Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Obamacare Enrollment Begins Today
Americans can start signing up Friday for health care coverage offered through the Affordable Care Act marketplace for 2025, days before a presidential election that could threaten eligibility and raise costs for millions of those in the program. The future of ‘Obamacare’ has emerged as a key issue in the closing days of the presidential campaign, with a top GOP leader promising this week to overhaul the program should Republican Donald Trump win the presidency. (Seitz, 10/31)
When Camila Bortolleto was 9 years old, her parents brought her from Brazil to the U.S. Bortolleto’s parents are undocumented, but in 2013 she was approved for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allowed her to get a job and, with it, job-based health insurance. ... DACA recipients have been barred from receiving government-funded health insurance. That changed Friday, when tens of thousands of DACA recipients became able to sign up for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act for the first time. (Lovelace Jr., 11/1)
Republican-led states historically opposed to the Affordable Care Act are seeing an influx of health insurance options for 2025 as insurers see a new market opportunity. Centene, Elevance Health, UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare and Oscar Health are among the companies with large businesses selling individual coverage, also known as Obamacare, via the government’s healthcare.gov exchange. The new products from these health insurers will debut Friday, the first day of open enrollment, which runs to December 15 for coverage that starts January 1, 2025. (Japsen, 10/31)
Many people may consider high deductible health insurance plans that offer lower monthly premiums – the amount one pays the insurance company for the policy – but have higher deductibles than traditional HMO and PPO plans. High deductible plans have become more appealing over the last decade as health care costs and premiums have risen, experts say. Nearly 30% of workers with health insurance enrolled in high deductible plans in 2023, compared to 20% in 2013. (Harris Bond, 10/31)
