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The Affordable Care Act was conceived as a mix of publicly funded health care and privately purchased insurance, but Republican attacks, culminating this month in the death of a mandate that most Americans have insurance, are shifting the balance, giving the government a larger role than Democrats ever anticipated. And while President Trump insisted again on Tuesday that the health law was “essentially” being repealed, what remains of it appears relatively stable and increasingly government-funded. (Pear, 12/26)

Republicans start the year divided over whether to tear down or prop up Obamacare, a split that could derail their legislative agenda leading up to the 2018 midterm elections. GOP leaders on Capitol Hill don’t want a repeat of last year’s Obamacare fumble: They spent precious time on a failed attempt to repeal the health care law every member of the GOP was presumed to hate. (Haberkorn, 1/2)

Before Congress left Washington for the year, Republicans finally made good on their determination to knock big holes in the Affordable Care Act, crippling its requirement that most Americans carry health insurance and leaving insurers without billions of dollars in promised federal payments. At the same time, public support for the perennially controversial law has inched up to around its highest point in a half-dozen years. ... This dual reality puts the sprawling ACA — prized domestic legacy of the Obama era, whipping post of the Trump administration — at a new precipice, with its long-term fate hinging on the November midterm elections. (Goldstein, 12/25)

Because of a key provision in the tax overhaul bill President Donald Trump signed Friday, those without health insurance will no longer have to pay a penalty. The fee, known as the individual mandate, was one of the most contested aspects of the 2010 health care law and was intended to compel people to buy insurance. (Kelly and Leonard, 12/22)

President Trump indicated on Tuesday that he thinks lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will come together and develop a new health-care proposal after the recently passed GOP tax-cut bill repealed ObamaCare’s individual mandate. "Based on the fact that the very unfair and unpopular Individual Mandate has been terminated as part of our Tax Cut Bill, which essentially Repeals (over time) ObamaCare, the Democrats & Republicans will eventually come together and develop a great new HealthCare plan!" Trump tweeted. (Beavers, 12/26)

A debate is raging in the Republican Party over the future of ObamaCare, with some urging the party to take another shot at repeal in 2018. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whose majority will fall to a single seat in January, has signaled he intends to move on from legislation repealing the Affordable Care Act and instead look for bills that can pass with bipartisan support. (Roubein, 12/27)

Health care industry watchers told the Globe that they expect the uncertainty to linger into the new year, as President Trump and Congress continue to target the federal health care system. Health care executives and politicians in Massachusetts worry that Republicans in Washington are not finished trying to repeal, or at least weaken, the law known as Obamacare. (Dayal McCluskey, 12/31)

Medicaid could face crucial tests in 2018 at both the federal and state levels. Republicans in Congress failed in their attempts earlier this year to impose drastic cuts to the program as part of ObamaCare repeal, but GOP lawmakers could try again next year. (Weixel, 12/29)

Nearly one-third of Americans believe President Trump has repealed ObamaCare, according to a new The Economist–YouGov poll. Last week, Trump claimed the tax bill — which has since been signed into law — "essentially" repeals the Affordable Care Act. The Republican bill to overhaul the tax system eliminates the fine Americans pay for foregoing health insurance, known as the individual mandate. (Roubein, 12/27)

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is subpoenaing documents from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) over what he refers to as the ObamaCare “congressional exemption.” This refers to a rule that lets congressional members and their staff receive contributions from their employer to help pay for their ObamaCare health plans. (Roubein, 12/22)

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson has now issued a subpoena for details of the development of the program through which members of Congress and many staffers get health insurance. The Republican from Wisconsin is following through on pressing the Office of Personnel Management for details on how the Obama administration crafted the policy allowing members and covered staff to get health insurance, with assistance of federal employee contributions, through the small business exchange the District of Columbia set up under the 2010 health care law. (Lesniewski, 12/22)

The Maine co-op was part of an expensive experiment to inject competition into the fledgling Obamacare marketplaces when they opened in 2014. ...But virtually all of the two dozen co-ops were quickly wracked with financial problems, and the Maine co-op is among the last surviving four. (Demko, 1/2)