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Category Archives: Health Care

Va. Senator Creigh Deeds speaks at the National Press Club – Mar. 31, 2014 – Video

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Va. Senator Creigh Deeds speaks at the National Press Club - Mar. 31, 2014
Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds, pushing in the Virginia legislature for mental health-care reform, spoke about mental health at a National Press Club lu...

By: The National Press Club

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Va. Senator Creigh Deeds speaks at the National Press Club - Mar. 31, 2014 - Video

Fading Negative Health Care Headlines Could Be Trouble for GOP

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What happens if the negative health care headlines go away?

Its safe to say that Monday was the Obama White Houses best health-care day since the law passed. NBC News confirms that enrollment in the exchanges is on track to hit or surpass 7 million -- which was the original goal before the website woes of October and November. And while it very well might an outlier, a new Washington Post/ABC poll shows that support for the law, for the first time we can remember in some time, is now right-side up, with 49% supporting the law and 48% opposing it. (Were taking the poll with a grain of salt for now until we see more numbers post-enrollment deadline, but at a minimum, its an important political booster shot for Democrats, even if it is just for today.) Now with the end of enrollment, Republicans face this potential challenge: What happens if the negative headlines go away? Since mid-October 2013, the GOP has been riding a wave of negative stories about the law, whether it's been the troubled website, the early low enrollment, the delays in implementing the law, and the stories about Americans negatively impacted. But consider this: The next round of potentially worrisome news for the administration -- the premium rates for 2015 -- is about five or six months from now. So what happens in the meantime? To be sure, both parties will exchange anecdotes about how the law is affecting people, and they also will exchange TV ads (just see this ad Americans for Prosperity is airing against Democrat Mark Pryor in Arkansas). But the GOP needs the daily momentum of negative headlines on health care to last until the fall to truly build a wave; what if that daily momentum on health care is gone?

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Ryan to release his latest budget -- and Democrats are ready to pounce

Republicans are incredibly confident that they will capitalize on the health-care law in Novembers elections. But now Democrats believe its their turn to go on offense -- against the latest iteration of Rep. Paul Ryans (R-WI) budget plan, which gets released today and is likely voted on next week. Reuters: U.S. Representative Paul Ryan on Tuesday plans to unveil a 10-year balanced budget plan that seeks to bolster Republicans' campaign credentials as the party of fiscal prudence but also leaves them open to fresh attacks over deep cuts to social programs. We cant report on the details of the new Ryan budget, but its expected to contain many of the same provisions as his past budgets -- a balanced budget within 10 years achieved in part due to cuts to safety-net programs, a fundamental restructuring of Medicare and Medicaid, and a repeal of the health-care law. The budget is definitely bold, but its also risky given that Democrats and Republicans have ALREADY hammered out a budget agreement. Remember, what was the worst candidate quality from our NBC/WSJ poll last month? Answer: A candidate who supports reductions in Social Security and Medicare benefits to address the budget deficit (69% of respondents said they were less likely to vote for such a candidate). This is precisely why Republicans have used the changes in the health-care law (see Medicare Advantage) to go after Democrats. And why Democrats will go after Republicans on the Ryan budget.

How will House Republicans in competitive Senate races vote?

It will be interesting to see how many House Republicans running in the most competitive Senate contests vote on the Ryan budget. Do they support Ryan to bolster their conservative credentials (especially if theyre facing GOP primaries), or do they vote against it to protect their Medicare/entitlement flank? Here are the House Republicans were watching on Ryan: Tom Cotton (AR), Steve Daines (MT), Cory Gardner (CO), Bill Cassidy (LA), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Paul Broun (GA), Phil Gingrey (GA), and Jack Kingston (GA). As we've written before, the GOP is counting on a bunch of House Republicans to obtain a Senate majority, and Democrats are desperate to paint House Republicans as out of the mainstream to save these Democratic seats.

Obamacare vs. kynect

Our colleague Perry Bacon traveled to Kentucky to report on the health-care law there. And what did he find in a place that has been praised for successfully implementing it so far? Attitudes about the law are pretty much where they are everywhere else -- with Republicans wanting to roll it back and Democrats defending it. But Bacon noticed the striking difference in opinion between Obamacare and what the state has implemented, kynect. From the story: Even Republicans here say that some Kentuckians will criticize Obamacare, but in the next breadth emphasize how well kynect works, as if they are not part of the same law. So can Democrats in Kentucky somehow run on kynect and thus dis-kynect themselves from the presidents health-care plan?

