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The architects of the Affordable Care Act thought they had a blunt instrument to force people — even young and healthy ones — to buy insurance through the law’s online marketplaces: a tax penalty for those who remain uninsured. It has not worked all that well, and that is at least partly to blame for soaring premiums next year on some of the health law’s insurance exchanges. (Pear, 10/26)

A key adviser who helped design President Obama’s signature healthcare law is calling for stricter penalties for people who choose not to pay for health insurance. “I think probably the most important thing experts would agree is we need a larger mandate penalty,” Jonathan Gruber said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday.  “That’s something I think, ideally, we would fix,” he added.  When asked later about the one adjustment he would have made to the law before it was passed, he said, "I wish the mandate penalty was stronger."  For 2016, the penalty for being uninsured is 2.5 percent of taxable income or $695, whichever is greater. (Ferris, 10/26)

Soaring insurance prices for the coming year under the Affordable Care Act place intense pressure on the next president to follow through with campaign promises for a new round of changes to the nation’s health-care system after years of bitter stalemate. The revelation this week by the Obama administration that premiums will increase by 25 percent, on average, for a popular group of plans sold through HealthCare.gov immediately became tinder for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and congressional Republicans. The lashing was nothing new. (Goldstein, 10/26)

The new enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act opens next Tuesday, and consumers in many areas could see double-digit percentage increases for premiums on average and fewer choices. PBS NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff talks to Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News and Reid Wilson of The Hill as they consider some of the options that individuals around the country are weighing. (10/26)

Four years ago, when President Obama predicted that the Affordable Care Act would result in lower health-insurance premiums, we gave him Three Pinocchios. The “Obamacare” law had not been fully implemented yet, but we reviewed nearly 10 reports from states across the country on the potential impact of the law and concluded the law’s provisions “will almost certainly increase premiums, though tax subsidies will help mitigate the impact for a little over half of the people in the exchanges.” (Kessler, 10/27)

Even in optimal circumstances, many consumers find it hard to understand their choices and pick a plan that best meets their needs on price, out-of-pocket costs, and provider network. Experts say widespread assistance from well-trained navigators and assisters could prove critical in determining whether more younger, healthier Americans sign up for coverage, thus stabilizing the ACA exchanges in 2017. Complicating the navigators' job, however, is the proliferation of insurance shopping websites with URLs similar to the federal government's official HealthCare.gov enrollment site, such as healthcare.com. After visiting such sites, consumers sometimes get flooded with sales pitches from brokers. Some of these pitches are for products that are not ACA-compliant or are not even insurance plans. (Meyer, 10/25)

The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday announced partnerships with 17 companies that will use their networks to share information about open enrollment this year. The companies, which range from driving services such as Uber and Lyft to websites such as Care.com, said they are committed to sharing information so that people can better understand their coverage options. Their businesses represent more than 15 million professionals and reach 8.5 million through their products and services, they said in a joint statement. (McIntire, 10/25)

House Republicans this week sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch seeking details on the administration’s potential talks with health insurers about settlements in lawsuits related to the Affordable Care Act. Members of the Energy and Commerce Committee sent the letter, following up on previous letters sent to the Department of Health and Human Services about the issue. The lawmakers are against the administration using taxpayer money to settle lawsuits with insurers over an Affordable Care Act program under which insurers say they are due payments. (McIntire, 10/26)