Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/772947
38 HEALTHCARE NEWS President Obama Calls for Honesty, Continues to Defend Health Law — 6 Things to Know By Mary Rechtoris A s his final weeks as president come to a close, President Barack Obama defended the ACA saying although the law isn't perfect, "it's worked," according to U.S. News & World Report. Here are six things to know: 1. Open enrollment for ACA plans commences on Nov. 1, 2017, giving the Obama administration a short window to appeal to Americans to sign up for coverage. 2. Earlier this week, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said she projects 13.8 million Americans to sign up for 2017 cover- age, slightly up from 12.7 million Americans who signed up for coverage this year. 3. President Obama's health law has provided millions of Americans coverage, but legislators from both parties have critiqued the ACA as premiums skyrocket and pay- ers leave state exchanges. 4. Despite criticism, President Obama is imploring both parties to be honest about what is working and what legis- lators need to fix. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), how- ever, said the law cannot be fixed and officials need to replace the ACA with "patient-centered reforms." Speaker Ryan believes the reforms would provide Americans more choice and control concerning their healthcare needs. 5. To improve the ACA, President Obama said states that opted to not expand Medicaid should do so, thereby bringing health insurance to millions of more Americans. He also argued for giving tax credits for middle-class Americans and young adults to help them afford coverage. 6. President Obama also believes a public plan fallback would help provide more options for Americans, particu- larly those residing in rural areas. n Pence Says Trump Plans to Repeal ACA Right 'Out of the Gate' By Emily Rappleye P resident-elect Donald Trump has decided repealing the ACA will officially be among his top priorities when he takes office, Vice President-elect Mike Pence told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. "Decisions have been made by the President-elect that he wants to focus out of the gate on repealing Obamacare and beginning the process of replacing Obamacare with the kind of free market solutions that he campaigned on," Mr. Pence said on Fox News. The Trump-Pence transition team has been working with congressional leaders from both political parties to move Mr. Trump's "aggressive policy agenda" forward, Mr. Pence said. This weekend Mr. Pence met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McCo- nnell, R-Ky., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., according to the interview. Later on the show, Fox News spoke with Sen. Schumer, who said the ACA is one of the issues on which Democrats plan to "oppose [Mr. Trump] tooth and nail." Sen. Schumer said Mr. Trump would not be successful in his efforts to repeal the healthcare reform law. "He won't be able to do it, because now even he, after his meeting with President Obama, said, 'Oh, I want to keep the good things.' Well, you can't keep the good things with- out keeping [the] ACA," Sen. Schumer told Fox News. Scott Becker, publisher of Becker's Hospital Review, says it is still unclear if Mr. Trump can or will be able to push through an ACA repeal. "It's a fascinating statement be- cause it's not clear Republicans have the votes to repeal this without making complicated accommodations on a few levels, particularly for preexisting conditions and some funding issues," Mr. Becker says. After repealing the ACA, the Trump administration plans to prioritize immigration laws, tax reform, military reinforcement and infrastructure improvements, according to Mr. Pence. n Trump Picks Price, Verma as Heads of HHS, CMS: 9 Things to Know By Emily Rappleye P resident-elect Donald Trump is nom- inating a "dream team" to lead the top federal healthcare agencies. Rep. Tom Price, MD, R-Ga., chairman of the House Budget Committee, is Mr. Trump's official pick for secretary of HHS, and Seema Ver- ma, president, CEO and founder of health policy consultancy SVC, is his nomination for CMS administrator. "Together, Chairman Price and Seema Verma are the dream team that will transform our healthcare system for the benefit of all Amer- icans," Mr. Trump said in a statement. Here are nine things to know about Mr. Trump's healthcare nominations. 1. Rep. Price, 62, has 20 years of experience in private practice as an orthopedic sur- geon. He would be the first physician to head HHS since Louis Sullivan, MD, who led the department under President George H. W. Bush between 1989 and 1993. Rep. Price served as an assistant professor at Atlanta-based Emory University School of Medicine and medical director of the Ortho-