Senior Republican senators said Sunday that Congress would extend Obamacare health insurance subsidies for a transitional period should the Supreme Court rule that they arent allowed in at least 34 states.
This year sign-ups for private health plans in California, New York and other states that opted to build and run their own insurance markets has stagnated.
Obamacares startup health insurance plans are flirting with financial distress, as all but five of the 23 nonprofit companies had negative cash flow from operations in the first three quarters of 2014
Congress should split the agency that runs Obamacare and Medicare from the Department of Health and Human Services to keep the White House from having too much influence over its operation, Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch said.
The penalty is designed to encourage people to sign up for health insurance using the expanded options and financial assistance available under the law. The penalty would apply to about 2 percent to 4 percent of all taxpayers for 2014.
In two years, the government wants 30 percent of payments from Medicare going to doctors and hospitals participating in programs that force them to work together, worry about whether patients actually get better, and in some cases, pay penalties if they fail.