Tag Archives: insurance exchanges

“Silver loading”

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I did not know this. The latest state to take strong action to improve affordability in its ACA marketplace is … Texas? […] But let me explain some background details first. Below 200 percent of the federal poverty level (that … Continue reading →

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An awful lot of Texans could lose health insurance

Posted on December 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It sure will suck to be them. New public-health studies warn that hasty congressional action toward repealing the Affordable Care Act could have dire consequences for the poor and uninsured both in Texas and nationwide. The dismantlement of portions of … Continue reading →

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From the “Don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” department

Posted on November 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

People are signing up for health insurance plans while they still can. For years the backers of the Affordable Care Act have fretted over how best to stimulate insurance enrollment on the exchanges so the law could work as designed. … Continue reading →

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The Latino health insurance enrollment gap in Texas

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We have made great strides in reducing the uninsured rate in Texas thanks to the Affordable Care Act, but there’s still a lot of work to do. The percentage of Hispanics in Texas without health insurance has dropped by 30 … Continue reading →

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Another story on how Texas’ uninsured rate has fallen under Obamacare

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Same book, next chapter. A study released Tuesday shows that the rate of Texans without insurance has dropped to its lowest point since the late 1990s because of the Affordable Care Act, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and … Continue reading →

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The latest good news/bad news on Texas uninsured numbers

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good news: Texas’ percentage of uninsured residents continues to drop. Bad news: It’s still higher than what the national average was in 2010, the year before the Affordable Care Act was passed. The percentage of Texans without insurance has dropped … Continue reading →

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Yet another record year for Obamacare signups in Texas

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s like a trend or something. A record 1.3 million Texans signed up for health coverage during the 2016 Affordable Care Act’s enrollment period, topping last year’s number by more than 100,000, according to the U.S. Health and Human Services … Continue reading →

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One million plus Texas Obamacare enrollments

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It keeps going up. Just over one million Texans had signed up on the federal health insurance exchange as of last Saturday, signaling a steady drumbeat of interest and giving local advocates a chance for some celebration. “I will take … Continue reading →

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Health insurance exchange open enrollment, Year 3

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The challenge, in a nutshell. In rural Borden County, 12 people signed up for Obamacare this year. Livid over the government telling them they must buy something and loath to take anything that looks like a “handout,” the uninsured here … Continue reading →

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We’re still #1!

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

In uninsured people. For the first time in more than a decade, Texas’ uninsured rate dipped below 20 percent, analysts said [recently] following the release of U.S. Census data. Slightly more than 5 million Texans were uninsured in 2014 — … Continue reading →

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Harris Health wants more people to enroll in Obamacare

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Who can blame them? Harris County’s public health care agency, responding to a budget crisis, will eliminate more than 19,000 people next year from eligibility for free or nearly free services, hoping most of these patients will obtain coverage through … Continue reading →

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The demography of the uninsured in Texas

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another look at those who have been helped by Obamacare in Texas, and those who would be helped if the state wasn’t actively resisting. The states’s uninsured continue to be most likely Hispanic, middle-aged, with low incomes and without a … Continue reading →

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Abbott would like to restore the uninsured rate

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what he does. Greg Abbott on Monday urged his fellow Republicans not to “rescue” President Barack Obama’s signature health care law if it is torpedoed by the U.S. Supreme Court, an unusually public stance that could make the first-term … Continue reading →

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Lots of people will lose insurance if SCOTUS takes it away from them

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder. With a U.S. Supreme Court decision looming this month on a point of law that could dismantle the Affordable Care Act, a series of new reports offer a grim glimpse at the toll on Texas should the … Continue reading →

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House chubfest kills several bad bills

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news, though as always at the end of a session, the outcome isn’t clean and the details are very murky. As the clock struck midnight, the failure of an anti-abortion initiative — dear to the hearts of the … Continue reading →

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There’s still time for bad bills to be passed

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Bad bill #1: After four hours of debate and more than a dozen failed amendments offered by Democrats, the Senate on Monday gave preliminary approval to far-reaching restrictions on minors seeking abortions in Texas without parental consent. On a 21-10 … Continue reading →

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Texas’ uninsured rate drops dramatically

