With the election of Donald Trump Congressional Republicans are poised to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) within the first 100 days of the 115th Congress via the budget reconciliation process. (At some future date they are pledging to draft ACA replacement language or legislation.) The expectation is repeal would have an effective date of 2018 or 2019, or after the mid-term Congressional elections. However, many if not most health policy experts agree the simple act of repeal would cause such instability state insurance marketplaces would collapse long before repeal would, legally, go into effect. Congressional Republican leadership is also promising to move major Medicare, via premium support and major Medicaid legislation, via block grants or per capita caps, though the upcoming Congress.
During this 23 minute conversation Chris Jennings discusses whether, and moreover how if at all, Congressional Republicans can repeal the ACA with an out-year effective date without fatally damaging state insurance marketplaces, the likely consequences of a simple repeal (without replace), when and how will Republicans will replace the ACA and whether that effort would garner any Democratic interest or support, what substantively explains Republican opposition to the current law and what might Republican leadership do to reform the Medicaid program and its likely effects.
Chris Jennings is currently Founder and President of Jennings Policy Strategies, a DC-based policy firm where he consults with foundations, purchasers and other aligned stakeholders on policies to ensure higher quality, more affordable health care for all Americans. Previously, Mr. Jennings served as Deputy Assistant for Health Policy to President Obama and for eight years as White House Health Care Adviser to President Clinton. Prior still he served for a decade in the US Senate for Senators Glenn, Pryor and Melcher where he worked on Medicaid CHIP, HIPAA, PDUFA, major Medicare reforms in the 1997 Balanced Budget Act and related work concerning long term care, prescription drug coverage, rural healthcare and other related issues. Chris has been a campaign adviser to six Democratic presidential campaigns and is a frequent contributor on health reform issues to the New England Journal of Medicine and numerous other scholarly journals, periodicals and newspapers.
Will the Republicans Repeal the Affordable Care Act and Be Able to Replace It: A Conversation with Chris Jennings (December 5th)