Health Tips

Predictions that the individual health insurance market will now implode are misplaced.

First, in the wake of the Republican collapse of efforts to replace Obamacare, Medicaid will continue on unaffected. The Obama Medicaid expansion is fully funded for years to come. The nineteen states that did not take the expansion will continue to be on the outside looking in as their taxpayers continue to

Many recent press reports have centered around the notion that Republicans are stuck in the mud trying to get their repeal and replace promises moving.

That line appeared to be reinforced over the weekend when President Trump said, in a pre-Super Bowl interview, that the process could draw out into next year. My sense is that what Trump was talking about was the fact that the whole process, that

It's not a question of whether or not Republicans and Democrats will come to a compromise over replacing Obamacare.

The Republican attempts to repeal and replace aside, the law is unsustainable in its current form.

Since it will take 60 Senate votes, and the Republicans only have 52 seats, there is no way we can get to a solution to the Obamacare conundrum without a bipartisan compromise.

So,

Will the Republicans Follow Through on Their Promise to Repeal Obamacare?
Yes.

You have probably been reading press stories that bring into question whether or not Republicans will actually keep their campaign promise to "repeal" the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In fact, there is much discussion going on among Congressional Republicans about repealing key funding elements of the ACA as part of a

Don't Underestimate the Value of Rearranging the Deck Chairs

Anna Wilde Mathews and Louise Radnofsky have a well-done story in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. They point out that a relatively few sicker people account for most of the cost of care:

Congress has begun the work of replacing the Affordable Care Act, and that means lawmakers will soon face the thorny dilemma that confronts every

"To have an orderly ["Repeal and Replace"] transition, I think Republicans need to reimplement the risk corridors by February or March. That is the only chance they have. I don't think there is a single Republican member of Congress who has thought about this. I am reading all of these quotes and they're completely blind to the fiasco on the individual market that they're about to create."

Read

I wouldn't be surprised to see Obamacare more fixed than replaced before this is over. I'm not sure Republicans have really come to grips with the daunting task they face for both replacing Obamacare and managing through what will certainly be a problematic transition.

See my post at Forbes