Researchers are racing to copy Obamacare data out of fear it will disappear once President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month, Politico reports.
Several dozen independent researchers have been copying reams of information from public websites. And they stepped up their efforts after Jeanne Lambrew, the White House's top health reform official questioned whether the incoming administration would end access to the information, according to the website.
"Some groups are downloading pieces, with the hopes that collectively we'll be able to download the important stuff," Politico quotes one researcher.
Throughout the campaign, Trump continually pledged he would repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Politico notes that keeping data on how people use and pay for the program is key to administering and measuring the law's success, and researchers say the information is crucial because Democrats may need it to support their argument that pieces of the law should be left intact.
But others claim the researchers' fears are unwarranted, Politico points out.
"Suppressing data in this era of 'open everything' is not a good idea and inevitably comes out," Tevi Troy, head of the American Health Policy Institute and a former HHS official in the George W. Bush administration, is quoted by the website.
"From what I know from working in government, I'm skeptical."
"Talking about it now sounds pretty paranoid," one researcher is quoted by Politico.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post says a new report shows since Obamacare people in a majority of states were less likely to skip doctors' visits because of concerns about the costs.
In 38 states and the District of Columbia, the percentage of adults who stayed away from doctors because of costs declined by at least 2 points over a three-year period, according to the newspaper.
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