Marketplace falls behind schedule in Conn.; How dental plans for kids will be sold in Calif.

Jul 9 2013

With the Oct. 1 deadline for launching markeplaces approaching, states struggle with health law implementation issues.

The Washington Post: In Connecticut, A Struggle To Launch Obamacare
At a monthly board meeting of Connecticut's health insurance exchange, members of the standing-room-only crowd got a reminder that they, too, were behind schedule. The insurance marketplace they were working on nights and weekends won't be completely ready on time. "It is highly complex, it's unprecedented and it's not going to be smooth," Kevin Counihan, chief executive of the state's exchange, Access Health CT, told the group. That's why Connecticut -; like other states across the country -; has lowered the bar, doing what it can in the time it has left before the health-care law's major programs are launched Oct. 1 (Kliff, 7/4).

Los Angeles Times: State Insurance Chief, Health Exchange Differ On Kids' Dental Care
Backed by children's health advocates, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones is challenging the state's health insurance exchange over the way it wants to provide children's dental benefits. At issue is whether pediatric dental care should be part of the basic health insurance package sold through the exchange or sold separately. The exchange has proposed selling it on a stand-alone basis to parents (Terhune, 7/5).

Dallas Morning News: Community Groups Gear Up For Health Insurance Exchanges
Come Oct. 1, the health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act will start open enrollment for people to shop for health insurance. Before that, however, begins a huge undertaking in educating consumers about the exchanges, also known as the health insurance marketplace, and about the act itself. Many Americans remain unaware of, or confused about, the health care law, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a private, nonprofit foundation that explores health care issues. Some believe Congress repealed the law and some believe the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it. But Congress hasn't repealed it, and the high court left its basic provisions standing (Yip, 7/7).

Des Moines Register: Doctor Visits Likely To Rise With New Health Plan
Iowa clinics and hospitals should expect a wave of chronically ill people when a new state health insurance program starts in January, a report suggests. The report from the Public Policy Center assesses the health of people now on IowaCare, a limited health care program for poor adults. IowaCare covers about 70,000 people, most of whom are expected to switch next year to the new Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, which will provide broader insurance coverage to roughly 150,000 poor Iowans (Leys, 7/6).

The Miami Herald: After Healthcare Law Delay, Medicaid Expansion In Florida Remains In The Shadows
The Obama administration's decision to delay the Affordable Care Act health insurance mandate on employers has lessened some of the leverage advocates of expanding Medicaid in Florida had on lawmakers, but it won't end the debate (Klas and Mitchell, 7/4).