Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With Updated Health Plan, Trump Touts HSAs But Offers Little Detail
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump鈥檚 updated health care proposals narrow what the Republican presidential nominee had previously proposed regarding health care, but his campaign still has not offered details about how such reforms would work. Trump鈥檚 health care proposals ... say he would replace the Affordable Care Act with health savings accounts if elected to the presidency. He鈥檚 previously said people should be allowed to use health savings accounts that are tax-free and can accumulate .... Trump鈥檚 updated proposals also say he would work with Congress to create a patient-center system focused on choice, quality and affordability, and would work with states to establish high-risk pools to ensure continued coverage for individuals, a new idea for the campaign. (McIntire, 10/6)
The result of the presidential election, more than gubernatorial elections, will decide whether more states expand their Medicaid programs, an adviser on Republican nominee Donald Trump鈥檚 presidential transition team said Oct. 5. Hillary Clinton, if elected president, would push more states to expand Medicaid, Mike Leavitt, who served as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services under George W. Bush and was named a key adviser to the Trump campaign鈥檚 transition team, said. ... Under a Clinton administration, governors and lawmakers in states that haven鈥檛 expanded their Medicaid programs are likely to take advantage of a little-known ACA provision set to begin in 2017 that allows states to waive many of the law鈥檚 requirements鈥攕uch as individual and employer mandate鈥攊f they provide similar coverage, Leavitt said. (Ruoff, 10/6)
Republicans have been vowing for six years now to repeal the Affordable Care Act. They have voted to do so dozens of times, despite knowing any measures would be vetoed by President Barack Obama. But if elected, a President Donald Trump wouldn鈥檛 have to wait for lawmakers to once again pass repeal legislation to stop the health law from functioning. Indeed, he could do much of it with a stroke of a pen. (Rovner, 10/7)
