Kasich, Hickenlooper unveil health reform plan

Ohio Governor John Kasich and his Democratic counter-part from Colorado are urging Congress to retain the ACA’s individual mandate while seeking to stabilize individual insurance markets as lawmakers work on a long-term replacement (Source: “Kasich’s bipartisan health care plan urges stabilizing markets,” Associated Press via (Willoughby) News-Herald, Aug. 31, 2017)

In a letter to congressional leaders that was released this week, the two governors also recommended that President Donald Trump commit to cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers and that Congress fund those offsets at least through 2019.

Kasich said the proposal satisfies the concerns of all parties studying the health care law. “If you want to keep what you have, you can,” he said. “We’ve stabilized everything up front, but then over time, we open up the doors to innovation and individual plans, within guardrails.”

The governors support creating a temporary stability fund that states could tap to reduce premiums and limit losses; continuing to fund educational outreach and enrollment efforts under the Affordable Care Act; exempting insurers that agree to cover underserved counties from the federal health insurance tax; and supporting states’ efforts to find creative solutions for covering the uninsured.