Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Government Guts Health Law Outreach Budget, Insurers Kick Off Own Ad Campaigns
Open enrollment for Affordable Care Act insurance doesn't start for another six weeks. But the quirky insurance startup Oscar Health is launching an ad campaign Monday aimed at getting young people to enroll. The company is boosting its ad spending after the Trump administration announced it would slash its ACA advertising budget by 90 percent. (Kodjak, 9/18)
The Trump administration says many of the organizations that help people enroll in health plans on the federal insurance marketplaces don鈥檛聽provide enough bang for the buck,聽sometimes costing thousands of dollars to sign up each customer. So, it is cutting their funding, some by as much as 90 percent, the government told the groups last week. But the navigators, as they鈥檙e called, say the government doesn鈥檛 understand the time involved in the effort or the complexity of the enrollment challenge. Nor do federal officials appreciate the variety of tasks that navigators are asked to handle, they say. (Andrews, 9/19)