Healthcare Reform News Updates
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Below is a summary of recent events to help you stay current on healthcare reform news all in one place. To make your voice heard on these issues, visit OurCareBill.org, a non-partisan movement that lets you share your opinion on healthcare legislation with friends, family and even Washington!
News Update for March 10, 2017
Voting on Second Healthcare Bill Early Next Week?
Speaker Paul Ryan, speaking with Sean Hannity on Thursday, said that House Republicans will be voting on a second, currently unrevealed, healthcare bill the same “week they vote to repeal Obamacare.” Republican leaders are tackling Obamacare repeal and replacement in 3 phases: passing the American Health Care Act, cutting down healthcare industry regulations through the Department of Health and Human Services, and passing more healthcare reform bills.
In a private meeting with grassroots conservative leaders recently, President Donald Trump said that the companion healthcare bill to the American Health Care Act would be revealed to the public soon, possibly as early as next week. Republicans are intending for the AHCA to handle budgetary measures related to the Affordable Care Act. By doing so, the bill will only require 50 Senate votes to pass. The second bill will need 60 votes. This second bill will be part of the third phase discussed earlier.
White House Takes on Congressional Budget Office in Fight over AHCA
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is asking people not to pay too much attention to the Congressional Budget Office’s upcoming budgetary evaluations next week for the American Health Care Act. The CBO is a bipartisan Congressional agency that helps Congress with economic and budgetary findings.
Many lawmakers, including prominent Republicans, are interested in what effect the AHCA will have on the federal deficit. Some experts predict that “the CBO score of [the AHCA] is almost certain to be less favorable than that of Obamacare.” This could greatly influence whether or not the AHCA will pass. CBO Director Keith Hall, a Republican appointee who favors “free-market economic views” and rejects “the political limelight,” is widely considered by his peers as a staunch non-partisan in terms of assessing the budget. His office is coming under fire for some miscalculations with Obamacare’s budget. Others believe that the White House is preemptively discrediting the CBO in anticipation of a bad review in order to drum up support for the AHCA.
House Majority Whip Is Confident the House Will Pass the AHCA
In the past few weeks, there has been a lot of focus on whether or not conservative and moderate Republicans would fall in line to vote to pass the AHCA through the House. On Thursday, Representative Steve Scalise, the House Majority Whip, told the media that the House was going to get the AHCA passed. The Majority Whip is responsible for rallying and keeping track of votes. “Despite being awake for 33 straight hours, fueled by adrenaline and several cups of chicory coffee from New Orleans,” Scalise appeared to be in a very good mood and, smiling, elatedly told reporters, “We’re gonna get this done.” Scalise also said that the GOP divisions were blown out of proportion by the media.
White House Weighs Supporting Rollback of Medicaid Expansion
According to “two senior [Trump] administration officials and a senior House conservative aide,” the White House is privately considering rolling back Medicaid expansion sooner than the American Health Care Act currently calls for. This is a possible concession to House conservatives who want to rein in spending as soon as possible.
While talking to reporters on Thursday, Representative Mark Walker (R-NC) said if this provision was added he would “lean yes.” Walker said that if the bill instituted work requirements for healthy, childless adults on Medicaid, he would definitely vote yes.
This move has a great capacity to alienate moderates in the Senate, however. Many Republicans are strong supporters of the Medicaid expansion.
News Update for March 9, 2017
AHCA Clears Two House Panels, Even as Democrats Attempt to Stall
Despite some obstructionist tactics from the Democrats, the GOP was able to advance the American Health Care Act through two key committees. The House Ways and Means Committee advanced the bill early in the morning (around 4:30 a.m., Eastern Standard Time) on Thursday. The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced it Thursday afternoon. “Despite what you hear in the press, healthcare is coming along great,” tweeted President Donald Trump. However, many Democrats and Republicans think that the House bill is advancing too quickly. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) tweeted, “Get it right, don’t get it fast.”
Doctors, