Republicans failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act early Friday because of divisions within their own ranks, and because they tried not only to repeal and replace the ACA but also to cut and cap the Medicaid program, generating opposition from many red-state governors and their senators. …
The challenge now is to stabilize the ACA’s insurance marketplaces. They are not in free fall or imploding, as President Trump suggests, and in most markets insurer profits have been improving. But these are fragile markets, especially in rural areas, and there are 38 “bare counties” where no insurer currently intends to participate in 2018. …
But one thing is clear: 59 percent of the public says President Trump and the Republicans are now in control of government and are responsible for making the ACA work, and 74 percent says they should “do what they can to make the law work.” CONT.
Drew Altman & Larry Levitt (Kaiser Foundation), Washington Post
