Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Half Empty Or Half Full: Differing Views Of Federal Health Law
By now, supporters and opponents of the Affordable Care Act often divide along 鈥済lass half full or half empty鈥 lines over similar facts, and each perspective was on display at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council on Tuesday. 鈥淲e believe coverage in general has been improved鈥 by the 2010 law, said Health and Human Services senior counselor Leslie Dach. ... His agency has estimated that the law has extended coverage to 17.6 million people .... Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, speaking after Mr. Dach, pointed to Congressional Budget Office estimates suggesting that as many as 35 million people are still without coverage, and 27 million will be uninsured five years from now, to argue the health law has required too much to do too little. (Radnofsky, 11/17)
A new report reveals the negative impact that the state's health care "gap" is having on local communities. The report was released this week by the Tennessee Justice Center in Nashville. People in the health care gap earn too little to pay for private insurance, but don't qualify for TennCare, the state's version of Medicaid. (11/18)
It's health-plan enrollment season, and many people find the options complicated and difficult to understand. The jargon can be overwhelming, and it can lead people to make to costly mistakes or avoid care all together. (Zdechlik, 11/17)
The development of a new computer system to determine eligibility for state health and human services benefits will cost an extra $10 million in the current budget year and another $4.9 million the following year, state lawmakers were told on Tuesday. UHIP is intended to replace 20-year-old independent computer systems to allow for integrated verification of eligibility for such assistance as Medicaid, Affordable Care Act subsidies through HealthSource RI and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps). (Salit, 11/17)
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard plans to address Medicaid expansion in his Dec. 8 budget address, his chief of staff said Tuesday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the governor鈥檚 hope that he would be able to provide a recommendation one way or the other,鈥 Tony Venhuizen said. The governor鈥檚 office said expanding the program could extend eligibility to 55,000 additional South Dakota residents. And the cost to the state could range from $30 million to $33 million a year beginning in 2020. (Ferguson, 11/17)
It turns out the health law had a personal health effect for the president -
President Barack Obama hasn鈥檛 had a cigarette in 5 years. In a new interview in GQ, Mr. Obama says that he hasn鈥檛 smoked since the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act, his signature health-care law. 鈥淚 made a promise that once health care passed, I would never have a cigarette again. And I have not,鈥 he told the magazine. (Tau, 11/17)
