Obamacare

Most young adults won't pay more for coverage under Obamacare

Keith Seinfeld — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:51:06 +0000

If the price tag for health insurance goes up under Obamacare, it’s likely to hit some policy holders in their 20s, economists have warned. Now that the first round of numbers are available in Washington state, we can see whether that’s the case.

Feds outline what insurers must cover, down to polyp removal

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 22:15:42 +0000

The Obama administration on Wednesday released its final rule on essential health benefits, which sets out the coverage insurers must offer starting in 2014.

Insurers must cover 10 broad categories of care, including emergency services, maternity care, hospital and doctors' services, mental health and substance abuse care and prescription drugs.

Essential benefit requirements apply mainly to individual and small group plans.

Free breast pumps and the cost of health care

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:11:57 +0000

Health insurance plans now have to cover the full cost of breast pumps for nursing mothers. This is the result of a provision in the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), and the new rule took effect for many people at the start of this year.

It's led to a boom in the sale of the pumps, which can cost hundreds of dollars.

Yummy Mummy, a little boutique on New York's Upper East Side, has suddenly become a health care provider/online superstore. The company has been hiring like crazy, and just opened an online call center and a warehouse in Illinois.

How health insurance eats your paycheck

Keith Seinfeld — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:06:08 +0000

Health care is probably taking a bigger chunk out of your paycheck than it was a decade ago. The rising cost of insurance and deductibles has been dramatic whether you work for a small business or a large one.

Gaining health insurance nationally, not in Washington

Keith Seinfeld — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 02:06:31 +0000

Despite the difficult economy, more Americans have health insurance than a year ago, according to newly released census data. One reason: the new “Obamacare” law allows young adults, up to age 26, to stay on their parents’ insurance. Many others qualified for government programs in 2011, such as Medicaid and Medicare.

The pattern is different, though, in Washington state.

Breast pumps for free, under new health law provisions

Keith Seinfeld — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:42:34 +0000

Breastfeeding is already a civil right in Seattle, and now it’s getting financial support everywhere. Under new health rules taking effect today, as part of President Obama’s health law, women will get a number of new "preventive" services covered for free (no co-pays).

The most talked-about new benefit has been contraceptives – and how some Catholic groups prefer not to pay for birth control.

But seven other provisions now must be covered by nearly all health insurance plans. One of them is breastfeeding supplies and counseling.

Fever-pitched countdown to the Supreme Court's ruling on health care

Julie Rovner — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 22:02:23 +0000

Anticipation has reached a fever pitch, and the waiting is almost over.

This week, the Supreme Court is almost certain to issue its decision on the constitutionality of President Obama's health care law. The decision could have far-reaching implications for the legal landscape, the nation's health care system and even the Supreme Court's legacy.

The court will have to answer four distinct legal questions raised by the challenge to the Affordable Care Act.

Survey: Will politics tip the scale in high court's healthcare ruling?

Jake Ellison — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 19:18:12 +0000

As potentially millions of people collectively held their breath, again, Monday morning waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the fate of Obama’s health care reform, one of the many questions lingering in the air is will the justices keep their politics out of the decision? (Update: The court did not issue its ruling Monday and will likely do so on Thursday.)

And, we must also wonder: Will Americans keep their politics out of their assessments of whatever the court decides, when it does? (Warning, this is a “Take our survey” story … see below.)