Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Obama, Insurers Forge Bonds As Health Law Is Implemented
The New York Times: Health Care Law Recasts Insurers As Obama Allies
As Americans shop in the health insurance marketplace for a second year, President Obama is depending more than ever on the insurance companies that five years ago he accused of padding profits and canceling coverage for the sick. Those same insurers have long viewed government as an unreliable business partner that imposed taxes, fees and countless regulations and had the power to cut payment rates and cap profit margins. But since the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010, the relationship between the Obama administration and insurers has evolved into a powerful, mutually beneficial partnership that has been a boon to the nation’s largest private health plans and led to a profitable surge in their Medicaid enrollment. (Pear, 11/17)
Politico Pro: SCOTUS Subsidies Case Weighs On States
Insurance regulators in states where HHS runs the Obamacare exchanges are discussing contingency plans or workarounds should the Supreme Court strip the law’s insurance subsidies across a wide swath of the country. (Pradhan, 11/17)
And The Wall Street Journal examines the White House visits of controversial consultant Jonathan Gruber -
The Wall Street Journal: Health Adviser Gruber Logged Regular White House Visits
Jonathan Gruber, the economist at the heart of a fresh debate about the Affordable Care Act, has had more than a dozen appointments to visit the White House since Democrats began drafting the health law in 2009, records show. The visits included at least one group meeting with President Barack Obama ... The White House in recent days has tried to distance itself from Mr. Gruber, a 49-year-old Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist, since a 2013 video surfaced last week in which he said the law passed because of the “huge political advantage” of the legislation’s lacking transparency. He also referred to the “stupidity of the American voter.” (Armour and McCain Nelson, 11/17)
Other outlets explore how more providers are asking for pre-payments for non-emergency care -
Louisville Courier-Journal/USA Today: Health Plans Lead To More Hospital Pre-Pay
[Mark Edwards'] experience, being asked to pay a sum upfront for surgery, has become increasingly common as doctors' practices and hospitals navigate the world of employer-provided high-deductible health plans and the launch of the federal Affordable Care Act. Hospital executives say they're struggling to keep their mountains of bad debt in check when patients frequently can't pay the share required under insurance plans for non-emergency tests, procedures and services. (Schneider, 11/16)
