Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Sky-High Deductibles Make Health Care Unaffordable For Some Insured
The New York Times: Many Say High Deductibles Make Their Health Law Insurance All But Useless
Obama administration officials, urging people to sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, have trumpeted the low premiums available on the law’s new marketplaces. But for many consumers, the sticker shock is coming not on the front end, when they purchase the plans, but on the back end when they get sick: sky-high deductibles that are leaving some newly insured feeling nearly as vulnerable as they were before they had coverage. (Pear, 11/14)
Elsewhere, residents in Florida, Texas and Georgia are urged to take advantage of open enrollment season -
Kaiser Health News: Obamacare Recruiters Seek Uninsured At Food Fairs And Churches
Their shared goal: Increase the number of Americans buying health plans. It won’t be easy. About 1.3 million Floridians signed up for individual coverage during the 2015 open enrollment on the online marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act. That was tops in the country – even higher than in California and Texas, which have more people. Like most states, Florida’s uninsured rate has fallen sharply – to 15 percent from 22 percent in 2013, according to Gallup. (Galewitz, 11/16)
Georgia Health News: HHS Chief Urges Atlantans To Enroll In Exchange
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell visited Atlanta on Friday to support efforts to sign up more people during the health insurance exchange’s open enrollment period. Burwell, at an enrollment assistance center, noted that Atlanta is in a challenge competition with 19 other cities to sign up the most uninsured people into the exchanges, which were created under the Affordable Care Act. (Miller, 11/13)
The Dallas Morning News: What To Know As Affordable Care Act Coverage Deadlines Approach
As deadlines approach for Texans to buy, renew or switch health plans offered through the Affordable Care Act’s state marketplace, consumers need to know about changes in prices, insurance product offerings and fines for those who forgo coverage. (Garrett, 11/15)
And in New York, three insurers agree to automatically enroll customers of the failed co-op who do not choose an alternate plan -
Politico New York: Three Insurers Agree To Take Health Republic Customers
Three insurers — Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, MVP Health Care and Fidelis Care — have agreed automatically to enroll customers from Health Republic Insurance of New York, the insolvent co-op that was ordered to wind down on Nov. 30, leaving its 200,000 beneficiaries without health insurance for December. The three companies have agreed to take those customers who do not choose their own plan by the end of the month and have agreed to credit any deductible and out-of-pocket payments Health Republic customers have made during 2015, the Cuomo administration announced Friday. (Goldberg, 11/13)
