health insurance exchange news stories on Newser

Many States Lag in Embracing Obamacare

Neal Colgrass — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:12:05 CST

Obamacare needs more than the Supreme Court's approval this summer. It also requires states to organize "exchanges" where people can buy health insurance—but 75% of uninsured Americans live in states that are yet to get cracking, the AP reports. Some states, like Florida and Louisiana, have flat-out returned federal...

Dem Governor: ObamaCare Tempts Firms to Dump Plans

Matt Cantor — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 12:45:28 CDT

If you crunch the numbers, President Obama’s health care plan is a great incentive for employers to stop providing coverage and put their workers in the hands of government-subsidized plans, meaning “much greater cost” for the US, writes Democratic Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen in the Wall Street Journal . Not only...

Oops: Congress Might Have Killed Its Own Health Care

Rob Quinn — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:26:13 CDT

If you know exactly how the health care reform bill will impact your coverage, you may be a step ahead of your member of Congress, according to the New York Times . A report from the Congressional Research Service found that—because of imprecise language and a possible drafting error in...

How to Combine the 2 Bills and Improve on Both

Kevin Spak — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:32:12 CST

The House will need to make a lot of last-minute sacrifices when combining its health care bill with the Senate’s, but if legislators play their cards right, the final bill could be a stronger beast. The Senate must stand by its strong cost control mechanisms, writes David Leonhardt of the...

Senate Deal Includes 'Triggered' Public Option

Rob Quinn — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:02:26 CST

The Senate compromise on health care reform means the public option is dormant but not dead, according to an aide party to negotiations. The tentative deal reached last night will give insurance companies the option of creating nonprofit insurance plans to be offered on exchanges, but a federal public option...

Reid Rolls Out Senate Health Bill for Sat. Showdown

Kevin Spak — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:40:59 CST

Harry Reid rolled out the Senate’s combined health care reform bill last night, earning oohs and ahhs from fellow Democrats, particularly over the price tag, and setting the stage for a cloture vote Saturday. The bill would cost a svelte $849 billion over 10 years while reducing the deficit by...

Obama, Dems Are Free Market Crusaders

Kevin Spak — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:01:22 CDT

The champions of the free market are on the march, but it's not who you think. It’s the Democrats who want to put health insurance on open exchanges where consumers can easily compare them, with a public option to inject competition into an “oligopolistic market,” points out Harold Meyerson of...

Health Reform Could Mean More Treatment Denials

Kevin Spak — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:00:14 CDT

Health care reform would force insurers to accept everyone, even those with pre-existing conditions; but it wouldn’t actually force them to treat those patients. None of the reform bills pending on Capitol Hill would restrict insurers’ ability to deny procedures for their customers, the LA Times reports. In fact, because...

Maybe Baucus Bill Is Better Than Nothing

Jason Farago — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:41:37 CDT

Even David Brooks has become convinced that the health care system needs a fundamental overhaul—and unfortunately, it’s not going to get one. The best option, Democrat Ron Wyden’s proposal to let employees take their employer’s contribution and spend it on an open health care exchange, was killed in committee,...