Affordable Care Act

ObamaCare enrollment in Illinois update

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
02/05/2014
The Obama administration’s public relations machine has been trumpeting the success of the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as ObamaCare, despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary. Enrollment has been anemic, the website is plagued with problems, and it is possible that there are now more people without insurance as a direct result...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act, enrollment, health insurance, Medicaid

Poll finds majority of Americans want to return to pre-ObamaCare health care

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
01/29/2014
While we can expect President Barack Obama to claim success for his signature legislation, commonly referred to as ObamaCare, a growing share of Americans understand the reality of the health-care overhaul. According to a recent Reason/Rupe poll, the majority of Americans would like to return to the pre-ObamaCare health care system, despite all of its...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act, health insurance

Madigan’s Illinois pension fix: $15B less in savings, more gimmicks

01/28/2014
Not unlike ObamaCare, a bill Congress had to pass “to find out what’s in it,” Illinois’ General Assembly passed a pension fix in December 2013 without an official scoring of the bill. During floor debates, House Leader Mike Madigan and proponents of Senate Bill 1 promised $160 billion in savings over 30 years. Many opponents...

TAGS: pensions, Senate Bill 1

ObamaCare: A bailout by any other name is still cronyism

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
01/24/2014
The enrollment failure of ObamaCare is well documented – so much so that it has become the nation’s late-night talk show punch line. In fact, Moody’s changed the outlook for U.S. health insurers to negative from stable, as implementation of ObamaCare continues to create uncertainty for the industry. The sad reality is that millions of...

TAGS: cronyism, health insurance

ObamaCare’s bailout for health insurance companies

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
01/22/2014
A little-known, but important, provision in the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, is coming under increased scrutiny. The ACA, commonly known as ObamaCare, includes provisions to pay insurers for their financial losses in the ObamaCare exchanges. Known as “risk-corridor payments,” health insurance companies could receive up to 80 percent of the money they lose in...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act

2.1 million Americans “enrolled” in ObamaCare exchanges through Dec.

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
01/13/2014
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released its latest ObamaCare enrollment numbers, and it is easy to see why the Obama administration has been so reluctant to reveal detailed enrollment data. About 2.1 million Americans “enrolled” in the ObamaCare exchanges through Dec. 28. That number is far below the Obama administration’s impending...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act

ObamaCare limbo: Thousands of Illinoisans trying to get out of Medicaid while many more trying to get in

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
01/10/2014
Last month, USA Today reported that thousands of people are being mistakenly enrolled in Medicaid due to continued glitches in the healthcare.gov website. Now, it is being reported that more than 100,000 people in five states, including 30,000 in Illinois, have not been able to enroll in the Medicaid program directly from the government site....

TAGS: Get Covered Illinois, health insurance, Medicaid

ObamaCare: A ‘catastrophic’ plan by any other name is still bronze

By Naomi Lopez Bauman
01/08/2014
According to a recent Crain’s Chicago Business analysis, the cost of some “catastrophic” health insurance plans offered under the ObamaCare health insurance exchange in Illinois actually cost more than the supposedly more generous plans in 13 counties across the state. That should not be surprising as the improperly named “catastrophic plan” offered on the exchange...