From KERA:
If there’s one clear, consistent message from President-elect Donald Trump over the past few years, it’s that he hates Obamacare. So, let’s start with what could change for the roughly 1.3 million Texans who bought health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
Steve Love, president of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council, doesn’t want to see Obamacare repealed. But he is concerned that there are fewer and more expensive coverage options in 2017. He says this is partly due to the fact that some insurance providers stopped selling products in Texas altogether.
“The Affordable Care Act has got some issues with it and some problems and even if the Democrats had taken the white house it still needed some refinements,” Love says.
He says if Trump does repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, it’s crucial to maintain what is popular: coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and for children up to the age of 26. And, he hopes it would be a reasonable transition period.
‘Sea change of attitudes’
Even before a Republican administration can repeal Obamacare, Texans who get health care through their work are already seeing changes. Nearly half of all Texans buy health coverage through their jobs, and last open enrollment period, many noticed more bare bones, high-deductible plans.
“Those are gaining a lot of traction with employers,” says Marianne Fazen, president of the Texas Business Group on Health. She says employers are looking for ways to stem the rising costs of health care. They’re scrapping expensive, extensive options like PPOs for high-deductibles and health savings accounts.
