I believe Republicans’ desire to use waivers to provide more state flexibility and Democrats’ desire to protect basic health benefits and consumer protections – including for enrollees with pre-existing conditions – can be accommodated. “HHS would have to approve interstate insurance sales, certifying that the coverage would be as least as comprehensive as that sold through the exchange, provide coverage and cost-sharing protections at least as affordable and cover at least as many residents as coverage under Title I, and not increase the federal deficit”.
Advertisement
AARP, doctors, hospitals and patient advocates all agree that this bill is the wrong path forward on health care.
These eight reform opportunities could improve health care delivery and make it more affordable.
And I haven’t even mentioned the worst thing about the bill: It revokes the ACA’s expansion of the Medicaid program, which provided health coverage for millions of the working poor, and turns Medicaid into an underfunded block-grant program to be administered by the states. Small changes, such as giving states the power to hold down Medicaid costs, could be productive. While 43% of survey respondents said they have taken that step in the past, only 31% of them said they expect to do it in the future.
Mental health initiative – Many physical illnesses are related to mental and behavioral health.
“[My concerns] haven’t changed”, the 58-year-old said. However, payment structures make it hard to extend the program to patients covered by Medicaid. Health care should be a human right not a privilege of the wealthy. The too-common circumstance where family members and caregivers are compelled to insert their own judgment into this critical decision should be avoided.
We’ll also speak with critics of the single-payer concept; Vince Phillips is a retired lobbyist who advocated for the Pennsylvania Association of Health Underwriters and Eric Beittel, a financial planner and the former President of the Board of the Central Pennsylvania Association of Health Underwriters. Evidence shows that most people choose a medically conservative approach for themselves.
“If you get at all controversial, if you talk at all about dismantling parts of the ACA – you’re done, you’re gone”, he adds. Those who don’t lose their insurance will end up paying more in monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs for less coverage.
Republicans spent much of the weekend attempting to round up the votes needed to pass, but the bill is looking to fall short – with three Republicans already indicating they will leave the bill short on votes.
Nichols noted that the ACA extended health coverage to 20 million people who wouldn’t have had it otherwise and that it has focused attention on the need to control spending growth and given providers incentives to focus more on population health and on fixing the underlying social inequities that can promote ill health.
Advertisement
“With reconciliation kind of off the table, the notion now needs to be that there’s nothing that’s going to pass unless it has 60 votes”, says James Gelfand, senior vice president for health policy at the ERISA Industry Committee, referring to the Senate threshold for avoiding a filibuster. The losing states are those which have expanded Medicare to include adults having low income.
