Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Study Finds Many Marketplace Plans Don't Meet Mental Health Parity Rules
USA Today: Mental Health Coverage Unequal In Many Obamacare Plans
Insurance coverage for mental and physical illness remains unequal despite promises that Obamacare would help level the playing field, mental health advocates and researchers say. A new study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that consumer information on a quarter of the Obamacare plans that researchers examined appeared to go against a federal "parity" law designed to stop discrimination in coverage for people with mental health or addiction problems. (Ungar and O'Donnell, 3/9)
Stateline: Q&A: Could States With Federal Exchanges Easily Launch Their Own?
The Obama administration says it does not have a contingency plan if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against federal tax subsidies in King v. Burwell. But lawmakers in at least nine states are proposing backstop measures that legal experts say could work. (Vestal, 3/10)
Politico: Jeb Bush Talks Alternative To Obamacare 'Monstrosity'
Jeb Bush says that Obamacare is a “monstrosity” and wants the government to focus instead on a catastrophic coverage plan to help people who experience costly medical crises. The potential Republican 2016 presidential contender said that he doesn’t see Obamacare being repealed before President Barack Obama leaves office. But once it is, he wants to see a different plan. (Haberkorn, 3/9)
Politico Pro: Small Group Market Expansion: The Next ACA Delay?
HHS is considering yet another Obamacare delay, this time of the law’s 2016 expansion of the small group market. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the insurers’ trade association, among others, have asked HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell for a two-year delay in broadening that market to businesses with up to 99 employees. It currently includes employers with fewer than 50 workers. (Norman, 3/9)
