Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Law Could Act As Safety Net For Millions, But Marketing Has Been So Severely Cut They Might Not Know It
Politico: For Jobless Americans, Obamacare Is Still A Potential Lifeline
Millions of Americans losing their jobs may still be able to sign up for Obamacare — but Trump officials haven’t been urging people to grab onto that safety net while they can. People who’ve lost their workplace health insurance during the coronavirus outbreak may qualify for private coverage through Obamacare, along with generous subsidies, despite President Donald Trump’s decision last week not to re-open signups for everyone. Many may also qualify for free or low-cost coverage under Medicaid, especially in the two-thirds of states that joined Obamacare’s expansion of the low-income health care program. (Luthi, 4/6)
Meanwhile, in Texas —
Houston Chronicle: Calls For Medicaid Expansion Renewed As COVID-19 Outbreak Strains Health Care System
More than 50 Texas health policy and industry groups are urging Gov. Greg Abbott to expand the state’s Medicaid program to cover more than 1 million people as a way to slow the spread of the coronavirus and the illness it causes, COVID-19. The federal law known as Obamacare allows states to extend eligibility for Medicaid, the government health insurance for the poor, to greater numbers of low-income families. Texas, which leads the nation in both the number and percentage of uninsured, has refused to do so even though the federal government will pay for nearly all of the additional costs. (Wu, 4/6)
