Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
What's Working And What Isn't: A Progress Report On State Exchanges
USA Today: What Makes An Obamacare Website Work? Ask Kentucky
Kentucky's online health insurance marketplace has run pretty smoothly since Obamacare open enrollment launched Saturday, even as many others have faltered. The federal HealthCare.gov site, which melted down last year during the first launch, is still suffering a spate of problems. Washington state, which like Kentucky developed its own exchange, had to take its site offline temporarily over the weekend because tax credits were being calculated inaccurately. Several angry California residents posted comments Tuesday on Covered California's Facebook page saying they were having problems with the site. And Maryland had to revamp its website completely after last year because its software didn't work. (Ungar and O'Donnell, 11/18)
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland Health Exchange Quietly Allows Public Early Access
Officials at the Maryland health exchange had a plan: Roll out their revamped online insurance marketplace slowly and have a tech team ready to jump on problems. But unlike last year, when the site crashed the first day, open enrollment came and there haven't been any problems yet. The website, created under the Affordable Care Act to provide coverage to those who do not get insurance through their employers, functioned as it should when the officials quietly opened it to the public Monday. (Cohn, 11/18)
The Seattle Times: Lawmakers Voice Anger With Insurance Exchange's Technical Troubles
State lawmakers on Tuesday voiced their continued frustration with the technical problems still afflicting the Washington Healthplanfinder insurance exchange. On Saturday, the first day of enrollment for the second round of insurance signups on the exchange, the site was live for only a couple of hours before a technical error was discovered and the exchange was taken offline for repairs. Meanwhile, first-round problems involving the transfer of payment information from the exchange to insurance companies have not been corrected, despite assurances they would be fixed by now. (Stiffler, 11/18)
Politico Pro: States Apply For Millions More In Final Exchange Funding
The federal grant spigot that’s been around for several years to get states to set up Obamacare exchanges has been shut off, but before the last deadline Friday, more than half a dozen states rushed to get another drink. The grants have been instrumental in helping states establish their own systems, with a Congressional Research Service report showing $4.8 billion disbursed as of Oct. 14. (Pradhan, 11/18)
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Illinois Lawmakers Eye Final Attempt At State-Run Exchange
Illinois lawmakers may have one more chance to approve a state-run health insurance marketplace during the fall legislative session that starts Wednesday, and they are under pressure from an end-of-the-year deadline and a pending court decision. Supporters of creating a state-run website say the impending deadline to receive up to $300 million in federal funding plus a U.S. Supreme Court decision on tax credits due in the spring create urgency. Currently, Illinois residents purchase insurance on the national HealthCare.gov website. (Johnson, 11/18)
