In This Issue:

Leading the News; Implementation of the Affordable Care Act; Other HHS and Federal Regulatory Initiatives; Other Congressional and State Initiatives; Other Health Care News; and Hearings and Mark-Ups Scheduled.

Excerpt from Leading the News -

Health Care Exchanges Go Live on October 1:

On October 1, as the Congress failed to reach an agreement on a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government, the health exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went live. Speaking the day before in an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep, President Obama warned that during the first few months consumers can expect glitches with the health insurance exchanges. He noted that this is not without precedent and that glitches are inevitable given the large scale of the exchanges and high demand from consumers. In an interview on CNN, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stated that the technical issues with healthcare.gov were caused by overwhelming demand. However, other analysts have noted that the system itself may have design flaws.