Free Republic

Today marks the one-year anniversary for Obamacare’s health exchanges—which have helped more than 7 million people across the country enroll in health coverage. And while Obamacare’s marketplace is settling in for its second year, serious issues are cropping up that could potentially derail the entire health care law leaving millions without affordable health coverage. The first potential problem deals with funding for the law’s crucial risk corridor program, which protects insurers from major losses. Insurers who agree to sell policies on the new exchanges are compensated for if they incur heavy losses during the first few years of Obamacare’s implementation....

Health insurance plans are not pulling any punches when it comes to their frustration with today's White House announcement. This is a statement that Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, just put out: “Making sure consumers have secure, affordable coverage is health plans' top priority. The only reason consumers are getting notices about their current coverage changing is because the ACA requires all policies to cover a broad range of benefits that go beyond what many people choose to purchase today. “Changing the rules after health plans have already met the requirements of the law could destabilize the...

The troubled launch of Health Care.gov has raised plenty of questions about whether young, healthy people will enroll in coverage—and, if they don't, whether insurance companies will have to raise their premiums or give up on Obama- care's new insurance markets altogether. But the law's authors built in a safety net to help guard against that worst-case scenario. In essence, it's an insurance policy for insurance companies. The backstop is an approach known as the "three R's." And health care experts say that, taken together, the three prongs will help insurers not only grapple with the transition to the new...

House Democrats emerged from a closed-door caucus meeting Wednesday morning worn thin from arguing with White House officials over the bumpy rollout of the Affordable Care Act. One source in the room described Democratic lawmakers from across the political spectrum — from moderates in vulnerable districts to progressives in safe seats — as frustrated with the administration in equal measure. They pushed David Simas, the White House deputy senior adviser for communications and strategy, to account for the glitches on the enrollment website and for President Barack Obama’s unfulfilled promise to Americans that if they liked their health insurance policies,...