurance under Obamacare. “The Texas Senate just approved a bill to put a special label on the insurance cards of anyone who bought a plan through Obamacare,” Sharpton said on his “PoliticsNation” show last month. “But if those labels weren’t absurd enough, anyone who receives financial assistance for insurance would have a letter ‘S’ on the cards, too. ‘S’ for subsidy.”(Greenberg, 6/7)
