Bruce Shutan

Another bullish forecast about private HIX growth estimates that the roughly 2.5 million current enrollees (excluding retirees) could triple in the coming year.

Two Republican-led states are to some extent placing pragmatism over politics when it comes to the HIX marketplace, though their respective solutions veer off in different directions.

Colorado’s health insurance exchange is under fire on a number of fronts, including an expanded audit passing the Senate and failed House attempt to disband the state-run HIX.

Some industry research has suggested that private exchanges will transform themselves into a clogged eight-lane freeway teeming with traffic within the next few years from a lonely country road less traveled today. But a recent published report argues that some of the nation’s top employers are now adopting a cautious approach.

Commentary: Re-enrolling in a health insurance plan isn't easy — even with advice from your broker, one Covered California participant finds.

The winter holidays weren’t so merry for CoOportunity Health, whose health plans were pulled in both the individual-market and SHOP exchanges in Iowa and Nebraska for 2015 as regulators review the startup’s financials.

While employers deal with ACA reporting requirements and communication campaigns that explain the public health insurance exchanges, some have turned to health care technology startups in hopes of elevating the open-enrollment experience for their employees.

Plan fully integrates behavioral health with primary care for more meaningful results.

Several state-run public exchanges got a shot in the arm from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which awarded $187 million in grants to help develop their respective operational visions before federal funding runs out.

John R. Graham, a senior fellow of the National Center for Policy Analysis, recently lauded the elimination of taxpayers’ liability for risk corridors made available to health insurers participating in the public exchanges.

More than a year after technical glitches on Healthcare.gov emboldened Affordable Care Act critics and fueled late-night talk show jokes, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has since forged partnerships with four digital platforms to help promote the current open-enrollment period.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. is poised for HIX-related growth in 2015 on the heels of solid third-quarter revenue.

Oregon officials are pledging to avoid 2014’s enrollment nightmare, which prevented the state-run HIX from fully launching online and led to the departure of six top officials connected to the exchange.

The HIX market has undergone a facelift over the past year in some states where hopes are running high that a 2.0 reboot will be just what the doctor ordered.

Noting how insurers have few incentives to invest in wellness and disease management programs that could take up to three years to pay off, two researchers have suggested multi-year HIX options to promote healthier living and a more efficient health care system in the face of “unintended consequences” from the Affordable Care Act.

Most folks would agree that if something isn’t broken, then there’s no need to fix it, but few believe that argument applies to the Affordable Care Act. A flurry of recent research suggests that Americans think the polarizing law deserves public patience, while other findings note that it’s still unpopular.

Delaying health plan renewals appears to be the new normal under the Affordable Care Act, especially for small businesses.

When evaluating the merits of a private exchange, one industry insider suggests pursuing an overall financial strategy built around achieving “true savings” rather than simply shifting costs onto employees – a warning that has been sounded for years in the traditional marketplace.

As if employee benefit brokers and advisers in California haven’t had enough uphill battles trying to preserve their standing along the changing HIX landscape, some of them also now have to worry about being paid for helping enroll more than 500,000 residents in the state-run public exchange. But at least one industry insider believes it’s much ado about nothing. …

Increased competition in the HIX marketplace is expected to pave the way for branded health options with strategic tiers or regional provider partnerships that offer a leg up on narrow networks, especially with 25 million Americans projected to sign up for exchange plans over the coming decade.