Latest KFF Health News Stories
Viewpoints: Obamacare Marketplaces’ ‘First-Day Jitters’; The Need For Healthy Young Adults To Enroll
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
Gov’t Shutdown Takes Focus Off GOP’s Obamacare Opportunity
Some say Republicans missed a political opportunity Tuesday to point at the difficulties Obamacare’s new online exchanges were having because news of the government’s shutdown dominated headlines. In the meantime, Ohio has become a political battleground for fights over the health law as the state is home to both Republican House Speaker John Boehner — who is central to repeal efforts — and Gov. John Kasich, whose support for the law’s Medicaid expansion has him split from other conservatives.
Obama Admonishes Republicans On ‘Ideological Crusade’
Surrounded by beneficiaries of the federal health law, President Barack Obama blamed Republicans for the government shutdown, noting the law’s insurance marketplaces had opened for business even as most of the federal government had shut down.
New Ads, New Conservative Appeals For Obamacare Repeal
A conservative group and the National Republican Congressional Committee are aiming new ads at Democrats and Obamacare, urging the law’s repeal via radio and other avenues.
Neither Side Budging On Health Law As Gov’t Shutdown Continues
Neither Republicans nor Democrats appear ready to budge in the short-term to end a government shutdown and their impasse over funding for the health law. House Republicans are looking to pressure moderate Democrats in the Senate by sending the upper chamber a series of bills aimed at funding popular government services, but Republicans are beginning to feel the pressure building over who will get the blame for the shutdown.
First Edition: October 2, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including news reports about how the health law’s new online insurance marketplaces — glitches and all — went live at both the federal and state levels.
Obama Says Marketplaces Overwhelmed By Demand
In remarks in the Rose Garden to mark the opening of these centerpieces of the health law, the president says federal officials are working to overcome the technical problems.
Live Blog: Exchanges Launch, Government Shuts Down
Celebrity tweets, presidential remarks, computer problems, consumers enrolling, and more, in continuous updates from KHN throughout the day.
It’s Oct. 1 — Health Exchanges Go Live … Glitches And All
Despite three-and-a-half years of political intrigue and hijinx culminating with a government shutdown, this key health law provision is rolling out. Administration officials expected some glitches, but are confident in the marketplaces ultimate success. However, if the exchanges are to achieve their intended goal, people will have to sign up.
50 States, 50 Views Of Health Exchanges
Media outlets across the country spotlight the opening of federal and state-run websites that are designed to be a portal into new insurance marketplaces where those without group coverage can compare and purchase plans. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel describes a fund created by the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics to pay the premiums of those who would have been eligible for expanded Medicaid had the state opted into that health law program. The Texas Tribune spotlights potential problems as a result of state restrictions on the navigators who are supposed to act as consumer guides.
HHS Warns Of Early Hiccups As It Premieres Insurance Website
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is asking the public and press to be patient as the law unfolds.
Viewpoints: Sen. Barrasso Warns Insurance Buyers To Beware; It Will Take Time To Assess Marketplaces
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
For President Obama: A Day Combining Shutdown And The Exchanges’ Launch
President Barack Obama will meet in the Oval Office with a groups of people who will likely benefit from the health law.
NPR looks at what the federal government can learn from Massachusetts as health insurance exchanges roll out. Other media outlets check in with insurers, Wall Street traders, health care stakeholders and those who had previously been denied coverage in the individual insurance market.
As Part Of Capitol Hill Debate, GOP Seeks To Charge Congressional Employees More For Insurance
Even as House Republicans sought to eliminate federal subsidies for congressional workers, the Office of Personnel Management described how staffers would have to get insurance through small-business insurance exchanges.
Chief’s Personality Affects How Insurance Exchanges Will Work
The New York Times profiles Gary Cohen — the head of the consumer office overseeing health reform who is responsible for supervising the new online insurance marketplaces. In the meantime, doctors and other stakeholders weigh in on how the health law will unfold.
Impasse Over Health Law Leads To Federal Government Shutdown
The long-running battle to defund or derail the health law came to a head Monday when Congress failed to approve a short-term spending measure to continue funding the government. For an entrenched group of House Republicans, Obamacare is the sticking point. But a new round of polls finds public opinion doesn’t support their strategy.
Your Guides To Buying Insurance On The Health Insurance Exchanges
While Americans who get health insurance through their jobs won’t need to go there, news outlets have tips and information for consumers who may want to purchase insurance through the new exchanges.
A selection of health policy stories from New York, Iowa, California and New Hampshire.
Opinions On Shutdown: Using Obamacare Is A Sham Cause; GOP Isn’t Crazy; What’s The Endgame?
As the government moves to shut down, many experts offer their perspectives.
