Saturday, November 30, 2013

Stores selling Obamacare policies popping up across California

1) 

I have just commented on this article.  Steve Morse's site is critically needed here so that consumers can make intelligent choices among the plans and not be steered to only the ones promoted by the business selling just one policy.  They also need to be able to determine whether or not they are eligible for Medicaid or a subsidy.

I have written a more detailed article on this issue and welcome reporters and others to work with me on getting this article to the public.  See me at thausner@gmail.com
2) 
NYT: Health Care Site Rushing to Make Fixes by Sunday

3)




NYT: Op-Ed Columnist

Obamacare’s Secret Success


By PAUL KRUGMAN

Follow the bending cost curve and you will find that the slowdown in health costs has been dramatic.


4) 
Kentucky governor sees health law as chance to heal an ailing state  

5) 

New approaches to paying for could be how we offer better care at a lower cost.



 

Friday, November 29, 2013

As HealthCareGov hits its D-Day, key questions; + more

Your thoughts on the following articles


1)

enrollment has nearly DOUBLED in 5 states reporting updates since early Nov; private plans nearly tripled:

3) 
blame Obamacare? health-care stocks up 37.99% YTD, the best of any industry sector in the S&P 500 h/t

4) 

 
HealthCare.gov Team Working Through Holiday To Meet Deadline n.pr/1cBEs1x

6) 
 
 @KHNews table of Medicare spending on post-acute care in your state. Lookee here: kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2013/N…

7) 
 
Medicare beneficiaries 2x as likely to end up in a nursing home in CT as in AZ. wapo.st/17ZeXak @washingtonpost





Thursday, November 28, 2013

HealthCare.gov tech team scrambling to create workaround for site before deadline; Maryland also

WaPo

1) 
HealthCare.gov tech team scrambling to create workaround for site before deadline

As discussed before, Steve Morse's site would be the ideal site to use in this situation.


http://tinyurl.com/Hraemanuel  Zeke Emanuel in Politico:  Who needs Healthcare.gov.  Easy to use planfinder sites. 

In this Politico article, Andrew Steinmetz and Zeke Emanuel discuss easy to use websites to aid in plan selection.  Zeke Emanuel was amazed with what he found using Morse’s site.  I have written about this site earlier. See http://tinyurl.com/hraplanfinder Morse’s site will tell you the costs of the plans, premium subsidy, quality ratings, and provider participation, etc. for all 50 states and D.C.  Morse can easily make additions to this site.  Morse’s site is http://stevemorse.org/obamacare/obamacare.html 

His site also presents all the plan options in one table. No other site has all that information and in one convenient table. And you can change the parameters very easily, e.g, change the state, etc.  

2) WaPo

O’Malley promises tech fixes to Maryland’s health insurance exchange

The above comments re Steve Morse's site apply to Maryland's site as well.  

WaPo editorial Board: Maryland’s health exchange needs a doctor  

The Post editorial board comes down very hard on Brown.  I have offered my suggestions. Hope they listen.  

 


 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

NYT: A Plea to Avoid Crush of Users at Health Site; State Exchanges

1)
A Plea to Avoid Crush of Users at Health Site

Finally, Will all the state-run exchanges get it together?


RT : on & the need for federal IT procurement reform

From the former head of  Government Health IT. 

Be thankful that awareness of the marketplaces is growing among the potentially eligible



Based on our annual Employer Health Benefits Survey, this interactive graph tracks premiums and worker contributions among workers covered by employer-sponsored coverage from 1999-2013. Filter by coverage type, firm size, region, industry, and more to see the trends over time. http://ow.ly/rfh6B

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Healthcare.gov: 90 percent of users are now able to create accounts, +

1) Healthcare.gov: 90 percent of users are now able to create accounts

This is good news.  

2) KHN: Websites Step Up To Fill Federal Void

Unfortunately, they do not mention Morse's site which has much more info.  Frustrated that I cannot get this message through to enough folks. 

In comparing websites, one issue has come up. Can anyone answer.  Do the subsidies vary by age or tobacco use and if so, can they vary amongst the States as to these variables.  Who can I turn to for answers to questions like that.  


3) National Journal articles critical of Obama and ACA

20m


4) 
Here are some success stories you haven't been hearing about:

The success stories you haven't been hearing about: via

5) 




NYT: ID Verification Is Lagging on Health Care Website - Response needed

1) ID Verification Is Lagging on Health Care Website

This is an important article. I see this as a major concern.  I hope that the administration can respond to this article as soon as possible as to where things stand on this.  

Any comments on this. I welcome solutions.Do they need to start over?

2)
New brief compares delivery systems for people eligible for both & in 9 states

A very important demonstration as this is one of the major challenges facing these programs. How to integrate the services to dual eligibles. 

Monday, November 25, 2013

White House meets with doctors

1) WH invites physicians to discuss insurance exchange plans that kick in next year at a meeting on Tuesday: politi.co/18jrLv5

2)
The insurance companies could be critical in getting people to log on to HealthCare.gov politi.co/17UO49X

Administration Tests Fixes That Would Allow Insurers, Brokers To Enroll More Consumers 

 Both these articles point to my previous blogs that we need to ensure that consumers have an opportunity to adequately compare plans.  

  3) Charles Ornstein (@charlesornstein)  @KHNews: ‘Narrow Networks’ Trigger Push-Back From State Officials khne.ws/183ed11

 4) Enroll America's Update

Has lots of useful information.  

5) When the health care wars are over, will we have two tiers of insurance exchanges?
http://t.co/jii81uOboO

 

Sunday, November 24, 2013

USA Today: No HealthCare.gov? No problem, private sites say



No HealthCare.gov? No problem, private sites say

 http://tinyurl.com/usatodaynohealthcaregov

The sites mentioned here are useful, especially given the problems that the federal exchange is having and some states. However, Steve Morse's site is far more complete as it has info on premiums, subsidies, plan quality ratings, and plan doctors. His site has been endorsed by Zeke Emanuel a key architect of the Affordable Care Act. See my article http://tinyurl.com/hra112113insurersenroll With Insurers able to enroll, plan comparisons are essential. 

 

In rural Kentucky, health-care debate takes back seat as the long-uninsured line up



1) WaPo

 In rural Kentucky, health-care debate takes back seat as the long-uninsured line up

“I can go to the doctor now?” one man says, in a place where the law is working as backers envisioned.

Excellent article, please spread widely.  

2)  Policy Question

Can an insurance company directly enroll a consumer or do the consumers have to go through the exchanges?  Would greatly appreciate anyone who can provide concrete information on this issue. 

3) Other news

a)


Catch up with the latest Obamacare news from POLITICO:

 Looks like some useful material. 

b) From KFF


Amid Heavy News Coverage of Rollout Troubles, Support for Affordable Care Act Falls In November, Largely Driven by Democrats and Women

More than a Month Into Open Enrollment, More People Have Heard About the Law's New Insurance Marketplaces, Though Awareness Continues to Lag Among the Uninsured

See November Kaiser Health Tracking Poll  which finds a significant negative shift in the public's views of the law, with roughly half (49%) now holding an unfavorable view and just a third (33%) holding a positive one.