Emma Wager
@emmawage
Sr. Policy Analyst on Team ACA @KFF. Alum @UConn & @ColumbiaMSPH. Tweets are health policy, data, and fun facts about New Hampshire. Views are my own.
“By one estimate, the potential increase in the number of people uninsured, both through Republican actions and inaction, would erase almost three-quarters of the gains in coverage from the Affordable Care Act.” @larry_levitt @KFF nytimes.com/2025/07/01/opi…
Levitt, NYT, the facts on the OBBB. Just out: nytimes.com/2025/07/01/opi…
COBRA is so unaffordable that Venus Williams returned to pro tennis at age 45
Venus Williams after becoming the oldest WTA match winner since 2004: “I had to come back for the insurance, because they informed me this year that I’m on cobra. So it’s like, I got to get my benefits on” 😭😭😭😭
CBO’s updated estimate on the OBBBA says 10 million people will be uninsured by 2034 due to the bill. That’s down from the previous 11.8 million estimate, and due to the Senate parliamentarian striking the provision that would have reduced FMAP for states who covered immigrants.
Estimated Budgetary Effects of Public Law 119-21, to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Title II of H. Con. Res. 14, Relative to CBO’s January 2025 Baseline cbo.gov/publication/61…
"CBO estimates that P.L. 119-21 will increase by 10 million the number of people without health insurance in 2034." cbo.gov/publication/61…
Most adults on Medicaid already work, because you can't use Medicaid to pay your rent or your grocery bills. It's health insurance that pays your medical bills if you get sick.
Steve Scalise: "Disabled people will get better Medicaid under this bill because all of the fully able-bodied -- the 35-year-old guy sitting at home playing video games in his mom's basement -- he's gonna have to go work, because we put work requirements in place. And so he will…
With the Scott amendment to the OBBB pulled, the three things that went too far for R’s: defunding Medicaid expansion (Scott); a per capita cap, a block grant. After the OBBB, will not extending the ACA tax credits be the fourth?
The Senate has just passed what amounts to the biggest health reform plan since the ACA, rolling back many of the health insurance coverage increases achieved by the ACA.
Reversing about 3/4ths of the coverage gains since the ACA
For those who haven't been closely following how many people will lose health insurance from Republican actions: CBO projects 11.8 million more uninsured from the Big Bill. An additional 5.1 million uninsured from allowing ACA tax credits to expire and administrative actions.
The ACA mandates private insurers cover certain preventive services with $0 cost-sharing. And 100 million Americans with private insurance use these services every year. healthsystemtracker.org/brief/preventi… @KFF
BREAKING: In the Supreme Court case, Kennedy v. Braidwood, the court ruled 6-3: The US Preventive Services Task Force members are inferior officers; their appointment by HHS Secretary is constitutional. ACA coverage mandates stand.
BREAKING: In the Supreme Court case, Kennedy v. Braidwood, the court ruled 6-3: The US Preventive Services Task Force members are inferior officers; their appointment by HHS Secretary is constitutional. ACA coverage mandates stand.
The Senate parliamentarian ruled against (see Byrd rule) the cost-sharing reductions for ACA Marketplaces in the House reconciliation bill, which would increase premiums for bronze and gold plans and decrease enrollment. Learn how it all works: kff.org/policy-watch/e…
New: Senate parliamentarian says funding ACA CSR payments violates Byrd, per Senate Dems Would mean ACA subsidies actually stay higher, thru continued "silver-loading"
⚡ KFF’s @emmawage examines the CMS final rule aimed at reducing federal spending in the ACA Marketplaces and how it interacts with the House-passed version of the reconciliation bill. #QuickTake on.kff.org/4409KBM
What could changes to the actuarial values (AVs) of ACA Marketplace plans, as finalized by CMS and passed by the House in the #OneBigBeautifulBill, mean for consumers? 🧵 @KFF
The big health care debate that hasn't happened yet: Whether to extend enhanced ACA premium tax credits that expire at the end of this year. Our new poll shows support for extension across the political spectrum, from Democrats to MAGA.
Some insurers are raising health insurance premiums to account for tariffs in 2026. I talk to @mayagoldman_ about how insurers may (or may not) be hedging their bets. axios.com/2025/06/18/tar… kff.org/quick-take/tar…
⚡ KFF’s @emmawage writes about how, if enacted, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act could affect state-based ACA Marketplaces by limiting their flexibility and imposing new administrative obligations for states. #QuickTake on.kff.org/43TZwRX