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What Will The Rollback Of Obamacare Look Like In California?

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California went all in on Obamacare and now faces the prospect of President-elect Donald Trump and Congress dismantling key parts of that historic expansion in coverage.

Under the Affordable Care Act, the state’s insurance exchange has enrolled more than 1.4 million people and California’s Medi-Cal program added about 3.5 million lower-income residents to the rolls. But Republicans in Congress are looking to eliminate or substantially cut funding for Medicaid expansion and the federal subsidies Californians use to buy private insurance on the state exchange. State officials aren’t sure what type of replacement Washington would put in place after repealing President Barack Obama’s signature law.

Meantime, the head of the Covered California exchange is emphasizing that Obamacare remains in effect for now and consumers should continue to sign up during open enrollment. Peter Lee said he wants to work with the new Trump administration and Republican leaders to craft a sensible replacement plan that ensures access to coverage for millions of Californians.

Chad Terhune, a senior correspondent at California Healthline and Kaiser Health News, discussed these developments from the presidential election on KPCC.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

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