Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With 'Repeal And Replace' Rallying Cry Dead, GOP Candidates Struggle For Cohesive Messaging Over Health Law
Politico: Democrats Ready To Run On Health Care In 2018
Democrats are confidently running on Obamacare for the first time in a decade. They’ve got a unified message blaming Republicans for “sabotaging” the health law, leading to a cascade of sky-high insurance premiums that will come just before the November midterm elections. They’re rolling out ads featuring people helped by the law. And Tuesday, they’re starting a campaign to amplify each state’s premium increases — and tie those to GOP decisions. (Haberkorn, 5/15)
In other health law news —
The Star Tribune: Medica Sees Enrollment Jump In ACA Markets
Medica's status as the last health plan selling coverage on government-run insurance exchanges for Iowa and Nebraska helped the insurer double its individual market enrollment for 2018. In the market where self-employed people under age 65 buy coverage, Medica saw enrollment grow to 196,479 people as of March across Minnesota and five other states where the insurer sells the coverage. Last year, the comparable tally was about 91,000, according to a Star Tribune analysis of regulatory filings. (Snowbeck, 5/14)
Houston Chronicle: Number Of Uninsured Americans On The Rise, Especially In Texas, New Study Finds
The historic gains in Texas and the rest of the nation are now slipping away as the uninsured rate starts to rise again, a new national health care report has found. The rate of working age adults without health coverage — those between age 19 and 64 — has ticked up to about 15.5 percent so far in 2018, up from 12.7 percent in 2016, according to the latest Commonwealth Fund tracking survey released this month. That translates to about 4 million people nationwide once covered who no longer are insured, the survey found. (Deam, 5/14)
