Insurance

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Podcast: ‘What The Health?’ Farewell, Individual Mandate

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times discuss health issues in the emerging tax bill, including the likely repeal of fines for those who fail to obtain health insurance. They also talk about the end of “open enrollment” for 2018 individual health insurance coverage.

Good Deals For Some, Sticker Shock For Others As ACA Enrollment Winds Down

KFF Health News Original

In Tennessee, an Obamacare consumer saw her rate go from $750 to just $5 a month. But a man in Maryland had to buy a less comprehensive plan to keep his costs under $1,000 a month. Income and geography determine prices for health insurance in the fifth year of Affordable Care Act coverage.

Consumers Who Froze Their Credit Reports Could Hit A Glitch Enrolling In Insurance

KFF Health News Original

The federal marketplace generally uses credit reports to help verify identities, but that doesn’t work if consumers have put a security freeze on them — as some did after the Equifax breach this year. Workarounds for this issue exist, but they make the process more time-consuming.

Sign-Up Deadline Is Friday, But Some People May Get Extra Time

KFF Health News Original

Although in most states the insurance marketplace deadline is Friday, some consumers might be entitled to a special enrollment period if their 2017 plan is being discontinued or they are from states designated by the federal government as hurricane disaster areas.

Podcast: ‘What The Health?’ Is Health Care Spending Still The Hungry, Hungry Hippo?

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Stephanie Armour of the Wall Street Journal, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Margot Sanger Katz of The New York Times discuss new health spending numbers from the federal government, as well as how the year-end legislating in Congress is being complicated by health issues.

For Marketplace Customers Who Delay, Auto-Enrollment Could Be Nasty Wake-Up

KFF Health News Original

People who have a plan from the health law’s marketplace and who don’t actively shop for a new one will be auto-enrolled on Dec. 16. But unlike past years, most people won’t be able to change those plans if they don’t like them.

Health Risks To Farmworkers Increase As Workforce Ages

KFF Health News Original

Harvesting U.S. crops has been left to an aging population of farmworkers whose health has suffered from decades of hard labor. Older workers have a greater chance of getting injured and of developing chronic illnesses.