Author: Kalup Alexander

The Trump administration will allow insurers and consumers to extend for an additional year individual and small-group health plans that do not comply with the Affordable Care Act's coverage rules.

Los Angeles County arguably has more to lose than any other California county if the Affordable Care Act is repealed or dramatically scaled back.

Back in the day, people paid for routine primary care on their own and used insurance only when something serious came up. Some primary care doctors are betting that model can thrive again through a monthly subscription for routine care and a high-deductible insurance policy to take care of the big stuff.

President Trump said on Saturday that a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act will come "in a couple of weeks."

Legislation introduced in the state Senate Friday would set California on a path toward the possible creation of a single-payer health care system ― a proposal that has failed to gain traction here in the past.

House Republican leaders on Thursday presented their rank-and-file members with the outlines of their plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, leaning heavily on tax credits to finance individual insurance purchases and sharply reducing federal payments to the 31 states that have expanded Medicaid eligibility.

Representative Kevin McCarthy, the majority leader, keeps a souvenir from a dinner the night before this year’s inauguration behind his desk: an embossed menu autographed by Donald J. Trump. The president-elect was at his table. Mr. McCarthy is not only the second-most powerful Republican in the House — he is also one of the earliest and most earnest supporters of the new president.

Over the protest of California’s governor and Senate leader, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted to block the state from moving forward with its novel plan to provide a path toward retirement security for nearly 7 million low-income Californians.

As Republicans look at ways to replace or repair the health law, many suggest shrinking the list of services insurers are required to offer in individual and small group plans would reduce costs and increase flexibility. That option came to the forefront last week when Seema Verma, who is slated to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the Trump administration, noted at her confirmation hearing that coverage for maternity services should be optional in those health plans.

HSAs are increasingly gaining traction in the workplace — but primarily for the youngest members of the workforce, the second annual State of Employee Benefits report from Benefitfocus shows.