With ACA’s Future Uncertain, Calif. And Vermont Consider New Models For Health Care
California officials are looking at moving to a "single-payer" health system if Republicans gut the federal health law, but they face big challenges. Yet across the country, tiny Vermont is embarking on an experiment, blessed by the federal government, to change how health care is paid for. Also in the news, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says his state may have a model that could be used if the federal law is repealed.
Los Angeles Times:
With Obamacare In Jeopardy, California Considers Going It Alone With 'Single-Payer' System
With President Trump now vowing to put forward a replacement for the Affordable Care Act in March, some California politicians and healthcare advocates are once again promoting the idea of a state-run “single-payer” system that operates like Medicare. Backers say the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s promise to repeal Obamacare presents California with a chance to rethink how healthcare is delivered to its 39 million residents. (Karlamangla, 2/26)
Kaiser Health News:
Liberal Vermont Tests The Waters On GOP Health Care Overhaul
Tiny — and very blue — Vermont could be at the leading edge of the health reforms envisioned by the Trump administration and a Republican Congress. The Green Mountain State, population around 626,000, got a broad waiver last October from the federal government to redesign how its health care is delivered and paid for. The statewide experiment aims to test new payment systems, prevent unnecessary treatments, constrain overall growth in the cost of services and drugs, and address public health problems such as opioid abuse. (Findlay, 2/27)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Scott Walker Touts State's Health Care For Poor As Obamacare Alternative
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker touted the state's program for health insurance coverage for the poor on "Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace," calling it "a model of exactly what will happen" under plans to replace Obamacare. ... Walker told Wallace that Wisconsin's program, which was criticized in 2013 for pushing some low-income residents out of Medicaid and into the subsidized private insurance exchanges, dramatically lowered the number of uninsured without taking federal dollars for Medicaid expansion. (Johnson, 2/26)
KCUR:
Kansas Congressman’s Survey On Affordable Care Act May Be Misleading
The Republican majority in Congress is intent on repealing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Freshman Kansas 1st District Rep. Roger Marshall is on board. So he’s gathering input from constituents on how to proceed with repealing and replacing the ACA with what he calls needed “free-market reforms.” The Great Bend Republican recently mailed a survey to 50,000 households in the Big First. (Thompson, 2/25)
Meanwhile, a former Connecticut and federal health official looks forward --
The CT Mirror:
Kevin Counihan On The ACA: ‘Whatever Happens, Trump Is Going To Own This’
[Kevin] Counihan was the first chief executive of Connecticut’s exchange, Access Health CT, launching the coverage marketplace during the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Now he’s a customer. ... While visiting Connecticut last week, Counihan spoke to The Mirror about efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act, why the health law has gotten more popular since Obama left office, the need to address health care costs, how to keep insurance companies from fleeing exchanges, and what can be done to make it easier to buy coverage. (Levin Becker, 2/26)
