Health insurance exchanges

More tools are needed to support brokers as they help consumers navigate the complex health care law, Healthcare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan says.

Republicans hoping to use a little-known rule to repeal the Affordable Care Act may have hit a snag.

This year, sign-ups for private health plans in California, New York and other states that opted to build and run their own insurance markets has stagnated. Yet in more conservative parts of the country that declined to participate and where enrollment is run by the federal government, sign-ups have surged.

Approximately 800,000 taxpayers who received health care coverage through the federal insurance marketplace Healthcare.gov were sent the wrong information on their Form 1095-A and are being urged to wait to file their taxes until the first week of March when they receive the correct information from the federal government.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Friday morning announced it will implement a special enrollment period for individuals who learn, at the time they file their taxes, of the Affordable Care Act-mandated tax penalty for not having health insurance coverage.

As the Supreme Court gets set to hear oral arguments next month in King v. Burwell, a case challenging the permissibility of subsidies to those who purchase health insurance on the federal exchange, states with hybrid exchanges could face a difficult decision should the Supreme Court ultimately rule the use of tax credits on the federal exchange is impermissible.

Both the Obama administration and states that run their own health insurance marketplaces are considering an extra enrollment period for tax filers who learn they owe a fine for not carrying insurance.

Giving people more time to sign up for health coverage could increase costs.

Obama touts new enrollment estimates via Facebook video.

Former president Bill Clinton once conveyed messages of hope by referring to a small town by the same name, and the place of his birth, in Arkansas. Once again, hope springs eternal in the Natural State – this time for preserving and advancing a model that other conservative regions could emulate in crafting a viable political alternative to Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

CMS has extended the Feb. 15 ACA open enrollment deadline after technical glitches prevented some individuals from signing up for health care coverage over the weekend.

Cost of health care, confusion over eligibility cited as top reasons for not seeking health coverage, survey says.

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.

The Supreme Court briefs are in, and we can now say that big business backs the Affordable Care Act.

Upwards of 200,000 people who signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and may not be legal residents of the U.S. are set to lose their insurance coverage, the government said Wednesday.

Commentary: Americans must take the responsible course when it comes to health insurance coverage, says adviser David C. Smith.

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.

Employers opting to drop or forgo health care coverage for employees are still eager for ways to help their staff manage health care needs. Benefit firm FirstPerson has unveiled a unique solution to do just that.

Brokers and agents say the state exchanges did little to engage them during the first enrollment period under the ACA, and many in the industry agree improving the partnership between the exchanges and brokers will be critical to the survival of the state marketplaces.

For some employers the move to a private exchange is as much about the role of benefits as an attraction and retention strategy as it is about saving money over the long term.