Health Law Co-Ops Seek Flexibility On Financing
The long-term prospects and sustainability of these plans has been under scrutiny since December when CoOportunity Health — which offered plans in Iowa and Nebraska — was liquidated. Other health law headlines include reports about the added layer of difficulty the health law introduces into this year's tax season and Texas' high stakes in King v. Burwell.
Politico Pro:
Co-Ops Seek Flexibility On Loans, Financing
Obamacare health insurance cooperatives are pushing federal officials to make it easier for the nascent plans to get significant private funding to stay solvent. A major obstacle is determining how and when those loans would be paid back and if government loans would be repaid after any private loans or investments. Representatives from the nonprofit insurers were in Washington this week to meet with federal officials, including HealthCare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan. (Pradhan, 2/10)
Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
Health Care Law Adds New Wrinkle To Tax Season
This tax season offers a new wrinkle as individual filers must report to the IRS whether they had health insurance during 2014. The requirement brings a new task for MNsure, too, since the state’s health insurance exchange must send more than 30,000 tax forms to people who bought private coverage last year. (Snowbeck, 2/10)
The Texas Tribune:
Texas Has High Stakes In Lawsuit Over Health Law
Nearly 1 million Texans have now signed up for health insurance on the federal marketplace, known as healthcare.gov. But Texas, and 33 other states that did not create their own exchanges, will be the most vulnerable if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against the Obama administration in the latest lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act, health policy experts say. (Walters, 2/10)
And from Capitol Hill -
The New York Times' First Draft:
No ‘Manly Firmness’ In Denying Health Care, McCaskill Says
Is repealing the Affordable Care Act an issue of manhood? A state representative in Missouri suggested as much in a resolution asking members of the state’s congressional delegation to undo the law. The bill, introduced by State Representative Mike Moon, a Republican, insists that “each member of the Missouri congressional delegation endeavor with ‘manly firmness’ and resolve to totally and completely repeal the Affordable Care Act, settling for no less than a full repeal.” The macho language raised the eyebrows of Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat who has been a defender of the law. (Rappeport, 2/10)