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Older Americans might pay more for health care under Trump

UCI UC Irvine via Flickr CC

Politico has two drafts of Trump Administration HHS proposals that outline intentions to:

  1. Charge older Americans 3.49 times more since their care tends to cost more
  2. Cut the 2018 enrollment period in half to November 1 to December 15 in 2017 instead of letting it run through the end of January 2018
  3. End special enrollment periods which insurers said let people get sick before getting coverage
  4. Increase out-of-pocket expenses by giving insurers more flexibility in the percent of cost they must cover

Quick take: The idea here is to appease insurers' concerns and keep them in the marketplace while Trump's team builds up a real replacement plan for the ACA. If enacted it would mark an adjustment to the healthcare marketplace that healthcare experts had asked the Obama Administration to initiate.

Why this matters: Although Trump said he would immediately get a replacement plan out, it is proving difficult to maintain those promises. In the meantime, healthcare insurers have to get their 2018 plans on the table by April of this year for state regulators to review. Many are feeling the pressure already; a few national insurers told investors last week they may need to leave the marketplace.

Go deeper

Jonathan Swan
5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Scoop: Gina Haspel threatened to resign over plan to install Kash Patel as CIA deputy

CIA Director Gina Haspel. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy, according to three senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Why it matters: The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world's most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences — and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone — stopped it.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Health: Coronavirus deaths reach 4,000 per day as hospitals remain in crisis mode — CDC warns highly transmissible coronavirus variant could become dominant in U.S. in March.
  2. Politics: Biden says, "We will manage the hell out of" vaccine distribution — Biden taps ex-FDA chief to lead Operation Warp Speed amid rollout of COVID plan — Widow of GOP congressman-elect who died of COVID-19 will run to fill his seat.
  3. Vaccine: Battling Black mistrust of the vaccines — "Pharmacy deserts" could become vaccine deserts — Instacart to give $25 to shoppers who get vaccine.
  4. Economy: Unemployment filings explode again — Fed chair: No interest rate hike coming any time soon —  Inflation rose more than expected in December.
  5. World: WHO team arrives in China to investigate pandemic origins.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Lachlan Markay
6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

John Weaver, Lincoln Project co-founder, acknowledges “inappropriate” messages

John Weaver aboard John McCain's campaign plane in February 2000. Photo: Robert Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

John Weaver, a veteran Republican operative who co-founded the Lincoln Project, declared in a statement to Axios on Friday that he sent “inappropriate,” sexually charged messages to multiple men.

  • “To the men I made uncomfortable through my messages that I viewed as consensual mutual conversations at the time: I am truly sorry. They were inappropriate and it was because of my failings that this discomfort was brought on you,” Weaver said.
  • “The truth is that I'm gay,” he added. “And that I have a wife and two kids who I love. My inability to reconcile those two truths has led to this agonizing place.”
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow