Insurance companies that sell coverage through the state’s health insurance exchange next year will be allowed to cover fewer hospitals, doctors and prescription drugs under changes the exchange’s board approved Tuesday. Officials hope those changes could help offset rate increases caused by the increased price and use of medical care and prescription drugs.
Access Health CT
Posted inHealth
Kevin Counihan on the ACA: ‘Whatever happens, Trump is going to own this’
Kevin Counihan used to run the health insurance exchanges that serve most of the United States. Now he’s a customer. He talked to The Mirror about efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act, why the health law has gotten more popular since Barack Obama left office, how to keep insurance companies from fleeing exchanges, and what can be done to make it easier to buy coverage.
Posted inHealth
CT Obamacare exchange at a ‘critical crossroads,’ leader says
Jim Wadleigh cited a new IRS policy that could affect the individual mandate, a proposed federal rule aimed at stabilizing insurance markets, and the ongoing uncertainty about the Affordable Care Act’s future. The exchange also has a budget crunch to fix.
Posted inHealth
Here’s what we know about CT’s Obamacare insurance customers
Nearly one in three are 55 and older. Those who pay full price are younger, on average. And many live in Fairfield County.
Posted inHealth
CT Obamacare exchange enrollment down 3.9 percent
The open enrollment period for Connecticut’s health insurance exchange ended with 111,524 people signed up for private health plans – approximately 4,500 fewer than last year.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Some seek more oversight of Access Health’s funding
As Congress takes aim at the federal health law, some Connecticut legislators are raising questions about another aspect of Obamacare – how the state’s health insurance marketplace gets its money.
Posted inHealth
With time running out, Obamacare signups lag amid uncertainties
With one day left in the sign-up period for private insurance coverage, the Connecticut health insurance exchange’s enrollment has slowed down compared to past years, and the marketplace’s chief executive thinks confusion about the future of Obamacare could be a factor.
Posted inHealth
Access Health to tighten midyear sign-up rules, restore broker fees
The changes were made in response to concerns that people are taking advantage of current rules to sign up only after they get sick, and worries that a lack of payments to brokers has affected enrollment.
Posted inHealth
CT exchange wants to require broker commissions for health plans
Insurance companies that sell plans through the state’s exchange stopped paying commissions to brokers this year, and the exchange’s CEO says that has affected enrollment.
Posted inHealth
Access Health seeks to tighten midyear enrollment rules, citing potential abuse
People who try to buy health insurance after the annual open-enrollment period could soon face stricter scrutiny before getting covered under a proposal aimed at cracking down on those who forgo insurance, then enroll once they get sick.
Posted inHealth
Access Health says 104,495 signed up for insurance that began Jan. 1
That figure represents customers who met the first coverage deadline for Obamacare plans, Dec. 15.
Posted inHealth
5 health care stories to watch in the 2017 legislative session
From an ailing state budget to potential changes in the way the state oversees what services hospitals deliver, state lawmakers will be dealing with a variety of health-related issues during the upcoming legislative session. Here are five to keep an eye on.
Posted inHealth
CT Obamacare sign-up deadline extended to Saturday
Updated 1:35 p.m.
Thursday had been the deadline for people to sign up for private insurance plans that would begin covering them Jan. 1. The exchange is extending that deadline to Dec. 17 at midnight.
Posted inHealth, Money
39 percent of parents affected by HUSKY cut still in program
Four months after a major change in Medicaid eligibility for poor parents, 39 percent of those initially expected to lose Medicaid coverage are still in the program and 16 percent have coverage through the state’s health insurance exchange. The health care coverage status of another 42 percent is unknown.
Posted inHealth
With Obamacare’s future uncertain, CT exchange contemplates strategies
One person likened it to looking at a “foggy crystal ball.” Another spoke of changing a tire on a car that’s still moving. But others cautioned against speculating and emphasized the fact that, so far, nothing about the Affordable Care Act has changed.
