Healthcare & Policy News
Reporting on health care policy, insurance coverage, and federal health programs. Includes news updates and conservative commentary from The Daily Signal.
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- News
California Requires Insurers to Cover Abortion Services
A California state regulatory agency has issued a health care directive requiring health insurers to cover the costs of elective abortions, according to the Associated Press. Last week, California’s Department of Managed Health Care informed seven insurance companies that they must comply with the Knox Keene Act, a state provision passed in 1975 that guarantees…Alex Anderson -
- Opinion
Obama Administration’s Eighth Try on HHS Mandate and Religious Liberty Still Fails
The eighth time still doesn’t seem to be the charm for government bureaucrats. On Friday, the Obama administration released yet another revision to the Department of Health and Human Services mandate that requires employers to provide coverage of abortion-inducing drugs, contraception and sterilization. Many are wondering if the government has actually protected the religious freedom…Sarah Torre -
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Governor Grapples With Budget Shortfall, Won’t Give Up on Obamacare Medicaid Expansion
Virginia’s bleak financial outlook just got gloomier. Gov. Terry McAuliffe told members of the General Assembly that Virginia is projected to take in $2.4 billion less than it’s budgeted to spend during a three-year period. That’s almost $1 billion more than the shortfall state officials had projected earlier this year. That means there will be…Kathryn Watson -
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Indiana Man Thought He Was Covered Under Obamacare … Until He Needed to Visit Dentist
An Indiana man who purchased health insurance through Obamacare’s federal exchange says he was assured he had dental coverage. When he needed care, though, he learned that his insurance provider wouldn’t cover the work. Now, he’s warning others they could also be getting misleading information. “You might be very surprised you’re not covered when you…Philip Wegmann -
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Sharyl Attkisson Sues Federal Government to Obtain Obamacare Documents
Investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson is taking the federal government to court. Attkisson, a senior independent contributor to The Daily Signal, filed the lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services to obtain information about the troubled Obamacare rollout last year. The former CBS News reporter and Emmy award-winning journalist won’t be going alone; the…Philip Wegmann -
- Opinion
The Obama Administration Has Little to Tout About Obamacare
There has not exactly been an overabundance of good news on Obamacare. So it did come as some surprise two weeks ago when the Department of Health and Human Services issued a press release with the headline: “Consumers have saved a total of $9 billion on premiums,” and the subheading; “Health care law will return…Edmund Haislmaier -
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How Many Obamacare Enrollees in Your State Have Citizenship Issues?
In another effort to clear up enrollment inconsistencies in Obamacare, the federal government announced that 310,000 enrollees will receive notices about questionable citizenship or immigration data. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is in charge of Obamacare’s federal health insurance marketplace, says notices require consumers to send in documents supporting their citizenship status by Sept. 5…Marguerite Bowling -
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Q&A: Why Hahn Family Is Glad They Joined Hobby Lobby to Fight Obamacare’s HHS Mandate
Media coverage of the two Supreme Court cases challenging Obamacare’s HHS mandate for employers to provide workers with “free” coverage of abortion-inducing drugs largely focused on Hobby Lobby, the arts and crafts chain founded by the Greens, an evangelical Christian family. The case of another family-owned business also was heard by the high court, though…Kelsey Bolar -
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Insurance Giant’s Drop in Small-Group Plans Could Be Obamacare Trend
More Americans are enrolled in individual health insurance plans. In part, though, that’s because under Obamacare fewer are enrolled in group plans. And one health care analyst says this may be the beginning of a trend. WellPoint Inc., the Indianapolis-based health insurance giant, reported in its latest quarterly earnings that its small-group business fell more than…Marguerite Bowling -
- Opinion
Why Obamacare’s $332 Million ‘Rebate’ to Consumers Isn’t That Great
