Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Marketplace Website Still Has Many 'Back End' Glitches Affecting Insurers
Behind the scenes, HealthCare.gov is still a mess. The 鈥渂ack end鈥 of the Obamacare website still isn鈥檛 properly wired to the health insurance companies. It鈥檚 slow going for health plans to make sure the 11.4 million people who have signed up end up in the right plan. Subsidy payments aren鈥檛 automated, so the insurers get payments based on estimates. And adding information like a marriage or the birth of a child is a convoluted, multi-step process. ... Instead of a swift process, health plans use clunky workarounds and manual spreadsheets. It takes time and it costs money. (Pradhan and Norman, 2/17)
The Obamacare window technically just closed this weekend, but a new round of political headaches could just be beginning for the administration. That's because it's tax season, and many Americans could soon be getting an unwelcome surprise that they owe the government a penalty for skipping health insurance coverage. Up to 6 million Americans are expected to pay a penalty for not having coverage in 2014, according to recent Obama administration projections. (Millman, 2/17)
CMS officials have yet to say if the agency will implement an open-enrollment extension for people facing tax penalties who don't have coverage, an extension several states also are considering after Washington state enacted one. Some Congressional Democrats have been urging the Obama administration to implement a special-enrollment period for tax filers facing penalties. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and 10 other senators who caucus with the Democrats, on Monday sent a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell calling for additional time to sign up for coverage. (Demko and Herman, 2/17)
The Obama administration often touts the health benefits women have gained under the Affordable Care Act, including the option to sign up for coverage outside of open enrollment periods if they鈥檙e "having a baby." But advocates complain the special insurance enrollment period begins only after a birth. As a result, uninsured women who learn they are pregnant outside of the regular three-month open enrollment period, which this year ended Sunday, can get stuck paying thousands of dollars for prenatal care and a delivery 鈥 or worse, going without care. (Galewitz, 2/18)
