Republicans have given plenty of indication that Obamacare will continue in 2017, but beyond that is a “different concern,” outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said Thursday.
Burwell urged people to keep enrolling in marketplace plans offered through the Affordable Care Act, in an interview with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd. She noted that while Republicans have vowed to repeal the healthcare law, President-elect Trump and other leaders have said they won’t immediately deprive people of marketplace coverage, and insurers have signed contracts for next year.
“They should sign up because I think we have heard, both from the insurance companies, who consider it a contract if you enter in and you make your primary payments,” Burwell said. “We’ve heard from the president-elect that he doesn’t want to disrupt coverage in that way. And we’ve heard from the Hill, as well, that they don’t want disruption of coverage in ’17.”
But it’s not clear what will happen beyond 2017, Burwell noted. Republicans have said they will phase out the law over two to four years but aren’t decided on what to replace it with.
“Now beyond that, it is a different concern,” Burwell told Todd. “But for those people who want and need coverage, [they] should come in and get it for 2017.”
HHS announced Wednesday that 6.4 million Americans have selected plans on healthcare.gov, the federal marketplace set up under the healthcare law. The agency has set a goal of 13.8 million signups by the end of the enrollment period, which ends Jan. 31.
