Latest KFF Health News Stories
State Websites Stumble With First Steps; Provider Rates, Coverage Questions Emerge
News outlets report on state efforts to smooth out glitches in health insurance web sites.
Drug Companies Paid To Attend FDA Advisory Panel Meeting On Painkillers’ Safety And Effectiveness
The Washington Post reports on this develoment.
Although many people think of the federal health law’s focus on the uninsured, it also is driving changes for those who have coverage. Meanwhile, two news outlets look at the importance of signing up young, healthy individuals in Texas and California.
With Marketplace Open, Outreach Efforts Swing Into Full Gear
A navigator in Philadelphia finds strong interest among consumers in the health law’s coverage options. Meanwhile in Minnesota, diverse groups of advocates prepare to help insurance buyers.
The Health Law And Older Americans
In this pair of stories, The Wall Street Journal takes a look at what the health law does in an effort toclose Medicare’s prescription drug “doughnut hole” as well as what might change for people who are approaching retirement age, but not yet eligible for Medicare.
State Medicaid Programs Pose Problems For Federal Insurance Markeplace
Communications issues between the state agencies that administer the program and the federal exchange are interfering with the concept of one-stop shopping.
Obama Asks Americans To Give Exchanges And Obamacare Time To Work
President Barack Obama defended the problem-plagued rollout of the health law’s insurance exchanges late last week. In an interview with The Associated Press, he asked Americans to not give up on changes the law is making and to give it time to work. Later, Obama said he didn’t know how many people had signed up for coverage through the exchanges and reiterated his unwillingness to repeal parts of the law to get Republicans to help reopen the federal government.
Boehner: No Change In Shutdown, No Debt Vote Without Health Law Concessions
House Speaker John Boehner on Sunday said he will not reopen the federal government or vote to refinance it until President Obama makes concessions on repealing parts of the new health care law. The White House hit back, saying Obama is willing to negotiate over the budget but not until the government reopens and Republicans drop the health care fight. Some cracks are appearing in the GOP stance among tea-party aligned members, however.
Consumers See Big Variations In Costs And Networks
A Kaiser Health News analysis shows that a buyer’s home county may make a big difference in the insurance options they can choose from on the new online insurance marketplaces, while Politico reports that areas where co-op plans are offered are seeing lower prices.
Viewpoints: U.S. ‘Designed For Stalemate’; Tea Party’s Last Stand?; ‘War Over Obamacare’ Not Over
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Shutdown Spurs Relitigation Of Obamacare
Editors at the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine urge the nation’s physicians to make their views on the health law known to their congressional representatives, noting their own favorable stance, while a conservative Georgia district urges the House GOP to keep up its fight to defund the law.
Supreme Court Likely To Rule On Abortion Laws, Contraception Mandate In New Term
The Supreme Court’s new session will almost certainly see the justices rule on a number of health care-related issues including a ruling on state power to limit the use of some abortion-inducing drugs and one on Arizona’s law outlawing abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The court is also expected to rule on the health law’s mandate that all employer health plans cover contraception.
State Highlights: N.C.’s Medicaid Managed Care Plan Attracts Companies
A selection of health policy stories from New York, North Carolina, California, Virginia and Washington.
First Edition: October 7, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports detailing the ins and outs of the federal government’s online health insurance markeplace as well as the latest from Capitol Hill on the shutdown.
Boehner, Republicans Standing Ground: No End To Shutdown Until Changes To Obamacare
Meanwhile, in a rare show of bipartisanship, the House on Saturday voted 407-0 to give back pay to federal workers once the showdown ends.
Federal Insurance Marketplace Can’t Yet ‘Talk’ To State Medicaid Agencies
The health law’s marketplaces were supposed to be one-stop shops where consumers could enroll in a private health plan or in Medicaid if they qualified. But that won’t happen with the federal exchange, at least not initially.
Insurers See Trickle Of Enrollees From Obamacare Exchanges
Insurers report that a small number of people are enrolling in coverage through the federal insurance exchange, but the government has declined to release any numbers. Meanwhile, the federal government scrambles to make fixes as experts debate whether the glitches are a result of the high level of consumer interest or if other issues are at work.
States Still Wrestling With Health Exchange Bugs, Challenges
News outlets report on state health exchange operations in California, Kentucky, Maryland, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Health Law Policy Issues Grab Headlines
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel draws parallels between policies included in the health law and some of those that have historically been advanced by conservatives. Meanwhile, other news outlets revisit central issues of the overhaul, including the individual mandate, the costs of coverage borne by businesses and accountable care organizations.
GOP Rank-And-File Push To Reopen Gov’t, Eye Medical Device Tax Repeal
Some Republicans are moving away from efforts to repeal the entire health law and are turning their focus instead to repealing the health law’s medical-device tax and reopening the federal government. In the meantime, Speaker John Boehner is telling members of his party that he will not allow the federal government to default on its debt — which was slated to be the next big fight on Capitol Hill.
