Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Intentionally Or Not, Administration's Actions Will Limit Number Of Healthy People Bolstering Exchanges
The Washington Post: Here’s How The Trump Administration Is Hurting Enrollment In Obamacare
At its heart, the Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — is about figuring out how to pay to provide more people with insurance coverage. Before the policy was enacted, insurers balked at covering those with preexisting conditions for the simple reason that such customers are expensive. Cover a lot of expensive people and you either need to enroll more healthy people (who will pay premiums but use fewer resources) or raise premiums. ... In other words, enrolling those healthy people is central to making Obamacare work. (Bump, 9/28)
The Hill: Dems Urge Price To Change ObamaCare Site Shutdown Planned During Open Enrollment
A group of nearly 80 Democratic House members is calling on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to shorten the 12 hour-long maintenance shutdowns of the federal ObamaCare exchange website that are planned during the next open enrollment period. HHS officials announced last week that the website will be shut down for maintenance for 12 hours from midnight to noon almost every Sunday of the next ObamaCare enrollment period, which lasts from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15, as well as overnight on the first day of the enrollment period. (Manchester, 9/28)
Politico Pro: ACA Navigators Adjust To New Reality
"Navigator" groups that help people sign up for Obamacare coverage are scrambling to adapt to a compressed open enrollment period and cutbacks by the Trump administration for outreach support. To adapt, they're forced to look for new funding, shift resources and reorganize scheduled events to maximize the use of staff. (Rayasam, 9/28)
Des Moines Register: Obamacare Enrollment Period And Assistance Cut In Half For Iowans
Iowans who need to buy their own health insurance will have significantly less assistance in signing up this fall — and half the time to do it. One of the two major agencies that helped Iowans enroll in health insurance last year is dropping the service because most of its federal funding was cut. The remaining agency fears that many confused and frustrated consumers will miss their chance to sign up for subsidized insurance by the Dec. 15 deadline. (Leys, 9/28)
Meanwhile, premiums are rising in some states —
New Hampshire Union Leader: Report: Health Care Premiums Would Increase 52 Percent
Up to half of middle class or higher-income individuals who get no taxpayer subsidy in buying health care under Obamacare will drop coverage once they face average premium increases of 52 percent in 2018, a health insurance expert told a legislative commission Wednesday. The soaring increases are in contrast to lower-income individuals eligible to get tax credits that offset their premium or they face no cost at all for coverage. (Landrigan, 9/27)
Tampa Bay Times: Uncertainty Over Obamacare's Future Sends Premiums Up, Budgets Down
Open enrollment for individual health insurance is still about a month away, but insurance companies and "navigator" programs that help people find coverage are already bracing for what's likely to be a rocky year ahead. (Griffin, 9/29)