It sounded like a big deal. The Department of Health and Human Services recently touted $332 million in rebates owed to consumers this year because of Obamacare’s Medical Loss Ratio provision, which requires insurers to spend a large percentage of the premium dollars they receive on medical care. But these savings are almost negligible in…Alyene Senger -
- News
Despite Obamacare, High-Risk Insurance Pools Stay Afloat
SANTA FE, N.M.—Earlier this year, the board that runs New Mexico’s high-risk insurance pool agreed to pay up to $600,000 to an Albuquerque consulting group to handle day-to-day operations of the pool, which was designed to offer insurance to people who had trouble getting coverage. But wasn’t the Affordable Care Act supposed to make high-risk…Rob Nikolewski -
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How These Religious People Found a Way to Opt Out of Obamacare
James Lansberry didn’t blink an eye when the Supreme Court handed down its Hobby Lobby decision last month. The vice president of Samaritan Ministries, which provides health coverage for more than 37,000 families nationwide, said even though his organization applauds the decision, “it doesn’t have any effect on us.” Samaritan Ministries, and other health sharing…Philip Wegmann -
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Barney Frank: President ‘Lied to People’ About Obamacare
It’s one thing for President Obama to win an award for “Lie of the Year” for promising Americans “if you like your [health insurance] plan, you can keep it.” It must sting a bit more when a political ally like Barney Frank, the former congressman, flat out says the president “just lied to people.” In…Melissa Quinn -
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CDC Chief: Ebola a ‘Scary’ Disease, but ‘We Can Stop It’
The deadly Ebola virus is “scary,” but “we can stop it,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden said today. The day after an American doctor who contracted the virulent disease while doing missionary work in Liberia was flown into the United States for treatment, the CDC chief talked about the task ahead on CBS’…Josh Siegel -
- Opinion
Why Obama Thinks This Court Will Defend Obamacare Subsidies
When it comes to defending Obamacare subsidies, the Justice Department appears none too eager to take its case to the Supreme Court. Instead, the administration announced it would appeal Tuesday’s adverse ruling by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to… the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. President Obama, it seems,…Hans von Spakovsky -
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Support for Obamacare Decreases
Public support for Obamacare dwindled in July. Last month’s Kaiser Health Tracking Poll found that more than half of Americans view the law unfavorably, an eight point increase from June. Only 37 percent view the law favorably while 53 percent disapprove. This increase in disapproval may be driven by Americans reporting they hear more negative than…Natalie Johnson -
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Aetna CEO Admits Obamacare Customer Numbers Worse Than Expected
Aetna has picked up 600,000 customers thanks to the Affordable Care Act. But is the company any more profitable? CEO and Chairman Mark Bertolini couldn’t say for sure. Speaking this week on CNBC’s The Squawk Box, Bertolini admitted he was unsure if customers who signed up through Obamacare’s federal and state-run insurance exchanges would yield…Marguerite Bowling -
- Opinion
At Most, Obamacare Will Help This Many People Get Insured
Obamacare’s initial open-enrollment period ended in mid April. The big question since then has been, “What were the results?” Hard data have been lacking — until now. My colleague Drew Gonshorowski and I have just finished reviewing insurance-market data from the first quarter of 2014, and we can report that Obamacare’s results are not very…Edmund Haislmaier -
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Pressure on Obamacare Agency to Ready HealthCare.gov for More Enrollees
With three months to go before HealthCare.gov opens again for business to Americans seeking insurance through Obamacare, congressional investigators and government accountants are sounding the alarm that consumers could “encounter challenges.” “The agency needs to make an assessment of … whether they are, in fact, on schedule and whether there are risks to the open…Melissa Quinn -
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Lawmaker Challenges Top Obamacare Official’s Ties to HealthCare.gov Contractor
Andrew Slavitt, a former executive at the technology company tasked with “saving” HealthCare.gov and now second in command at the agency overseeing Obamacare, yesterday ran into sharp questions from a House panel about a potential conflict of interest in his new role. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., pressed Slavitt on his previous job at OptumInsight/QSSI and…Melissa Quinn