Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Shoppers Likely To Find Lower Premiums On 2022 ACA Marketplace Plans
CNN: Lower Premiums, More Choices On Obamacare Exchanges For 2022 As Democrats Battle To Extend Generous Subsidies
Consumers shopping for health coverage on the federal Affordable Care Act exchanges can likely find lower premiums and more choices for 2022 -- as well as generous government assistance, according to a Biden administration report released Monday. The upcoming open enrollment period, which begins November 1 and runs through January 15, is the first for President Joe Biden, who is seeking to restore the landmark health reform law after the Trump administration spent four years trying to undermine it. (Luhby, 10/25)
Indianapolis Business Journal: Anthem Jumps Back Into Indiana ACA Marketplace Three Years After Departing
Hoosiers looking for health insurance on the Obamacare marketplace will have another big option next year. Indianapolis-based Anthem Inc., which quit the program three years ago after racking up huge losses, is jumping back in under a partnership with three hospital systems covering 45 of Indiana’s 92 counties. (Russell, 10/25)
More news on health care costs and access —
KHN: Analysis: A Procedure That Cost $1,775 In New York Was $350 In Maryland. Here’s Why
For the past 18 months, while I was undergoing intensive physical therapy and many neurological tests after a complicated head injury, my friends would point to a silver lining: “Now you’ll be able to write about your own bills.” After all, I’d spent the past decade as a journalist covering the often-bankrupting cost of U.S. medical care. But my bills were, in fact, mostly totally reasonable. That’s largely because I live in Washington, D.C., and received the majority of my care in next-door Maryland, the one state in the nation that controls what hospitals can charge for services and has a cap on spending growth. (Rosenthal, 10/26)
KHN: Direct Primary Care, With A Touch Of Robin Hood
Britta Foster and Minerva Tiznado are in different leagues as far as health care is concerned. Foster, who married into the family that owns the $2.5 billion Foster Farms chicken company, has Blue Shield coverage as well as a high-octane primary care plan that gives her 24/7 digital access to her doctor for a $5,900 annual fee that also covers her husband and two of their children. Tiznado is from Nayarit, Mexico, and has no insurance. She gets free primary care visits and steep discounts on prescription drugs, lab tests and imaging. (Wolfson, 10/26)
