Will the Affordable Care Act really go away?

A lower court ruled last December that the entire law is now unconstitutional because Congress in its 2017 tax bill eliminated the tax penalty for failing to maintain health insurance. It appeared that two of the three judges — both appointed by Republicans — seemed sympathetic to the arguments made by the plaintiffs, mostly attorneys general from Republican-led states.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order calling for major changes in how the government pays for care for people with kidney disease, including making it financially easier for people to donate kidneys.

This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner from Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico.

Among the takeaways from this week’s podcast:

Plus, for extra credit, the Kaiser Health News panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read too:

Julie Rovner: The Washington Post’s “Hospices Go Unpunished for Reported Maggots and Uncontrolled Pain, Watchdog Finds,” by Christopher Rowland

Joanne Kenen: The Los Angeles Times’ “Trump Officials Tell One Court Obamacare Is Failing and Another It’s Thriving,” by Noam Levey

Alice Miranda Ollstein: CNN’s “Exclusive: Joe Biden on Obamacare and Medicare for All: ‘Starting Over Would Be, I Think a Sin,’by Eric Bradner

Kimberly Leonard: Vox’s “Why I Gave My Kidney to a Stranger — and Why You Should Consider Doing It Too,” by Dylan Matthews

And

Fox News’ “ I’m Becoming a Liver Donor for the Sister I Love, So She Can Live a Long and Healthy Life,” by Ed Henry

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