Latest KFF Health News Stories
Health Exchanges By The (Application) Numbers
The Obama administration reports that about 476,000 applications have been filed through federal and state health insurance online marketplaces but has not released how many people have actually enrolled in coverage.
States Shaking Health Law Tree To Deal With What Falls Out
States are grappling with the realities of the health law: Illinois is using social media to field consumer worries over the rollout of the law even as the law brings more money — and more stress — to the state. In the meantime, the differences between exchange launches in Washington state and Oregon are examined.
Medicaid Expansion: Ohio Board To Decide On Governor’s Proposal Today
Republican Gov. John Kasich is seeking to expand Medicaid without the legislature’s approval, a move that could prompt a lawsuit. Elsewhere, the Obamacare’s Medicaid “gap” is examined and health policy experts say they expect more states will end up expanding the program.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Cancellation Notices, Uncertainty Over Doctors In New Plans Spur Concerns
News outlets report on a range of policy issues related to the health law’s implementation.
GOP Sees New Political Battleground Because Of Bumpy Rollout
Though the health law came through the most recent budget battle unscathed, its opponents view the problems with the website as a potential opportunity — both in terms of the fight to derail the law and as an election issue for the upcoming campaign cycle.
GOP Leaders Want Answers To Questions About Website Difficulties
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is among the people some congressional Republicans want to testify about what some have termed the health exchanges’ “failure to launch.”
Democrats and Republicans aren’t just fighting each other, they’re also dealing with intra-party squabbles over the latest plan to come together to find an accord to fix the nation’s budget woes. The decisions are sure to involve Medicare as a 29-member panel has until Dec. 13 to reach an agreement to present.
Va. AG: Health Law Rollout A ‘National Embarrassment’
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who is also a candidate for governor, blasted the rollout of the health law in the GOP’s weekly address this weekend. Cuccinelli callede the implementation of the law a “national embarrassment.”
State Highlights: Calif. Set To Get Health Law Long-Term Care Money
A selection of health policy stories from Massachusetts and California.
Obama To Acknowledge Troubled Rollout Of Healthcare.gov
President Barack Obama is expected to call the problems plaguing the insurance exchange’s startup unacceptable and detail efforts to fix them in an address in the Rose Garden today.
First Edition: October 21, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the latest reports about how the Obama administration plans to make the necessary fixes in the health law’s online insurance marketplace.
Republicans Attacking Sebelius On Insurance Exchange Rollout
On the Sunday talk shows, various senators called for HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to appear before a House committee.
As Budget Talks Resume, Parties May Face Tough Decisions On Medicare, Other Entitlements
With the ink hardly dry on the deal providing short-term funding to reopen the government and to raise the debt ceiling, negotiators dived into the next round of fiscal talks. Media reports cast doubt on the possibility of a grand bargain, while Medpage Today suggests the latest deal muddled the prospects for an SGR fix.
Tech Experts Say Total Overhaul Of Healthcare.Gov May Be Needed
Beyond consumers’ problems using the federal website, insurers are getting flawed enrollment data from the few who manage to sign up for plans, the Wall Street Journal reports. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that President Barack Obama was seeking “accountability” from those working to fix the glitches as tech experts suggest the site may have to be redesigned.
State Highlights: New Blue Cross Contracts For Pa. Health System
A selection of health policy stories from Indiana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and California.
Health Law Is Back In The Hot Seat
Now that lawmakers have an extension on pressing budget issues, they are refocusing attention on the health law’s “rocky rollout.” For instance, GOP leaders are pressing administration officials for answers about what’s gone wrong with the federal online health insurance marketplace.
HIPAA, Meant To Protect, Can Also Impede Information Sharing
A law meant to protect people’s medical information — HIPAA — can often stop the sharing of information among those with the conditions.
State Exchanges Report Sign-Up Successes
Although Healthcare.gov may be barely limping along, some state health insurance exchanges are completing applications and signing up thousands. News outlets also offer other developments related to the marketplaces in Kentucky, Connecticut, Oregon, California, Minnesota, Georgia and Maryland.
Medicaid ‘Coverage Gap’ Causing Anxiety In Non-Expansion States
In states that decide not to expand Medicaid under the health law, more than 5 million people may be left without coverage — and the hardest hit will be in the South. In Oregon, the expansion has already lowered the number of people there without coverage by 10 percent — in two weeks. Exchange issues are also examined in Maryland, Florida, Ohio and Alabama.
