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Democrats hoping to make health care a centerpiece of midterm election campaigns just got a gift from the Trump administration. Not only has the Justice Department declined to defend the Affordable Care Act against a lawsuit filed by 20 Republican-led states, but it’s also arguing for the repeal of enormously popular consumer protections, including coverage of pre-existing conditions. These benighted moves come at a time when voters everywhere rank health care as their chief concern, and a majority say they favor fixing the current law over repealing it, after years of futile Republican efforts to do the latter. (6/11)

Republicans are in a predictable spot as they head to the midterm election: The party failed to repeal ObamaCare, and the press is waving around double-digit premium increases for 2019. Democrats are pinning the blame on Republicans, though the basic problem is still the structure of the Affordable Care Act. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declared the other day that Democrats will be “relentless in making sure the American people exactly understand who is to blame for the rates.” Some insurers have been requesting large premium increases for next year as they have every year: 19% on average in Washington, 24% in New York. The Congressional Budget Office said in May that “benchmark” or midlevel plans on the exchanges would absorb a 15% increase. (6/11)

If the GOP really thinks gutting protections for people with preexisting health conditions is good policy, they should pass a damn law. I dare them to try. For eight years, on and off, they did. And they failed. The House passed literally dozens of repeal bills, none of which had the chance of becoming law while Barack Obama was still president. Then Donald Trump won the White House. Republicans had unified control of government — and they chickened out. (Catherine Rampell, 6/11)

Donald Trump and the Republican Party just put America’s health care squarely on the November ballot. After a year of trying and failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration, in cahoots with 20 conservative states, has asked the courts to strike down several pillars of the ACA — including its protections for Americans with pre-existing health conditions. These protections are a guarantee to as many as 130 million Americans that no insurance company can deny them coverage just because they (or one of their family members) had a prior illness or medical problem. (Andy Slavitt and Nicholas Bagley, 6/11)

Single-payer health care systems deliver better outcomes at much lower cost than those that rely primarily on private insurance, as we do in the United States. Considerable evidence supports this claim. And because of these cost savings, I said in a recent column, the United States could switch to a single-payer system without requiring painful sacrifices from anyone. Several readers pointed out an apparent flaw in my argument. Since the biggest savings result from lower payments to service providers, wouldn’t the transition be painful for physicians and other health care professionals? (Robert H. Frank, 6/8)

How much you spend on medical care depends on what you get, but also where you get it. Confoundingly to many, the cost of the same procedure on the same patient by the same physician can vary by thousands of dollars depending on whether it’s performed in a hospital, a hospital’s outpatient department, an ambulatory surgical center or a doctor’s office. It can also vary by who’s paying the bill — which insurer or public program. (Dhruv Khullar and Austin Frakt, 6/11)

It was the kind of ceremony presidents love. Spring weather was lovely in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday as President Trump was surrounded by supporters at a signing ceremony for the Mission Act, a measure designed to improve health care for veterans. “This is a very big day,” Trump said. “Choice. We’ve been looking for choice for a long time, and today is the day. So, it’s very important.  Very happy.” Very happy, but not totally satisfied. (Joe Davidson, 6/11)

The department must clearly define eligibility and access standards for veterans seeking community care. We don’t need a repeat of what happened with the Veterans Choice Program, so the VA must take special care to clearly expand access beyond the original criteria and lay out a detailed plan for how it plans to implement all changes. (Dan Caldwell, 6/11)

Access to health insurance through the Medicaid program has been critical in helping Ohioans to enter the workforce and supporting them in their work. Ohio should be focused on strengthening residents’ connection to the preventive care and treatment that keeps them healthy and connected to the workforce. (Charles Wallner, 6/11)