VIDEOS: OBAMACARE, HEALTHCARE EXCHANGE ISSUESObamacare may not be replaced until next year | 1:15 <\/p>\n
When will America get a new healthcare plan? President Donald Trump is now saying it could be a year from now. Aaron Dickens reports. Buzz60 <\/p>\n
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The prospect of repeal has made Obamacare more popular than ever! Rob Smith has all the details. Buzz60 <\/p>\n
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GOP Congress Members recently introduced legislation that would give the authority to states to keep ObamaCare. Jose Sepulveda (@josesspulveda87) has more. Buzz60 <\/p>\n
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Gov. Bill Haslam is calling on Congress to cede more control over health policy and regulation to the states, as the debate over repealing or replacing the Affordable Care Act rages on in Washington. Wochit <\/p>\n
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Chris Kane had insurance through Community Health Alliance before it went defunct then moved to Blue Cross Blue Shield Tennessee, now will have to go to Humana. He has concerns about finding the right doctors for his family, a wife and infant. Amy Smotherman Burgess \/ News Sentinel <\/p>\n
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The health care heavyweight is grappling with hefty losses and ongoing uncertainty on the marketplace. Karen Kraft \/ The Tennessean <\/p>\n
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Changes to the Affordable Care Act in Tennessee Kyleah Starling\/ The Tennessean <\/p>\n
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Insurance broker Jonathan Katz of Virginia Medical Plans speaks with USA TODAY healthcare reporter Jayne O'Donnell about some the problems facing those enrolling for Obamacare. USA TODAY <\/p>\n
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Five states are expected to have just one company selling insurance on the 2017 Obamacare exchanges and consumers in most of the counties in nine other states won't find any competition for their exchange business either. Martin E. Klimek, USA TODAY <\/p>\n
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Obamacare may not be replaced until next year <\/p>\n
Why Obamacare is more popular than ever <\/p>\n
Potential GOP ObamaCare replacement wouldn't really 'replace' it <\/p>\n
Haslam: States need more control over health care <\/p>\n
BCBST departure from 3 metro areas <\/p>\n
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is leaving the Obamacare marketplace <\/p>\n
Obamacare Exchange 'Very Near Collapse' <\/p>\n
Obamacare exchanges still troubled by enrollment issues <\/p>\n
As insurance companies dwindle, patients left frustrated with lack of choice <\/p>\n
Christa Dansereau, far right, is concerned about how her family will be able to buy health insurance in 2018 since Humana has left the healthcare.gov exchange. Dansereau is considering looking for a new job with the top priority being health insurance benefits.(Photo: Submitted by Christa Dansereau) <\/p>\n
WithTennessee's healthcare.gov market for 2018 at a breaking point, some are ramping up calls on federal lawmakers to take action to make sure people aren'twithout health insurance options next year. <\/p>\n
Since Humanas decision last week to leave the federally run exchange, the Tri-Cities area is the only region of the state that will have two insurers from which residents can choose in 2018. The Greater Knoxville area will have none. <\/p>\n
Yet,without progress on repeal-and-replace or repair of the Affordable Care Act in Washington, D.C., the exchange's existence in the state beyond 2017 will depend on business decisions by insurers BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and Cigna. <\/p>\n
And there could come a point at which there is one insurer or none. <\/p>\n
If Cigna leaves, Memphis and Nashville will have no on-exchange option.If BCBST leaves, then dozens ofcounties will have no insurer on the exchange from which to buy. <\/p>\n
Humana exit shakes up 2018 ACA exchange, leaves Knoxville coverage gap <\/p>\n
They dont even have to change legislation they are creating chaos. They are playing games while real Tennesseans are sitting around their kitchen tables worried about their health care,\" said Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, which advocates for health care and coverage. \"Its time for them to govern. <\/p>\n
The number of people who enrolled in 2017 plans on the federally run exchange the market that offers tax subsidies to offset premiums for more than 80 percentof peopleis about 3.5 percent of Tennesseans. The number that is eligible is roughly twice that. <\/p>\n
