This Week’s Health Policy News Roundup Curated by Jane M. Orient, M.D.
Obama has come up with the 95% solution to make reenrollment figures look good: A senior federal official told CNBC that an estimated 95 percent of HealthCare.gov enrollees—some 5.1 million people—will be signed up for the 2015 plan year and receive the same tax credits [subsidies] without having to do anything. http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0627/Obamacare-s-95-percent-solution-automatic-reenrollment
If your current plan is no longer available, the Marketplace will just pick one and enroll you in it, says CMS. https://marketplace.cms.gov/technical-assistance-resources/questions-and-answers-reenrollment.pdf
Business experts caution, however, that automatic reenrollment could be a big mistake. “Automatically re-enrolling may jeopardize the amount of money that many people receive to offset the cost of their policy. Some customers, depending on how they filled out their application last year, could lose their subsidy completely if they choose to automatically re-enroll. http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20141012/PC16/141019826
Note the meaning of “open enrollment.” Once this period is passed (in mid-February), enrollment is CLOSED. That means you are stuck in your plan until the next open-enrollment period.
Treasury and HHS are not warning people about significant risks if the Supreme Court decides that subsidies are available only through State-established Exchanges, writes Michael Cannon. “By mid-2015, 5 million HealthCare.gov enrollees could see their tax liabilities increase by thousands of dollars. Their premiums could increase by 300 percent or more. Their health plans could be cancelled without any replacement plans available.” http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelcannon/2014/12/17/senate-leaders-demand-treasury-hhs-inform-consumers-about-risks-of-healthcare-gov-coverage/
Insurance companies are taken care of, however. Cannon reports: “According to an October report, at the request of insurers, the contracts between CMS and insurers ‘include a new clause assuring issuers that they may pull out of the contracts, subject to state laws, should federal subsidies cease to flow.’”
Many Americans are not sold on ObamaCare for themselves. A Gallup poll showed that more than 25 percent of the uninsured planned to pay the fine/penalty/tax instead of signing up. See second video clip at http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/12/16/the-man-who-busted-gruber-speaks-n1932597
Social Media
Vermont’s Single Payer Washout http://t.co/HFrONCWl62 Astonished they pulled it back! @aapsonline @avik @davidwebbshow @paulhsieh @IP4PI
— Richard Amerling (@dramerling) December 23, 2014
Medicine Is About to Get Personal #DirectCare http://t.co/9FDxUt2SPV via @TIMEHealth
— Lee S. Gross, M.D. (@drleegross) December 23, 2014
Were @TheLancet and @AnnalsofIM paid to publish white paper on "medical professionalism?" http://t.co/xjegJnLPr2
— Westby Fisher, MD (@doctorwes) December 23, 2014
