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Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12

Now what? Options for next year as health law drama fades

This Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 photo shows the HealthCare.gov website, where people can buy health insurance, displayed on a laptop computer screen in Washington. Millions of Americans will still need to navigate the current federal health care system in the coming months no matter what happens in Congress _ whether the Republican plan to replace “Obamacare” is resurrected in some form after it was pulled on Friday, March 24, 2017, or if it never comes back. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
This Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 photo shows the HealthCare.gov website, where people can buy health insurance, displayed on a laptop computer screen in Washington. Millions of Americans will still need to navigate the current federal health care system in the coming months no matter what happens in Congress _ whether the Republican plan to replace “Obamacare” is resurrected in some form after it was pulled on Friday, March 24, 2017, or if it never comes back. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) This Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 photo shows the HealthCare.gov website, where people can buy health insurance, displayed on a laptop computer screen in Washington. Millions of Americans will still need to navigate the current federal health care system in the coming months no matter what happens in Congress _ whether the Republican plan to replace “Obamacare” is resurrected in some form after it was pulled on Friday, March 24, 2017, or if it never comes back. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

As the political drama over health care legislation in Washington fades, the rest of the country faces a more immediate concern: Getting insurance for next year.

The Republican health plan designed to replace the Obama-era health law known as the Affordable Care Act would not have taken full effect for a few years anyway – and now it’s dead.

“We’re going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said Friday.

That means millions of Americans will have to navigate a current federal health care system that, while not “imploding” as President Donald J. Trump has said, is at least in flux.

Mary Vavrik, a 57-year-old freelance deposition court reporter from Anchorage, Alaska said she was relieved that the current health law will remain because she’s happy with the coverage she gets through her exchange – even as she acknowledged that reforms are needed.