Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Public Split On Health Law Effects, Fox Poll Finds
Fox News: Fox News Poll: Will Obamacare Ultimately Be A Good Thing Or A Bad Thing?
In the end, will ObamaCare be a good thing or a bad thing for the country? The new poll, released Thursday, finds views split 47-47 percent on that question. A year ago, more voters said it would be a bad thing by 51-42 percent. (Blanton, 2/12)
Kansas Health Institute News Service: HHS Secretary: 'We’re Open To Working With States' On Medicaid Expansion
Sylvia Matthews Burwell succeeded former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in June 2014. Before that she was director of the Office of Management and Budget. ... In a telephone interview earlier this week, she spoke with Heartland Health Monitor (HHM) about the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion and a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that challenges a key element of the ACA. Here are excerpts from that conversation. (Margolies, 2/12)
The Fiscal Times: Thousands To Get Booted From Obamacare Plans
Some 200,000 Obamacare enrollees are about to be kicked off their insurance policies after they failed to confirm that they are legally living in the United States administration officials announced Thursday. Under the health law, people enrolled in exchange policies must be able to prove legal status. (Ehley, 2/12)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Innovation Center Reviving Partnership For Patients
The CMS Innovation Center plans to revive the Partnership for Patients, the $1 billion patient-safety initiative that ended last December, and will attempt to fix a flaw in its structure that obscured the results. State hospital associations, major U.S. health systems and other companies formed so-called hospital engagement networks under the initiative and agreed to aggressive targets to reduce hospital-acquired conditions and readmissions. (Evans, 2/12)
The Boston Globe: Officials Look Into Long Health Connector Hotline Waits
The Massachusetts Health Connector will examine why its call center became so overwhelmed that more than half the callers during peak times hung up in frustration after being left on hold for too long. (Freyer, 2/13)
WBUR: Massachusetts Defines “Affordable” Health Insurance
What’s affordable when it comes to health insurance? Any figure that comes to mind right now is probably less than you actually pay every month. The federal government says Americans should be able to spend 8.05 percent of their income on health coverage this year. Massachusetts cuts low-income residents some slack. (Bebinger, 2/12)
