Affordable Care Act Archives

News in Brief

Can Ivory Tower Academics and Policymakers Work Well Together?

At their best, federal advisory committees offer an efficient way for policymakers to obtain expert guidance on policy issues. But, in the wake of Grubergate, there’s room for improvement.

Megan McHugh

Social Justice

Hospitals: Stop Suing Poor Patients

Senator Charles Grassley has asked a Missouri non-profit hospital to explain why it seizes the wages of thousands of its patients.

Paul Kiel

Social Justice

New Rules for Non-Profit Hospitals That Sue Patients

Non-profit hospitals get big tax breaks for providing care for patients who can’t afford it. Under new IRS rules these hospitals must take extra steps to inform poor patients they may qualify for financial assistance.

Paul Kiel

Social Justice

Drowning in Backlog: Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion May Be a Victim of Its Own Success

With open enrollment over for private health insurance claims, states are struggling to process hundreds of thousands of Medicaid applications.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

A Better Way to Pick the Doctor That’s Right for You

For years, patients have had few ways to compare doctors beyond their reputations. With a huge Medicare data release, that may soon change.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Does It Matter That Teaching Hospitals Have Close Ties to Drug Companies?

Nearly every large drug maker based in the United States had at least one academic medical center official on its board, raising questions about their independence.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

Judging Obamacare: How Do We Know If It’s a Success or a Failure?

Sign-ups were supposed to formally end yesterday, and attention is shifting from marketing to measuring whether the law is meetings its goals.

Charles Ornstein

News in Brief

Should All Companies Be Required to Provide Birth Control Benefits to Employees?

A reading list on the Hobby Lobby cases.

Nina Martin

Social Justice

Smoking Mad: Tobacco Users Caught Up in Insurer’s Obamacare Glitch

After signing up for coverage and disclosing they were smokers, about 100 New Hampshire consumers, including Terry Wetherby, find their new Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield policies canceled because they were charged incorrect “non-smoker” rates.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

During Final Obamacare Push, Is There Anything Worth Celebrating?

A fellow at American Enterprise Institute faults steps by the Obama administration to delay parts of the Affordable Care Act, saying they amount to dismantling the program in ways that will make it harder to sustain.

Charles Ornstein