Latest KFF Health News Stories
Minnesota Marketplace’s Latino Outreach Events Get Off To A Slow Start
An information session at a beauty salon in the heart of St. Paul’s Latino community helps clear up confusion but yields no enrollments so far.
Short-Term Plans Can Skirt Health Law Requirements
Some consumers may be attracted to these policies, which can run several months or as long as 364 days, because the premiums are lower.
My Other Pre-Existing Condition: Unstable Insurance
After bouncing through seven insurers in 13 years, a freelance writer hopes the system will keep him covered for good.
Choral Director May Be First Healthcare.gov Enrollee In Philadelphia Area
“You are definitely enrolled,” the director was told after a lengthy signup process. But she is still awaiting confirmation from Independence Blue Cross.
Pennsylvania Governor Talks Up Plan To Expand Medicaid His Way
Only about half the states so far are planning to expand Medicaid coverage to thousands of low-income adults. Pennsylvania’s Republican governor has a plan to do that, with caveats.
Zients Vows Healthcare.gov Will Work Smoothly By End Of November
A subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, which built the federal data hub, will oversee the fixes.
A Reader Asks: I Don’t Have Children, So Why Do I Have To Buy Pediatric Dental Insurance?
Insurance columnist explains that the essential health benefits that all new individual and small-group health plans must offer reflect a core package that experts thought everyone should have access to.
Lawmakers Challenge Healthcare.gov Contractors On Website Problems
For more than four hours in a Capitol Hill hearing Thursday, House Energy and Commerce Committee members grilled contractors who helped build the health law’s problem-plagued online insurance marketplace. KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey and Politico Pro’s Jennifer Haberkorn discuss the next steps.
Health Law Brings Changes In How Therapists Do Business
Mom-and-Pop shops give way to large group practices that often accept discounted rates from insurers.
Are Federal Call Centers Up To The Task Of Enrolling Millions In Health Plans?
Despite the president’s urging that frustrated consumers use call centers, advocates say they’re not “a realistic alternative” for comparing and selecting coverage.
The health law gives consumers until March 31 to sign up for health insurance, but it may be weeks before coverage begins. So the administration says it will not penalize anyone who signs up by that date.
Online Insurance Brokers Stymied Selling Obamacare Policies
Websites like eHealthInsurance.com that were planning to start selling new, subsidized Obamacare policies on Oct. 1 still can’t offer them to customers.
New Health Policies Will Expose Many Missourians To Higher Premiums, More Risk
Using health law subsidies, many will be able to afford health coverage for the first time. But the insurance they’ll be buying comes with caveats.
Readers Ask About HSAs, Infertility Treatment And The Consequences Of Not Buying Insurance
Consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers questions about the insurance landscape under the new health law.
Obama Seeks To Reassure Consumers Frustrated With Healthcare.gov
“Nobody is madder than me” about the problems consumers have had with the federal insurance marketplace, Obama said in a Rose Garden speech, “which means it’s going to get fixed.”
Texas Doctors, Hospitals Don’t Know If They’re In Or Out Of Obamacare Plans
Many physicians and hospitals have been unable to determine which health plans offered in the health law’s insurance marketplace include them in their provider networks.
Thousands Of Consumers Get Insurance Cancellation Notices Due To Health Law Changes
Insurers say the old policies fail to meet the law’s requirements, but some consumers complain about being forced to buy more expensive policies.
In Washington state, nearly 25,000 residents have signed up for coverage in the exchange’s first two weeks, whereas in Oregon, no one has been able to enroll through its website, although low-income residents have been able to sign up for Medicaid without the site.
Affordable Care Act Brings More Money, More Stress To Illinois Clinics
Health centers expand thanks to federal grants, but increased competition could hurt smaller facilities.
What’s The Deadline To Avoid A Penalty For Not Having Insurance?
The simple answer is that under the health law’s individual mandate, American must have insurance by March 31. But unfortunately it’s not that straightforward.
