Subsidies, Mandates, Essential Health Benefits, Oh My! A Look At The Vulnerable Pieces Of The ACA
NPR lays out what the Trump administration could do even though the Republican push to repeal failed. Meanwhile, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) says aspects of the Affordable Care Act, such as the Cadillac Tax, could be tackled through tax reform, and two lawmakers propose a fix to help people who live in areas with no insurers participating in the market.
NPR:
6 Changes The Trump Administration Can Still Make To Obamacare Without Congress
After seven years of trying, Republicans failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act last week. That doesn't mean the health care drama is over, though. House Speaker Paul Ryan this week told donors that the party is "going to keep getting at this thing," according to The Washington Post. But whatever Ryan and his colleagues manage to do, plenty could still change in the Affordable Care Act. Last week's failed bill, after all, was only one part of the GOP's plan. (Kurtzleben, 3/29)
Reuters:
Senate Tax Chief Sees Room For Repealing Obamacare Levies In Tax Reform Drive
A looming push to overhaul the U.S. tax code could include the repeal of Obamacare taxes left intact by last week's collapse of the Republican healthcare bill, the Senate's top Republican on tax policy said on Wednesday. (Morgan, 3/29)
CQ Roll Call:
GOP Senators Release Bill To Make Small Fix To Obamacare
Two key Republican senators on Wednesday unveiled legislation intended to help individuals who live in areas with no insurers participating in the insurance market created by the 2010 health law. The draft bill, by Tennessee Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, would give individuals in counties with no insurance options in the individual marketplace the ability to use subsidies provided under the health law for any state-approved plan, regardless of whether the insurance was offered through the marketplace, according to a summary. (Williams, 3/29)
Morning Consult:
GOP Senators Propose Bill For People Without Insurance Options Next Year
With the GOP effort to replace the Affordable Care Act in tatters, two Senate Republicans are seeking an emergency patch to help people who could find themselves with no options to buy health insurance through exchanges next year. The legislation, which would run through 2019, would help people affected by insurers leaving the individual market, as Republicans seek to limit the fallout from what they see as the failures of Obamacare in the absence of broader legislation to overhaul the health insurance system. (Reid, 3/29)
And in other news —
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Officials, Insurers: Health Care ‘An Ongoing Battle'
Buoyed by Congress’ failed attempt last week to replace the Affordable Care Act, California officials, health advocates and insurance executives are pressing forward on a new phase of resistance against GOP efforts to weaken the health care law. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones sent a letter Wednesday to the White House and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, urging the administration to enforce the law. (Ho, 3/29)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Did Republicans Sabotage Obamacare? Ohio Insurers Owed $100M They'll Likely Never See
Ohio health insurers are owed more than $100 million by the federal government, which was supposed to protect them from losses during Obamacare's startup, according to a cleveland.com review of records. They may never get it, thanks to a Republican provision. The provision slipped into a spending bill in late 2014, after the Affordable Care Act was under way, restricted the government in making payments. (Koff, 3/29)