What We're Reading: Health Insurers Have Demands for ACA Repeal

As Republicans prepare to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act under the new administration, health insurers are taking a stand on the issue. According to The New York Times, insurers are asking that the new administration keep rules to encourage young, healthy people to sign up for insurance, and continue to offset some of the cost for low-income people. Without those 2 provisions, the market for individual buyers will become unstable and it will be more difficult for insurers to do business.

Women need to save more money for healthcare in retirement. With women expected to live, on average, 2 years longer than men, they face healthcare costs in retirement that are 20% higher than those of men, according to The Wall Street Journal. The projections for healthcare costs in retirement understate the cost of care for people with high incomes—who pay surcharges on Medicare premiums—and healthy individuals—who live longer and pay higher lifetime medical bills. The projection doesn’t take into account the potential costs of long-term care.

Immunotherapies are breaking out of the cancer space. STAT reported that drug makers are looking at using an immunotherapy drug to treat sepsis. Bristol-Myers Squibb is running trials of 2 immunotherapies—nivolumab, which is already approved to treat cancer, and BMS-936559—to treat sepsis. Revimmune is running a trial of interleukin-7, which has previously been tested in cancer and HIV.