Affordable Care Act

Nine million U.S. children get their health coverage through CHIP, a program jointly funded by federal and state governments. Several states say they can't fund the program alone past January.

Parents Worry Congress Won't Fund The Children's Health Insurance Program

1:59pm December 12, 2017

by Alison Kodjak

The federal funding of the program lapsed in September. States have been burning through leftover funds, or borrowing from other accounts, as they wait for Congress to act before the end of January.

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A week after Hurricane Harvey swept through southern Texas in August, the streets of Katy, Texas, were still flooded. People in Puerto Rico and the Southeastern U.S. who were affected by the hurricanes are among those who may have extra time to enroll for

Deadline Is Friday For Most ACA Insurance Sign-Ups, With Important Exceptions

1:10pm December 12, 2017

by Michelle Andrews

Some people looking for 2018 insurance under the Affordable Care Act may have a little longer to sign up — for example, in states and U.S. territories hit by this year's hurricanes.

Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, walks through the Capitol with colleagues in early December.

Doubts Rise About Sen. Collins' Strategy To Shore Up Insurance Market

7:01am December 09, 2017

by Julie Rovner

Even if the Republican from Maine can get her party to go along, her suggestions to bolster the individual insurance market may be too little, too late.

Margarita Mills (left), an insurance agent from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors, helped Daniela Morales shop for an Affordable Care Act health plan at the Mall of the Americas in Miami last month.

ACA Navigators Are Busy With Sign-Ups, Despite Federal Cuts To Outreach

5:00am December 05, 2017

by Michelle Andrews

With enrollment funding tight, health plan navigators and assisters are getting creative about getting the word out and signing people up for Affordable Care Act plans.

A coalition of mental health advocacy groups is calling on federal regulators, state agencies and employers to conduct random audits of insurers to make sure they are in compliance with the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.

Health Insurers Are Still Skimping On Mental Health Coverage

12:09pm November 30, 2017

by Jenny Gold

Behavioral care is four times more likely to be out-of-network than medical or surgical care, a nationwide study shows. That can make treatment unaffordable even for people who have health insurance.

When young people turn 18, they typically sign their own paperwork before receiving medical care that says they will pay what the insurer doesn't cover.

Parents Don't Have To Pay Debts Of Adult Children On Their Health Plans

10:31am November 28, 2017

by Michelle Andrews

Even though the federal health law allows young adults to stay on their parents' plan through age 26, those children are generally responsible for their own bills.

Supporters of women's health rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., March 23, 2016, as the Court hears oral arguments in seven cases dealing with religious organizations that want to ban contraceptives from their health insurance policies on

Massachusetts Set To Approve Law Protecting Access To Birth Control

3:43pm November 20, 2017

by Samantha Raphelson

The Massachusetts law would make it the first state to circumvent a federal policy allowing any company to opt out of providing free birth control coverage due to a religious or moral exemption.

Retroactive eligibility for Medicaid helps provides financial protection for patients as they await approval of their applications for coverage.

Several States Roll Back 'Retroactive Medicaid,' A Buffer For The Poor

11:20am November 14, 2017

by Michelle Andrews

Retroactive payments offer protection for poor people who can be enrolled in Medicaid after becoming seriously ill. That process takes time, and the look-back provision helps guarantee coverage.

Medical debts weigh on Geneva Wilson, who keeps a chicken and rooster in a coop behind her cabin in rural southwest Missouri.

Medicaid Expansion Takes A Bite Out Of Medical Debt

2:17pm November 10, 2017

by Alex Smith

Medical debt is down across the country. In states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the reduction is sharper.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., listen to debate on tax reform on Wednesday.

CBO: Repealing Health Coverage Mandate Would Save $338 Billion

9:50pm November 08, 2017

by Alison Kodjak

Republicans have been toying with repealing the Affordable Care Act insurance mandate in their tax bill. The Congressional Budget Office says that would save money but make coverage much more costly.