Health Reform

Three in four Georgians say they’re satisfied with the overall value of their health care, according to a new poll released Thursday.

But Georgians show concerns about the effects of the Affordable Care Act, said the poll of 400 residents, released by Healthcare Georgia Foundation.

Nearly half of respondents – 47 percent – expect the ACA will result in their paying more for health care, with just 11 percent saying they believe they will pay less.

And they don’t see the law as helping improve the quality of medical care. Slightly more than half think the ACA won’t make a difference on quality, while 32 percent predict that it will lower quality.

“It is not surprising that Georgians going forward believe or expect the worst regarding their personal health care experience,’’ said Gary Nelson, president of Healthcare Georgia Foundation, which released the survey results at an Atlanta forum.

He noted that while most are satisfied with their health care now, many believe the cost will rise under the law.

The survey results come at a time when the ACA is under siege from critics, in the wake of technical problems with the federal health exchange website, and the cancellation of many individual insurance policies. full story

The number of Georgians signing up for a health plan through the Affordable Care Act insurance exchange increased to 6,859 by the end of last month, up from 1,390 as of Nov. 2, federal officials announced Wednesday.

The rise in enrollees reflects, in part, a better-functioning federal website, which has been plagued with problems since ACA enrollment began Oct. 1.

Overall, 364,682 Americans have selected plans from the state and federal exchanges by the end of November, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced.

November enrollment in the federally run exchanges — used in Georgia and 35 other states — was more than four times greater than October’s reported enrollment number, HHS said.

But the numbers fall well short of the White House’s past projections of enrollment during this period.

The Georgia health insurance industry and local navigators helping to enrolling people in health plans agree that the healthcare.gov website is working better.

“There are some positive steps in the customer experience,’’ Graham Thompson of the Georgia Association of Health Plans told GHN on Wednesday. full story

The percentage of Georgia children who are uninsured has declined, but the state still has the fourth-highest number of kids without coverage, according to a report released Wednesday.

In raw numbers, Georgia has nearly 220,000 children who are uninsured, trailing only Texas, California and Florida, said the report from Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. All three of those states have much higher populations than Georgia.

Just six states — the four previously mentioned plus Arizona and North Carolina — are home to half of the 5.3 million uninsured children in the United States.

The report, “Children’s Health Coverage on the Eve of the Affordable Care Act,” found the number of uninsured kids nationally has continued to decline. Joan Alker of Georgetown told reporters Wednesday that the decrease is largely due to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Nationally, the uninsured rate of adults — 20.6 percent — far exceeds that of kids, at 7.2 percent. full story

Officials in the state’s insurance industry were busy Friday puzzling over what exactly President Obama’s decision on canceled policies means for them and their customers.

“This is going to be a very confusing customer experience,’’ said Graham Thompson, executive director of the Georgia Association of Health Plans, an industry trade group.

Obama’s decision, announced Thursday, lets insurers continue offering individual plans for another year, even if they don’t meet the Affordable Care Act’s minimum benefits.

Ralph Hudgens

In Georgia, to a large extent, this option is already available: Most insurers here are allowing individual consumers to renew their plan before Jan. 1 and avoid the ACA’s benefits requirements.

Thompson said the industry expects to learn much more about the White House’s policy shift when federal officials issue rules on the canceled policies, expected soon.

Meanwhile, state Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens issued a statement blasting the Obama decision as “nothing more than a political stunt designed to remove the growing momentum towards much-needed change and shift the blame from the president’s flawed health care reform.” full story

President Obama’s decision Thursday to allow people to renew their canceled insurance policies for a year appears to have left as many questions as answers among health care analysts.

Facing a storm of criticism about canceled policies, Obama announced an administrative change to let insurers continue offering individual plans for another year, even if they don’t meet the Affordable Care Act’s minimum benefits.

In Georgia, to a large extent, such a remedy is already available. Many health insurers in Georgia are allowing individuals to retain their policies through late 2014.

GHN reported earlier this month that most Georgia insurers are letting consumers have an option to renew their plan before Jan. 1 and avoid the ACA’s benefits requirements.

President Obama signs the health law in 2010

Obama’s announcement came a day after federal officials released enrollment figures for the health insurance exchanges. In Georgia, 1,390 have signed up for a health plan through the exchange, the Department of Health and Human Services said.

But Glenn Allen, a spokesman for state Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, said Thursday that based on Georgia insurers’ data, the number of applicants who have given sufficient information to enroll through healthcare.gov is actually 536.

How the year’s extension of canceled policies will play out nationally is unclear. Insurance industry officials and experts expressed concern that the policy shift could lead to higher premiums. full story