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Following Obamacare repeal failure, Delaware health official wants marketplace fixes

[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Delaware’s top health official says Congress should stabilize Affordable Care Act marketplaces, now that repeal efforts seem doomed.

 

Given the unlikely scenario that the U.S. Senate repeals the Affordable Care Act next week without a replacement, it’s time to start fixing the current healthcare law.

At least, that’s what Secretary of Delaware’s Department of Health and Social Services Kara Odom Walker would like.

 

“We need to focus on stability in the individual marketplace so that people actually have choice and options that are affordable. And we have a lot of work to do in that space,” she said.

 

Aetna pulled out of Delaware’s Obamacare marketplace earlier this year, leaving Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield as the sole insurance provider. And it’s asked for a nearly 34 percent rate increase for next year.

 

"Congress can stabilize the marketplaces by keeping the individual mandate that everyone have insurance and by paying cost share subsidies," Walker said.

 

These subsidies go to insurers to help them provide plans to low-income people.

 

Walker said Congress should also focus more on bringing down healthcare costs.

 

“We know there’s a lot of waste in our healthcare system. We pay an inordinate amount of money towards things that aren’t proven or evidence based. They’re wasted care or inappropriate care or tests that aren’t necessary,” she said.   

 

Walker said Congress could cut waste by continuing Obamacare’s focus on rewarding hospitals for quality and outcomes instead of the amount of procedures they perform.

 

Delaware currently has the third highest healthcare costs per person, according to the The Kaiser Family Foundation.

 

Even under Obamacare, health costs continue to rise.

 

And these costs have the potential to crowd out state funding for things like education and public services, according to Walker.  

 

She said Congress could help contain these costs by fully funding Medicaid and a recent expansion of the program.  

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