Primary Day in D.C.: Its not every day that an election -- or primary -- falls on April Fools Day, but this is no joke: D.C. is holding its primaries today, and the contest to watch is the Democratic mayoral race. An NBC4/Marist poll released last week shows a neck-and-neck contest, with challenger City Councilmember Muriel Bowser getting the support of 28% of likely Democratic voters and incumbent Mayor Vince Gray getting 26%. No other candidate got more than 11% in the crowded primary. This is a reversal from the same poll in February, when Gray held an eight-point lead over Bowser, 28%-20%. (The current poll also is in line with a recent Washington Post survey, which had Bowser at 30% and Gray at 27%.) The other good news for Bowser in the NBC4/Marist poll is that shes the top second choice among Democratic likely voters, meaning she has room to grow. The good news for Gray is that his supporters are more committed and enthusiastic than Bowsers. Polling places close at 8:00 pm ET.

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Fading Negative Health Care Headlines Could Be Trouble for GOP

Obama admonishes Putin, the Pope & the President, SCOTUS, Health Care Enrollment Surge – Video

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Obama admonishes Putin, the Pope the President, SCOTUS, Health Care Enrollment Surge
Obama #39;s efforts to rally European allies against Russia, the first-ever meeting between President Obama and Pope Francis, SCOTUS heard arguments challenging ...

By: Washington Week with Gwen Ifill

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Obama admonishes Putin, the Pope & the President, SCOTUS, Health Care Enrollment Surge - Video

Health care website stumbles on last day

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By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - In a flood of last-minute sign-ups, hundreds of thousands of Americans rushed to apply for health insurance Monday, but deadline day for President Barack Obama's overhaul brought long, frustrating waits and a new spate of website ills.

"This is like trying to find a parking spot at Wal-Mart on Dec. 23," said Jason Stevenson, working with a Utah nonprofit group helping people enroll.

At times, more than 125,000 people were simultaneously using HealthCare.gov, straining it beyond its capacity. For long stretches Monday, applicants were shuttled to a virtual waiting room where they could leave an email address and be contacted later.

Officials said the site had not crashed but was experiencing very heavy volume. The website, which was receiving 1.5 million visitors a day last week, had recorded about 1.6 million through 2 p.m. EDT.

Supporters of the health care law fanned out across the country in a final dash to sign up uninsured Americans. People not signed up for health insurance by the deadline, either through their jobs or on their own, were subject to being fined by the IRS, and that threat was helping drive the final dash.

The administration announced last week that people still in line by midnight would get extra time to enroll.

The website stumbled early in the day - out of service for nearly four hours as technicians patched a software bug. Another hiccup in early afternoon temporarily kept new applicants from signing up, and then things slowed further. Overwhelmed by computer problems when launched last fall, the system has been working much better in recent months, but independent testers say it still runs slowly.

At Chicago's Norwegian American Hospital, people began lining up shortly after 7 a.m. to get help signing up for subsidized private health insurance.

Lucy Martinez, an unemployed single mother of two boys, said she'd previously tried to enroll at a clinic in another part of the city but there was always a problem. She'd wait and wait and they wouldn't call her name, or they would ask her for paperwork that she was told earlier she didn't need, she said. Her diabetic mother would start sweating so they'd have to leave.

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Health care website stumbles on last day

Deadline Dash: Health Care Sign-Ups Amid Glitches

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WASHINGTON (AP) In a flood of last-minute sign-ups, hundreds of thousands of Americans rushed to apply for health insurance Monday, but deadline day for President Barack Obama's overhaul brought long, frustrating waits and a new spate of website ills.

"This is like trying to find a parking spot at Wal-Mart on Dec. 23," said Jason Stevenson, working with a Utah nonprofit group helping people enroll.

At times, more than 125,000 people were simultaneously using HealthCare.gov, straining it beyond its capacity. For long stretches Monday, applicants were shuttled to a virtual waiting room where they could leave an email address and be contacted later.

Officials said the site had not crashed but was experiencing very heavy volume. The website, which was receiving 1.5 million visitors a day last week, had recorded about 1.6 million through 2 p.m. EDT.

Supporters of the health care law fanned out across the country in a final dash to sign up uninsured Americans. People not signed up for health insurance by the deadline, either through their jobs or on their own, were subject to being fined by the IRS, and that threat was helping drive the final dash.

The administration announced last week that people still in line by midnight would get extra time to enroll.

The website stumbled early in the day out of service for nearly four hours as technicians patched a software bug. Another hiccup in early afternoon temporarily kept new applicants from signing up, and then things slowed further. Overwhelmed by computer problems when launched last fall, the system has been working much better in recent months, but independent testers say it still runs slowly.

At Chicago's Norwegian American Hospital, people began lining up shortly after 7 a.m. to get help signing up for subsidized private health insurance.

