Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Healthcare.gov Re-Enrollment Could Lead To Pocketbook Surprises For Consumers
In a twist, an influx of lower-priced health plans on HealthCare.gov could lead many Americans to pay more for coverage next year thanks to smaller insurance tax credits. A handful of insurers in 14 states are offering aggressively low premiums on the federal insurance enrollment site, which reopens Saturday, in a bid to undercut big rivals who snapped up customers last year. (Radnofsky, 11/13)
Now that the midterm elections – featuring ObamaCare as a key issue – are over, the big question is what’s next for the president’s health care plan. (Angle, 11/12)
More than 7 million people have signed up for private health insurance under the system introduced last year for those who were uninsured or had policies considered substandard. What happened to them since has varied greatly. Many have been happy with their new insurance, according to polls. Others are encountering a variety of snags — high premiums, telephone runarounds or difficulty getting care. Together their experiences provide a glimpse of how the largest social program launched since Medicare has worked out for the people involved. (11/13)
The nonprofit group charged with bringing uninsured Americans into ObamaCare's exchanges raised $7 million less to support its efforts this year than during the buildup to the healthcare law's rollout in 2013. Enroll America announced that it has $20 million to spend on outreach for the 2015 sign-up period beginning Saturday. The group touted more than $27 million in fundraising at this time last year. (Viebeck, 11/12)
Other reports take a look at small businesses' attitudes toward the health law as well as how the overhaul is impacting rural hospitals -
Small business owners are less angst-ridden about health care than you might think. Health care costs are in second place among owners' major concerns in a survey released Thursday by Bank of America. Seventy-two percent cited health care costs as a big concern, down from 74 percent in a similar survey in the spring. The No. 1 concern was the effectiveness of government leaders, cited by 74 percent versus 75 percent in the spring. (Rosenberg, 11/13)
Since the beginning of 2010, 43 rural hospitals — with a total of more than 1,500 beds — have closed, according to data from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program. The pace of closures has quickened: from 3 in 2010 to 13 in 2013, and 12 already this year. Georgia alone has lost five rural hospitals since 2012, and at least six more are teetering on the brink of collapse. Each of the state's closed hospitals served about 10,000 people — a lot for remaining area hospitals to absorb. The Affordable Care Act was designed to improve access to health care for all Americans and will give them another chance at getting health insurance during open enrollment starting this Saturday. But critics say the ACA is also accelerating the demise of rural outposts that cater to many of society's most vulnerable. These hospitals treat some of the sickest and poorest patients — those least aware of how to stay healthy. Hospital officials contend that the law's penalties for having to re-admit patients soon after they're released are impossible to avoid and create a crushing burden (O'Donnell and Unger, 11/12)
