Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
States Anticipate Biden Will Bolster Health Exchanges, Medicaid
Stateline: Biden Likely To Help States Increase Health Care Access
President Donald Trump has spent four years trying to undermine the Affordable Care Act. President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to bolster the law and give states new tools to expand coverage. Among them: more money and additional guides to help people buy health insurance on the ACA exchanges; support for states that want to allow more people onto Medicaid rather than fewer; and a crackdown on health care plans that don’t offer the minimum benefits required by Obamacare. (Ollove, 11/24)
In other insurance and industry news —
AP: Employers Start Sending Workers Shopping For Health Coverage
Instead of offering one or more options, some companies are turning health insurance shopping over to employees. A federal rule change last year stoked this new approach. It allows employers to reimburse workers for coverage they bought without paying a tax penalty. The concept sends employees to individual insurance markets where they can find more choices for coverage. It also protects employers from huge annual cost spikes. But it’s a big change for workers who are used to having their employer give them benefit choices every year. (Murphy, 11/23)
Vox: Amazon Pharmacy Could Disrupt US Health Care. Here’s What To Watch For
Amazon and American health care look, at first glance, like a mismatch. Yet the 21st century’s most ruthlessly efficient retailer has been trying for several years now to gain a bigger foothold in the bloated, borderline nonsensical health system of the world’s richest nation. (Scott, 11/23)
KHN: Medicare Open Enrollment Is Complicated. Here’s How To Get Good Advice.
If you’ve been watching TV lately, you may have seen actor Danny Glover or Joe Namath, the 77-year-old NFL legend, urging you to call an 800 number to get fabulous extra benefits from Medicare. There are plenty of other Medicare ads, too, many set against a red-white-and-blue background meant to suggest officialdom — though if you stand about a foot from the television screen, you might see the fine print saying they are not endorsed by any government agency. (Wolfson, 11/24)
Yahoo Finance: Obamacare Repeal Would Be Particularly Devastating For Communities Of Color
A repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would wreak havoc for millions of Americans across the U.S., particularly in communities of color. ... “If the ACA is overturned, it will be devastating for communities of color and other marginalized groups in the U.S.,” Melissa Creary, assistant professor in health management and policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, told Yahoo Finance. “While not fully the reform needed in this country, the ACA does provide low cost or free health care coverage for millions of Americans, including POC, and has been shown to improve health at the population level. Taking it away would just exacerbate the health inequities that have been laid bare during the COVID-19 pandemic.” (Belmonte, 11/23)
