Top Health Care News
HOUSE REPUBLICANS’ PLAN: WINNERS AND LOSERS
WINNERS: THE WEALTHY WOULD GET BIG TAX CUTS
Republicans' Obamacare repeal plan would cut taxes on the wealthy
POLITICO
“House Republicans’ Obamacare replacement plan would cut taxes on the wealthy by hundreds of billions of dollars. Their long-awaited proposal, unveiled Monday evening, would among other things kill a 3.8 percent investment tax on the well-to-do that Democrats had used to help finance the health care law, as well as a 0.9 percent surcharge on wages above $250,000. Though the legislation is focused on making good on Republican promises to repeal and replace the health program, it would likely also amount to the first big tax cut of the Trump administration, one that comes even before lawmakers tackle tax reform in earnest. The plan should make rewriting the tax code easier by moving the cost of some tax cuts into separate legislation.”
LOSERS: MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS OR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS WOULD LOSE ACCESS TO NEEDED TREATMENTS
House GOP Obamacare Replacement Hurts Mental Health, Republican Senators Say
Forbes
“The Republican-led U.S. House proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act could hurt millions of Americans who suffer mental illness or substance abuse of drugs like Opioids because it rolls back the ACA's Medicaid expansion, say four GOP Senators. After seven years of attempting to derail the ACA signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010, the House Republican legislation backed by Speaker Paul Ryan emerged from secrecy Monday to criticism from key Republican Senators it will need to become law. With Democrats certain to oppose any GOP measure that overturns the ACA, all 52 Republican senators will be needed for any replacement. But GOP Sens. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Rob Portman of Ohio and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said they are opposed to House changes to the Medicaid program for poor Americans. The ACA allowed states to expand Medicaid via a generous federal funding formula and 31 states plus the District of Columbia took advantage.”
LOSERS: PLANNED PARENTHOOD PATIENTS, ESPECIALLY LOW-INCOME WOMEN, WOULD BE HIT HARD IF CLINICS ARE FORCED TO CLOSE AS A RESULT OF BUDGET CUTS
The GOP Obamacare Replacement Defunds Planned Parenthood And Restricts Abortion Coverage
Vox
“Republicans released a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act on Monday evening. And as promised by House Speaker Paul Ryan, the bill also defunds Planned Parenthood. There are many ways for federal lawmakers to ’defund’ Planned Parenthood, but this bill’s proposal is one of the most potentially devastating for the organization. It would bar Planned Parenthood from receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicaid reimbursements — the majority of the organization’s federal funding. In practice, defunding the organization takes money away from its mostly low-income patients, who might be forced to seek care elsewhere if the government stopped subsidizing their visits to Planned Parenthood. Low-income women will be hit especially hard, but all Planned Parenthood patients may be affected if clinics are forced to close as a result of budget cuts.”
LOSERS: THE CDC WOULD LOSE NEARLY $1 BILLION IN PREVENTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH FUNDS
Obamacare Repeal And Trump’s Spending Plan Put CDC Budget In Peril
STAT
“Republicans are intent on repealing a public health fund created by the Affordable Care Act — but with President Trump also pursuing a dramatic reduction in domestic spending, lawmakers admit they don’t know if they could make up the losses at one of the nation’s most critical health agencies. The latest version of the GOP health care bill would end the law’s Prevention and Public Health Fund, which provides nearly $1 billion annually, in 2019. Those dollars have become an integral part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s budget, accounting for one-eighth of its funding and providing more than $300 million for immunizations alone. Assuming the fund is repealed, the CDC would have a big hole to fill. But Trump has also signaled he wants to boost defense spending and reduce spending for domestic programs by the same amount, potentially more than $50 billion.”
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HOUSE REPUBLICAN BILL LACKS PARTY BUY-IN
GOP Bill Unlikely To Settle Passionate Health Care Debate
Associated Press
“The nation's passionate debate about the role of government in providing health care for citizens and paying the costs is unlikely to be settled by the legislation newly revealed by House Republicans. With Republicans now controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress, the bill would drive government policy down routes long advocated by conservatives. The course correction would take at least two years to get rolling, and probably longer to show definitive results. If it falls short, it would give rise to a fresh set of health care grievances. The Republican legislation would limit future federal funding for Medicaid, which covers low-income people, about 1 in 5 Americans. And it would loosen rules that former President Barack Obama's law imposed for health plans directly purchased by individuals, while also scaling back insurance subsidies. Republicans say their solutions would make Medicaid more cost-efficient without punishing the poor and disabled, while spurring private insurers to offer attractive products for the estimated 20 million consumers in the market for individual policies. But Democrats say the bill would make many people uninsured, shifting costs to states and hospital systems that act as providers of last resort. Individual policy holders might be able to find low-premium plans, only to be exposed to higher deductibles and copayments.”
HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS CONSERVATIVES SKEPTICAL THAT THE GOP HOUSE BILL GOES FAR ENOUGH
Freedom Caucus Chair Questions If Obamacare Replacement Will Lower Costs
The Hill
“House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-S.C.) on Monday night wondered whether his party’s plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare would ultimately lower healthcare costs. ‘The biggest concern I have is, will it lower healthcare costs?’ he asked on Fox News’s ‘Hannity.’ ‘Until we get that answer we have to hold out judgment.’ Meadows added the GOP is nearing a viable ObamaCare replacement, but said the party’s latest version falls short of its efforts in 2015. ‘Certainly we’re making progress,’ he said. ‘I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the taxes present in the original version are no longer present. [But] we’ve got to do better. Hopefully with some amendments we can do that.’ ‘This doesn’t even go as far as we went in 2015. We’ve got to find that sweet spot. We really need to look at some amendments to make sure that we get rid of the taxes.’ House Republicans earlier Monday released their long-awaited legislation for repealing and replacing ObamaCare, with plans to push the measure through committee votes later this week.”
Medicaid
SEVERAL GOP SENATORS OPPOSE ROLLING BACK MEDICAID EXPANSIONS
4 GOP Senators Demand To Keep Obamacare Medicaid Expansion
POLITICO
“Four Republican senators from states that expanded Medicaid under Obamacare say they can’t support a draft House repeal bill because it won’t protect people enrolled in the health entitlement — a move that could doom the legislation's prospects. ‘We are concerned that any poorly implemented or poorly timed change in the current funding structure in Medicaid could result in a reduction in access to life-saving health care services,’ Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska wrote in a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. ‘The February 10th draft proposal from the House does not meet the test of stability for individuals currently enrolled in the program and we will not support a plan that does not include stability for Medicaid expansion populations or flexibility for states.’”
WHILE GOP CONGRESS SETS FORTH TO REPEAL THE ACA, GOP STATE LEGISLATORS FIGHT TO EXPAND MEDICAID
“It’s The Right Thing To Do”: Why GOP State Legislators Are Fighting To Expand Medicaid
Vox
“While Republicans in Congress work overtime to repeal Obamacare, Republicans in statehouses are actually working to expand it. Republican legislators in multiple states have introduced bills and supported ballot initiatives to expand Medicaid, the public program that covers low-income Americans. If the efforts succeed — and they’ve demonstrated early victories in recent weeks — Obamacare enrollment would increase by an estimated 200,000 people. ’I feel so strongly it’s the right thing to do,’ says Susan Concannon, a Kansas Republican state legislator. ’We have citizens who are uninsured and hospitals that are suffering.’ Thirty-one states currently participate in Medicaid expansion, including 15 led by Republican governors. The program covers millions of Americans and has become one of the most challenging parts of the law to dismantle. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), who chairs one of the committees tasked with writing the replacement bill, recently told reporters that the draft was nearly done — except for the part that figures out what to do with Medicaid expansion.”
Health Equity
ACA REPEAL WOULD HIT LOWER-INCOME COMMUNITIES OF COLOR THE HARDEST
The Social Costs Of Repealing The ACA
Health Affairs Blog
“As we reflect on the possibility of a repeal or at least substantial dismantling of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), much of the debate has and will likely continue to center on costs and access to insurance. Indeed, controlling costs and expanding access to health insurance are the two primary aims of the ACA, and these aims are important. We know that access to insurance affects people’s health outcomes, access to care, quality of care received, and financial stability. We also know that a concentrated uninsured population negatively impacts health care costs, access, quality, and even some health outcomes—like heart attack mortality—for the insured. But there is also a less visible and ultimately consequential social cost of uninsurance for Americans. The individuals and communities that have been excluded from insurance are not random. Even after the ACA expanded access to insurance, people with lower incomes and African Americans and Latinos remained disproportionately more likely to be uninsured.”
On Our Radar
CONSERVATIVE NONPROFIT LAUNCHES SECOND ROUND OF RADIO AD BUYS IN $3 MILLION CAMPAIGN TO BUILD SUPPORT FOR ACA REPEAL
GOP Senate Nonprofit Launches Obamacare Repeal Radio Ads
POLITICO
“A major Republican nonprofit is rolling out radio ads in 10 states, pressuring senators to support the repeal and replacement of Obamacare just as a bill starts working its way through the House of Representatives. One Nation, which is controlled by allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is airing the ads as the second half of a $3 million ad buy aiming to build support for the politically explosive repeal of the health law. The group has already aired television ads in nine states, and is also spending money on digital, print and direct mail. The ads began on Monday, two days before House Republicans are set to start marking up their bill to repeal the law, which would fulfill a major and longstanding GOP campaign promise — but also could lead to the loss of health insurance coverage for some Americans who have gotten it in recent years, which would be a big political liability.”
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