Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: November 8, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including coverage of President Barack Obama’s apology to people who lost their individual market health coverage because of requirements of the health law.
Senate Dems Go To White House To Assess Health Law Political Fallout
The group of 16 met with President Barack Obama for about two hours, focusing on the floundering Healthcare.gov website and the possibility of backlash in next year’s elections. Some lawmakers also pressed the administration to extend the health law’s open enrollment period.
Sebelius Says Healthcare.gov Fixes Coming, Rejects Calls For Delay
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sought to reassure lawmakers in a Senate Finance Committee hearing Wednesday that fixes — hundreds of them — are being made to Healthcare.gov, but rejected calls to delay the law or shut the website down. She also said she expected enrollment from October to be “quite low.”
AMA Panel Involved In Physician Rate Setting Moves Toward More Transparency
The Washington Post reports on this development.
Some Union Health Plans Could Get Break From Health Law’s Reinsurance Fee
Language included in a Health and Human Services regulation released last week indicated that some self-insured, self-administered plans would not have to pay this fee in 2015 or 2016. It is not entirely clear, however, which plans would qualify for this exemption.
For Some Republicans, Support For Medicaid Expansion Draws New Adversaries
The Los Angeles Times examines the political backlash in Ohio to GOP lawmakers who supported the Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, CQ HealthBeat reports on efforts to phase-in the electronic data system that will send states information about people who appear to be eligible for Medicaid who have tried to sign up for coverage through healthcare.gov.
For Health Exchange Navigators, Enrollment Frustrations Continue
Workers helping people enroll in policies through the health law’s new online insurance marketplaces are still finding website problems and it’s causing concerns.
New Coverage Gaps, Cost Issues Spur Health Law Worries
News outlets look at the nuts and bolts of the health law’s implementation, including a worry that coverage gaps will persist for some vulnerable people, as well as how the government pays for insurance subsidies and why some premium costs increase under the health law.
Who Gets What Under Obamacare, And Who Is Left Out
News stories look at who wins and who loses under the health law. Elsewhere, Obamacare message sparring gets personal.
Reports Of Insurance Policy Cancellations Spread
News organizations in California, Georgia, Colorado and Virginia examine the issue.
Obama In Texas: While Defending Health Law, He Went On Offense About Medicaid Expansion
President Barack Obama continued to lament the problems plaguing the federal online insurance marketplace, but he also scolded the Texas government for its resistance to the health law’s Medicaid expansion, which, he said, left more than a million of the state’s people uninsured.
Humana Offers Perspective On How Botched Healthcare.gov Rollout Has Affected Insurance Industry
In a Wednesday call with investors, the company’s chief operating officer said Humana assumes that, because of the website problems, the government will extend the open enrollment period beyond its current March 31 cutoff. The insurer also scaled back its estimates of how many people will sign up for new coverage options.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
State Highlights: Officials Seek Public Watchdog For Health System Money
A selection of health policy stories from Virginia, Florida, California and Oregon.
Top IT Official For Healthcare.gov Resigns
Tony Trenkle, the federal official responsible for Healthcare.gov’s launch and security, is moving to the private sector. CBS News reports that Trenkle was supposed to sign off on the site’s security before launch but didn’t.
Longer Looks: Bad Behavior Treatment; End Of Life Decisions
This week’s articles come from the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Stanford Medicine, the Baltimore Sun and the Center for Investigative Reporting.
First Edition: November 7, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about President Barack Obama’s efforts to bolster support for the health law, as well as the tough questions faced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in her appearance before the Senate Finance Committee.
Obama Resets The ‘Keep Your Insurance’ Pledge, Heads To Texas
President Barack Obama will be visiting an area — Dallas County — that has one of the highest concentrations of uninsured people in the nation. He is expected to urge Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a staunch opponent of the health law, to follow the lead of other Republican state executives and pursue the overhaul’s Medicaid expansion.
Sebelius Faces More Questions — This Time From A Senate Panel
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will face a new round of questioning as she appears before the Senate Finance Committee to face growing concern and criticism about healthcare.gov and about recent news surrounding health plan cancellations.
Officials Stepping Up Pressure On Insurers To Stop Cancellations, Or Explain Them
Insurance industry officials meet with White House officials, and California convinces one company to delay cancellations for three months.
