Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: October 30, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about how health law complications are quickly moving beyond problems with the healthcare.gov website to include other issues.
Top Official Faces Tough Questions On Health Law Website’s Bumpy Rollout
Tesitfying before the House Ways and Means Committee, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner apologized for the website’s difficulties and faced tough questioning from members of the panel. Here’s a sampling of the afternoon news coverage of the hearing.
Health Plan Cancellations: White House’s Next Set Of Challenges
News coverage is focusing on the notion that a large percentage of people who currently have individual health coverage are receiving cancellation notices because their plans don’t meet the standards created by the health law. Many of these people, according to reports, will face “sticker shock” with their new insurance. A critical emerging question is whether the Obama administration expected this scenario.
Healthcare.gov’s Technical Problems Persist Even As Some Hiccups Are Fixed
For instance, the troubled healthcare.gov was recovering Monday from an outage caused by one of the companies supporting the site.
States Struggle With Enrollment Data, Outreach To Minority Populations
News outlets report on state health exchange developments in Colorado, Maryland, California and Minnesota.
CMS Head Tavenner Set To Testify Tuesday About Healthcare.gov On Capitol Hill
Republican lawmakers on Tuesday will question Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner over healthcare.gov’s troubled rollout, taking the stage in a debate that could bolster their political fortunes on the health law.
Medicare Part B Premium Costs Will Hold Steady in 2014
For the upcoming year, premiums will be $104.90 a month. In 2013, beneficiaries experienced a $5-per-month increase.
Obama’s Labor Allies Sitting On Sidelines Of Health Care Rollout
Unions, which were disappointed in an administration decision to keep a tax on their group health plans, are not jumping in to help the White House in the battle to get the public signed on to the law. Meanwhile advocates and insurers are spending time with general messaging about the health care law until the marketplace website is working.
What Would A Mandate Delay Mean For Insurers, The Health Law
As talk continues over possibly putting off parts of the health law, news outlets look at what delaying the mandate that nearly all Americans have health insurance could do to insurers and just how smart the move really would be — despite the seemingly good politics of a delay.
Administration Officially Extends Deadline For Health Insurance Sign-Up
The AP reports that “previously you had to sign up by the middle of February, guaranteeing that your coverage would take effect March 1, in order to avoid fines for being uninsured.”
Federal Judge Blocks Parts Of Texas Abortion Law
A federal judge in Texas Monday partially blocked an abortion law there that would have required abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals in order to perform the procedure — a move that abortion rights advocates say would have shuttered nearly all the state’s abortion clinics. The judge also blocked part of the law that restricted the use of medication-induced abortion. Law proponents plan to appeal.
The New York Times examines how Gov. John Kasich, once a Republican leader in Washington, has defied the party orthodoxy on Medicaid. And Politico looks at the large number of Medicaid enrollments.
State Highlights: Ala., Catholic Media Group File New Lawsuit
A selection of health policy stories from Alabama, California, Texas and Massachusetts.
A selection of editorials and opinions on health care from around the country.
First Edition: October 29, 2013
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including previews of a Capitol Hill hearing that will feature Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serivces Administrator Marilyn Tavenner.
Website Problems Cast New Doubts On Obama’s Vision
President Barack Obama has struggled throughout his presidency to convince the American public that the government can be used to address seemingly “intractable” problems and make transformational changes, but the recent difficulties with healthcare.gov could amount to a serious test to this philosophy.
Administration Announces Website Will Be Fixed By November
Even as U.S. officials and the contractors they hired delve into the online marketplace’s problems, issues arise in paper and phone applications too. Meanwhile, the familiar photo on the website is gone.
Delaying Coverage Mandate Not A Simple Idea
News outlets examine the political and policy issues involved in delaying the health law’s requirement that almost everyone have health insurance.
State Exchange Updates: Football Marketing, Slow Starts And Calif.’s Litmus Test
News outlets provide updates on state health insurance exchanges in Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota and California, the state that many believe will provide a litmus test on how, and if, the state-based exchanges can work elsewhere.
IRS Offers Preliminary Glimpse Of How Many People Were Able To Use Healthcare.gov
According to the Internal Revenue Service, the federal government has delivered 330,000 premium subsidy calculations to people who have gotten far enough to find out whether they qualify for health insurance subsidies. Meanwhile, CNN looks deeper into some of the numbers currently being quoted.
