JAMA Forum: Is the Affordable Care Act Imploding? April 17, 2017 Perspective In this April 2017 post, Larry Levitt discusses the current status of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces, and explains how the Trump administration’s choices — including whether to continue cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers — could influence stability of the marketplaces going forward. The post is now available at The JAMA Forum.
The Other Implication of the CBO Report: Election-Year Pain May 30, 2017 Perspective In this Axios column, Drew Altman lays out how the “political pain” from the American Health Care Act would play out over the next two election cycles if passed in its current form, based on the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the House-passed bill.
What’s Really At Stake In the Medicaid Spending Debate June 2, 2017 Perspective In this Axios column, Drew Altman highlights that the federal debate about the American Health Care Act’s Medicaid spending reductions will ultimately be a debate about every state’s general budget spending priorities, as states discuss whether to offset reductions in federal revenues with some combination of cuts to their Medicaid programs, increased taxes, and cuts to spending in other areas.
Why the Senate’s Health-Care Plan Wouldn’t work in the Real World June 27, 2017 Perspective In a Washington Post op-ed, Drew Altman dissects the difference between the talking points and the reality of the Senate health bill to replace the Affordable Care Act and change Medicaid.
The Republican Base is Getting Less Excited About Health Care June 29, 2017 Perspective In this Axios column, Drew Altman explains that as Republican policymakers are focused on delivering a repeal of Obamacare for their base, polling shows that it’s not a top priority for Trump supporters, and their intensity on a replacement plan has declined, suggesting that the issue may not drive turnout for future elections.
Public Wants Republicans to Work with Democrats on Health Care July 12, 2017 Perspective In this column for Axios, Drew Altman discusses a new poll finding showing substantial support for Republicans to drop repeal and work with Democrats on improving the Affordable Care Act, from the general public, Trump supporters, and Republicans.
GOP May Not Be Punished If They Can’t Pass Repeal July 19, 2017 Perspective In this Axios column, Drew Altman critically examines the conventional wisdom that the Trump and Republican base will punish Republicans if they do not repeal Obamacare.
It’s Not Obamacare Anymore. It’s Our National Health-Care System. July 29, 2017 Perspective In this Washington Post op-ed, Drew Altman and Larry Levitt discuss why the latest Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act failed and what it will take for congress and the administration to address the next challenge, providing long-term stability to the ACA marketplaces.
JAMA Forum: Has Obamacare Become Trumpcare? August 8, 2017 Perspective With the effort to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act seemingly on hold or even dead, Larry Levitt discusses what the Trump administration could do to make the ACA successful – including providing clarity around individual mandate enforcement and cost-sharing reduction payments; maintaining outreach and consumer assistance; and encouraging insurers to participate in the individual insurance marketplaces. The post is now available at The JAMA Forum.
The ACA Stability “Crisis” In Perspective August 10, 2017 Perspective In this column for Axios, Drew Altman presents new data analysis showing how many people are impacted by premium increases in the non-group market, and discusses the implications.