Obamacare sign ups hit 4.2 million

March 11, 2014 By Leave a Comment

March 11, 2014
obamacarelogoWashington (AFP) – A further 940,000 Americans registered for President Barack Obama’s health care plans in February, bringing to 4.2 million the number of people who have signed up so far, officials said Tuesday. The White House also geared up for what it said would be “surge of enrollment” for the system, now a malfunctioning website that hampered the key law’s roll out has been fixed, before a March 31 deadline.

“As more Americans are learning just how affordable market place plans can be, more are signing up to get coverage,” said Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

The new figures were unveiled on a day that comedy website “Laugh or Die” unveiled a new online video of the president braving the satirical jabs of comedian Zach Galifianakis, to market the plan to the site’s young fans. For the system to work, Obamacare must attract young, healthy registrants who do not claim for big budget care to subsidize older, sicker patients who have also signed up.
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HHS again extends PCIP program

January 15, 2014 By Leave a Comment

January 15, 2014
The AP (1/15) reports that the Obama Administration has again pushed back the deadline for the Affordable Care Act’s Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, the temporary program that was “supposed to disappear Jan. 1.” Now, because of technical problems with healthcare.gov, the program “will continue to run through the remainder of the health care law’s first open enrollment season, which ends March 31.”

The New York Times (1/15, Pear, Subscription Publication) explains that “Congress had assumed that it would no longer be needed because private insurers would have to accept all applicants and could not charge higher premiums because of a medical condition or history.”
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Reports show US will face physician shortage by 2025

November 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

November 5, 2013
Several media outlets are reporting on projections that the United States is likely to face a shortage of physicians in coming years, attributable in part to the Affordable Care Act.

Reuters (11/5, Seaman) reports on a study that indicates that the United States will need more physicians by 2025. The additional doctors will be needed to account for three factors: the US population overall is projected to grow 9.5% by 2025, the population is getting older, and the Affordable Care Act will increase the utilization of medical services. The report was published in the journal Health Affairs. The severity of the shortage will vary based on doctor specialty and part of the country.

USA Today (11/5, Kennedy, 5.82M) also reports on the study, highlighting its projection that up to 50% of the projected doctor shortage could be addressed through expanding innovative techniques.
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Another Affordable Care Act Myth Debunked

October 31, 2013 By

October 30, 2013
by Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times
Deborah Cavallaro is a hard-working real estate agent in the Westchester suburb of Los Angeles who has been featured prominently on a round of news shows lately, talking about how badly Obamacare is going to cost her when her existing plan gets canceled and she has to find a replacement.

She says she’s angry at President Obama for having promised that people who like their health plans could keep them, when hers is getting canceled for not meeting Obamacare’s standards.

“Please explain to me,” she told Maria Bartiromo on CNBC Wednesday, “how my plan is a ‘substandard’ plan when … I’d be paying more for the exchange plans than I am currently paying by a wide margin.”

Bartiromo didn’t take her up on her request. So I will.

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