Trending News Today: Affordable Care Act Controversy Rages on

According to Kaiser Health News, a recent poll shows that 51% of Democrats want an expansion of the Affordable Care Act because they do not feel it goes far enough. This represents a 15% increase from December, likely due to the attention given to universal healthcare by the Democratic presidential candidates, the article noted. However, approximately 3 in 10 Democrats wish to scale back the law or repeal it completely.

In 2017, insurers have been setting the stage to increase premiums that could be into the double digits due to the financial drain of Obamacare. According to The Washington Post, unlike Medicaid and Medicare Advantage that profitably cover Americans, these insurers have not achieved stability over the 4 years the law has been around. These projected increases could potentially cause many political debates.

Anthem Inc stated that enrollment through the Affordable Care Act’s health exchanges has grown more than they had expected within the first few months of 2016. The Wall Street Journal reported that there were 184,000 more enrollees since the end of last year. The company’s ultimate goal for 2016 is a margin of 3% to 5% though they feel this goal may be more achievable in 2018.