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Republican leaders of the state Legislature signaled Monday they could again face hurdles passing legislation aimed at protecting health coverage for pre-existing conditions. Wisconsin lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly failed to find common ground last year on legislation intended to provide assurances if a lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act is ultimately successful. (Beck and Marley, 1/7)

The outgoing governor’s two terms nearly dovetailed with the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, the federal health care law that expanded insurance coverage to millions of Americans and boosted federal funds for health care programs. Connecticut’s early decision to expand Medicaid under Obamacare to more than 200,000 poor adults has had a positive effect on that population’s health, the state’s uninsured rate, and the program’s per-person costs. (Shanahan, 1/8)

The elimination of the Affordable Care Act tax penalty on people who don’t have health insurance could roll back recent coverage gains for Hispanics, young people, the healthy and the poor, according to a new study. The study, published Monday in the journal Health Affairs, stems from a 2017 survey in which researchers at Harvard University Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital asked more than 3,000 Californians who had bought individual health care plans: “Would you have purchased health insurance coverage this year if there was no penalty?” (Feder Ostrov, 1/7)