Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Jennifer from Wing of Zock hosted the Health Wonk Review today, and it’s an excellent edition.  One of the most interesting entries is from Hank Stern of InsureBlog, writing about the lack of covered men’s preventive services on new ACA-compliant plans. Overall, I agree with Hank on this one.  In the pre-ACA days, women by… Read more about From the Health Wonks… are men getting the short end of the stick?

I’ve spent the last two evenings reading the text of Burwell v Hobby Lobby.  That might sound dull, but I highly recommend it – far more interesting than the text of the ACA or the thousands of pages of associated federal regulations that have been released to supplement it.  It’s 95 pages, but it’s a relatively… Read more about Burwell v Hobby Lobby – The Wisdom of Justice Ginsburg

By now, I think most of our readers are aware that Colorado is one of the states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA, and that exchange subsidy eligibility begins where Medicaid eligibility ends – there is no overlap.  Households with incomes up to 133% of poverty level (actually 138%, because the law has a built-in 5%… Read more about Colorado CHP+ and exchange subsidy eligibility

Julie Ferguson hosted the Health Wonk Review this week, and it’s a great edition.  One of my favorite articles this time around is from Patrick Pine, writing at Healthcare Talent Transformation.  Patrick digs into the question of why there were so many exchange website troubles last fall – some of which are ongoing nine months later…. Read more about Exchange website troubles and Medicaid expansion in the HWR

Open enrollment – including extensions – in the individual health insurance market officially ended more than two months ago, on April 15 in most states, including Colorado.  Connect for Health Colorado gave enrollees until the end of May to enroll if they were still waiting for a Medicaid denial as of the end of March,… Read more about Health Insurance Enrollment Continues to Climb, Despite Being in the “Off-Season”

Several times in the last few days, I’ve seen versions of an article titled something like this one – “New Obamacare loophole shows failure of for-profit health system.”  Another is titled “In health care, ‘reference pricing’ could end up costing unwary consumers thousands of dollars.”  Scary stuff, huh? Except really, it’s not.  Here’s the FAQ… Read more about Reference pricing: Not as scary as it sounds

Earlier this spring, Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), proposed adding another level of coverage to the currently available metal options.  Some have referred to it as a “copper” plan, and it would offer lesser benefits than bronze plans, but would also come with lower price tags.  Ignagni referenced the ACA… Read more about Copper health insurance plans aren’t for everyone, but it would make sense to have them as an option

Although I typically focus my articles on issues that directly impact the Colorado health insurance market, I recently read an article in the Jackson, MS Clarion Ledger and felt compelled to address some of the issues it presents. The article was written in late April, after the open enrollment extension for 2014 had ended.  It’s… Read more about ACA articles that lack details are often more spin than reality

Billy Wynne hosted the most recent edition of the Health Wonk Review, and it’s excellent.  Billy’s website, Healthcare Lighthouse, is an excellent resource that I found thanks to this HWR – check it out if you haven’t already. Some of my favorite articles in this edition come from Wendell Potter, Julie Ferguson and Brad Flansbaum…. Read more about ACA here to stay, workplace safety, and a decrease in inpatient care