“Congress’ investigative arm said Tuesday (Sept. 16) that healthcare.gov continues to face security weaknesses, leaving the site subject to “increased and unnecessary” risk of unauthorized access, disclosure or modification of the information collected and maintained. CMS pledged to implement some of the fixes proposed by the Government Accountability Office, but GOP lawmakers used the opportunity to again blast the administration’s handling of Obamacare.
GAO recommended six ways CMS could put in place an effective information security program, and another 22 technical recommendations that could improve the effectiveness of information security controls.”
“Morning Consult’s healthcare poll finds that while a majority of voters (54%) are concerned about security breaches in the health exchange websites, 52% currently believe that the information on the exchange websites is secure. Further, a plurality of voters would choose to sign up for health insurance online over a paper application or over the phone.
This poll was conducted from September 12-13, 2014, among a national sample of 2,188 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points. You can see the full results here (http://bit.ly/1BMkPRm).
A majority of voters (54%) are concerned about security breaches in the health exchange websites— Interestingly, a majority of both voters who approve of President Obama and those who disapprove of the President indicate they are concerned about security breaches in the exchange websites.”
“Federal health officials said Monday that more than 100,000 immigrants who bought health-care plans through the federal insurance exchange will have their coverage cut off at the end of the month, because they failed to provide proof by the Sept. 5 deadline that their citizenship or immigration status makes them eligible for insurance on the marketplace.
Those individuals can still send in the needed information to the federal exchange and if they are found eligible, they will be able to regain coverage, officials said. They will be considered under a special category reserved for people who have experienced a major life change, such as having a baby or getting divorced or losing a job with health insurance.”
“At a hearing to discuss the rising costs of healthcare benefits for Miami-Dade County, Fla., employees this year, a labor union consultant raised his hand to ask what seemed like a basic question.
Could the committee charged with reducing Miami-Dade labor’s healthcare expenses look at the spreadsheet showing the rates that the county pays local hospitals and doctors for medical services to employees?
“We really need to understand where the money is being spent in order to be insightful about benefit design changes,’’ said Duane Fitch, a healthcare consultant for SEIU Local 1991, which represents physicians and nurses at the county-owned Jackson Health System.”
“Large businesses expect to pay between 4 and 5 percent more for health-care benefits for their employees in 2015 after making adjustments to their plans, according to employer surveys conducted this summer.
Few employers plan to stop providing benefits with the advent of federal health insurance mandates, as some once feared, but a third say they are considering cutting or reducing subsidies for employee family members, and the data suggest that employees are paying more each year in out-of-pocket health care expenses.”
“The Obama administration bragged about its enrollment numbers in the compulsory ObamaCare system, but the lack of eligibility-confirmation systems in the exchanges may take a big bite out of those numbers shortly. Just how big a bite is anyone’s guess, however, with warnings to multiple groups that either their coverage or their subsidies may stop at any time. Last night, HHS warned that 115,000 people currently covered by ObamaCare might lose their insurance thanks to immigration issues:”
“Last year I wrote that Obamacare could leave doctors holding the bag for claims for patients who don’t pay their insurance premiums. That’s because the law includes a three-month grace period during which health insurers must continue to cover patients who sign up, but don’t pay the price of their insurance. If the patients eventually make good, there’s no problem. But if patients don’t pay the owed premiums, the insurance company has to cover the cost of claims filed during the first month. Providers are stuck with the tab for any claims filed during months two and three.
The piece I wrote last July was theoretical. The notification letter I’m holding in my hand, addressed to my wife’s pediatric practice, is reality. And reality costs, in this case, over $600. That’s the outstanding balance owed the practice by a patient insured by BlueCross BlueShield of Arizona. It’s a balance that my wife might have to eat, or else try to collect herself.”
“There are widespread instances of Obamacare insurance plans violating the rigid rules surrounding whether customers can use federal health care subsidies on insurance policies that cover abortion procedures, according to a Government Accountability Office investigation.
The report, commissioned by House Republican leadership and obtained by POLITICO on Monday night, found that 15 insurers in a sample of 18 are selling Obamacare plans that do not segregate funds to cover abortion (except in cases of rape, incest or the mother’s life) from their Obamacare subsidies.
“During the 2014 open enrollment for Obamacare coverage, Mary Denson, 21, a student at Columbia (Mo.) College, qualified for a federal premium subsidy that reduced her premium contribution for buying health insurance to less than $20 a month.
But she fears that when she renews her coverage for 2015, she won’t have enough income from her nanny job to reach the subsidy income threshold of 100% of the federal poverty level and continue qualifying for premium tax credits. She isn’t eligible for Medicaid because Missouri hasn’t expanded that program for low-income adults. Denson says she’s considering looking for another job to reach the $11,670 income threshold but worries she may have to drop classes. Without the subsidy, her coverage would cost nearly $400 a month, far more than she can afford.
“I’m just going to have to re-apply and pretty much hope that I make the cut again,” Denson said.”
“Proposition 45 would give California’s elected insurance commissioner the authority to reject excessive health insurance rate hikes, a power the commissioner already wields for auto and homeowners insurance rates.
The campaign against it — for which the insurance industry has so far put up $37.3 million — is now airing a 60-second radio ad narrated by a nurse named Candy Campbell.
What does the ad say?
Campbell says voters have a choice between letting the state’s “new independent commission” negotiate rates and reject expensive plans, or handing that power over to “one politician” who can “take millions in campaign contributions from special interests.”
Is it true?
The “commission” Campbell is referring to is the board of Covered California, the state’s new health insurance exchange created by the Affordable Care Act, commonly called “Obamacare.” Covered California is indeed an independent part of state government. But it’s somewhat misleading to describe the board as “independent.” The board members are appointed by politicians — the governor and the Legislature.”