Thursday, January 25, 2018

Dismantling the Affordable Care Act - Piece by Piece.

While Republican efforts in Congress failed to completely repeal the Affordable Care Act , the Trump administration continues to chip away at many of its protections, particularly repeal of the individual mandate, which required that all Americans have health insurance or pay a penalty on their tax return each year. Now, the administration is giving more power to states to oversee health insurance.  Kentucky last week received approval of a request to allow work requirements for Medicaid coverage.  Idaho officials said they will allow insurers to sell health plans that do not meet all the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. 
Meanwhile, the latest government funding bill managed to finally save the Children's Health Insurance Program, which covers more than 9 million children across the U.S.. -- after months of uncertainty and worry for parents.  It also delayed taxes on medical devices, high-priced employer-sponsored health plans (Cadillac Tax) and insurers..  Whether Congress will again turn its focus to health care is uncertain, but it is likely to be on the front-burner in 2018, as Congress continues to wrangle with stabilization and reinsurance bills and a possible additional stab at repealing the ACA.