Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Trump Boasts Tax Package 'Essentially' Repeals Health Law. That's Not True.
The Associated Fact Check: Trump Says 'Obamacare' Is Repealed. It Isn't.
President Donald Trump has prematurely declared "Obamacare" dead and displayed a misunderstanding of where the money comes from to make the health law work. A look at his remarks Wednesday about the tax plan he will soon sign into law and its effect on President Barack Obama's health insurance overhaul. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/20)
The New York Times Fact Check: Trump Falsely Claims To Have ‘Repealed Obamacare’
“When the individual mandate is being repealed, that means Obamacare is being repealed,” Mr. Trump said in a cabinet meeting. “We have essentially repealed Obamacare, and we will come up with something that will be much better. ”Mr. Trump’s suggestion that he kept two key campaign promises with one bill is not accurate. Effectively, the tax bill does repeal the individual mandate beginning in 2019. The mandate is a core component of the Affordable Care Act and fines people who do not have health insurance. But the tax bill leaves every other vital part of the current health care law intact. (Qiu, 12/20)
The Hill: Trump: GOP Tax Bill 'Essentially' Repeals ObamaCare
Despite Trump’s claim, the tax bill does not repeal ObamaCare entirely. People will still be able to purchase insurance through individual marketplaces, Medicaid expansion is preserved and consumer protections remain in place. But health-care experts worry that without the mandate, premiums in the individual insurance market could spike, competition could decrease and more people will become uninsured. (Fabian, 12/20)
Bloomberg: Trump Says Republican Tax Bill ‘Essentially’ Repeals Obamacare
Removing the individual mandate doesn’t undo other essential elements of Obamacare. The law still requires insurers to sell policies to sick people at the same prices as healthy people, and provides subsidies for low-income families to make health plans more affordable. Trump also boasted that he successfully downplayed the provision to avoid media coverage of the change. “We didn’t want to bring it up. I told people specifically ‘be quiet with the fake news media because I don’t want them talking too much about it,’” Trump said. “But now that it’s approved I can say: the individual mandate on health care, where you had to pay not to have insurance -- think of that one, you pay not to have insurance -- the individual mandate has been repealed.” (Epstein and Tozzi, 12/20)
Georgia Health News: Major Pillar Of ACA Receives Death Blow From Lawmakers
The idea of compelling people to have health insurance has been the most unpopular part of the ACA, and Republicans have regularly attacked it. Yet ACA proponents have noted that the concept was originally floated by some conservatives, and it became law in Massachusetts under Republican Gov. Mitt Romney before it became part of the federal Obamacare legislation. The idea generally was to support the financial viability of the health care system by having more people insured. (Miller, 12/20)
Boston Globe: Despite Action By Congress, Mass. Individual Mandate Remains
Massachusetts is largely shielded from a key provision of the sweeping tax bill approved by Congress on Wednesday, a measure that guts the requirement that Americans obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. This state has its own mandate that individuals sign up for insurance, which went into effect a decade ago. (Dayal McCluskey, 12/20)
Houston Chronicle: Penalty For Skipping Insurance Will End But Could Mean More Uninsured
Tucked into the language of the newly-passed tax bill are a handful of words that could knock down a pillar of the Affordable Care Act, accomplishing in part what nearly eight years of political opposition and dozens of Congressional votes have failed to do. Starting in 2019, the penalty for failing to have health insurance is reduced to zero, which in essence eliminates the individual mandate of the law known as Obamacare, but does not repeal it. (Deam, 12/20)
