Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Without Health Law, Pre-Existing Conditions Could Have Complicated COVID-19 Insurance Coverage
The Associated Press: In A Time Of COVID-19, 'Obamacare' Still Part Of The Action
COVID-19 could have stamped a person “uninsurable” if not for the Affordable Care Act. The ban on insurers using preexisting conditions to deny coverage is a key part of the Obama-era law that the Trump administration still seeks to overturn. Without the law, people who recovered from COVID-19 and tried to purchase an individual health insurance policy could be turned down, charged higher premiums or have follow-up care excluded from coverage. Those considered vulnerable because of conditions such as respiratory problems or early-stage diabetes would have run into a wall of insurer suspicion. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 5/3)
In other insurance news —
The Wall Street Journal: Some Insurers Flex Balance Sheets To Help Hospitals, Doctors Amid Pandemic
With fewer claims to pay out, some health insurers are using their improved balance sheets to help struggling providers secure loans, pay claims earlier and, in some cases, underwrite patients’ outstanding bills. Many doctors, clinics and hospitals have suffered financially during the coronavirus pandemic because lucrative elective surgeries have been delayed and demand for nonemergency care has declined. The scenario has been particularly difficult for health-care providers that spent more to ramp up capabilities to treat Covid-19 but haven’t seen a surge in patients. (Trentmann, 5/3)
The Hill: Abortion Battle Threatens To Upend Health Insurance Push
A battle over abortion is threatening to scuttle a possible bipartisan deal on providing billions of dollars to help laid-off workers keep their health insurance. Republicans have expressed openness to a Democratic proposal to provide subsidies to help millions of people who are losing their jobs stay on their old employers' health insurance plans under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, commonly known as COBRA, according to congressional aides and others familiar with the talks. But Republicans say the new funding needs to include the Hyde Amendment or another restriction on federal money going toward health plans that cover abortion, an idea Democrats oppose. (Sullivan, 5/3)
