Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Small Business Exchange Attracts Few Customers
The Washington Post: Despite Fixes, Obamacare’s Small Business Site Still Isn’t Luring Employers. What Gives?
After a laundry list of glitches popped up last year, Obama administration officials set to work to fix the health law’s online insurance marketplace for small businesses. Now, two weeks after re-launching the federal exchange, it appears they have ironed out most of the technical problems. Now they have a different problem on their hands, one that no team of software engineers can solve: Disinterest from small employers. (Harrison, 12/3)
Health News Colorado: Health Insurers Owed $20 Million, Worker Warns Of ‘Very Low’ 2015 Exchange Sign-Ups
Snafus processing federal tax credits for 2014 health exchange customers have left Colorado insurance carriers waiting for payments totaling at least $20 million, exchange managers revealed on Monday. At the same time, an enrollment manager for Connect for Health Colorado in the western part of the state warned board members that she and fellow workers are having major problems enrolling people for 2015. The deadline to enroll for coverage that starts on Jan. 1 is Dec. 15. (Kerwin McCrimmon, 12/3)
Minneapolis Star-Tribune: MNsure Trims 2015 Enrollment Target By One-Third
MNsure is cutting its projection for commercial enrollment next year by one-third and says it will make up the lost revenue by cutting costs and spending federal grant money at a faster pace. Earlier this year, MNsure projected that about 100,000 people would buy private health plans through the state exchange by the end of 2015 — an estimate that amounted to a reduction from initial projections for commercial enrollment. (Snowbeck, 12/3)
Minnesota Public Radio: MNsure Cuts 2015 Health Plan Enrollment Projections By One-Third
MNsure on Wednesday said it was cutting by about one-third the number of people it expects will enroll in private health plans through the exchange for 2015. That means MNsure will also see a drop in revenue, although officials say they expect to end the fiscal year next June with no red ink. (Zdechlik, 12/3)
The Associated Press: Baseball Player To Be In Radio Ad For Health Care
A player for the Frederick Keys baseball team will be featured in a radio ad to urge Maryland residents to enroll in health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Maryland Health Care for All and the Frederick Keys are announcing the ad campaign on Thursday at the Keys’ stadium in Frederick. (12/4)
Kaiser Health News: Who Is Getting ACA Insurance – And Who Isn’t
A story on NPR earlier this week described the “family glitch” in the Affordable Care Act. That’s when people can’t afford their insurance at work but make too much to qualify for subsidies in the new insurance exchanges. Many of these mostly middle-income Americans will remain uninsured. It also got us wondering, who else is being left out by the health law? And who is getting coverage? (Rovner, 12/4)
In other news, giant health insurer Wellpoint changes its corporate name to Anthem -
The Associated Press: Health Insurer WellPoint Switches Name To Anthem
The nation’s second-largest health insurer has changed its corporate name to Anthem from Wellpoint to reflect a label familiar to consumers shopping for coverage. The Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer sells insurance in several states under the Anthem brand, which was the company’s corporate name before it bought WellPoint Health Networks a decade ago. It sells no plans under the WellPoint name. ... Anthem Inc. is one of the biggest players on the health care overhaul’s public insurance exchanges. These exchanges are pushing insurers to sell more coverage directly to consumers instead of through employers. (12/3)
And a Virginia official argues that expanding Medicaid could help that state close a budget gap -
Richmond Times Dispatch: Hazel Says U.S. Health Care Funds Could Narrow Va. Budget Gap
If Medicaid expansion began in Virginia on July 1, Virginia would take in more than $230 million in federal offsets that would alleviate 71 percent of the state’s $322 million budget gap, according to Bill Hazel, the state secretary of Health and Human Resources. (Cain, 12/3)
