Obamacare enrollments surge in wake of Trump's election

Modern Healthcare

  • HHS last week reported a surge in people enrolling for coverage on the Affordable Care Act's federal exchange on the day after Donald Trump, who said repealing the law is a main priority, was elected into the presidency. About 100,000 people enrolled on Nov. 9. That's the highest daily number since enrollment began Nov. 1. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin is among a number of Republicans who are calling for a quick repeal of the law. Some aspects of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare reform law could be overturned through an appropriations move. The question remains, what Trump and his party plan on doing to replace coverage for the estimated 20 million people who have gained insurance through the ACA. Enrollment ends Jan. 31.

  • The Detroit Medical Center has avoided a loss of federal funding after passing a surprise inspection of surgical instrument sterilization. The CMS this week notified the hospital system that it found no deficiencies during inspections Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. The system could have lost $705 million in federal funding if problems weren't fixed by Dec. 14. The DMC last week said the CMS is “pleased” with the outcome. The medical center has admitted that unclean surgical tools sometimes forced doctors to delay procedures, although it insists that no one was harmed.

  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released guidelines for improving antibiotic prescribing in outpatient settings. It stresses action for policy and practice; tracking and reporting; and education and expertise. The CDC urges outpatient clinicians and facility leaders to implement at least one policy or practice and then report data back to clinicians. The agency also is pushing providers to offer patients and their caregivers pamphlets and other educational material on safe and appropriate antibiotic use.
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