Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nearly 10M People Paid For New Health Law Insurance Plans
The Associated Press: Health Insurance Signups Near 10 Million In Midyear Report
About 9.9 million people have signed up and paid for health insurance under President Barack Obama's health care law, the administration said Tuesday, a slight dip from a previous count but on track toward the administration's year-end goal of 9.1 million. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said that 84 percent of those, or more than 8.3 million, were receiving tax subsidies to help with the cost. A Supreme Court decision earlier this summer upheld insurance subsidies in all 50 states, a major victory for the White House. (9/8)
USA Today: Nearly 10 Million People Have Paid For Obamacare Plans
HHS said the 10 states with the highest rate of consumers who received tax credits were: Mississippi (95.4%), Wyoming (92.2%), North Carolina (91.6%), Florida (91.3%), Alabama (90.9%), Louisiana (90.7%), Georgia (90.0%), Arkansas (90.0%), Wisconsin (89.6%) and Alaska (88.8%). The states with the lowest rate of consumers who received credits are: District of Columbia (10.2%), Minnesota (54.8%), Colorado (55.3%), Hawaii (61.4%), New Hampshire (62.8%), Vermont (64.2%), Utah (65.6%), Kentucky (69.8%), Maryland (70.7%) and New York (71.4%). (O'Donnell, 9/8)
Los Angeles Times: Obamacare Enrollment Drops Slightly To 9.9 Million
The new numbers were released Tuesday by the Obama administration in the latest quarterly report on the insurance marketplaces created by the federal health law. The tally was a drop from the 10.2 million people who were enrolled in plans by the end of March.Such attrition has been a regular process since the marketplaces opened in the fall of 2013, as consumers who select health plans during the annual open enrollment period drop coverage through the year or fail to pay premiums. (Levey, 9/8)
The Washington Post: Coverage In Affordable Care Act Health Plans Wanes Since Winter
Nearly 1 in 4 of the Americans who picked a health plan this year through the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces have dropped or lost their coverage, according to new federal data. ... Those people reflect a decline from the roughly 12.7 million consumers who signed up for a 2015 health plan. (Goldstein, 9/8)
The Wall Street Journal: About 9.9 Million Enrollees Pay For Health Insurance On State, Federal Sites
Data-matching issues caused some of the decline. Overall, as of June 30, 2015, the exchange has ended coverage for approximately 423,000 people with plans in 2015 who failed to produce sufficient documentation on their citizenship or immigration status. The exchange has also adjusted tax credits or financial assistance for about 967,000 households, in some cases because of incorrect information on family income. (Armour, 9/8)
The Dallas Morning News: Immigration Status Stifles Enrollment For Obamacare
The Affordable Care Act does not permit unauthorized immigrants to use the online health insurance marketplaces, which the federal government operates in Texas and 36 other states. Also, immigrants in the country illegally cannot qualify for subsidies. About 84 percent of marketplace consumers receive tax credits to help pay premiums on their private plans. (Garrett, 9/8)
Bloomberg: Obamacare Marketplace Enrollment Falls To 9.9M, U.S. Says
About 9.9 million people got health insurance coverage through the marketplaces set up by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as of June 30, a decline from earlier in the year though still higher than the Obama administration’s target. About 84 percent got government subsidies to buy the coverage, getting an average of $270 a month, according to data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Enrollment had been 10.2 million at the end of March. (Tracer, 9/8)
In other local coverage and cost news -
The Associated Press: Nearly 330K Virginians Sign Up For Coverage Under Health Law
President Barack Obama’s administration says that nearly 330,000 Virginia residents have signed up and paid for health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act. The administration said Tuesday that 327,026 residents had enrolled through the end of June. Of those, nearly 84 percent, or more than 274,000, were receiving financial assistance from the federal government. (9/8)
The Connecticut Mirror: Anthem Individual Rates To Rise 2.4%, ConnectiCare’s By 8.5%
Premiums for the 55,000 people who buy Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans through the state’s individual market will rise by an average of 2.4 percent next year, while ConnectiCare Insurance Company’s 34,400 customers will see an average rate hike of 8.5 percent. Both companies sought higher increases, but the Connecticut Insurance Department deemed their proposed rates excessive and required the companies to revise their proposals. (Levin Becker, 9/8)
