Articles by Steven T. Dennis, Zachary Tracer and Laura Litvan

Senate Republicans Fail in Bid to Repeal Obamacare

A months-long effort by Senate Republicans to pass health legislation collapsed early Friday after GOP Senator John McCain joined two of his colleagues to block a stripped-down Obamacare repeal bill. “I regret that our efforts were simply not enough, this …

Senate Begins Debate, Kills McConnell Health Bill, Schedules ‘Vote-a-Rama’

Senate Republicans have embarked on an unpredictable and potentially chaotic floor debate aimed at repealing Obamacare amid significant doubts that they can muster 50 votes to pass any kind of health bill. GOP leaders will hold votes on a slew …

GOP Senate Health Bill Would Substantially Raise Deductibles, Number of Uninsureds: CBO

The Senate Republican health bill promises lower premiums for consumers. To get there, it would require patients in standard plans to spend as much as about $13,000 upfront on their own care. The deductibles would be so high, in fact, …

Senate Health Bill in Jeopardy as 3 Republican Senators Oppose

At least three Republican senators said they would vote to block the current version of their party’s health-care bill from advancing, endangering Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s plan to repeal Obamacare.Republican Susan Collins of Maine late Monday said she would vote …

Cuomo Takes Steps to Keep New York Insurers in Obamacare

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced steps on Monday to encourage insurers to keep selling health plans in the state’s Obamacare exchange, as the companies withdraw from other markets amid uncertainty surrounding the health law. The state is tying participation …

Obamacare Insurers Struggle to Set Plans Amid Threats to Program

Obamacare is stuck in limbo, and insurers and state regulators are struggling to set their plans for what’s increasingly shaping up as a chaotic year for the health-care program. After the failure of Republicans’ first attempt to repeal and replace …

Trump Aims to Raise Insurer Participation in Obamacare with New Rules

The Trump administration finalized a set of rules that it says will help bolster insurer participation in Obamacare’s markets, even as the president presses for repeal of the law itself. The rules, published Thursday [March 13] by the Department of …

How Insurance Markets Could Be Affected If GOP Reduces Essential Benefits

Rules on what benefits health insurance plans must cover have become a major negotiating point as Republicans wrangle votes to repeal Obamacare, even though removing the regulations is likely to upset U.S. insurance markets. The requirements, called Essential Health Benefits, …

White House Weighing Changes to Ryan Health Care Bill

House Speaker Paul Ryan doesn’t plan to make major changes to Republicans’ plan to replace Obamacare, according to a GOP aide, but the White House says it’s talking with members of Congress who want to amend the legislation. “We’ve always …

Trump Officials Vow More People Covered, Lower Premiums Under Health Care Bill

Sweeping White House promises that insurance premiums will fall and more people will have coverage under the Obamacare replacement plan may be hard to keep as conservatives demand limits to government involvement in health care before they support the measure. …