Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CMS Chief Lumps Marketplace Woes Onto Obamacare's Shoulders
USA Today: Medicaid Chief Seema Verma Blames Obamacare's Collapse On Its Founders
When the Obamacare insurance exchanges collapse and leave some Americans stranded without health coverage, top Trump administration official Seema Verma says, blame the folks who created them in the first place. "Right now, if we look at it, this is all because of the Affordable Care Act," says Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "I mean, the individual market was working much better than it is now, so this is all the impact of the Affordable Care Act." (Page, 5/30)
Roll Call: House Defends Delaying Major Obamacare Lawsuit
The House of Representatives in a court filing Tuesday defended a decision earlier in May to delay a pivotal lawsuit over a provision of the 2010 health care law and pushed back on a request from Democratic attorneys general to take over defending the law. The House and the Trump administration, the other party in the lawsuit, agreed last week to delay the case while they work to reach a settlement and while congressional Republicans continue to push for legislation to repeal and replace the entire 2010 law. (Mershon, 5/31)
The CT Mirror: With Obamacare At Risk In CT, 73K Could Lose Subsidies
Connecticut is among several states in danger of losing all the insurers who participate in their Affordable Care Act exchanges – a move that would leave tens of thousands of state residents scrambling for coverage and ways to pay for it. Connecticut consumers once had a choice of four carriers on the Access Health CT exchange, but Anthem and ConnectiCare are the only ones left. Neither has committed to staying beyond the end of this year. (Radelat, 5/31)
St. Louis Public Radio: As Senate Mulls A Health Care Overhaul, Area Patients Take Stock Of What Coverage Changes Could Mean
A Republican proposal to gut the Affordable Care Act narrowly passed the U.S. House of Representatives and now the U.S. Senate is crafting its own bill to reshape the nation’s health care system. Elected officials have held few town halls to hear from constituents in the St. Louis area about what they want in a health care bill, sparking demonstrations outside representatives’ offices. Meanwhile, patients in St. Louis are taking stock of how the proposed changes in the House plan could affect their coverage. (Bouscaren, 5/31)
