First Edition: January 8, 2014

Jan 8 2014

Today's headlines include news from Capitol Hill about how current events offer a window into the dynamics of the 2014 campaign season.

Kaiser Health News: Former HHS Head Offers His Insight Into The Health Law's Problems
Kaiser Health News staff writer Julie Appleby talked with Michael O. Leavitt, secretary of Health and Human Services during the George W. Bush administration, who oversaw another troubled rollout -; that of the Medicare prescription drug benefit in 2006. It also was criticized for computer glitches, long waits for telephone assistance and consumers incorrectly enrolled in coverage. Leavitt, a former Utah governor who opposed the Affordable Care Act, now runs Leavitt Partners, a consulting firm that works with health care organizations and state governments on implementing the law (Appleby, 1/8). Read an edited transcript of the conversation.

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Survey Finds Wealthier Patients In California More Satisfied With Their Health Care
Now on Kaiser Health News' blog, Daniela Hernandez reports: "Money may not buy happiness, but patients with more money to spend tend to be happier with their health care providers, a statewide survey sponsored by the Blue Shield of California Foundation found" (Hernandez, 1/8). Check out what else is on the blog.

Politico: The High Bar For Obamacare Success Stories
Here's the challenge the White House faces in telling Obamacare success stories: Try to picture a headline that says, "Obamacare does what it's supposed to do." Somehow, the Obama administration and its allies will have to convince news outlets to run those kinds of stories -; and to give the happy newly insured the same kind of attention as the outraged complainers whose health plans were canceled because of the law (Nather, 1/8).

USA Today: Obama Adviser: Health Care Rollout Like A Football Game
The Obama administration's new point person on the health care rollout compares the effort to a football game, and cites one specific example. Just as the Indianapolis Colts rallied from a 28-point deficit to beat the Kansas City Chiefs this past weekend, the health care law is coming back from its rough start and will prevail, senior adviser Phil Schiliro said in a television interview (Jackson, 1/7).

Los Angeles Times: Jobless Benefits Bill Takes Small Steps In An Uphill Climb
The Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, offered an amendment Tuesday that would have extended unemployment insurance in return for a one-year suspension of the healthcare law's requirement that all individuals carry health insurance. It was rejected by Democrats (Mascaro and Parsons, 1/7).

Los Angeles Times: Analysis: Senate Action A Preview Of 2014 Election Fight: Who's On Your Side? 
The frantic image-making by Democrats and Republicans as the 2014 elections loom rippled through the Senate debate Tuesday over whether to extend jobless benefits that expired late last year. For Democrats, who unanimously supported a procedural vote on the benefit extension, the issue offered an opportunity to come to the defense of a middle class still. … For Republicans, only six of whom crossed party lines to further the benefit extension, the day brought a renewed effort to tie jobless relief to Obamacare. … The merging of the two issues came in a proposal by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to pay for the extension with a one-year delay of Obamacare's requirement that all Americans carry health insurance. Though that was defeated, along with an attempt by Republicans to block the benefits extension from being considered, final approval of the legislation is iffy in the Senate and, at this point, exceedingly iffy in the Republican-controlled House (Decker, 1/7).

The Washington Post's The Fix: The Hidden Effect Of Anti-Obamacare Ads
But, there's another potential impact -- beyond the political one -- of these early ads, according to Elizabeth Wilner, senior VP at Kantar Media Ad Intelligence. "This isn't just about using the issue to defeat Democrats, though that's emerging as the primary goal for 2014; it's also about rendering the law unsuccessful," explained Wilner. "It's a quirk of geography, and of political demography that has been decades in the making, that vulnerable Democratic incumbents represent a lot of areas where there are a lot of Americans who need health coverage." In other words, the most vulnerable Democratic senators up for reelection in 2014 represent a remarkably large number of people who are uninsured. That means that ad spending on anti-Obamacare messaging in those states is -- and will continue to be -- higher than the national average despite the fact that, in theory, more people in those states might benefit from the law (Cillizza, 1/7).

Politico: Obamacare Ads To Hit The Olympic Slopes
The Obama administration is planning an Olympic-size ad blitz to push health coverage during the winter games next month. HHS confirmed Tuesday that it has bought advertising time in markets with high rates of uninsured people to air during the Winter Olympics, which run Feb. 7-23 (Cheney and Hohmann, 1/7).

The New York Times: Report Finds More Flaws In Digitizing Patient Files
Although the federal government is spending more than $22 billion to encourage hospitals and doctors to adopt electronic health records, it has failed to put safeguards in place to prevent the technology from being used for inflating costs and overbilling, according to a new report by a federal oversight agency (Abelson and Creswell, 1/8).

Los Angeles Times: Blue Shield Of California Rate Hike Is Excessive, Regulator Says
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones criticized Blue Shield of California for an "unreasonable" rate hike affecting about 81,000 individual policyholders. Tuesday, Jones said the nonprofit health insurer's 10% average increase effective Jan. 1 was excessive. But he and other state officials don't have the authority to reject changes in premiums. Jones said the latest rate hike amounted to an average increase of 32% over a two-year period (Terhune, 1/7).

The New York Times' Dealbook: Oscar, A New Health Insurer, Raises $30 Million 
Most of the darlings of the last few years have been consumer-focused start-ups, like Instagram and Warby Parker. But a group of investors, including the venture capitalist Joshua Kushner, are doubling down on a bet on health insurance. Oscar, a health insurer co-founded by Mr. Kushner, has raised $30 million in new capital from existing investors, the firm plans to disclose this week. The financing was led by the Founders Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded by Peter Thiel. It also includes Mr. Kushner's firm, Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst Partners (De La Merced, 1/7).

Los Angeles Times: Blue Shield Of California To Buy Gem Care Health Plan In Bakersfiled
Blue Shield of California said it has agreed to acquire GemCare Health Plan, expanding its presence in Kern County and the Central Coast area. Blue Shield, one of the state's largest health insurers, said Tuesday that GemCare customers should see minimal changes at first. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed (Terhune, 1/7).