Another reason the uninsured rate is declining: The individual mandate. "California officials often cited the high demand for health insurance in explaining this week's last-minute surge for Obamacare. But some of the people who waited in line for hours this week said another big reason was to avoid paying the health law's penalty for being uninsured." Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times.
Republicans quietly agree to fix for health-care law they hate. "At the prodding of business organizations, House Republicans quietly secured a recent change in President Barack Obama's health law to expand coverage choices, a striking, one-of-a-kind departure from dozens of high-decibel attempts to repeal or dismember it. Democrats describe the change involving small-business coverage options as a straightforward improvement of the type they are eager to make, and Obama signed it into law. Republicans are loath to agree, given the strong sentiment among the rank and file that the only fix the law deserves is a burial." David Espo in the Associated Press.
About that Medicaid expansion: Enrollments boosted by 3 million. "More than 3 million people have enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program since October, according to new data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Friday. This is the first time the Obama administration has reported actual enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP since the Oct. 1 start of enrollment. Previous CMS reports have provided numbers for those determined eligible for the programs, which is different from actual enrollment. CMS reported Friday morning that total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment since September grew 8.3 percent in states that expanded their programs for low-income residents, five times higher than the 1.6 percent enrollment increase that non-expansion states saw over the same time." Jason Millman in The Washington Post.
Not surprisingly, states that embraced the Medicaid expansion have seen the largest increases in enrollment. "It's one more sign that the health care law is reducing the number of Americans without insurance significantly -- although it doesn't tell us by how much or whether, at year's end, the reduction will live up to original projections. It's also one more window into our growing geopolitical divide -- between the part of America where officials are trying aggressively to help poor people get health insurance, and the part where officials are not....Taking advantage of flexibility following the 2012 Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare, a large swath of mostly conservative states have opted not to expand eligibility. As a result, millions of low-income Americans living in these states remain with no viable source of comprehensive coverage. The story is different in states that have expanded Medicaid." Jonathan Cohn in The New Republic.
Explainer: The Republicans' plan to cut Medicaid, explained. Sarah Kliff in Vox.
Explainer: So, now you have health insurance. How do you make the most of it? Lisa Zamosky in the Los Angeles Times.
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