Browse by Media Hit and Health Care

A scholar at the Institute for Policy Innovation, which is devoted to promoting free markets and limited government, agreed that “it is a big problem”: “Just because a good affordable policy is available in another state doesn’t mean that I would be able to get the network of physicians and the good prices that are available in that other state.”

Wisconsin, a state that had a successful HRP (not all state HRPs worked) until Obamacare essentially shut it down, required insurers to chip in as well, according to Mark E. Litow, a retired health actuary who served on the board of the Wisconsin HRP, and Merrill Matthews, IPI resident scholar, writing for RealClearHealth.com on February 16.

Only 200,000 people enrolled in the pools in part “because many HRPs did not offer financial assistance to lower-income participants, a few charged much higher premiums than Wisconsin, and because of some state-imposed limitations,” say Mark Litow, who was involved in Wisconsin’s risk pool, and Merrill Matthews, with IPI. “All of those problems are easily fixed,” they write in a RealClearHealth op-ed.

Five payers have been struggling to maintain profit selling health plans on the health insurance exchanges.

Dr. Merrill Matthews of IPI says clues for possible Republican replacements are in the House bill Price wrote. The plan included expanded tax credits for those who do not have coverage from an employer and a major expansion of tax-free, health care spending accounts for everyone, Matthews said.

Repealing and replacing Obamacare will not be easy, says IPI's Merrill Matthews. “The highest hurdle the GOP faces is the potential for a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.”

Though Clinton’s plan attempts to address the woes of ACA, IPI's Merrill Matthews says the plan still continues to enforce them; premiums will continue to rise and insurers will desert participation. “All Clinton does is try to mask the problem by hiding the costs through subsidies,” Matthews said.

The rise in premiums on the Affordable Care Act exchanges has led to a debate on whether to fix the ACA or repeal and replace the healthcare law.

There’s been a long-running concern that what the exchanges will ultimately be is the place where the people who are the sickest and need subsidies from the federal government will reside, said Matthews. “The question comes about – would even some of those people be able to buy cheaper insurance, even considering the subsidies, outside of the exchange if a death spiral initiates. If so, does that ultimately make the exchanges unworkable?”