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flag_160540827This is the fifth article in our series on the effect of the “slow repeal” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This week’s article focuses on the potential impact of the slow repeal of the ACA on rural communities and healthcare.

Continued Fragile System Leads to Uncertainty or Closure Causing Economic Ripple Effect Throughout Rural America

There are nearly 5,000 short-term, acute care hospitals in the United States, half of which are in rural areas. About four in 10 rural hospitals are located in the South. More than half of rural hospitals are Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) (53.5%); a smaller share of rural hospitals are designated as Sole Community Hospitals (SCHs) (13%), Medicare Dependent Hospitals (MDHs) (8%), and Rural Referral Centers (RRCs) (11%). All of these designations provide enhanced or supplemental reimbursement under Medicare, using different formulas. Rural hospitals that do not qualify for these Medicare programs are reimbursed as standard Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals.
Continue Reading Slow Repeal of the ACA and Its Impact on Rural Healthcare and Communities

flag_160540827This is the fourth article in our series on the effect of the “slow repeal” of the ACA. This week’s article starts a three-part discussion on the potential impact of the slow repeal of the ACA on the health insurance industry, with this week’s focus on the individual health insurance market.

On February 2, 2017, an important House Subcommittee – the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee – began addressing four bills that address portions of the ACA. Although three of the four bills were introduced in previous years, all four measures come at a time when lawmakers are grappling with the impact of “repeal and replace” – or just “repeal” – on the increasingly fragile individual health insurance markets.
Continue Reading Slow Repeal of the ACA and Its Impact on the Individual Health Insurance Industry

flag_160540827President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Congressman Tom Price (R-Ga.), has now completed two confirmation hearings in the Senate. If confirmed, Rep. Price will direct more than $1 trillion of annual spending, as well as assist in developing and implementing a replacement for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). First, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) held a courtesy hearing January 18, and then the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the nomination, held its hearing January 24. The following is a summary of what we learned – or did not learn – over the course of those hearings.
Continue Reading Tom Price Confirmation Hearings – What We Have Learned?

pills-colorful492864587This is the third article in our series on the effect of a “slow repeal” of the ACA. This week’s discussion focuses on the potential impact of a slow repeal of the ACA on the pharmaceutical industry (Pharma).

Unlike many of the players detailed in our prior articles on the slow repeal of the ACA, Pharma has not made a lot of noise regarding a repeal of the ACA. In fact, Pharma and biotech stocks soared—generally 3 percent to 10 percent—on November 8, 2016, largely because the industry had been preparing for a Clinton victory. A recent quote attributed to one Pharma industry official—“I actually think the Republican Party is a far less certain bet for the pharmaceutical industry”—reflects some of the unease surrounding the change in administration, and the likely repeal of the ACA.
Continue Reading Slow Repeal of the ACA and Its Effect on the Pharmaceutical Industry

flag_160540827This is the second article in our series on the effect of a “slow repeal” of the ACA, which began January 3, 2017, when Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi introduced a budget resolution with instructions to the relevant Senate and House committees to develop a plan to repeal the ACA. The four committees that control healthcare policy have until January 27, 2017, to draft reconciliation bills, which will address the important details, likely including how long it will take to replace the ACA, and which parts of the ACA will be repealed through a budget reconciliation process. On January 4, 2017, the Senate promptly voted (51-48) to begin debate on the procedures to repeal the ACA.
Continue Reading Slow Repeal of the ACA and Its Effect on Physicians