April 4, 2023
Access & Coverage | Tea Leaves
  • A report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that inflation and higher health spending contributed to monthly premiums for Affordable Care Act coverage increasing an average of 3.4 percent between 2022 and 2023, reversing a trend of recent declines. Some of the increase was also attributed to uncertainty over whether Congress would extend or make permanent premium subsidies, which complicated insurers’ decision-making. Extending subsidies would incentivize healthy people who choose to buy coverage previously deemed unaffordable. (Articles here and here)
  • The Florida Senate on Monday approved a bill to ban abortions after six weeks, a measure supported by Gov. Ron DeSantis as the Republican prepares to launch his expected presidential candidacy. The vote prompted demonstrations at the state’s capital that resulted in the arrest of the leader of the Florida Democratic Party and a state senator by city police. A six-week ban would more closely align Florida with the abortion restrictions of other Republican-controlled states and give DeSantis a political win on an issue important to GOP primary voters ahead of his potential White House run. (Articles here, here, and here)