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The health law's changing world order

News outlets report on how consumers, employers and even providers are grappling with a score of emerging issues -- ranging from health care costs and demand to the challenges of trying to understand the complexities of the marketplace.

20 Feb 2014

Highlights: Ohio gov.'s evolving stances; Conn. social services woes; abortion-ban push continues

A selection of health policy stories from Ohio, Connecticut, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, California, New York, Oklahoma, Washington, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Georgia.

19 Feb 2014

Automated Obamacare payment system months from completion

Meanwhile, California, Texas and Arizona exchanges do poorly at enrolling Latinos, while in Oregon, insurance agents and other consumer guides hope to get their first look today at an overhauled website. In Texas, a campaign targets neighborhoods with high rates of uninsured residents.

19 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 18, 2014

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jay Hancock, working in collaboration with USA Today, reports: "Congratulations. You bought insurance through one of the online Affordable Care Act exchanges, possibly after days or weeks of trying to get the site to work. Don't relax. Joining the plan is only the first challenge. Now you have to understand it. Policies sold through the online portals -- to more than 3 million people so far -- cover essential benefits and put a cap on your out-of-pocket medical costs. But you need to follow the rules" (Hancock, 2/17).

18 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: Parsing Obamacare numbers; experts on long-term care insurance; French cancer care

The monthly announcement of Obamacare's enrollment figures has become an exercise in confirmation bias, starting with the administration itself. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius noted the "encouraging trends" in yesterday's release, while House Speaker John Boehner opted to highlight its "embarrassing failures." ... The only debate worth having is how to improve enrollment. ... enrollment numbers for Obamacare aren't some referendum on the president's popularity or lack thereof. They're the best way to tell whether the law is working as planned -- and how to adjust if it isn't (2/13).

17 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: Obama's 'cavalier approach' to health law; CBO report's job forecast isn't bad news

The Obama administration on Monday announced that it was delaying, once again, enforcement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) "employer mandate." Yes, Republicans have done everything they can to impede implementation of this law.

13 Feb 2014

Political cartoon: 'The Healthy Alternative?'

Kaiser Health News provides a fresh take on health policy developments with "The Healthy Alternative?" by Jimmy Margulies.

11 Feb 2014

On Capitol Hill, some debt limit solutions include 'doc fix'

In other congressional news, health insurers are upping their efforts to fight Medicare Advantage cuts. A handful of bargaining ideas have emerged, with a proposal to restore recently cut military benefits in exchange for a one-year extension as a leading option. Other ideas, such as tying a debt-limit extension to the "doc fix," which would alter the way doctors are reimbursed for Medicare treatments, are in the mix.

11 Feb 2014

Budget issues begin to cloud outlook for state exchanges

The Associated Press reports that questions are emerging about how these online marketplaces will operate under the current financing model. Also, the latest news on exchanges from California, Oregon and Florida.

10 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 10, 2014

Today's headlines include stories about the health law's coverage gap.

10 Feb 2014

Viewpoints: Health law distorting--or 'undistorting' the labor market; gas stations should follow CVS' lead; ways to fight heroin

On Wednesday, Douglas Elmendorf, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, said the obvious: losing your job and choosing to work less aren't the same thing.

10 Feb 2014

'Risk corridors' become key GOP anti-health law talking point

During a hearing of the House Oversight And Government Reform Committee, Republicans tagged this provision as an insurance industry bail-out despite Congressional Budget Office projections cited by Democrats that it ultimately will collect billions of dollars from insurers rather than paying them money.

9 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 6, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about how the day-after debate about the Congressional Budget Office's updated health law projections played out on Capitol Hill.

6 Feb 2014

CBO projections find health law's increased access to health care could lead many to quit work or reduce hours

The Congressional Budget Office report, released Tuesday, which updated estimates regarding how many people will be able to gain health insurance without necessarily having a job, became an immediate political flashpoint and reignited the political debate surrounding the health law.

6 Feb 2014

GOP hammers "risk corridors" as bailout; Democrats worry about explaining law

Republicans are trying to tie a vote raising the debt ceiling to repealing the health law's "risk corridors," which help mitigate insurer risk. In the meantime, President Obama faces some pushback on the law's rocky rollout from his own party.

6 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 5, 2014

Today's headlines include stories detailing a new Congressional Budget Office report that found 2 million people who relied on a job for health insurance will quit working, reduce their hours or stop looking for a job because of new benefits from the health law.

5 Feb 2014

GOP campaigns against health law in Mass., Florida races

Republican candidates criticize Democratic opponents for their embrace of the health law in a closely contested congressional matchup in Florida and in several races in Massachusetts.

5 Feb 2014

First Edition: February 4, 2014

Today's headlines include progress reports on health exchanges in Washington state and New York as well as poll results on Virginia's Medicaid Expansion.

4 Feb 2014

GOP considers tying debt-limit deal to repeal of part of health law

House Republicans are considering linking their support for raising the national debt to a repeal of the health law's risk corridors, which helps mitigate risk for insurers. In other news, lawmakers continue to weigh proposals to change how Medicare pays doctors and the House health appropriations subcommittee gets many new Republican faces.

4 Feb 2014

Poll: Health law support declining among the uninsured

The Kaiser Family Foundation's monthly tracking poll found that 47 percent of the uninsured said they have unfavorable views of the law -- an increase since December. Most were also unaware of many of the law's benefits.

30 Jan 2014