The Midterm Election Results Have Big Implications for Health Care

eAlert

It’s clear that both the federal and state results of last night’s election will have important consequences for health care. In a new post on To the Point, the Commonwealth Fund’s Donald Moulds, Sara Collins, Rachel Nuzum, Akeiisa Coleman, and Shawn Bishop review what we should expect in 2019.

With the House of Representatives now under Democratic control, the authors say we may see movement in Congress on two fronts: stabilizing the individual health insurance market and controlling high drug prices.

In the states, residents of Nebraska, Idaho, and Utah all voted in favor of Medicaid expansions. New governors in a handful of key states, such as Maine’s Janet Mills and Kansas’s Laura Kelly, will likely also play a role in the future of Medicaid expansion and work requirements. Changes in state leadership will also affect insurance markets, as some states take steps to protect the marketplaces and others use waivers to increase access to non-ACA-compliant plans.

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