News
Politico | Medicaid enrollment surges ahead of ACA sign-ups
New Medicaid enrollment is far outpacing new insurance customers under Obamacare so far, a subtle sign that the program could play a greater role in the law’s coverage expansion than first anticipated. Some people are signing up for the Medicaid expansion created by the president’s health law. Others were already eligible for their state’s current Medicaid program, but until this outreach campaign about health coverage, they had never signed up.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Real Clear Markets | Governments Face a Bigger Challenge Than Public Pensions
While many commentators have expressed concerns about the large deficits of public pension plans, few have rung the alarm about the large deficits of retiree healthcare plans (RHPs) of local governments. In fact, the funding gaps for RHPs are usually at least 20% higher than those for public pensions. For example, the Mass Taxpayers Foundation has recently reported that Massachusetts local governments - cities and towns ( not the State ) - are saddled with $15 billion in pension deficits as compared to $30 billion in RHP deficits.
Washington Times | The Affordable Care Act isn’t
That’s the question, really, as Obamacare begins taking effect, and the stories pour in from around the country: how much your premiums are going up, not if they are going up.
CBO | Raising the Age of Eligibility for Medicare to 67: An Updated Estimate of the Budgetary Effects
Medicare, one of the federal government’s largest programs, provides health care benefits primarily to elderly people. The usual age of eligibility for those benefits is 65, although certain people qualify for the program earlier.