Lucy Martinez, an unemployed single mother of two boys, said she'd previously tried to enroll at a clinic in another part of the city but there was always a problem. She'd wait and wait and they wouldn't call her name, or they would ask her for paperwork that she was told earlier she didn't need, she said. Her diabetic mother would start sweating so they'd have to leave.

She's heard "that this would be better here," said Martinez, adding that her mother successfully signed up Sunday at a different location.

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Deadline Dash: Health Care Sign-Ups Amid Glitches

Deadline Dash: Glitches Slow Health Care Sign-Ups

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In a flood of last-minute sign-ups, hundreds of thousands of Americans rushed to apply for health insurance Monday, but deadline day for President Barack Obama's overhaul brought long, frustrating waits and a new spate of website ills.

"This is like trying to find a parking spot at Wal-Mart on Dec. 23," said Jason Stevenson, working with a Utah nonprofit group helping people enroll.

At times, more than 125,000 people were simultaneously using HealthCare.gov, straining it beyond its capacity. For long stretches Monday, applicants were shuttled to a virtual waiting room where they could leave an email address and be contacted later.

Officials said the site had not crashed but was experiencing very heavy volume. The website, which was receiving 1.5 million visitors a day last week, had recorded about 1.6 million through 2 p.m. EDT.

Supporters of the health care law fanned out across the country in a final dash to sign up uninsured Americans. People not signed up for health insurance by the deadline, either through their jobs or on their own, were subject to being fined by the IRS, and that threat was helping drive the final dash.

The administration announced last week that people still in line by midnight would get extra time to enroll.

The website stumbled early in the day out of service for nearly four hours as technicians patched a software bug. Another hiccup in early afternoon temporarily kept new applicants from signing up, and then things slowed further. Overwhelmed by computer problems when launched last fall, the system has been working much better in recent months, but independent testers say it still runs slowly.

At Chicago's Norwegian American Hospital, people began lining up shortly after 7 a.m. to get help signing up for subsidized private health insurance.

Lucy Martinez, an unemployed single mother of two boys, said she'd previously tried to enroll at a clinic in another part of the city but there was always a problem. She'd wait and wait and they wouldn't call her name, or they would ask her for paperwork that she was told earlier she didn't need, she said. Her diabetic mother would start sweating so they'd have to leave.

She's heard "that this would be better here," said Martinez, adding that her mother successfully signed up Sunday at a different location.

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Deadline Dash: Glitches Slow Health Care Sign-Ups

Rural residents confront higher health care costs

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AP Model Meghan McMahon laughs after giving a sticker to Iggy Cole, age 3, who gave it to his baby brother August, as McMahon handed out literature and juice shots on an outdoor pedestrian mall, encouraging the public to get health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, during a promotional campaign launched by Colorado HealthOP, a independent non-profit health care co-op, in Denver, Thursday March 20, 2014. More than 250,000 Coloradans have become covered through the state-run insurance exchange since enrollment began October 1, 2013, and those who still do not have health insurance have two more weeks to get coverage or pay a fine. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

By KRISTEN WYATT/Associated Press/March 30, 2014

DENVER (AP) Bill Fales wanted a new baler and a better irrigation system for the 700-acre ranch where he raises grass-fed beef cattle, but he scrapped those plans when he saw his new health insurance premiums.

His Cold Mountain Ranch is in western Colorados Rocky Mountains, a rural area where outpatient services are twice as expensive as the state average. Fales recently saw his monthly premiums jump 50 percent, to about $1,800 a month.

Health care has always been more expensive in far-flung communities, where actuarial insurance data show fewer doctors, specialists and hospitals, as well as older residents in need of more health care services. But the rural-urban cost divide has been exacerbated by the Affordable Care Act.

We've gone from letting the insurance companies use a pre-existing medical condition to jack up rates to having a pre-existing zip code being the reason health insurance is unaffordable, Fales said. Its just wrong.

Geography is one of only three determinants insurance companies are allowed to use to set premiums under the federal health care law, along with age and tobacco use. Insurance officials say they need such controls to remain viable.

If premiums are not allowed to keep up with underlying medical costs, no company is going to survive, said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman with Americas Health Insurance Plans, a Washington, D.C.-based industry group.

The nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation recently rated the Colorado region where Fales lives as the nations priciest, based on rates for the lowest-priced silver plan, a mid-level policy. In this part of the state, a region that includes Aspen, the cheapest mid-level plan is $483 a month. In Denver, the same plan is about $280 a month.

Other insurance price zones on the most-expensive list include rural areas in Georgia, Nevada, Wisconsin and Wyoming. But the cost differences between densely and sparsely populated areas shouldnt come as a shock, Zirkelbach said, because its simply more expensive to deliver care in such communities.

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Rural residents confront higher health care costs


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