ACA knowledge gap greatest among uninsured

Most of the uninsured know little about the online insurance marketplaces, or that financial help is available for those with low incomes, finds a poll. Meanwhile, a West Virginia Medicaid official says new enrollees "come in with baggage," such as a history of using free drug samples that aren't covered by the program and The Washington Post looks at continuing legal challenges to the law.

Politico Pro: ACA Knowledge Gaps Loom Before Second Enrollment Season
Here comes another bit of trouble for the Affordable Care Act: Most of the uninsured don't know that open enrollment starts next month. And they don't know much about the marketplaces. Or that financial assistance is available for low-income consumers, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's latest Tracking Poll, released Tuesday. The poll found that 89 percent of the uninsured don't know that the second season of enrollment begins on Nov. 15. Two-thirds said they know "only a little" or "nothing at all" about the marketplaces or exchanges and over half (53 percent) of the uninsured don't know about the subsidies (Villacorta, 10/21).

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Uninsured Still Know Little About Health Law As 2nd Enrollment Period Draws Near
Health law? What health law? Almost nine of 10 uninsured Americans – the group most likely to benefit -; don't know that the law's second open enrollment period begins Nov. 15, according to a poll released Tuesday. Two-thirds of the uninsured say they know "only a little" or "nothing at all" about the law's online insurance marketplaces where they can buy coverage if they don't get it through their jobs. Just over half are unaware the law might give them financial help to buy coverage, according to a new poll (Carey, 10/21).

Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette: New Medicaid Patients 'Come In With Baggage'
With 155,000 people added to West Virginia's Medicaid program following a major expansion, the state's family practice doctors are seeing more patients whose medical care requires a complete overhaul, a state Medicaid official told lawmakers Monday. "The problem is patients who come from an uninsured status to a suddenly insured status frequently come in with baggage," said Dr. James Becker, medical director for West Virginia's Medicaid program. Some new Medicaid patients show up at doctors' offices with medical treatment plans that don't comply with program standards. Other patients are taking free drug samples not on the Medicaid program's preferred medication list. Becker said primary care doctors are helping patients switch gradually to state-approved prescription drugs (Eyre, 10/20).

The Washington Post's Wonkblog: How The Supreme Court Could Still Wreak Havoc On Obamacare
Obamacare may not be the political issue it was this time last year, when a faltering Web site threatened to derail the program, but that doesn't mean it's in the clear. Ongoing legal challenges to one aspect of the law could still put its coverage expansion in serious jeopardy. The dispute has to do with whether the subsidies can be provided through public health insurance marketplaces in states that refused to set up their own, instead leaving the job to the feds. The administration and Obamacare supporters say the law was designed to provide premium subsidies to all states, regardless of who runs the marketplace (Millman, 10/21).

Fiscal Times: Ebola: Obamacare's Ultimate Pre-Existing Condition
With the new Obamacare enrollment period scheduled to begin on November 15, here's an intriguing question: If you're one of the rare Americans to have the misfortune of contracting Ebola, can you apply for a new insurance policy on one of the government-run health exchanges without being rejected (Pianin and Ehley, 10/21)?