Health care hitches
The recent launch of the Healthcare.org website, the online portal for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has been riddled with technical glitches and delays, frustrating users and insurers, and prompting many lawmakers to point fingers and others to suggest delaying the open enrollment period. While the glitches might look bad from a political perspective, a Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) professor argues that they’re just as bad from a health care perspective. “If I am really sick I am more willing to fight through the hassle of getting insurance,” said Joseph Newhouse, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy and Management at HKS. “If the rate of good risks [persons who will not use much medical care] not signing up exceeds what insurers thought when they set premiums, there could be a spike in premiums on the exchanges for 2015, which in turn would require an increase in federal subsidies. “Second, to...