“House Republicans are pushing the Obama administration to release the names of federal officials involved in awarding grants to troubled health insurance exchanges around the country.
The letter from Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) furthers the GOP’s effort to investigate and criticize failed exchanges at the state level, including Cover Oregon and Maryland Health Connection.
Upton and several colleagues accused the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of spending $1.3 billion on seven marketplaces where serious problems persist.”
“At least 2.9 million Americans who signed up for Medicaid coverage as part of the health care overhaul have not had their applications processed, with some paperwork sitting in queues since last fall, according to a 50-state survey by CQ Roll Call.”
“Five states that launched health exchanges under the Affordable Care Act expect to spend as much as $240 million to fix their sites or switch to the federal marketplace, a Wall Street Journal analysis shows.”
“The cost to replace the Medicaid section of Nevada’s flawed online health insurance exchange will be $25 million, a state official told a legislative committee today.”
“Switching to a federally supported state health exchange won’t be immediate and will bring added confusion for Nevada consumers during the transition into next year’s open enrollment period, an interim legislative committee was told Monday.”
“Two insurers selling health plans through Connecticut’s exchange want to raise rates by more than 10 percent next year, while a third wants to lower its premiums, according to proposals filed with the Connecticut Insurance Department.”
“More than 120,000 Arizona residents signed up for private health insurance during the first year of the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace.
But it’s the second year that analysts will scrutinize, to see whether health insurers increase rates or discontinue selling plans over the federal exchange.”
“Missouri is seeing a bigger decline in its Medicaid rolls than nearly any other state, a ranking that the administration of Gov. Jay Nixon attributes to an improving economy and critics blame on application snafus.”
“The states that tried and failed to run their own Obamacare health insurance marketplaces aren’t quite ready to call it quits.
With the health-care law’s next open enrollment period just more than six months away, Nevada on Tuesday joined the ranks of Maryland, Oregon and Massachusetts as states that have ditched their faulty enrollment Web sites. Of the 14 states — plus the District — that chose to run their own Obamacare exchanges in 2014, these four have either decided to join HealthCare.gov or do enrollment through another system in 2015.”
“The board that oversees Maryland’s troubled health insurance marketplace repeatedly violated a state law that requires such groups to fully explain their reasons for meeting behind closed doors, the Maryland Open Meetings Compliance Board concluded this week.”