health care

Insurance Cancellations Elbow Out Website Woes At Health Hearing

7:57pm October 29, 2013

by Julie Rovner

For Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, the big question was not why isn't the HealthCare.gov website working. It was why are people being told their insurance is being cancelled when President Obama said they can keep it, no matter what. Administration officials said the new coverage will be better.

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Gone is the smiling young woman who used to grace HealthCare.gov. Now it's time to get down to work.

More Technical Issues For Obamacare, But Good News For Medicare

5:02pm October 29, 2013

by Julie Rovner

After yet more problems over the weekend, HealthCare.gov, the federal site for people to buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act, seems to be making incremental improvements. Probably the best news on the health care front is that premiums for Medicare will not increase next year.

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Ashley Hentze (left) gets help signing up for the Affordable Care Act from a volunteer in Florida. The government says that 40 percent of the expected enrollees for 2014 must be young and healthy for health insurance premiums to remain affordable.

For Obamacare To Work, It's Not Just About The Numbers

3:38pm October 28, 2013

by John Ydstie

Relatively few people have enrolled in new health insurance plans since the Affordable Care Act exchanges launched this month. But some health care experts say it's early days yet — and that getting the right proportion of healthy, young new enrollees is just as important as how quickly people sign up.

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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks Thursday in Phoenix.

'Loyal Soldier' Sebelius Vows To Stay Put, Fix HealthCare.gov

11:19am October 26, 2013

by Brian Naylor

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is rejecting calls for her resignation, saying, "I don't work for" those calling the loudest for her to step down. And the government official who has become the face of the disastrous rollout of the Obamacare website says she has promised the president she'll get things straightened out.

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Bipartisan Anger, Competing Interests Over HealthCare.gov

11:19am October 26, 2013

With the drama of the 17-day government shutdown over, the spotlight this week turned to the troubled rollout of the federal health insurance exchanges. Host Scott Simon talks to NPR's Ron Elving about the frustrations from both parties over the crippled HealthCare.gov website.

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Pennsylvania Governor Talks Up Plan To Expand Medicaid His Way

7:55pm October 25, 2013

by Elana Gordon

After initially declining federal funding to expand Medicaid, Gov. Tom Corbett has changed course slightly. He is pursuing an approach for Pennsylvania that would make use of federal funds, but there are some caveats.

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Clinics Close As Texas Abortion Fight Continues

10:52am October 25, 2013

by Kathy Lohr

Some clinics say they can't comply with a Texas law set to go into effect next week. It adds building requirements for clinics and places more rules on doctors who perform abortions. Laws like the one in Texas have passed in more than a dozen states.

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Protesters fill the Miami office of state Rep. Manny Diaz Jr. on Sept. 20 to protest his stance against expansion of health coverage in Florida.

States' Refusal To Expand Medicaid May Leave Millions Uninsured

12:12pm October 24, 2013

by Julie Rovner

The idea was that Medicaid would expand to include people not covered under the Affordable Care Act. But many states have chosen not to expand coverage, despite financial incentives from the federal government. That may leave millions of people without any health coverage at all.

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Why Postponing Insurance Mandate Is No Easy Fix For Obamacare

7:57pm October 23, 2013

by Julie Rovner

One of the big questions now is what will happen if the federal health insurance website can't be fixed soon. Will the government penalize people for not having insurance if they couldn't realistically buy it?

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Obama Says He's 'Frustrated' About Health Care Site Issues

3:37pm October 22, 2013

At the White House on Monday, President Obama acknowledged widespread problems with his health care law's website while still defending the Affordable Care Act. NPR White House Correspondent Scott Horsley talks with Steve Inskeep about the president's remarks.

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