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First Edition: May 9, 2014

Today's headlines include highlights from the first Senate confirmation hearing for Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President Barack Obama's pick for Health and Human Services Secretary.

9 May 2014

Insurers to House panel: Payment rates above 80% for plans purchased on health exchanges

Officials from the major insurance companies were not following themes of gloom and doom and instead told the Energy and Commerce Committee that the overhaul has not triggered a government takeover of their industry, and that their stock prices are doing well.

9 May 2014

Senate confirmation hearings begin for Obama's pick to head HHS

Today the first of two scheduled hearings will take place for Sylvia Mathews Burwell. Though she is expected to be confirmed as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, she is also expected to face some tough questions about the health law.

9 May 2014

First Edition: May 8, 2014

Today's headlines include reports from a Capitol Hill hearing featuring health insurers' testimony about their experiences with new enrollment under the health law.

8 May 2014

Insurers say most Obamacare enrollees pay first premium

But they say the eight million enrollment figure includes many duplicate signups, The New York Times reports. News outlets also report on a health law provision that extends Medicaid coverage for former foster children until they turn 26.

7 May 2014

First Edition: May 7, 2014

Today's headlines include a story noting that insurers say about 80 percent of new enrollees have paid their first premiums for new insurance coverage under the health law.

7 May 2014

Newly released enrollment data highlight last-minute sign-up surge

The Obama administration's final report on insurance enrollment under the health law offered the most complete picture so far regarding who signed up, the degree of state-by-state variation and what impact these numbers could have on rates.

5 May 2014

First Edition: May 2, 2014

Today's headlines include coverage of the latest round of health insurance enrollment data released by the Obama administration.

2 May 2014

GOP report finds two-thirds of enrollees have paid premiums

The Obama administration questioned the accuracy of the numbers, saying they do not reflect reports from insurance companies themselves, most of which have indicated that 80 to 90 percent of enrollees have paid up.

2 May 2014

Administration looking for new companies to run health marketplace

Federal officials lay out specifications for companies who will take over the website as they seek to make sure the sign-up effort does not run into repeat problems during next fall's enrollment season.

29 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 29, 2014

Today's headlines include a report that the Obama administration is looking for new talent to run healthcare.gov.

29 Apr 2014

Relatively few seek relief from the health law's individual insurance mandate

Although people can seek exemptions from this requirement to buy coverage, only about 77,000 have done so, The Washington Post reports. Meanwhile, payment issues are also in the headlines as KHN looks at insurers' efforts to set the 2015 rates for policies on the health law's marketplaces, and the New York Times examines a panel's findings about the law's effects on doctors and hospitals treating many poor patients.

29 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 28, 2014

Today's headlines include a number of stories examining the impact of the health law in various states.

28 Apr 2014

Cover Oregon poised to join federal exchange

With encouragement from the Obama administration, an Oregon panel recommended Thursday that the state pull the plug on its glitch-ridden website and switch to the federal insurance marketplace. The final decision is expected to be made Friday by its exchange board. Oregon built what is widely regarded as the worst-functioning state exchange in the nation.

26 Apr 2014

First Edition: April 25, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about a recommendation that Oregon switch its troubled health exchange from a state-run marketplace to healthcare.gov.

25 Apr 2014

CBO lowers spending forecast for states that expand Medicaid coverage

The Congressional Budget Office updated its February forecast, which pegged the cost at $70 billion over the next 10 years. The new figure puts the cost at $46 billion. In other Medicaid expansion news, Virginia's charged debate on this question appears to be spilling over to other issues before the General Assembly, Louisiana rejects expansion again and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer continues to confront opposition.

25 Apr 2014