Latest KFF Health News Stories
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.
CBS Finds Misleading Prices On Federal Marketplace ‘Shop And Browse’ Feature
News outlets give deeper detail on the continuing problems with the federal government’s online insurance system.
Dems Grow Frustrated With Obamacare Website, Impact On Broader Law
Even some Obama allies are calling for major changes — as well as someone’s firing — after the technically flawed rollout of the health law’s online insurance marketplace. Democrats are also worried about what the problems could do to support for the broader law, and some are even calling for a delay to a mandate that Americans buy insurance.
GOP Reconsidering Strategy On Health Law Fight
House Republicans are seeking to shift public attention from a government shutdown over the health law to problems in the marketplace website with hearings on the issue. But GOP Senate and House leaders do not seem to have a consensus on tactics for their overall efforts on the law.
Health Law Opponents Queue Up New Ad Campaign
The new ads, from the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, target individual members of Congress.
States Report Vastly Differently Obamacare Enrollment Experiences
Navigators in states relying on the federal website to enroll people in coverage are focused on education while they wait for fixes, while officials in states like New York and Washington with functional websites are reporting high demand and enrollment. Meanwhile, consumer advocates express skepticism about directing people in federal exchange states to call centers as a way to enroll.
Hill Panel Seeks To Put Price Tag On Website, But Some Estimates May Be Too High
A tally from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform suggests HHS spent between $400 million and $600 million to build the troubled website, but The Washington Post Fact Checker and a government watchdog group say the true cost may be much lower.
Health Law Fails To Bring Competition To Rural Areas
The New York Times examines the effects of the law on prices of coverage in rural areas while KHN details how therapists may be forced to move away from their solo practices.
State Highlights: Va. Gov. Candidates Differ On Mental Health System
A selection of health policy stories from Virginia, California, Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Texas.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Will Obamacare Website Be Able To Transfer Medicaid Enrollment Data?
Politico raises questions about whether the transfer of Medicaid enrollment data to 36 states participating in the federal exchange will go smoothly Nov. 1 when it’s slated to begin. The Los Angeles Times looks at how Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s decision to pursue Medicaid expansion in defiance of the right wing of his party may affect his political future.
A Closer Look At HHS Sec. Sebelius’ Health Law Role
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ role in the problems of the health law’s insurance marketplace and the subsequent calls for her ouster are examined. Sebelius’ absence would mean a key post in implementing Obamacare would be vacant.
