Feds scale back tool for narrow provider networks on HealthCare.gov
The new tool will designate marketplace health plan networks as “basic,” “standard” or “broad” based on how they compare with other health plan networks in a county.
Obamacare marketplaces still aren’t cost savers, most still spend 10% of income on out-of-pocket health costs
Despite the financial assistance provided by the health law, people with modest incomes and average medical expenses have relatively heavy financial burdens for health care.
The Hidden Administrative Tasks Draining Small Practices
Small practices play a critical role in healthcare delivery, but they cannot continue to absorb ever-increasing administrative demands without consequences.
What needs to happen for Obamacare to survive 2014
The Affordable Care Act is a law intended to help the sick get the healthcare they need at a reasonable cost. But, as we’ve heard time and time again, the law itself is ailing. Some pundits have said the law will most certainly be repealed in 2014, while others cling to the theoretical good it […]
Sebelius shields President on CNN: Obamacare rollout glitches kept from him
Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius told Dr. Sanjay Gupta President Barack Obama was never told about the website test-run crash or insurers’ concerns before the Oct. 1 Obamacare roll-out. Sebelius said President Barack Obama didn’t hear that there may be problems with the sign-up portal for his signature health care law until […]
Jon Stewart on Healthcare.gov: 99 problems, but a glitch . . . is all of them
Watch the video above to see The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart go to town on the Obamacare website, what he calls the only thing standing in the way of Democrats dominating the next election. “So how are Democrats gonna spin this turd?” Some outtakes: “The f***ing calculator doesn’t work?” “How bad is it? More of […]
Texas advocates face hurdles in ACA outreach to Latinos
Though they make up roughly a third of the state’s population, Latinos account for nearly two-thirds of the more than 6 million Texans without health insurance. As a result, proponents of the Affordable Care Act in Texas are specifically targetin...
The Mechanics of a More Connected Healthcare Ecosystem [Video]
Arbiter’s Anjali Jameson on hospital and payer alignment.
New health insurance co-op plans available on some states’ marketplaces
Many consumers who shop for coverage on the state health insurance marketplaces this fall have a new option to consider: a health insurance co-op. The nonprofit, member-run "consumer oriented and operated plans," or co-ops, were created under the feder...
Native Americans exempt from insurance mandate, but could benefit from marketplace plans
For most uninsured Americans, the motivation for checking out the health insurance exchanges is simple – they could face stiff penalties if they don’t sign up. For Native Americans, the decision is more complicated. Longstanding treaties wi...
Marketplace education and enrollment efforts strong in California despite issues
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Luisa Blue, head of the local Service Employees International Union in San Jose, has five more months to spend a million dollars. The union received a grant from Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace and...
Long waits, tech issues face Mississippi consumers on insurance exchange
JACKSON, Miss. - In Mississippi, one of 34 states letting the federal government operate the online health insurance marketplace created by the health law, consumers continue to face long delays and other technical difficulties as they try to log on an...
The New Blueprint: How Clever Care Health Plan is Scaling Its Member Experience [Video]
MedCity News was at the Vive conference and spoke with executives who shared their insights for the healthcare industry.
Philadelphia’s largest insurer offers three marketplace price tiers
With two new HMO plans introduced last week on the federal insurance exchange, Independence Blue Cross (IBC) is offering Philadelphia-area consumers a road map to cut out-of-pocket health-care costs. The trick for consumers who sign up for Blue Cross' ...
Health insurance exchanges glitchy, but shopping elsewhere can be confusing
The state health insurance marketplaces that opened Oct. 1 give consumers who are looking for coverage on the individual market a whole new way to shop for health plans. At the same time, health insurance brokers and insurers will also continue to...
No email address a problem for Texans trying to enroll in marketplace
Down in South Texas, health care providers are reporting an unusual problem with the federal marketplace: Many patients don’t have email addresses and, therefore, can’t sign up online. The Brownsville Community Health Center had 50 people ...
With no state support, Houston spreads the word about Obamacare
Two high-profile Texans are fighting the Affordable Care Act. Governor Rick Perry has loudly dismissed the law, and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz took to the Senate floor this week to rail against it at length—21 hours and 19 minutes to be exact. On ...
New report shows average marketplace premiums lower than projected
Just days before new online health insurance markets are set to open, the Obama administration Wednesday released a look at average premiums, saying rates in most states are lower than earlier projected -- and that 95 percent of consumers will have at ...