Sebelius: Exchanges will strengthen employer health coverage

The health and human services secretary told Senate Finance Committee members she expects health insurance exchanges to give employers another option to provide coverage to workers. In the meantime, HHS is touting newly covered preventive services it says 86 million Americans have used.

Modern Healthcare: Sebelius Sees Exchanges Bolstering Employer Coverage
A year and a half before HHS plans to begin enrolling people in state and federal health insurance exchanges, it remains unclear how many employers will drop their employee coverage due to that option, said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. In testimony before the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday on the administration's fiscal 2013 budget proposal, Sebelius said she expects the coming insurance marketplaces to bolster employer-sponsored coverage by allowing those companies to buy coverage there (Daly, 2/15).

CQ HealthBeat: HHS Officials Tout Health Care Law Preventive-Services Results
In their continuing effort to highlight the benefits of President Obama's health care overhaul, Health and Human Services officials announced Wednesday that in 2011, an estimated 86 million Americans took advantage of the prevention coverage improvements in the measure. Among those enrolled in private health insurance plans, 54 million received at least one new preventive service. The health care law requires insurance plans to cover a variety of preventive services for free, including colonoscopy screening for colon cancer, Pap smears and mammograms for women, well-child visits, and flu shots for all children and adults (2/15).