Latest KFF Health News Stories
Administration Announces Details Of Marketplace Website Fix
Jeffrey Zients, who was named by President Barack Obama to watch over the repairs to healthcare.gov, told reporters Friday that it should be running well by the end of November. Here’s a sampling of the afternoon coverage.
Capitol Hill Testimony: Testing Started Too Late, Was Limited
During Thursday’s House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, contractors who work on healthcare.gov told the panel that “end-to-end” testing that should have been done months before the online insurance marketplace’s launch actually began just weeks in advance. In addition, a last-minute administration decision to require users to sign in before shopping for insurance caused the system to bottleneck.
Nearly 700,000 Applications Completed Through Online Marketplaces
The Obama administration said Thursday that 700,000 people have completed applications for coverage in the health law’s new marketplaces – a key step before people can begin shopping for insurance plans. The update came as officials responded to complaints about the numerous glitches consumers are encountering as they try to shop for health insurance.
‘Grand Bargain’ Remains Elusive; Negotiators Focus On Sequester Cuts
Democrats remain committed to raising the necessary revenue to do this by closing tax loopholes for corporations and wealthy people. Republicans continue to call for spending trims to Medicare and other entitlement programs. Meanwhile, new estimates by the Congressional Budget Office find that raising the Medicare eligibility age produces less savings than previously thought.
Early State Enrollment Numbers Show Increased Medicaid Sign-Ups
Kentucky and New York release figures showing that a large majority of people signing up for coverage under the health law are qualifying for the federal-state program for low-income residents, often because they don’t have to pay anything to immediately enroll. Meanwhile, Arkansas says more than 62,000 people have been approved for that state’s innovative Medicaid program.
Clearer Obamacare Coverage Picture Developing For Specific Groups Of Americans
News outlets look at what the health law means for coverage: Insurers are dropping some plans, state denial of a Medicaid expansion is leaving some in a coverage gap, and farmers wait to see how the cost of their health insurance will change under the law.
Medical School Enrollment Exceeds 20,000 For First Time
The number is 2.8 percent higher than in 2012, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Democrats’ Once United Front Fraying As Some Urge Delay In The Individual Mandate
Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Sen. Richard Blementhal, D-Conn., are the latest to joing the ranks of those who are urging this delay and who are criticizing the launch of healthcare.gov.
Sebelius Pushes Back Against Calls For Resignation
As a congressional panel probes problems with the federal health care website, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius visited an insurance call center in Phoenix, saying experts are working around the clock to fix the site. That message was repeated Thursday by officials from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during their first briefing on the repairs.
State Highlights: Texas Abortion Clinics Close As Court Fight Continues
A selection of health policy stories from Texas, New York, Kentucky, California and Virginia.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Progress Reports From Online Insurance Marketplaces Across The Country
In Texas, brokers, physicians and insurers express exasperation with the bug-ridden federal exchange website, while media reports from Maryland, Minnesota and Oregon document the challenges faced by those state-based exchanges. In California, community groups mobilize to educate people about their new insurance options.
GOP Leaders Seek More Information About Federal Health Exchange Rollout
House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and others are threatening to issue subpeonas to federal contractors that worked on healthcare.gov, as well as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, if inquiries are not answered.
Additional Regs Finalized For Health Law’s Insurance Exchanges
Meanwhile, CBS News questions whether the White House delayed the release of other rules for several months before the election — a step that could have caused delays for contractors, insurers and others.
FDA Moves To Tighten Prescribing Limits On Vicodin, Other Hydrocodone Pain Meds
The Food and Drug Administration Thursday recommended that the most widely prescribed and abused painkillers be made Schedule II drugs, which would restrict when the oft-abused narcotics can be prescribed, and by whom.
Research Roundup: What Workers Know About Health Care; Screening Harms
This week’s studies come from The New England Journal of Medicine, the National Business Group on Health, JAMA Internal Medicine, the Journal of Hospital Medicine and JAMA Psychiatry.
First Edition: October 25, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports and analyses of yesterday’s Capitol Hill hearing, which featured website contractors talking about the troubled rollout of healthcare.gov.
White House To Give Consumers Extra Time To Buy Coverage Before Facing Penalty
The Wednesday announcement gave people an extra six weeks — until March 31 — to comply with the health law’s requirement that they enroll in a health plan.
Hearing On Healthcare.gov Billed As Oversight, Likely To Focus On Blame
Among those who will appear before the congressional panel will be Cheryl Campbell, senior vice president of CGI Federal Inc. She will likely be asked about the company’s involvement in the bungled rollout of the online enrollment process.
Insurers Huddle At The White House; Talk Health Exchange Technical Difficulties
About a dozen CEOs from major insurance companies met with administration officials to address the online marketplace’s flaws, especially those related to generating the enrollment files that the insurers receive.
