Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Many Americans Don't Know If ACA Is Law Of Land Or Not, Adding Challenges To Enrollment Season
More than two thousand miles away from the healthcare debate in Washington, President Donald Trump's threats to let Obamacare collapse are sowing confusion about its fate and dampening 2018 enrollment expectations. The uncertainty here in Arizona, echoed in interviews across the country, shows that even though they have not been able to repeal former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, the Republican effort to undermine it is gaining traction. (Gershberg and Tobin, 10/4)
Advocacy groups that support the Affordable Care Act are taking matters into their own hands. With the Trump administration cutting back on advertising and outreach, outside groups are mobilizing for a massive, nationwide campaign for the next ObamaCare enrollment period. They say it鈥檚 up to them to get the word out. (Hellmann, 10/5)
In other health law news聽鈥
Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) are still trying agree on how states can alter insurance market rules, which was always expected to be the most controversial element of the deal. Republicans are insisting on giving states 鈥渕eaningful flexibility鈥 on some of the health law鈥檚 requirements in exchange for funding Obamacare鈥檚 cost-sharing program for two years. (Haberkorn, 10/4)
Gov. Jerry Brown signed two measures Wednesday to help Californians who buy health insurance under Covered California, the state's Obamacare marketplace. The measures ensure a longer enrollment period and continued treatment for some patients even if their insurer leaves Covered California. The first measure, AB 156 by Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg), was spurred by a Trump administration policy聽that established a 45-day window for shoppers on Obamacare marketplaces to buy new insurance policies for the coming year. (Mason, 10/4)
Some consumers who buy their health insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector could see their premiums rise by more than 25 percent next year if the federal government makes good on threats to end certain subsidies, or if the fate of those subsidies remains unclear next week. (Young, 10/4)
Because multiple doses of the vaccine are needed, and they can be up to $200 a pop, HPV vaccination rates have traditionally been lower than other recommended vaccinations. But the ACA鈥檚 prevention and wellness mandates may have changed that, says study author Rosemary Corriero, MPH and Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education fellow in the CDC鈥檚 Immunization Service Division. (Hensley, 10/4)
