Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
IRS: 1.4M Households Failed To Properly Account For Subsidies From Health Law
About 1.4 million households that got financial help for health insurance under President Barack Obama's law failed to properly account for it on their tax returns last year, putting their subsidies at risk if they want to keep coverage. The preliminary figures were released by the IRS late Friday afternoon, a time when the government often reports unfavorable developments. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services doubted there will be a major impact. HHS believes most of the people affected no longer have health law coverage. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/8)
The federal health care exchanges are so far falling short of signing up young (and presumably healthier) workers, which may portend trouble ahead for plans sold through the Affordable Care Act. When the law was created, actuaries estimated that 40 percent of the Obamacare plans would need to be sold to people between 18 to 34 years old in order to offset higher costs tied to older (and presumably sicker) workers. (Picchi, 1/8)
Two years after Obamacare went into effect, the percentage of Americans without coverage inched up in each of the second two quarters of 2015. (Braverman, 1/8)
The third open enrollment period ends Jan. 31, and the final push has begun. An estimated 80,000 people in Milwaukee County were uninsured last year. Many of them were eligible for federal subsidies to help offset the cost of health plans sold on the federal marketplace set up through the Affordable Care Act or eligible for BadgerCare Plus, one of the state's Medicaid programs. (Boulton, 1/9)
U.S. medical device manufacturers started the new year with a windfall in the form of a two-year suspension of a controversial tax on their revenue. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the suspension could save the device industry a lot of money — nearly $5 billion. (Zdechlik, 1/11)
