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How killing Obamacare might save some of Obamacare, for a while

Health insurers live and die by political whim as well as market forces. Republicans, having stymied the laws original policy meant to cushion health plan losses, are now ready to come through with billions of dollars to put them on a solid footing.

By John Tozzi, Zachary Tracer | Updated on June 23, 2017
The GOP may have come around on helping insurers cover health plan losses. (Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/The National Law Journal)

Health insurance companies lost money selling policies in the individual market again last year, as premiums from healthy people weren’t enough to cover the costs of the sick. The red ink is a big reason why companies such as Aetna Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. left the Affordable Care Act marketplaces in several states this year.

Now, the bill that Senate Republicans hope will repeal Obamacare includes a pile of money to help struggling insurers in those marketplaces, where about 12.2 million Americans got coverage this year. Specifically, it includes $50 billion over the next four years “to fund arrangements with health insurance issuers to address coverage and access disruption and respond to urgent health care needs,” according to the bill text.

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