But they say the eight million enrollment figure includes many duplicate signups, The New York Times reports. News outlets also report on a health law provision that extends Medicaid coverage for former foster children until they turn 26.
The New York Times: Insurers Say Most Who Signed Up Under Health Law Have Paid Up
Most of the people choosing health plans under the Affordable Care Act -; about 80 percent -; are paying their initial premiums as required for coverage to take effect, several large insurers said Tuesday on the eve of a House hearing about the law. But the health insurance industry said the total of eight million people who signed up included “many duplicate enrollments†for consumers who tried to enroll more than once because of problems on the website (Pear, 5/6).
Kaiser Health News: Employers Eye Moving Sickest Workers To Insurance Exchanges
Can corporations shift workers with high medical costs from the company health plan into online insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act? Some employers are considering it, say benefits consultants. “It’s all over the marketplace,†said Todd Yates, a managing partner at Hill, Chesson Woody, a North Carolina benefits consulting firm. “Employers are inquiring about it and brokers and consultants are advocating for it†(Hancock, 5/7).
The Texas Tribune:Â In ACA Foster Youth Provision, Texas Faces Tough Task
Among the more popular aspects of the Affordable Care Act is a provision that allows young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance plan until age 26. But a similar, little-known provision of the federal health reform law also grants certain young people who were formerly in foster care extended health coverage through Medicaid, the joint state-federal insurer, until the same age. State officials say they expect to enroll thousands of former foster youth in the extended Medicaid coverage this year with the help of outreach efforts. But the responsibility of locating and enrolling these young people, which falls on individual states because the U.S. child welfare system is state-run, could prove daunting (Ura, 5/7).