You’ve heard that the Affordable Care Act polls slightly better than Obamacare. But there’s a part of the president’s signature legislative accomplishment that polls even better than either name: Medicaid expansion. In two of the nation’s crucial presidential swing states — Ohio and Pennsylvania — majorities support expanding health coverage to those earning 133 percent of the poverty level. A […]

We covered the gamut from success stories to sabotage, shedding light on topics some media outlets are ignoring. I was delighted to be a guest on Tony Trupiano’s podcast series, which he’s running until he’s fully recovered from surgery and back to hosting the “Night Shift with Tony Trupiano” radio show. The initial focus was my Obamacare success story, which […]

Since the day that the ACA (aka Obamacare) health insurance exchanges launched on October 1st, I’ve been tracking the number of applications, enrollments and Medicaid/SCHIP expansion signups at ACASignups.net. Obviously the first few weeks were, shall we say, rocky. In addition to the now infamous website problems, reporting on the numbers was all over the map as well, with many “serious” […]

As someone who desperately wants the Affordable Care Act to work, I’ve been tough on the failure to launch the health care exchanges necessary to make it do so. Maybe I’ve been too tough. My father-in-law — who spent his career building software that often had to map into federal government regulatory schemes — told me last night that this […]

Non-problem: solved! Michigan Republican Represenative Mike Shirkey introduced House Bill 4044 last January. The bill’s intent is to ensure that companies selling health insurance on the Michigan health care exchange that was made possible by the Affordable Care Act can sell insurance off the exchange as well. Here’s the bill in full: Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, an insurer […]

Methinks thou dost protest too much A couple of days ago I reported on a bill Republicans have introduced that requires health insurance providers to tell you what part of your health insurance premium is the result of the Affordable Care Act. As wrote in the piece, this bill requires boilerplate language that the insurance companies must use that says […]

As a perpetual optimist, I’m pretty sure this is the low point for what I consider to be the greatest victory for the middle class since Medicare/Medicaid — the Affordable Care Act. Approval of President Obama and the law are at new lows. Still, as The Washington Post‘s Greg Sargent keeps pointing out, support for repeal is still a minority […]

Who says the media doesn’t report good news? How refreshing to hear a positive story about Obamacare in the national media! The fact that it was my story is just a cool bonus. On Tuesday’s edition of “The Stephanie Miller Show,” Miller read snippets of the story I shared Monday about my great experience enrolling for insurance through the Affordable […]

GOPocrisy, pure and simple Michigan Republicans are still working to demonize the Affordable Care Act in any way they can. The most recent example is a bill reported out of the House Subcommittee on Insurance last week, H.B. 4816, which was introduced by Rep. Mike Shirkey. The bill, which you can read HERE (pdf), requires health insurers to report to […]

“When one gains, another loses.” There is one very unfortunate aspect to the roll out of the Affordable Care Act. The tiny percentage of people who are being forced into new policies happens nearly all at once and at the very start of the roll out. The overwhelming benefits of having more Americans insured and covered by decent health care […]

I’ve officially enrolled in coverage through the marketplace. It was easier than I expected — and will save me about $10,000 a year. I just got covered under Obamacare. I already had insurance, but it was breaking my piggy bank. Now I have coverage with almost identical benefits, for less than half the price I’m paying right now. Even better, […]