Trending News Today: Lawmakers Clash Over ACA Insurer Subsidies

A conservative group, the Club for Growth, created a new TV campaign that pressures moderate GOP lawmakers to support renewed efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ads urge moderates to support a revised version of the American Health Care Act, which would seek waivers from ACA mandates, including those that require insurers to cover specific services and not increasing premiums for patients with serious illnesses, according to US News & World Report. Thus far, the campaign has received mixed reviews from both moderates and conservatives.

In November 2016, a California proposal to increase government control over drug costs was defeated. Pharmaceutical manufacturers are now keeping their eye on SB 17, which calls for price transparency instead of government control regarding drug pricing. The bill would require manufacturers to announce price increases and detailed reasons behind the costs, according to California Heathline. California lawmakers have called for increased transparency through this bill, but manufacturers have previously said that other players in the supply chain are a large part of drug cost increases.

The Trump administration said it is willing to continue paying subsidies to insurers under the ACA, despite House Republicans alleging the payments are illegal because it was not authorized by Congress, The New York Times reported. While nothing is definite, it provides insurers with hope they will receive funding, encouraging them to sell plans in ACA marketplaces. Without the subsidies, the marketplaces could quickly fail, with more insurers withdrawing, according to the Times.