What We're Reading: Obamacare Exchange Close to Collapse in South Carolina

South Carolina health officials warn that the state’s health insurance marketplace set up under the Affordable Care Act is close to collapse. In most of South Carolina, the marketplace is dominated by BlueCross BlueShield and choices will become even more limited as UnitedHealthcare prepares to leave, reported The Post and Courier. Insurers have been struggling to make money on the exchange, which has often-sick patients.

Curbs on hepatitis C virus treatments are slowly being lifted around the country. Kaiser Health News highlighted the state Medicaid programs that have expanded access in the last few months and other ways restrictive policies are going away. Private insurers that had taken their cues from states and were only providing the treatments for their sickest patients have begun reversing policies under threat of lawsuits. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states and UnitedHealthcare nationwide are 2 of the insurers that have extended hepatitis C treatments to patients who have not developed severe liver disease.

The New York Times’ blog The Upshot has a special feature on what foods are healthy. While the question seems simple enough, a poll of nutritionists and of the American public found a surprising diversity of opinion. Interestingly enough, the differences didn’t just appear between the 2 groups, but also among experts. So how healthy is a granola bar or hummus or sushi?