Its a small slice of the state most people get employer-sponsored coverage but many rely on the exchange and its tax credits to buy coverage. For some with pre-existing conditions, the Affordable Care Actgave them the opportunity to get coverage. <\/p>\n
Even one decision from BCBST or Cignawill propel peopleinto a situation similar to Christa Dansereau, a married mother of three in Knoxville who is wondering where she's going to buy insurance in 2018 since Humana left the exchange. <\/p>\n
Sheworks at a preschool and her husband is a real estate agent,and neither has access to employer-sponsored coverage. With three kids, one with a life-threatening nut allergy, going without coverage is not an option. <\/p>\n
I am seriously considering changing jobs and looking only at companies that offer health insurance. It is a big life decision,\" Dansereau said. \"It is not one I want to do because I like to teach preschool, but I have to put my family first.\" <\/p>\n
Her family has shopped for private insurance for years and the ACA brought some relief, she said, to the years of high deductibles and being concerned about pre-existing diseases. The increases in premiums and deductibles in recent years didn't impact Dansereau's family because the coverage was better than what the family had before the ACA. <\/p>\n
McPeak: 'Timing is critical' for Congress to stabilize individual health insurance <\/p>\n
\"It wasnt until we were able to shop on the marketplace we didnt have to be concerned every time we went to the doctor,\" she said. <\/p>\n
As days turn to weeks without a repair or replacement plan from Republican lawmakers in Washington who campaigned on repeal-and-replace insurers are getting cold feet and shoppers are anxious about whether they will have insurance options next year.House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said a proposal would emerge from congressional Republicans as early as this week. <\/p>\n
Even action in the coming weeks might not keep insurers on the market. If lawmakers delay enacting a replacement plan until after midterm elections in 2018, people could be left with no options on the market, something many, including U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., have repeatedly warned. <\/p>\n
Alexander urgedCongress to heed the developments in Tennessee as a reason to take swift action to keep insurers on the exchange through 2018. <\/p>\n
Activists for the ACA willholdrallies or panels around the state this week as the impact of federal uncertainty begins to take hold. <\/p>\n
More than two-thirds of Tennesseans oppose repealing the Affordable Care Act, according to a poll by Public Policy Polling in Januarycommissioned by the Alliance of Healthcare Security, a group that supports the federal law. <\/p>\n
With Obamacare repeal, devil is in the details for Nashville companies <\/p>\n
Proponents of the ACA are expected at an \"alternative town hall\" outsideU.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn's town hall in Fairview on Tuesday. Blackburn, R-Tenn., is expecting ACA questions at the one-hour event, according to a spokeswoman. <\/p>\n
The \"Save My Care\" national bus tour will make a stop in Nashville on Wednesday at Centennial Park. Protesters are expected to walk to the Nashville offices of Alexander and U.S. Sen. Bob Corker. <\/p>\n
Dr. Thomas Phelps is trying to get his concerns about the chaos in Tennessee heard by the state's federal lawmakers deciding to give Twitter a shot. <\/p>\n
Im worried for my patients because the chaos caused by the Republican rush to repeal the Affordable Care Act is already harming Tennesseans, like causing Humana to leave the market,\" Phelps said in a statement.So Im reaching out the only way President Trump, Sen. Alexander, and Sen. Corker seem inclined to communicate: via Twitter. <\/p>\n
On Thursday, there will be a town hall in Knoxville as well as a forum in Chattanooga. <\/p>\n
Dansereau said she's very frustrated that she may have to resort to finding a new job. <\/p>\n
\"The two major problems: being able to have health care and also being afraid of pre-exiting conditions having those be the most important of my job search feels ridiculous,\" Dansereau said. \"It isa (situation) that is going to impact a lot more people than just me and my family. <\/p>\n
Reach Holly Fletcher at hfletcher@tennessean.com<\/a> or 615-259-8287 and on Twitter @hollyfletcher. <\/p>\n Read or Share this story: http:\/\/tnne.ws\/2m228e9<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Originally posted here:<\/p>\n Amid health care 'chaos,' Tennesseans push lawmakers for assurances - The Tennessean<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" VIDEOS: OBAMACARE, HEALTHCARE EXCHANGE ISSUESObamacare may not be replaced until next year | 1:15 When will America get a new healthcare plan? Continue reading