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No state signed more people up for health law coverage in the first health law enrollment period, but a sometimes faulty website and spotty customer service often frustrated the process.
There's a lot riding on these cost calculations for insurance companies, consumers and even the health law's future.
Between 2008 and 2012, multispecialty practices saw their bad debt go up 14 percent, according to a recent survey, and some have begun to change their business practices in response.
Medical debt is worrisome and embarrassing, but more importantly, it can have long-term financial consequences. Here are some tips that may be helpful to avoid or alleviate medical debt.
KHN's consumer columnist says people who qualified for premium and cost-sharing subsidies but later have earnings that put them over that limit can switch to less expensive plans.
Tight deadlines and technical challenges dampen enthusiasm among states to set up their own online insurance marketplaces.
State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler says rules will help consumers see which providers are in-network and ensure they get the coverage they have paid for.
Many of those in Florida who bought insurance plans on the health law's federal marketplace were previously uninsured -- one of the reasons premiums will likely rise in 2015, a senior executive for insurer Florida Blue says.
About 800,000 people in California are presumed to be eligible for the newly expanded program but lack final approval. For a Los Angeles hairdresser and others like her, that means medical appointments are on hold.
Patients are more likely to leave frustrated and without the tools they need to take charge of their own health after rushed visits.
KHN's consumer columnist says details about reporting insurance status have yet to be released by the government but will be part of federal tax returns next year.
President says others have been denied the law's benefits because many states haven't expanded Medicaid.
The president also announced that 35 percent of people who enrolled on the federally run healthcare.gov marketplace are under age 35.
A 39-year-old Philadelphia day care teacher, made three monthly premium payments at more than three times the subsidized rate just to make sure she was covered. And her insurance has still been canceled three times
Some of Missouri's working poor have had no dental coverage since benefits were cut in 2005.
The federal government hasn't been counting the number of people who buy non-exchange plans directly from insurance carriers -- and that number could be substantial.
The health law set national rules for appealing a denied claim, and advocates say consumers should take advantage of them.
Doctors who use the model say they can keep their costs down by avoiding the bureaucracy of the health insurance system.
KHN's consumer columnist says new federal guidance says as long as you applied during open enrollment you will not face a penalty.
Last week Congress delayed the upgrade of codes that govern the U.S. medical system. Some say this will waste billions of dollars and make cost-saving and life-saving research more difficult.
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