An Executive Order directed the Administration to consider expanding access to association health plans, short-term limited duration insurance plans and health reimbursement arrangements in employer sponsored coverage. The intent is to undermine the ACA’s consumer protections. The impact will be clearer once proposed rule changes become available, but we fear skimpy benefit plans and additional...
Category: News
Even DACA Brings Us Right Back to Health Care
When President Trump announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would end in March 2018, it devastated 800,000 “dreamers” and their families. Unfortunately, without the protection of DACA, these young adult immigrants may be fearful of accessing health care services. They generally have limited health insurance coverage options and have difficulty accessing...
Hands Off My Birth Control!
This was the rallying cry after new interim final rules were released expanding ACA contraceptive coverage requirement exemptions. The new rules would allow any company to deny coverage for contraceptive services to its female employees based on religious grounds. Additionally, certain types of organizations would also be able to deny this coverage on moral grounds. Requiring...
Puerto Rico’s Medicaid Block Grant Insufficient in Emergencies
Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria last month. During a debt crisis, they also faced Zika virus last year. It became clear during that public health emergency that Puerto Rico’s Medicaid block grant was insufficient and did not have enough flexibility to help address the crisis. Now it is worse. “Treating the health needs...
It’s (Almost) All Health Care, All the Time in Congress
The Administrations action to stop CSRs may light a fire under Congress to authorize the CSRs and may even help to stabilize the individual market. But Congress also has important programs to reauthorize, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Community Health Center (CHC) Fund. These are critical safety net programs and must...
What Does the Public Think?
The Kaiser Family Foundation October Health Tracking Poll finds public support for stabilizing the ACA marketplace with guaranteed CSR payments. Most importantly, 71% of respondents would prefer to see the Trump Administration make the ACA work. A recent poll shows that Jimmy Kimmel won the health care debate in the court of public opinion. Kimmel...
“Listen All of Y’all It’s a Sabotage”
The words of the Beastie Boys “Sabotage” have been running through (some of) our heads recently as the President takes more swipes at the Affordable Care Act (ACA). He is using all his tools to sabotage the Exchanges. The changes to open enrollment were bad – the shortened open enrollment period, reduced outreach and enrollment...