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Obama Administration Hoping 800K Enroll By End Of November

By Phil Galewitz November 5, 2013 KFF Health News Original

About 800,000 people are expected to enroll in the new online health insurance marketplaces by the end of November, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner said Tuesday at a congressional hearing. A CMS official said later that estimate includes people signing up for Medicaid as well as private insurance. In a testimony […]

Study Points To “Imbalance” In Spending On Doctor Training

By Phil Galewitz November 4, 2013 KFF Health News Original

Florida and New York have roughly the same population, but New York has five times as many Medicare-sponsored residency training positions and seven times the Medicare funding graduate medical education. The numbers give a glimpse into the “imbalance” in how Medicare distributes its $10 billion a year for graduate medical education (GME), according to a study […]

Live Blog: Exchanges Launch, Government Shuts Down

By Stephanie Stapleton October 1, 2013 KFF Health News Original

It’s Oct. 1, which means that the online insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act are launching. But it also means that the start of the new federal fiscal year was marked by a government shutdown. KHN helps you make sense of the day’s developments on this live blog and with our coverage of […]

28,000 Sign Up For Health Insurance Through California’s Exchange

By Anna Gorman October 8, 2013 KFF Health News Original

More than 16,000 applications on behalf of 28,700 people have been completed through the state’s insurance marketplace, Covered California, officials announced Tuesday. Executive Director Peter Lee said 16,311 applications, some representing several family members, were completed between Oct. 1 and Oct. 5 and another 27,305 are in process.  Lee did not specify how many of […]

Administration Says 700,000 Have Applied For Obamacare Coverage

By Phil Galewitz October 24, 2013 KFF Health News Original

The Obama administration said Thursday that 700,000 people have completed applications for coverage in the health law’s new marketplaces — a key step before people can begin shopping for insurance plans. But a spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services refused to break out how many of these applicants came through the 14 state-run […]

In Some States, Most Early Marketplace Enrollees Qualify For Medicaid

By Phil Galewitz October 22, 2013 KFF Health News Original

In several states, most of the people enrolling through new online insurance marketplaces are signing on to Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for the poor. The reason? Many of the uninsured are poor, and applicants don’t have to pay anything to sign up for Medicaid. Shoppers applying for private health coverage through the marketplace […]

After 63 Tries, Reporter Creates Account On Federal Health Exchange

By Phil Galewitz October 17, 2013 KFF Health News Original

After 17 days and 63 attempts, I  finally made it.  I was able to create an account on the federal health insurance exchange at http://www.healthcare.gov — a task which has frustrated millions of Americans. But as soon as I signed in with my name, address and social security number, I got thrown a trick question as […]

States’ Medicaid Decisions Cost Community Health Centers

By Phil Galewitz October 16, 2013 KFF Health News Original

Community health centers will pay a steep price for states’ decisions not to expand Medicaid under the federal health law. A new study by George Washington University researchers estimates that 518 health centers in the more than two dozen states not expanding Medicaid will lose out on $555 million next year because their uninsured patients won’t […]

Report: 5.2 Million Adults Will Fall Into ACA Coverage Gap Next Year

By Phil Galewitz October 16, 2013 KFF Health News Original

About 5.2 million poor, uninsured adults will fall into the “coverage gap,” created by 26 states choosing not to expand Medicaid under the federal health law next year, according to a study released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.) These people are projected to have incomes too high to qualify […]

Healthcare.gov Offers New Shopping Feature — Sort Of

By Phil Galewitz October 11, 2013 KFF Health News Original

With consumers in 36 states struggling to access a federal exchange website to compare health plans, the Obama administration launched a new online tool Thursday that lets users see premium estimates by state, health plan and two age categories. One of the biggest criticisms of healthcare.gov was that consumers had to create an account before they could even look to see what […]

Hawaiians Still Unable To Shop On State Exchange

By Phil Galewitz October 10, 2013 KFF Health News Original

Hawaii, President Barack Obama’s birthplace, has the only online health insurance marketplace that has not yet launched. Ten days after the Hawaii Health Connector was supposed to allow consumers and small employers to shop and enroll for coverage, officials are using paper applications and referring people to insurers’ websites to check prices.  About 100,000 people are uninsured in Hawaii. It is […]

N.Y. Exchange Says 40,000 Have Applied For Coverage

By Phil Galewitz October 9, 2013 KFF Health News Original

New York’s online insurance exchange on Tuesday said more than 40,000 people have completed applications for coverage so far, though not all have chosen a health plan. Officials from the exchange, called NY State of Health, said these applicants were found eligible to buy a health plan. Nationally, nearly 80,000 people have applied for coverage in the […]

Why Some Veterinarians Have a Bone To Pick With Obamacare

By Phil Galewitz October 8, 2013 KFF Health News Original

Dr. Douglas Aspros says the federal health law is increasing his costs to buy medical equipment, which he has no choice but to pass onto his patients — most whom are uninsured. None of Aspros’ patients, though, will benefit from the law’s expansion of  coverage.  Aspros, you see, treats dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, parrots and other […]

Report: Even States Not Expanding Medicaid Will See Surge In Spending, Enrollment

By Phil Galewitz October 7, 2013 KFF Health News Original

Medicaid enrollment is expected to surge by nearly 12 percent next year in states expanding the program under the health law, but even states that will not expand eligibility project a 5 percent jump in the number of people enrolled in the state-federal health insurance program for the poor, according to a new report issued Monday. Total federal and state […]

Making Sense Of Premium Rates In Insurance Marketplaces

By KFF Health News Editors August 5, 2013 KFF Health News Original

KHN Reporter Phil Galewitz was on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal Monday where he talked about health insurance rates in states’ health law marketplaces. Read more: State Premium Watch: Pricing In The New Insurance Marketplaces KHN reporters will be returning to C-SPAN’s Washington Journal each Monday throughout the summer. Tune in each week to stay informed about the […]

Federal Insurance Marketplace Can’t Yet ‘Talk’ To State Medicaid Agencies

By Phil Galewitz October 4, 2013 KFF Health News Original

The health law’s online insurance exchanges were supposed to be a one-stop shop where consumers browsing for coverage could enroll in a private health plan or in Medicaid if they qualified. But that won’t happen with the federal exchange being relied upon by consumers in 36 states, at least not initially. The federal website won’t be […]

What’s In A (Domain) Name? Lookalike Site In Wash. Raises Concerns

By Phil Galewitz October 3, 2013 KFF Health News Original

Washington Healthplanfinder is the name of the state’s online insurance exchange. But a private insurance agency is using the domain name “washingtonhealthplanfinder.org” to sign people up for policies. Confused? State officials want to make certain consumers won’t be. “We are aware of this site and … forwarded to our Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner […]