Mediaboss Marketing

When the Trump administrations replacement for the Affordable Care Act can be expected seems to depend on whom you ask and when.

But the moving target has complicated a clear, nonnegotiable and impending deadline for health insurers: May 3 at the very latest.

The political clarity these businesses are seeking will affect how they design and price 2018 individual market plans, and even whether they participate in the ACAs exchanges at all.

As much clarity as possible by March would be helpful, said Kristine Grow, senior vice president of communications at industry group Americas Health Insurance Plans.

But key Republican figures have offered varying deadlines: March or April, or sometime this year, or maybe even next year.

An ambitious replacement plan might be expected from the party, which has been calling for repeal for seven years. But if announced too late, big changes could restrict quick implementation, especially if theyre released around Novembers open enrollment.

Theres definitely a date, and I would put it sooner than November, it could be into the summer even, where they really have to move forward with legislation or they have to wait another year, said Sandi Hunt, a principal at PwC.

Read: 8 things you didnt realize were in Obamacare

The drawn-out, 18-month process of designing health plans applies to all plans, not just individual ones bought through the ACAs exchanges.

But the firm May 3 deadline for ACA plans is being imposed by the federal government itself, albeit by a different administration than the one that hashed out the deadline in the first place.

This dynamic underscores the complicated and often confusing forces at work as the Trump administration takes charge of a system it has sworn to get rid of.

Health insurers need a stable market, stable rules and a broader pool none of which has been fixed yet, nor does it seem likely it will be in time, said Sheryl Skolnick, Mizuho Securities director of research and senior health-care analyst. They need to know now ideally, I think, but again thats why they are likely to include an out clause in any bid.

Of course, the prolonged uncertainty wasnt entirely unexpected.

Health insurers have likely been doing calculations with and without; a lot of scenario building, Hunt said.

Some are probably submitting proposals with contingency clauses, saying that if these things change, I have the right to change the rates, she said.

Money is top of mind, specifically whether federal dollars key to keeping the exchanges stable will continue to subsidize exchange plans for low- and middle-income Americans.

Health insurers also want the government to make full reinsurance payments for 2016, which are made to stabilize premiums for plans that had to cover people with pre-existing conditions, among other ACA rules.

Related: What is the individual health-insurance market, and why is everyone so worried about it?

But money is also poised to become the primary tool in a repeal-and-replace fight.

With a simple majority, congressional Republicans can only use the budget reconciliation process, which fast tracks legislation that deals with spending or revenue, if they dont gain support from across the aisle.

The application window for insurers opens April 5 and extends until May 3, the final deadline. The back and forth between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and health insurers extends through Oct. 13, with open enrollment for consumers opening at the start of November.

Dates given by prominent Republican leaders hopscotch around, by contrast.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has said that a replacement plan could be expected in March or April.

Congress starts a two-week recess in early April, making that the soft deadline for a new health-care place, said Cowen Washington Research Group analyst Chris Krueger. But even an April deadline is barely enough time to do the bids for 2018, Skolnick said, adding that timing is tight.

Then, last week, two different dates were put forward: Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), who chairs a key Senate committee on health, said a repeal-and-replace vote would occur this year.

And President Donald Trump projected an even longer timeline for the emergence of a new health law, saying maybe itll take sometime into next year.

We can either do it quickly, as the Democrats did ... or we can do it right, press secretary Sean Spicer said Wednesday, responding to charges that the president was behind on his promise to repeal and replace the ACA.

The ACA itself was not formulated, passed by Congress and signed by President Obama till Obama had been in the White House for 14 months.

But its possible a repeal-and-replace plan could be done faster than the ACA, since you dont have to build the exchanges, Hunt said. The infrastructure of building that was so huge.

In the meantime, over 9 million people have just signed up for 2017 health plans through HealthCare.gov, with up to 18 million total standing to be affected by a repeal.

Even if market-stabilizing subsidies and payments remain in effect, the exchanges success is highly dependent on marketing and enrollment efforts, Hunt said.

Read more: Repealing Obamacare will leave 18 million people uninsured, with even fewer options, CBO finds

Several big health insurers, including UnitedHealth Group UNH, +0.77% , Aetna Inc. AET, +0.30% and Humana Inc. HUM, +0.62% , announced high-profile exits from the exchanges last year. Their qualms predate President Trumps election, which made repeal and replace appear inevitable. Health insurers have long said that the ACA, also called Obamacare, needs major changes in order for participation to be profitable for them.

Insurers including Anthem Inc. ANTM, +0.74% , Centene Corp. CNC, +0.76% , Molina Healthcare Inc. MOH, -1.04% and the Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in various states are worth watching during this time of uncertainty, Skolnick said.

More pulling out could spell further trouble for the individual market, which is individuals who dont have insurance through work or public programs can buy health insurance.

We still need certainty about short-term fixes in order to determine the extent of our participation in the individual market in 2018, said Anthem Inc. Chief Executive Officer Joseph Swedish. And we will be watching developments closely in the first half of 2017 as we evaluate our longer-term strategy for the health-insurance exchanges.

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR XBI, +0.34% has risen 2.6% over the last three months, compared with a 7.6% rise in the S&P 500 SPX, +0.52% .

Read more from the original source:
Republicans keep changing when Obamacare will be repealed yet health insurers have a deadline coming up - MarketWatch

New York Times

Republicans, Aiming to Kill Health Law, Also Work to Shore It Up New York Times WASHINGTON After denouncing the Affordable Care Act as an abomination for seven years, Republicans in Congress, working with the Trump administration, are urgently seeking ways to shore up health insurance marketplaces created by the law. How Democrats Can Hold Republicans Accountable for Healthcare FixNewsweek Trump And Republicans' Timeline For Obamacare Repeal Getting LongerWOSU Column: What are Republicans going to do about Obamacare? 'No idea.'Daily Globe Washington Post -MinnPost all 364 news articles »

Continued here:
Republicans, Aiming to Kill Health Law, Also Work to Shore It Up - New York Times

Republicans in the Iowa House of Representatives have recently introduced a bill that bars Iowa counties and cities from raising the minimum wage above the current state level of $7.25.

House Study Bill 92 introduced by Rep. Jake Highfill, R-Johnston, is apparently the Republican response to local communities raising the minimum wage above the state mandate. Four counties have already raised the wage after local residents grew tired of waiting for a change on a state or national level.

The proposed bill is both an affront to Iowa workers and to local governments that responded to local demand. House Republicans are overstepping their bounds to ensure that hard-working Iowans are not paid fair wages for their work. Denying families a living wage that lifts them out of poverty is not the Iowa values that we should stand for.

Moreover, the residents of Wapello, Polk, Linn and Johnson took local action to ensure members of their communities were paid a livable wage. They saw the injustice of the low minimum wage and the ineffectiveness of our state and national elected officials to raise the wage. Specifically, local county boards and city councils listened to their constituents and performed their democratic duty of responding with a wanted policy. House Study Bill 92, which would amend the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965, seeks to take that power away from local citizens. As millions of people are demanding a livable wage, the House Republicans are responding by restricting the power of local politicians and leaders.

This bill is a classic example of a proposed solution in search of a problem. The fact that local counties are setting higher standards for their employment is not troublesome nor harmful to the state or its citizens. In fact, it adheres to the conservative ideology that looks at local communities as laboratories of self-governance.

Additionally, the bill would lower the minimum wages in those counties that already raised them. The state, specifically the Republicans who would vote for the bill, would be handing down minimum wage workers in those communities a pay cut.

With a budget shortfall of $118 million and water quality in the state in need of critical assistance, surely the Republicans in the House have more pressing issues to address other than giving the most at-risk wage earners a pay cut and taking rights away from local communities.

Its understandable to want a single law for businesses to follow in regard to paying employees at locations across the state. But businesses must respect the demands and wants of local communities that identify a need to raise the minimum wage. Corporate interests and simplicity for businesses should not be the priority of the state over the wants of its people.

Opinions expressed in columns and letters are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Daily or organizations with which the author(s) are associated.

Feedback policy: The Daily encourages discussion but does not guarantee its publication. We reserve the right to edit or reject any letter or online feedback.The goal of the opinion section is to spark civil public discourse by publishing opinions based on facts that articulate an argument. The merit of a piece's ability to further public discourse, among other factors, will be considered when determining if a piece is publication worthy.

Letter to the Editor Submission Link

Read more here:
Editorial: House Republicans attempt to restrict liberties - Iowa State Daily

The intensity of Democratic and left-wing opposition to President Trump is taking a toll even on congressional Republicans.

"It's just a giant hassle," said Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va. "Everybody is losing it on the left."

"The world is upside down," said Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C. "What is going on is the frustration of the American people, on both sides."

Republican lawmakers have faced raucous town halls with anti-Trump protesters shouting them down. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., had to leave on with police escort. "Do your job!" demonstrators jeered at House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, after he noted the president was exempt from federal conflict-of-interest laws.

Stay abreast of the latest developments from nation's capital and beyond with curated News Alerts from the Washington Examiner news desk and delivered to your inbox.

Sorry, there was a problem processing your email signup. Please try again later.

Processing...

Thank you for signing up for Washington Examiner News Alerts. You should receive your first alert soon!

Protesters initially blocked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from entering two Washington, D.C., public schools Friday. Earlier in the week, Senate Democrats tried to block her from the job but failed due to Vice President Mike Pence's tie-breaking vote.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was ruled out of order during the debate over nominating Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., for attorney general when her criticisms were deemed by Republicans to impugn his character and motives in violation of Senate rules. After Sessions was confirmed, Warren ascribed to him "racism, sexism, bigotry."

Democrats mounted all-night protests against both nominees. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus stormed the Senate floor to highlight their opposition to Sessions.

"We mostly roll our eyes and laugh," a Republican congressional aide said of Democratic tactics. So far, the Democrats have failed to stop any of Trump's nominees, largely because of a filibuster rule change their own party made when they controlled the Senate.

With the exception of Trump's immigration order, now tied up in courts, the president has gotten much of what he wants in the early days of his administration.

Also from the Washington Examiner

It likely referenced the Senate voting to silence Sen. Elizabeth Warren last week.

02/12/17 9:55 PM

For Capitol Hill Republicans, the stress of overcoming Democratic stalling in Congress and the anti-Trump "resistance" in the streets is still outweighed by excitement over the opportunities unified control of the federal government provides.

"These are friends of mine. They're acting badly. And we'll get past it," Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told Politico. "I'm embarrassed for them."

Democratic morale is lower, because of their minority status and the futility of many of their battles against the administration.

"They're not smiling," Brat said. "They're upset."

But the whirlwind activity of the Trump administration and its detractors has had an impact on Republicans too.

Also from the Washington Examiner

"At this particular point in history, our voices are needed more than ever."

02/12/17 8:41 PM

Several GOP lawmakers complained it was becoming difficult to sift constituent concerns from anti-Trump protests, not always from their districts. Even within their districts, they said they were facing newly politically engaged voters who are demanding they stand up to Trump even though they were elected making a different set of commitments to the constituents who voted for them.

One recent poll found that 56 percent of Democrats want their party's congressional wing to oppose Trump even if it means administration jobs don't get filled or bills get defeated.

"I hope the spring and summer will bring more civility than we see right now," Jones said.

"Tim Kaine has always been nice to me," said Brat, referring to the Virginia Democratic senator who was Hillary Clinton's running mate during the 2016 campaign. "Now he's gone from being a Guatemalan seminarian to a Guatemalan jungle fighter. I don't recall street fighters in the New Testament, maybe he can show me."

Congressional Republicans are unsure of whether the anti-Trump protests are similar to the Tea Party that powered many of them into office or more like the ultimately ineffectual demonstrations against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Several lawmakers said the Trump protests were less ideologically unified and more chaotic than the Tea Party. But while conservatives raise allegations about paid protesters and astroturfing funded by liberal billionaires, similar accusations were made on the left about the Tea Party.

Trump does his part to fan the flames, hitting back at critics on Twitter.

"You've got all these distractions with the tweets here and the tweets there," said Jones. "I wish he didn't tweet so much, but that's his decision, not mine."

"He is provocative, he eggs them on," Brat said of Trump's relationship with the Americans outraged by his presidency.

"We need to be gracious in victory but not stupid and weak," he added. "Trump is very good about saying you can't be stupid and weak, if he can figure out the first part we'll be in business."

Top Story

Opponents are planning to use the case as an opportunity to intrude into the presidency.

02/12/17 11:15 PM

Here is the original post:
Republicans cope with stressful opposition to Trump - Washington Examiner

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The ACA has never been more popular and you can see it at town halls across the country.

For years, one of the dogmas of the Republican party was that Obamacare needed to be repealed. Forget for a second that many of the most controversial sections of Obamacare (like the individual mandate) began their life as ideas from the Republican party; Republicans have spent the years since the ACA was passed spreading lies about the bill. Paul Ryan has said that it's bankrupting Medicare, when in fact the truth is just the opposite. This comes from FactCheck.org.

As for Ryans claim that Obamacare had worsened Medicares financing, thats not the case, either. In fact, the law both expanded Medicare fundingadding a 0.9 percent tax on earnings above $200,000 for single taxpayers or $250,000 for married couplesand cut the growth of future spending. Additional revenue and savings actually extend the life of the trust fund. The trustees 2010 report estimated that the ACA had added 12 years to the life of the Part A trust fund.

That's right! Literally the exact opposite is true. The ACA has PROLONGED Medicare's life. But the worst of the lies that Republicans have trotted out is the trusty old "Death Panels", or the idea that a government panel would decide if elderly people weren't worthy of care anymore. (It's funny how Obamacare has now been in place for years, and yet there have been no death panels. It's almost like it was never true at all.)

Well, that's not stopping some GOP officials from trotting that idea out in the debate over the potential repeal of Obamacare, and this time Americans aren't buying that shit. Take for instance this amazing moment from a town hall in Florida when local Republican official Bill Akins tried to use "Death Panels" as an argument for the repeal of a law that gives 20 million people healthcare. The reaction? Angrier than you can imagine! We're talking angrier than Donald Trump is every time he looks at Sean Spicer-levels of anger.

And then the guy had the gall to be offended by being called a liar for, well, lying about something that has been debunked over and over again SINCE 2009! That's eight solid years of debunking and this guy still is trying to sell this shit.

Americans are done with the same old tricks from the same old snake oil salesmen. This is what an effective resistance looks like. Show up at town halls. Make your voices heard. Let them politicians know that there's a reason why Obamacare is more popular today than it has ever been before.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS ONE

Follow this link:
Republicans Are Still Lying About Obamacare and Americans Aren't Having It - GQ Magazine