Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Oscar Health's Struggles Became A Case Study In The Age Of Obamacare
Oscar Health was going to be a new kind of insurance company. Started in 2012, just in time to offer plans to people buying insurance under the new federal health care law, the business promised to use technology to push less costly care and more consumer-friendly coverage. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to build something that鈥檚 going to turn the industry on its head,鈥 Joshua Kushner, one of the company鈥檚 founders, said in 2014, as Oscar began to enroll its first customers. These days, though, Oscar is more of a case study in how brutally tough it is to keep a business above water in the state marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act. (Abelson, 6/19)
Startup Oscar Insurance Corp. wants to be more than just a health insurer. The company is laying the groundwork to start a health center in New York where its members can see primary-care doctors, according to a job listing on Oscar鈥檚 website. The insurer is seeking a doctor to lead the project, with the job beginning in September. Running a clinic would be Oscar鈥檚 latest effort to adjust its strategy as it confronts massive losses on sales of Obamacare policies. The company already has been narrowing its network of doctors and hospitals in New York, and the clinic could give it more control over the care its members receive. (Tracer, 6/17)
In other health law news, reaching out to immigrants who are in the country legally is proving to be an uphill battle, exiting solicitor general Donald聽Verrilli talks about what some call his "train wreck victory" and premiums in Oregon are going up again聽鈥
Seasonal agricultural workers were just finishing a meal after a long day of planting sweet potato seeds when Julie Pittman pulled up to their camp. Pittman, a paralegal with the Farmworker Unit of Legal Aid of North Carolina, worked to get their attention. The health care law that passed in 2010 requires you to have health insurance, she said, speaking in Spanish. If you don't get it, she said, you could be fined. "Cu谩nto cuesta?" asked a worker, wanting to know the cost. In the United States legally through the H-2A visa program, these farmworkers, like most American citizens and legal residents, must be insured. But reaching them is an uphill battle. (Cancino, 6/20)
When Don Verrilli wins at the Supreme Court, he wins big. In his five years as the top lawyer representing the United States, Verrilli won cases on marriage equality, immigration law and the legality of President Barack Obama's health care law -- twice. He has also lost in big ways. (Melber, 6/17)
After a brutal two years in which they lost a collective $253.3 million, Oregon's health insurers are again seeking double-digit price hikes in 2017. As tentatively approved by state regulators, All ten companies offering individual health policies will raise rates in 2017, from 9.8 percent for Health Net Health Plan of Oregon to 17.9 percent for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon to 29.3 percent for Moda Health Plan. (Manning, 6/17)