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Amazing what can happen when a government actually tries to solve a problem, isn’t it? The rate of Texans without health insurance has fallen 8 percentage points since enrollment in the federal Affordable Care Act began, according to a new … Continue reading →

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Texans like having health insurance

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Who knew? A first-of-its-kind survey asking Texans if health insurance is necessary found an overwhelming majority believe having coverage is critical for them and their families, with 50 percent calling it “absolutely essential.” The Texas Medical Center commissioned Nielsen to … Continue reading →

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A different push for health care expansion

Posted on April 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to spark some interesting conversations. Two Democratic lawmakers called Wednesday for Texas leaders to explore a new type of Medicaid waiver that they say could provide health coverage to many of the state’s millions of uninsured. The waiver, … Continue reading →

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Cruz may go on Obamacare

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Go ahead, laugh it up. You know you want to. Ted Cruz, one of the loudest critics of Obamacare, will soon be using it for health insurance coverage. “We will presumably go on the exchange and sign up for health … Continue reading →

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Lots of newly insured folks in Texas

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Obamacare! More than half of 1.2 million Texans who enrolled in private health insurance plans through the federally operated marketplace this year were new customers, according to a government report released Tuesday. The analysis from the U.S. Department of … Continue reading →

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From the “Be careful who you vote for” department

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Because you never know when the consequences of your voting actions will directly affect you. Erin Meredith, a fifth-generation Republican who lives in Austin, was no fan of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which she considered just another wasteful government … Continue reading →

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One point two million Obamacare signups in Texas

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not too shabby. McCarter was one of nearly 1.2 million Texans who signed up or were re-enrolled in health coverage before open enrollment ended Sunday. The newly released numbers show Texas ranking behind only Florida in the number of people … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS could really screw Texas on Obamacare

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

You know how all those Texans have been signing up for health insurance via the Healthcare.gov exchange? Every single one of them stands to lose if the Supreme Court decides to play politics. Nearly 1 million Texans have now signed … Continue reading →

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Approaching a million Obamacare signups in Texas

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We are well ahead of last year’s pace. More than 256,000 Houston-area residents have selected plans or been re-enrolled in coverage through the health insurance marketplace mandated by the Affordable Care Act, and federal and local health officials and experts … Continue reading →

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918K and counting

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Obamacare enrollment numbers in Texas keep going up. More than 7 million people, including 918,890 Texans, have selected a plan or were automatically re-enrolled in coverage in the federal health insurance marketplace under the Affordable Care Act, according to government … Continue reading →

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Texas Obamacare enrollments top 850K

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And counting. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services Wednesday announced nearly 860,000 Texans so far have enrolled in health insurance marketplace coverage with a month left still left to go until the 2015 open enrollment period ends. … Continue reading →

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Bringing health insurance to the customers

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s learning from experience. The federal government and insurers learned from the last year’s inaugural open enrollment period under the Affordable Care Act that it takes more than low premiums to persuade the uninsured to buy federally mandated health coverage, … Continue reading →

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Obamacare 2.0

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The open enrollment period for the Obamacare insurance exchanges is going on right now. This year, the feds are taking a more direct approach to getting people to enroll. Secretary for Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell, whose appearance at … Continue reading →

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Where Texans got their Obamacare information

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Baker Institute tells us. While most Texans used healthcare.gov earlier this year to get information or to enroll in a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), larger percentages of Texans found talking to the call center … Continue reading →

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Expanding Medicaid the hard way

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A lot smaller than it should have been, but it’s still something. More than 80,000 additional Texans have enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program since the rollout of the Affordable Care Act last fall despite Republican state … Continue reading →

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Don’t sweat that court ruling on Obamacare tax credits just yet

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s too soon to say what effect, if any will be felt in Texas. Opposing rulings from two federal courts Tuesday left unclear the future prospects of federal financial aid to Texans who qualify for assistance to purchase health insurance … Continue reading →

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The people who signed up for insurance via Obamacare got themselves a pretty good deal

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It worked the way it was supposed to work, in other words. Texans who received financial assistance to purchase health coverage through the federal insurance exchange are paying less in monthly premiums than individuals in most other states using that … Continue reading →

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Two million Texans used healthcare.gov

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, we had lots of demand for health insurance. That’s what happens when you have so many uninsured people in a state. Almost all adult Texans knew of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace before its open enrollment ended … Continue reading →

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