Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Perspectives On Health Law: Energizing Enrollment; Nonprofit Health Model Needed
Boston Globe: Donald Trump Wants To Sabotage Health Law. Here’s How To Sabotage Him.
The Trump administration has not only lopped the enrollment period in half, from 90 days to 45, but has also dramatically reduced advertising and outreach efforts. ...The intent there is obvious: Limit knowledge about the enrollment in the hopes of dampening sign-ups. ... As noted by Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, the results of this enrollment period will influence the debate over the laws future. So those who support the Affordable Care Act should do everything they can to spread the word and help make this enrollment effort a success. (11/3)
Los Angeles Times: Researchers Suggest Delusion May Be At The Heart Of Conservative Hatred Of Obamacare
This week’s open enrollment for Obamacare once again made me wonder: How can conservatives be so convinced of the healthcare law’s failure when the opposite is demonstrably clear? Obamacare is far from perfect, but it’s in no way a “disaster,” a “catastrophe” or “imploding.” ... A paper in the latest issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, published by Oxford University Press, sheds light on their thinking by observing that conservative consumers are prone to “right-wing authoritarianism” and “system justification motivation.” Those are fancy ways of saying conservatives are more willing than liberals to accept what their leaders say as true and have little appetite for rocking the boat. (David Lazarus, 11/3)
Huffington Post: Here’s Where To Get Help Choosing Obamacare Plans
If you buy health insurance on your own, rather than through an employer, picking a policy for 2018 is going to be more complicated than usual. Prices are going up for some people, coming down for others. Many areas have lost plans; some have gained new ones. And you don’t have a lot of time to sort out your options. This year’s open enrollment period is shorter than in the past. In most states it will end on Dec. 15, after just six weeks. ... Here are some of the resources and people you can consult. (Jonathan Cohn, 11/2)
Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal: Health Insurance Is Still Available Under The ACA, But You Need To Act Quickly
With all the confusion about the status of the Affordable Care Act, the Louisville Metro Board of Health would like to echo Mayor Greg Fischer’s simple reminder during a press conference this week: The ACA is still the law, and insurance in the individual marketplace under the ACA is still available. But you need to act quickly! The signup period this year began Nov. 1 and ends Dec. 15 — that’s less than half the length it was in prior years. (Louisville Metro Board of Health, 11/2)
Miami Herald: Nation Needs A Nonprofit Healthcare Model, Too
Today, healthcare costs are 18 percent of the GDP, and on a per-capita basis adjusted for currency, the United States is twice as expensive as most other First World countries, while medical outcomes place about 30th overall. Since the private-insurance model will be a significant part of our system, it is imperative that we return to the old, well-thought-out solutions to the insurance problems. We must have a competing nonprofit model — a public option. We must develop rules and regulations that ensure that insurance companies compete fairly, and manage cost and quality successfully inside their revenue stream, and not just selectively insure people whose cost will be lower than their premiums. (Charles C. Wilhelm, 11/2)
