Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Law Co-Ops Go Toe-To-Toe With Insurance Giants
Dr. Peter Beilenson thought fighting the intractable rates of drug use and sexually transmitted diseases in Baltimore was tough. Then the former city health commissioner took on health insurance. "It's the hardest job I've had," said Beilenson, founder and CEO of Evergreen Health Cooperative, a nonprofit insurer created under the federal Affordable Care Act to offer "patient-centered" care and bring cost-curbing competition to the market. ... Fierce competition from big insurers is the biggest hurdle to the co-ops' success, executives and observers say .... But there are a host of other potential stumbling blocks, including name recognition and funding. (Cohn, 1/17)
After a sluggish start to federal health-care law sign-ups last year, Arizona is among the fastest-growing states in Affordable Care Act enrollment this year. More than 160,000 Arizona residents signed up for new health insurance coverage or re-enrolled in existing plans through the federal marketplace as of Jan. 9, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (Alltucker, 1/19)
Colorado's health exchange on Monday reported selling private health plans to 121,000 people two-thirds of the way through this year's open enrollment period. In a joint statement, Connect for Health Colorado and the state's health agency said that about 50,000 people had received coverage through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion or other pre-existing government programs, bringing the total of Coloradans covered since Nov. 15 to 171,000. (1/19)
