Between the lines: Hospitals' silence on this issue stands in stark contrast to last year, when they vociferouslyopposed Republican attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and cut Medicaid funding.
The Trump administration will enforce the Affordable Care Act, at least against the most brazen attempts to flout it: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday told insurers and state regulators in Idaho that they cannot proceed with their effort to sell individual insurance plans that don’t comply with key ACA requirements.
Yes, but: Administration officials made clear that they were barring Idaho’s plan not because it would undermine the ACA, but because it’s illegal — and that they want to change that.
A bill pending on Capitol Hill would move the individual market another step further towards having separate, parallel marketplaces for sick and healthy people. A legislative push – which appears to be backed by some in the White House – would allow short-term plans to both be available for up to a year and to have guaranteed renewability.
Why it matters: While it's unclear how much of an impact this would have beyond what the Trump administration has already proposed, the bill shows that thought's being given to the legal parameters of what the administration can do. It would go a step further in undermining the structure of the Affordable Care Act than the administration has, with the added benefit of taking potential legal trouble off the table.
