AARP Mobilizes Against GOP Health Plan

Party moderates are anxious about projections that the GOP plan will leave 24 million more Americans without health insurance over the next decade, and raise premiums on lower income and older Americans. The average premium in Pennsylvania increased by 32 percent this year, and in some corners premiums rose as much as 53 percent.

What we can’t afford is to give the nation’s 1 percent one more cent of health care profit, which seems to be the direction of the Republican replacement plan. The potential short-term cost savings of repealing the Affordable Care Act will be significantly overturned by the costs of the uninsured receiving their care in ERs and prolonged hospitalizations. They would be subject to the 30 percent surcharge if the GOP plan becomes law and they later chose to repurchase health insurance.

Such a consensus must begin, we think, with a frank assessment of how any health care bill will affect Medicaid assistance for the working poor, an issue of special gravity in Louisiana.

In a 2013 study, Medicaid recipients were found to have no better health outcomes than individuals who were uninsured. New entrants could find doors opening as healthcare organizations seek help making their operations more efficient and consumers seek cheaper ways to obtain care.

“If they hurt patients, they need to go away”, he said. They invest heavily in infrastructure and personnel, and once operating costs are covered, each new patient adds to their profit margin, he said. The federal deficit reduction would take place from 2017 to 2026, for a mere $33.7 billion reduction each year; for reference, the estimated federal deficit for 2017 is $559 billion.

Johnson said there may have been an unrealistic expectation about how quickly the current health care law could be changed.

Compare that to favorability numbers on Obamacare from the same poll.

Three state House committees heard testimony Thursday from health care experts about how major changes to Medicaid outlined in the American Health Care Act would impact IL recipients.

President Trump promised on the campaign trail to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Just seven percent of stories covered policy changes created to help make coverage more affordable for many consumers – including expanded eligibility for Medicaid and subsidies to cover some of the cost of insurance premiums. The process to gain citizenship can last for several years. You may recall that Democrats used reconciliation to push pieces of Obamacare through Congress. Everything else that Ryan or White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney or Health Secretary Tom Price say about their healthcare proposal – more freedom! more choice! – is just smoke and mirrors. Health care’s central role in family and business life underscores the importance of advancing reforms that promote stability and predictability. The bill also fully repeals the job-killing medical device tax and makes significant strides in rolling back harmful government mandates.

The bill has passed through several committees, but members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus say they might be able to stop the bill from passing the House, in spite of heavy pressure from Republican leaders and the Trump administration.

Make no mistake, Obamacare, although raising the number of insured people (often through generous subsidies), was flawed and very complicated legislation that never lived up to the promise of allowing people who liked their doctors and medical plans to keep them or the promise of cutting the medical premiums of families.