Dec 24 Can you go on and off Medicare? By Philip Moeller Is enrolling in Medicare a once-and-for-all decision? Not necessarily, explains Medicare Maven Phil Moeller. A retiree may want to drop Medicare Part B if he or she has the option of being covered under a new spouse's employer group health… Continue reading
Dec 18 Public easily swayed on attitudes toward health care law, poll finds By Julie Rovner, KFF Health News Just days before the requirement for most large employers to provide health insurance takes effect, a new poll finds the public easily swayed over arguments for and against the policy. Continue reading
Dec 15 Small businesses drop health coverage and shift employees to Obamacare By Jay Hancock, Kaiser Health News For two decades Atlanta restaurant owner Jim Dunn offered a group health plan to his managers and helped pay for it. That ended Dec. 1, after the Affordable Care Act made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Continue reading
Dec 15 Healthcare.gov prepares for traffic crunch as deadlines hit today By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press Wait times at the federal call center started creeping up around the middle of last week, mainly due to a surge of current customers with questions about their coverage for next year. Many will face higher premiums, although they could… Continue reading
Dec 10 The Social Security and Medicare gotcha that makes contributing to your HSA illegal By Philip Moeller Philip Moeller considers a question from a reader who's old enough to collect maximum benefits from Social Security. When he files, though, he'll also get Medicare. And because he's still working, that'll spell trouble for his Health Savings Account. Continue reading
Dec 08 Good news for the Affordable Care Act in jobs reports By Dean Baker In the wake of November's jobs report, Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, argues that the Affordable Care Act is allowing more young parents to choose to stay at home with their kids. Continue reading
Dec 08 Federal defense contractors find a new profitable business: Obamacare By Jay Hancock, Kaiser Health News In a way that is deeply changing Washington contracting, growth opportunities from the federal government have increasingly come not from war but from healing, an examination by Kaiser Health News and The Washington Post shows. Continue reading
Dec 03 Should you ditch your employer’s insurance for Medicare? By Philip Moeller In the last few days before Medicare open enrollment ends for the year, Making Sen$e Medicare Maven Phil Moeller takes a question from a reader of a certain age who's not sure whether he should choose one of his employer's… Continue reading
Nov 24 Is the U.S. really facing a serious doctor shortage? By Julie Rovner, KFF Health News Many medical groups, led by the Association of American Medical Colleges, say there’s little doubt. “We think the shortage is going to be close to 130,000 in the next 10 to 12 years,” says Atul Grover, the group’s chief public… Continue reading
Nov 21 Jonathan Gruber: Success of insurance marketplaces hinges on competition By Simone Pathe The second year of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act is now underway. This year, more insurers are participating in health insurance marketplaces, and if evidence from last year is any indication, increased competition should result in lower premiums. Continue reading