A Bipartisan Health Law Can Exist, An ACA Architect Believes
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel spoke about the future of health care coverage at an event at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. Meanwhile, health leaders in the Bay Area are starting to think through the complications of what to do if repeal and replace is successful.
Mercury News:
Obamacare's Architect: Five Points About Health Care Reform
In a wide-ranging conversation Wednesday night at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, Obamacare’s main architect, talked about health care reform and the debate over President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which has helped insure at least 20 million more Americans, including five million Californians. Emanuel is still a [strong] advocate of the law, saying it has contributed to keeping U.S. health care costs more under control than at any time in the last 50 years. But like many other health care experts, he acknowledges room for improvement — and hopes it can now be done a bipartisan fashion. (Seipel, 1/12)
San Francisco Business Times:
Bay Area Health Leaders Try To Plan Around Potential ACA Repeal
President Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act, has provided roughly 20 million people nationwide with health insurance. With an incoming president and Congress hard at work trying to repeal the bill, Bay Area health care leaders are watching the situation closely, still unsure of precisely how it will unfold. (Siu, 1/12)
KPBS Public Media:
Obamacare Supporters Protest At Issa's North County Office
Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Vista) is a staunch opponent of the Affordable Care Act and wants to repeal it as soon as possible. About 30 people who disagree with his position protested in front of his Vista office on Thursday. And while some simply held signs declaring their support for Obamacare, others, like Vista resident Marjorie Bramwell, didn't mince her words. (Goldberg, 1/12)
And media outlets look at what else will be affected by repeal —
Orange County Register:
Asian Americans, Latinos At Orange County Forum Worry About What May Come Under Trump
Alexis Nava Teodoro said he attended a community forum at Whittier Law School on Thursday afternoon "to build bridges." The Santa Ana immigrant rights activist said he is one of many who are concerned about the steps a Donald Trump administration might take to make matters worse for immigrant families, particularly those who are undocumented. ... The repeal of the Affordable Care Act is also a huge concern among Asian Americans, Wang said, adding that the Asian American community in California saw a 59 percent drop in those uninsured after ACA passed. About 32,000 Asian Americans in Orange County benefit from the Affordable Care Act, she said. (Bharath, 1/12)
San Diego Union-Times:
California's Stem Cell Agency Backers Considering Bond Financing
California’s stem cell agency begins 2017 with two issues on the mind of its vice chair, Art Torres. What happens to health care reimbursements if Obamacare is repealed? Will supporters of the agency organize to urge California voters to grant the agency more money to continue its mission? That mission is to hasten bringing stem cell and related therapies to patients, in a way that strengthens California’s economy. It began in 2004, when 59 percent of California voters approved Prop. 71, establishing the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. (Fikes, 1/12)