WASHINGTON — President Obama has vetoed congressional legislation that would repeal the Affordable Care Act. Repeal bills passed by the House and Senate “would reverse the significant progress we have made in improving health care in America,” Obama said. Noting that 17.6 million Americans have gained health care coverage under the law, he said the
Clearly, health care reform will remain a contentious issue during the current presidential election cycle and beyond. The House of Representatives started the new year by voting to gut the Affordable Care Act. Passage of the legislation, by a 240-to-181 margin that closely mirrored the breakdown among parties in the Republican-controlled body, together
WASHINGTON — Republican opponents of President Obama’s health care law may do better by dismantling the Affordable Care Act piece by piece. Under the budget deal passed by Congress and signed by the president last month, a widely criticized tax on high-cost employer health insurance plans has been delayed and two taxes already being collected
SAN ANTONIO — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell stopped at an H-E-B grocery store here, where she drew attention to the December 15 enrollment deadline for consumers who wanted their health insurance plans to become active on January 1. Although open enrollment for 2016 health insurance plans continued through
WASHINGTON — Slow growth is foreseen for health insurance enrollment through the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the Obama administration said this month. Coverage by the end of 2016 will barely exceed current levels, the administration said. Sign-ups during the ACA’s upcoming open enrollment season will bring the number of covered individuals to 10 million, up
NEW YORK — Chain drug retailers have begun extensive outreach programs to provide consumers with access to information and resources for Medicare Part D and Health Insurance Marketplace coverage options. Medicare Part D annual enrollment began Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7. The enrollment period for Marketplace plans is Nov. 1, 2015, to January
WASHINGTON — The government vows to conduct an extensive outreach initiative during the Affordable Care Act’s upcoming open enrollment period in an attempt to enroll millions of eligible but difficult-to-reach Americans who have yet to sign up for health insurance. “Those who are still uninsured are going to be a bigger challenge,” Department of Health
WASHINGTON — The Affordable Care Act has reduced the number of Americans without health insurance by 15.8 million, or one-third, since 2013, new government data shows. In the first quarter of this year there were 29 million uninsured people, the National Center for Health Statistics said this month. The share of the population without insurance
WASHINGTON — The Affordable Care Act has survived its second Supreme Court challenge, with a divided court agreeing with the Obama administration that government subsidies that make health insurance affordable for millions of poor and middle-class Americans should be available nationwide. While there are more challenges to come, the organization representing the nation’s traditional drug
WASHINGTON — Some 13% of people who enrolled in health insurance plans this year under the Affordable Care Act have lost coverage, many because they failed to pay their share of premiums, the Obama administration reported. The number of people on the rolls as of March 31 stood at 10.2 million, down from the 11.7
WASHINGTON — The fate of the Affordable Care Act rests with the Supreme Court. The court this month heard arguments in a case that the Obama administration says could gut the law. It will decide whether some 7 million low- and middle-income people in about three-dozen states will continue to receive subsidies under the law
WASHINGTON — Three Republican lawmakers have proposed an alternative to the Affordable Care Act that would stop the expansion of Medicaid and reduce subsidies for middle-income people to buy insurance. The plan would give states more power to list “essential health benefits” of insurance. Coverage for maternity care would no longer be mandated. The proposal was
LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Highlighting the Obama administration’s partnerships with drug chains to boost health plan enrollment, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell last month toured a CVS/pharmacy store here. Burwell’s visit also was intended to urge people to sign up for health insurance by the February 15 deadline in the current open enrollment period
WASHINGTON — A late surge lifted the number of people enrolling for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act to nearly 2.5 million since mid-November. More than 1 million signed up in the last week of open enrollment before the December 15 deadline for full-year coverage in 2015. The enrollment figure, which excluded the final
