Health Insurance

Students Amanda McComas, Rose Marie Chute and Sari Schwartz are approached in October at Santa Monica City College in California about signing up for insurance with the Affordable Care Act.

For The Young And Healthy, Health Insurance Is A Hard Sell

6:01pm October 31, 2013

by Sonari Glinton

The success of the Affordable Care Act rests in part on getting young, healthy people to purchase coverage. But despite marketing attempts to reach them, some young people feel they're too healthy or cash-strapped to buy something they say they're unlikely to need.

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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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So What's The Real Deadline For Obamacare Sign-Up?

1:06pm October 16, 2013

by Julie Rovner

Now that enrollment has opened for coverage under the Affordable Care Act, one of the biggest questions people have is, what's the deadline? It's Dec. 15 if you want coverage to start on Jan. 1. But open enrollment actually runs through March 2014. After that, you'll generally have to wait until next fall.

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Edward Avalos, one of the first certified enrollment specialists in California, is a very busy man.

California Trains Helpers To Meet Demand For Health Insurance

11:03am October 11, 2013

by Sarah Varney

The California health exchange has focused on drumming up interest in coverage during the first month of operation. Certified enrollment counselors can barely keep up with the requests for assistance that are rolling in.

Pardit Pri was excited to learn the new health insurance exchanges could help her.

Back To Work After A Baby, But Without Health Insurance

9:13pm October 05, 2013

by Sarah Varney

Pardit Pri left her job as a legal assistant when she had a baby. She thought she'd be able to find a new job with health insurance, but so far has found only contract work with no benefits. She's not sure if her state's new health exchange will make sense for her, given her uncertain income.

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Brad Stevens used to think he didn't need health insurance.

Medicaid Looks Good To A Former Young Invincible

11:38am October 04, 2013

by Sarah Varney

A 54-year-old California man has never had health insurance and wasn't much interested in the debate over the Affordable Care Act. But after some recent health setbacks, he is eager to sign up for coverage made possible by the law.

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Assisters get up to speed on how best to explain the new health coverage choices during training on Sept. 25 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.

First Step In Health Exchange Enrollment: Train The Helpers

2:06pm October 02, 2013

by Julie Rovner

Navigators are a key part of the health law rollout. They work at nonprofit organizations, and they're being trained to help people learn about their coverage options. In some areas that training is still going on, even though the exchanges are up and running.

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Colorado has taken its own route to building a health exchange.

Colorado's Exchange Opens After Years of Bipartisan Effort

10:27am October 02, 2013

by Eric Whitney

The website may have been struggling under the demand, but one early user of Colorado's new health exchange said it still provided information that should prove useful in sorting out coverage needs. The state has been working on the exchange since 2007, and it's enjoyed strong bipartisan support.

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In Florida, Insurer And Nonprofits Work On Enrollment

7:05pm October 01, 2013

by Greg Allen

Florida resisted implementing the Affordable Care Act. Now, in the absence of the state encouraging people to sign up for insurance on exchanges set up under it, other groups have stepped in.

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