Latest KFF Health News Stories
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Research Roundup: Other Nations Surpass U.S. Health Care
This week’s studies come from Health Affairs, The Commonwealth Fund, the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA Surgery, the AARP Public Policy Institute and news outlets.
First Edition: November 15, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a range of stories examining the policy, marketplace and political dynamics in play as a result of President Barack Obama’s move to stop the cancellation of insurance plans.
Obama Offers Fix For Insurance Plan Cancellations
President Barack Obama offered the outlines of an administrative fix to the problem some consumers are facing — health coverage cancellation notices.
Obama Faces Trust Issues As A Result Of Health Law Woes
President Barack Obama — and Democrats, by proxy — face big political problems as a result of the botched rollout of the insurance website and the debunking of his pledge that Americans could keep their health plans if they liked them. Recent polls have Democrats and Republicans neck-and-neck in midterm election polls, and Fox News reports that half of voters think the president “knowingly lied” about the health law.
Congressional Democrats Fuming At White House Handling Of Health Law
An increasing number of these lawmakers say they favor a legislative plan offered by Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana to allow people whose insurance has been canceled because of the law to keep it.
Why California Could Delay Anthem’s Cancellations; Young People’s Coverage Costs
NPR examines an administration claim that half of young people can get coverage for $50 per month or less, while California Healthline explores the reasons the state insurance commissioner was able to delay Anthem’s cancellations.
House Oversight Panel Grills Administration Tech Officials On Website Woes
The White House’s chief technology officer, Todd Park, told the committee that teams are working aggressively to get the website functioning “for the vast majority” of consumers by the administration’s Nov. 30 deadline. Meanwhile, a second panel heard testimony about website and security concerns.
State Highlights: In Ohio, Enrollment In Expanded Medicaid Will Begin Next Month
In other Medicaid news, federal prosecutors are looking into a recent settlement between the District of Columbia and a former Medicaid contractor.
Both Sides In The Health Law Battle Spin Insurance Sign-Up Figures
Health law advocates offered positive messages about the enrollment numbers released Wednesday by the Obama administration while the measure’s critics pounced on the low figures and renewed calls for action.
What The Health Law’s Future Holds: Fixing The Website And Everything After
News outlets report on the various ways the website issues and sign-up woes could be addressed, as well as what a variety of experts say about the global outlook for the health law.
HHS Health Insurance Enrollment Figures Far Below Targets
Only about a fourth of the enrollees signed up through the federal health exchange. The low initial sign up could set up a steep challenge for the health law.
California Beating All Other States In Health Law Exchange Enrollment
California is the bright spot in enrolling people in the health law’s insurance exchanges — beating even the federal Healthcare.gov in how many have signed up. Still, California’s enrollment figures — representing about a third of all signups around the nation — mean less than 1 percent of uninsured Californians have signed up for plans.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
First Edition: November 14, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including details about the online health insurance enrollment numbers released yesterday by the Obama administration and examinations of what might happen next.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced enrollment numbers today for the federal and state online health insurance marketplaces that opened Oct. 1.
Bill Clinton Says Health Law Should Be Changed
Comments by the former president piled pressure on to the White House’s efforts to find a solution to the policy cancellations that may affect several million consumers who buy their own insurance. His statements were immediately pounced upon by Republicans.
Issa Panel To Grill Top Tech Official About Health Law Rollout
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, who heads the House oversight committee, plans to put the nation’s chief technology officer, Todd Park, on the hot seat today about the flawed rollout of the government website where consumers are supposed to be able to buy health insurance. The New York Times writes that Issa has long been one of the most aggressive thorns in the side of the Obama administration.
Swept Up In Healthcare.gov’s Troubled Launch, The ‘Mona Lisa Of Health Care’ Speaks
Identified only as “Adriana,” the woman whose face appeared on the federal online insurance website says she does not understand the reasons behind the mockery and speculation of which she became the focus.
Will Healthcare.gov Troubles Slow Medicaid Expansion Too?
Medicaid sign-ups, part of the health law working the way many officials thought it should, could also be hurt by technological malfunctions. But one state is finding the opposite to be true. In the meantime, states consider new Medicaid expansions or report on how many new Medicaid enrollees are signing up.
