Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nearly 17 Million Americans Gained Coverage Through Health Law, Study Shows
As congressional Republicans move toward another vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act, new evidence was published Wednesday about the dramatic expansion of insurance coverage made possible by the law. Nearly 17 million more people in the U.S. have gained health insurance since the law's major coverage expansion began, according to a study from the Rand Corp., a Santa Monica nonprofit research firm. (Levey, 5/6)
As a result of the landmark health-reform law known as the Affordable Care Act, nearly 17 million previously uninsured Americans now have health coverage, a new analysis reveals. (Reinberg, 5/6)
Nearly 17 million Americans got health insurance under the Affordable Care Act after the new insurance exchanges opened up, according to an independent analysis published Wednesday. (Fox, 5/6)
The Affordable Care Act has been a catalyst for a net increase of 16.9 million Americans gaining health insurance in the last two years via Medicaid expansion and subsidized private coverage with even more people accessing employer-sponsored plans. A new study by the RAND Corp., which looked at a sampling of 1,600 Americans and their 鈥渢ransitions鈥 to and from forms of health coverage between September 2013 and February 2015 and found 22.8 million Americans gained coverage. There were 5.9 million people who also lost coverage, leaving a net increase of 16.9 million, according to the analysis, published in the journal Health Affairs. (Jaspen, 5/6)
In state health law news, a study finds California's exchange offers narrower hospital networks than commercial insurers. And Kansas is set to launch its first accountable care organization -
Health plans offered through Covered California have narrower hospital networks than commercial insurance plans but they don鈥檛 appear to have lower-quality providers or differences in geographic access, according to a study published in the May issue of Health Affairs. (Vesely, 5/6)
Accountability means taking responsibility for an action or result. Lately, it鈥檚 taken on a new connotation in the field of health care. The Affordable Care Act provides a way for health care networks to get bonus payments by providing better care and keeping Medicare patients healthier through accountable care organizations that are about to have a larger presence in Kansas. (Thompson, 5/6)
Future doctors are also feeling the impact of聽ACA聽changes聽through聽the ways they are taught -
From the Medical College Admissions Test to post-graduate residencies, the way U.S. doctors are taught is changing in the wake of health care reform. (Stockey, 5/6)
