Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Administration Sends Rule To OMB To Stabilize Insurance Market, But The Clock Is Ticking
The Trump administration's proposed rule to stabilize the individual marketplace could be an effort to beat the clock as insurers decide whether to offer coverage on the marketplaces in 2018. During a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing Wednesday, witnesses that included representatives from America's Health Insurance Plans, the National Association of Health Underwriters and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners suggested that plans could make decisions about next year by March. That same day, the Trump administration submitted a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget. The exact contents of the rule have yet to be revealed publicly. (Dickson, 2/3)
Meanwhile, lawmakers also seek to work across the aisle to stabilize the marketplace —
House Republicans are seeking consensus with rank-and-file Democrats on ways to stabilize the health insurance marketplaces created by the 2010 health care law. The effort could provide a narrow opportunity for bipartisanship, despite entrenched partisan disagreements and acrimonious rhetoric over GOP plans to repeal the law. Congressional aides on both sides of the aisle say Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans are actively trying to garner bipartisan support for health care legislation, including the modest marketplace-focused bills discussed at a panel hearing last week. (Williams and Mershon, 2/7)
