Support for Obamacare, and Obama, may be rebounding. "President Obama's approval ratings, which hit his all-time low last month, have returned to where they were before the rollout of the health care law's enrollment process, but Americans still lack confidence in the White House's management of the Affordable Care Act, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. The public's opinion of the law itself has improved after repairs to the enrollment website...42 percent of Americans now approve of Mr. Obama's overall performance, and 50 percent disapprove...[H]alf of the respondents disapproved of the Affordable Care Act, while 39 percent approved, the poll found. But Americans seem to view the law more favorably now than a month ago, when 61 percent disapproved and just 31 percent approved." Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Alison Kopicki in The New York Times.
A permanent fix to Medicare fees is coming. "[L]awmakers are soon set to recess for Christmas, most observers expect them to pass another short-term fix this month. But they say the new CBO projection offers promise for a permanent fix in 2014...Most proposals for a fix aim to prod doctors to save money for Medicare, which traditionally has allowed physicians to earn more by performing more procedures regardless of patient outcomes. The Senate proposal, written with the help of House Ways and Means members, would freeze current Medicare rates over the next decade, but give extra payments to doctors who meet certain performance measures." Amy Schatz in The Wall Street Journal.
The feds sign off on expanding Medicaid to 100,000 Iowans. "The federal government gave Iowa the go-ahead on Tuesday to expand its Medicaid program -- and, in the process, gave the state a new flexibility to tweak the public program's benefit package...Iowa had proposed using public funds to purchase private coverage for the Medicaid-eligible...Health and Human Services essentially split the difference with the state here: They're allowing premiums for those who earn between 100 percent and 133 percent of the federal poverty line, but not for those who earn below that. The premiums are limited at 2 percent of income (for someone at the poverty line, this is about $19 a month), and enrollees have the chance to reduce their payment by participating in a wellness program. The other, and arguably bigger, difference between the Iowa and Arkansas plan is that Iowa has gotten more leeway in tweaking Medicaid's benefits package." Sarah Kliff inThe Washington Post.
Tennessee wants to expand Medicaid too. But it can't figure out how. "The Republican governor of Tennessee on Monday said he'd be open to expanding Medicaid under ObamaCare if a system is found that the state's GOP-led legislature approves of. Gov. Bill Haslam, in a letter sent to Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Kathleen Sebelius, expressed optimism that a solution could be found." Jonathan Easley in The Hill.
100,000 have signed up on New York health exchange. "As of Monday, about 69,500 people had selected a private insurance plan through the exchange, in addition to 31,400 who have signed up for Medicaid, the government insurance for the poor, the state health department said. In mid-November, the Medicaid to private insurance ratio was about 50-50, but began tipping toward the private side after that...State officials said they are on track to reach their enrollment goal of 1.1 million people by the end of 2016." Anemona Hartocollis in The New York Times.
Explainer: The ultimate guide to buying insurance on Healthcare.gov. Sarah Kliff in The Washington Post.
Obamacare backers not relying on White House to meet law's challenges. "Like many of the law's backers, foundation leaders have decided they and their local partners must take responsibility for educating consumers about their new coverage and responding to questions and complaints because the Obama administration has shown little ability to do it. Many physician groups, hospitals and insurers have come to the same conclusion." Noam N. Levey and Kathleen Hennessey in The Los Angeles Times.
Cracks emerge in the wall of Obamacare opposition. "[J]ust over the last couple of weeks, unexpected cracks have started to emerge. The Republican approach to "Obanacare" has started to evolve, at least a little...[Sen. Ron] Johnson has devoted much of his brief political career to condemning the Affordable Care Act, and he's now telling one of the more important news outlets in conservative media that he's comfortable with state-based exchange marketplaces - which is not only one of the key elements of Obamacare, but is also one of the provisions conservative Republicans have been fighting against." Steve Benen in MSNBC.
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