Senate Healthcare Bill “Credit Negative” For Industry

The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, dealt with that concern by imposing fines on individuals who did not purchase health insurance.

Despite the opportunities afforded amidst the current situation and the Trump administration’s plummeting approval ratings, as well as more than half of House Democrats co-sponsoring Rep. John Conyer’s (MI) single-payer bill, many high-profile Democrats continue to employ cynical rhetoric in their subtle refusal to endorse a truly universal health care system. That’s when the rollback of the Medicaid expansion that occurred under the Affordable Care Act would almost be complete and the caps on spending for the overall program would start to kick in. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the House bill would rip health care away from 23 million people, while the Senate bill would rip health care away from 22 million people, including many in the LGBTQ community. That’s according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office.

Resistance to the Senate bill has led lawmakers postpone a vote till after the Fourth of July recess, and some patients will be watching and waiting to see what lawmakers decide. Experts said the plan would reverse the expansion of Medicaid, eliminate the mandate that all Americans must be insured, alter subsidies provided to people with private insurance and undo taxes on high-income earners used to fund the ACA. The implementation for expansion under the Affordable Care Act, took OR from an uninsured rate of 17 percent to 5 percent.

What should a health-care bill aspire to do? So the woman who breaks her hip, is prone to fall and maybe gets a little confused has limited choices after her hospital stay and 20 Medicare-paid days at the nursing home are completed. This bill takes us backward rather than moving us into a better future.

As president and CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, I’m proud to say we have made wonderful progress. “Some were priced out of (coverage) and desperate, don’t know what to do”.

It is only then that we could come up with long-term solutions which we all could support and begin to implement.

“The volume of applications was incredible”, Hart said of the time after the expansion was passed. According to the report, the bill “would put access to treatment for people addicted to prescription opioids at risk for low-income working Oregonians”.

While welcoming provisions in the bill to protect human life and increase flexibility to states in paying for health care, “a bill that rolls back gains in health care for the poor and vulnerable is deeply regretful”, her letter said. This coverage ensures that more young children get regular, preventative doctor visits and that pregnant mothers receive quality prenatal care, which significantly reduces the likelihood of infant mortality and costly premature deliveries.

Now the federal government provides a safety net with the Medicaid system to cover the lifetime costs of care for the disabled. The BCRA fails to meet this bar and instead sacrifices people’s health and security in an attempt to cut costs.

Medicaid’s critical role as a safety net for the elderly and other vulnerable groups is why care, caution and transparency are absolutely critical when any program changes are considered, much less the alarming reductions in federal funding newly revealed Thursday in a more detailed analysis of the Senate health care bill.

Under the Affordable Care Act, states could opt to expand Medicaid. The number of people who would be affected nationally was not available, but the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy estimated 32,000 individuals in that state would lose their subsidies.

At its core, this health care debate is what our fight has always been about: equal dignity and value under the law.

There is no question that the misconceived repeal legislation will have ramifications on our local health care system and broader economy.

Spending caps would become even more harsh in 2025, when Medicaid spending could only rise each year with general inflation, which tends to lag medical inflation by several percentage points.

Jerry Jurena, president of the North Dakota Hospital Association, said rural hospitals already are operating on the “financial edge”, and some might close if the GOP health reform bills pass in their current form.