Trending News Today: Individual Mandate Repeal Would Increase the Uninsured Rate

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) suggests that repealing the individual mandate would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 13 million by 2027, according to The New York Times. The new report suggests that the repeal would cause premiums to rise 10% in most years over the next decade; however, the markets would remain stable during this time. The CBO also found that the repeal would reduce the federal deficit by $338 billion, which is significantly lower than the $416 billion previously estimated, according to the article.

President Donald Trump said that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be focused on stopping the opioid epidemic, which claims many American lives each day, The New York Times reported. Trump said that the leaders would discuss stopping fentanyl manufactured in China from flooding into the United States. After the meeting, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the media that the presidents plan to create an agreement that monitors the movement of fentanyl, shares drug trafficking intelligence, and exchanges trafficking information, according to the Times.

A child who had a rare skin disease recently received a novel type of gene therapy. He received genetically engineered skin cells transplanted on most parts of his body to treat epidermolysis bullosa, according to NPR. Patients with this condition form blisters all over their bodies due to a genetic flaw that prevents their epidermis from binding to the inner layer of the skin. The researchers first inserted a healthy gene into the child’s skin cells, which multiplied and grew sheets of engineered skin, according to the article. Notably, the child survived and is now in school and playing sports.