Recent Articles

Consumer advocates reported some glitches Monday in the final days for “Obamacare” sign-ups, although the Trump administration largely seemed to be keeping its promise of a smooth enrollment experience. In Illinois, some consumers who successfully completed an application for financial assistance through HealthCare.gov got a message saying they would likely be eligible to buy a…

ObamaCare’s “Cadillac tax” has emerged as a sticking point in bipartisan negotiations over delaying certain health-care taxes before the end of the year. Democrats are pushing to delay the “Cadillac tax” on high-cost health plans, which is despised by unions, but Republicans are pushing back and have resisted including the Cadillac tax in the package,…

With Congress seemingly on the brink of repealing the Affordable Care Act’s centerpiece requirement that most people get insurance or pay a penalty, Democrats are warning such a move would be disastrous, and Republicans are anticipating a sweeping symbolic victory. Senate Republicans included a measure to repeal the mandate in their recently passed tax overhaul;…

Shopping to update your coverage on the health insurance marketplace may be annoying — didn’t you just do this last year? But letting the exchange automatically renew your coverage instead could be a big mistake. If you don’t like the plan you’re auto-enrolled in this year you may be stuck with it in 2018, unlike…

How many individuals would knowingly want to enroll in a form of health coverage with “persistently inferior” outcomes? A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Oncology suggests that Medicaid provides those persistently inferior outcomes in the nation’s largest state of California, raising more questions about the program that represents the bulk of the…

Growth in U.S. health spending slowed considerably in 2016, rising by 4.3 percent, after two years of higher spending growth spurred by Obamacare and prescription drugs. The slowdown in health spending growth was seen broadly across all major forms of private and public insurance, and in medical services, prescription drugs and other goods, according to an…

Health insurance a la carte? As the Affordable Care Act open-enrollment season moves into its final weeks, some consumers looking for lower-cost alternatives are considering a patchwork approach to health insurance. The products may secure some basic protection but leave patients on the hook for high medical bills. The idea involves mixing and matching several…

As small business owners learn what their 2018 health insurance costs will be, some are considering providing different types of coverage for their employees. Companies are receiving notices of premium and coverage changes for 2018. The changes vary, depending on factors including the state where a company is located, how many employees it has and…

Cyndee Weston can barely remember the last time she didn’t have to switch health plans during an Affordable Care Act sign-up season. By her count, she has been on five plans in five years. Every fall, after she has spent months figuring out her insurance plan’s deductibles, doctor networks, list of covered drugs and other…

Republicans have famously failed to pass health-care legislation this year. But future attempts at reforming Obamacare will have an advantage over previous ones. The most politically powerful argument against Republican health-care legislation has been that it would “take insurance away” from many millions of people. That argument was based on the CBO’s findings, and most…