Survey Shows Progress Slowing On Reducing The Number Of Americans Without Health Insurance
However, a Health Affairs report finds little evidence the health law has pushed people out of full-time employment.
The Associated Press:
Survey: US Progress On Health Insurance Stalled In 2015
Going into President Barack Obama's last year in office, progress has stalled on reducing the number of uninsured Americans under his signature health care law, according to a major survey out Thursday. (Alonso-Zalvidar, 1/7)
Marketplace:
The Effect Of Obamacare On Employment
A new report in the journal Health Affairs finds little evidence that the health care law is pushing people out of full-time work. In 2015, companies with 100 or more employees had to start offering coverage to anyone working at least 30 hours — or face fines. (Gorenstein, 1/6)
News outlets also report on the impact of shuttered health insurance co-ops in New York and Colorado —
Albany (N.Y.) Times Union/Houston Chronicle:
$200 Million Tax Hike Possible After Health Co-Op Collapse
Plagued by inadequate funds to cover their claims, Health Republic was shut down by state regulators in November. Similar scenarios have played out nationwide, with 12 of 23 co-ops closing this year.
Some have asserted that co-op rates might have been unrealistically low given the high cost of health care. Monthly costs under Health Republic were in some cases hundreds of dollars less than those of other plans. (Karlin, 1/6)
The Associated Press:
Officials: Hospitals, Doctors Owed $200M Over Failed Insurer
Hospitals and doctors told New York senators Wednesday they've got $200 million or more in unpaid bills because of last year's financial failure of the insurance cooperative Health Republic, and they want the state to step in. Other insurers and care providers who met at the Capitol also questioned the state Department of Financial Services' methods for setting insurance rates lower than Health Republic had requested and obviously needed. (Virtanen, 1/6)
The Denver Post:
Colorado Health Co-Op's Shutdown Leaving Many Uninsured
Less than half of the Colorado residents who lost their medical insurance when Colorado HealthOp folded have found new policies through the state health exchange. The numbers suggest that tens of thousands of people have decided to risk going without insurance this year instead of paying much higher prices for health coverage — although some are likely to have found policies outside the exchange. (Olinger, 1/6)
