Wendell Potter's Blog, page 22

Obamacare and Emergency Rooms: a Bit of Perspective Needed

Oregon study doesn’t undermine Affordable Care Act claims, as critics contend. Headlines based on a study of emergency room visits by a few thousand Oregon Medicaid beneficiaries undoubtedly gave the Obama administration heartburn last week.  Although the study predated the Medicaid expansion authorized by the Affordable Care Act—which began in some states on January 1—many [...]

2014: A Very Good Year for Health Coverage

We celebrate the ‘very big deals’ in health coverage ahead in 2014, and the many already in effect, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. As we say goodbye to 2013, we can also finally say goodbye to a bunch of insurance industry practices that pushed millions of us into the ranks of the uninsured and [...]

Obamacare: Yes, There’s Plenty in it For You

Commentary: polling shows public has been swayed by opponents’ misinformation campaign. The White House did not receive much holiday cheer about Obamacare last week from public opinion pollsters, even though millions of Americans already are benefiting from the law. The numbers show just how big the disconnect is between the reality of what’s occurred in [...]

Fighting Over Aetna’s disclosure

Good government group claims insurer isn’t coming clean about all its election spending. Two days before Aetna told Wall Street it would not allow policyholders who received cancellation notices to renew their cancelled policies next year, as President Obama had requested, the company was accused in a lawsuit of sending out false and misleading statements [...]

Shining a Light on ALEC’s Power to Shape Policy

Commentary: American Legislative Exchange Council’s behind-the-scenes influence peddling should be getting more attention from the Washington press corps. It’s amazing how a little sunlight will change the behavior of some of the biggest names in corporate America — sunlight here meaning greater transparency and accountability. It’s also amazing how the U.K.’s The Guardian is covering [...]

5 Questions for Real Obamacare Reporters

Insurance industry insider offers a quick checklist reporters can use to avoid being duped when they cover Obamacare ‘horror stories.’ Americans who have been unable to afford health insurance in the past are finally able to use HealthCare.gov to enroll in a plan that doesn’t bust their household budgets. I’m now getting emails from folks [...]

Fighting the ‘Spin’ War Over Obamacare

Commentary: claims are distorted, but GOP is displaying message disciplin. Now that November is history, will the Obamacare website work flawlessly from now on? Or, as the president has said, will it at least work for the “vast majority” of people who need to buy insurance on their own? We will know in a few [...]

As Glitches fade, Obamacare Approval will Rise

Commentary: customers are finding insurance deals as exchange operations improve. The latest polls on Obamacare are bleak. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that almost half of those questioned last week had an unfavorable opinion of the law. Just a third had a favorable opinion, even less than the 40 percent support for the law [...]

Sorting Out Why Insurers Cancel Policies

Commentary: Blaming Obamacare is a smokescreen obscuring the relentless search for profits. Now that President Obama has said it’s OK with him if insurance companies keep their policyholders in health plans that don’t meet the standards established by the Affordable Care Act, at least for another year, the big question is whether insurers will take [...]

Separating Myth From Reality on Obamacare

News media scare stories, website glitches hide savings for those who look at insurance alternatives. My heart sank when I got an email late last month from my friend Robert, who has been battling multiple sclerosis for the past decade. He wrote to tell me that he was among the many Americans who in recent [...]