Despite continued Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare, a key component of the law that has given millions of people health coverage — Medicaid expansion — could prove very difficult to undo, experts say. A growing number of states have signed up for that expansion of the government-run program for poor people, or are discussing doing so. Hospitals are becoming accustomed to the money that comes with expansion, and a majority of new enrollees are saying they are happy with their coverage. The difficulty of getting rid of Medicaid expansion, which uses federal dollars to give health benefits to previously ineligible adults, was sharply underscored this fall by the election of ardent Obamacare foe Matt Bevin as governor of Kentucky.
UCare's pain over a lost state contract has resulted in big enrollment gains for two rival health insurers. The HMO division of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota added about 162,000 members in state public health insurance programs between December and January, according to new state data, while Minnetonka-based Medica added 120,000. Minneapolis-based UCare, meanwhile, lost about 343,000 enrollees, according to a report posted earlier this month by the state Department of Human Services. The numbers provide a first look at how the market is changing after UCare lost most of its massive contract with the state to manage care for the largest portions of the Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare insurance programs.
Millions of young adults healthy enough to think they don't need insurance face painful choices this year as the sign-up deadline approaches for President Barack Obama's health care law. Fines for being uninsured rise sharply in 2016 — averaging nearly $1,000 per household, according to an independent estimate. It's forcing those in their 20s and 30s to take a hard look and see if they can squeeze in coverage to avoid penalties. Many are trying to establish careers or just make progress in a still-bumpy economy. "There's only so far one can dwindle a ramen-noodle diet," said Christopher Rael of Los Angeles.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield says it has reinstated health coverage for thousands of stranded customers who were dropped from the insurer's rolls in a technology debacle that cut off coverage for residents with urgent medical needs and rippled throughout the state. But the state's largest health insurer is not disclosing how many customers are still without health insurance, even as Blue Cross concedes that call volumes to the company's help line remain far above normal. Both the N.C. Department of Insurance and the N.C. Attorney General plan to review the episode, the most serious crisis in Blue Cross's recent history, after immediate customer needs have been resolved.
ObamaCare will enroll significantly fewer people than expected in 2016, ending the year with about 13 million customers, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said Monday. The figure, which was included in an expansive budget report, is a decline of about 40 percent from last year's enrollment prediction of about 20 million people. The latest projections confirm the Obama administration's previous assessment that fewer people are signing up as the marketplace closes in on its third enrollment season — the final one under President Obama. The new report also underscores the challenges facing the incoming administration in reducing the uninsured rate after 2017.
Fidelity Investments formally launched a private health insurance exchange today aimed at small and midsized businesses, marking the company's latest venture in the health care space. Fidelity has long offered health-benefit record keeping services to large companies. However, Fidelity Health Marketplace, as the new business unit is known, marks its first foray into health benefit offerings for the small to midsized market. The unit offers a broader array of products and services than the administrative services Fidelity offers to larger companies, according to Joe Laurin, president of Fidelity Health Marketplace.