Senate prepares to rescue Obamacare exchanges

Changing course after a failed healthcare vote last week, senators plan to hold bipartisan hearings in September to evaluate how to stabilize the Obamacare exchanges where 11 million Americans buy health insurance.

The exchanges are deeply damaged heading into the next open enrollment season, which begins in November and allows people who do not have coverage through a job or through the government to buy tax-subsidized coverage. Insurers already have exited some states or are planning double-digit rate increases, and are facing uncertainty over what to charge as they wait to hear about whether the Trump administration will continue to allocate billions of dollars in funding for them.