Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Weighing Obamacare's Future: Which Provisions Are In Play? Which Stakeholders Are At Risk?
Los Angeles Times: 7 Things To Know About The Future Of Obamacare
You’ve seen the headlines and you’ve heard the slogans: Obamacare is on the chopping block and President-elect Donald Trump is going to replace it with “something terrific.” But what are the new president and Congress really going to do? How much of the current law will really go away? And what could “Trumpcare” look like? In case it’s been a while since you read about the Affordable Care Act and the GOP replacement plans, here’s a refresher on the biggest Obamacare issues. (Levey, 1/5)
The Washington Post: Why Obamacare’s Insurance Marketplaces Won’t Necessarily Collapse With A Repeal
Replacing the health-care law, commonly known as Obamacare, could take years, potentially destabilizing the nascent system designed to provide insurance to individuals who don't receive it through an employer. Several large insurance companies had already announced plans to pull out of some health-care insurance exchanges created by the law because of financial losses, and health policy experts fear that repealing the law without immediately replacing it could exacerbate the exodus by adding uncertainty. ... But other policy experts predict that Republicans will provide incentives for insurers to stay. (Johnson, 1/5)
The Fiscal Times: Obamacare Repeal Could Push Rural Hospitals To The Brink
Many of the rural hospitals and health centers serving 62 million Americans have operated on a shoestring for years. Since January 2010, 80 rural hospitals and health care facilities that provided treatment to large numbers of elderly and low-income families were forced to close for financial reasons. More than 670 of the remaining 2,078 facilities are vulnerable or “at risk” of closure, according to hospital industry experts. (Pianin, 1/5)
Reuters: Exhibit A For Republican Obamacare Repeal Challenge: People With HIV
Scientists have shown conclusively that treatment not only improves the health of people infected with HIV, it also stops transmission of the virus that causes AIDS. That public health issue is just one of the challenges Republicans face as they attempt to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, a law that brought health insurance coverage to some 20 million people -- including tens of thousands of Americans living with HIV. (Steenhuysen, 1/5)
