18.03.2017 12.39 CDT

The Republican health care proposal leaves many key provisions the ACA intact and Republican acceptance of these provisions may be the real legacy of the Affordable Care act.

The Legacy of Obamacare

The Legacy of Obamacare

In the future, when the day-to-day battles have faded, this may be the legacy of the Affordable Care Act...

It is too soon to predict the fate of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) or, as we call it, TrumpRyanCare. But, the AHCA as currently proposed retains many key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The apparent willingness of Republicans to retain these provisions represents a significant statement about the lasting effects of Obamacare.

05.03.2017 03.25 CST

People on Medicare should pay attention to the ongoing debate over a TrumpRyanCare proposal - your prescription drug costs could be affected.

ACA Repeal and Medicare Beneficiaries

ACA Repeal and Medicare Beneficiaries

People who have prescription drug coverage under Medicare may, once again, fall into the "donut hole" if Obamacare is repealed.

Efforts to replace and repeal the Affordable Care Act will have the greatest effect on those under 65 - but may also have a significant impact of people covered by Medicare. Specifically, if the AC is repealed your cost of prescription drugs may go up. Here how Medicare beneficiaries may be impacted by an ACA repeal.

02.03.2017 02.35 CST

Those promoting Trump/RyanCare will focus their message on accessibility rather than affordability. To the extent they discuss affordability, they will focus on the aspirational goal of making health care more affordable in the long term.

Access to Healthcare Under TrumpRyanCare

Access to Healthcare Under TrumpRyanCare

Those who rely on financial support under ACA are likely to find themselves entering new terrain.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) sought to provide increased access to health insurance with two different sets of provisions – those impacting “market” access (“If I apply for a policy, can I get one?”) and others focused on “financial” access (“Can I afford a policy?”). This blog post will describe how Trump/RyanCare is likely to treat the market access provisions of ACA differently than the financial access provisions - and how different groups will be affected.

23.02.2017 04.49 CST

In the post-ACA world carriers will be given more latitude to identify who they are willing to cover and how they will underwrite and price those coverages.

After Obamacare—What’s Next for Insurance Companies?

After Obamacare—What’s Next for Insurance Companies?

The future is full of possibilities for insurance companies.

I have described the likelihood that, in a post-ACA world, the federal government will step back and the states will have more flexibility and responsibility. The next key player in this equation is the insurance industry.

The largest increases in Health Care Insurance changes involve the role/autonomy that will go to individual states and insurance companies.

After Obamacare—What’s Next for the States?

After Obamacare—What’s Next for the States?

What’s Next for the States? It's foggy out here.

In my previous post I discussed how the federal role in U.S. healthcare markets is likely to shrink in a post-ACA environment. So, who picks up the slack? It is likely that the largest increases in role/autonomy will go to individual states and insurance companies. This blog post focuses on a potential increase in states’ roles; my next post discusses increased control that may flow to insurance companies. Here’s how this may play out: