May 4, 2017

Study: AHCA high-risk pools could be way too small

Shannon Vavra

Evan Vucci / AP

Avalere Health's study on the GOP health bill reveals planned high-risk pools would cover just 5% of people with pre-existing conditions. The AHCA includes $15 billion over nine years for states to set up high-risk pools to cover these patients, and the Upton Amendment adds another $8 billion.

The numbers: Of about 2.2 million enrollees in the individual market with pre-existing, chronic conditions, that funding will only cover about 110,000.

  • Even if states decide to use another $100 billion AHCA fund solely to help cover pre-existing conditions, only 600,000 individuals would be covered. Plus, states will get to decide how they use the $100 billion, so it won't necessarily go to those patients.

Counterpoint: Republicans are signing on to this amount because they don't think that many states will opt out of requirements on essential health benefits requirements, so fewer patients will need to be covered under the pools.

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Coronavirus dashboard

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  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 665,164 — Total deaths: 30,852 — Total recoveries: 140,225.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 124,665 — Total deaths: 2,191 — Total recoveries: 1,095.
  3. Federal government latest: President Trump announces new travel advisories for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, but rules out quarantine enforcement. Per the CDC, residents of those states must now "refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days," with the exception of critical infrastructure industry workers.
  4. State updates: Alaska is latest state to issue a stay-at-home order — New York is trying to nearly triple its hospital capacity in less than a month and has moved its presidential primary to June 23. Some Midwestern swing voters who backed Trump's handling of the virus less than two weeks ago are balking at his call for the U.S. to be "opened up" by Easter.
  5. World updates: In Spain, over 1,400 people were confirmed dead between Thursday to Saturday.
  6. 🚀 Space updates: OneWeb filed for bankruptcy amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
  7. Hollywood: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have returned to U.S. after being treated for coronavirus.
  8. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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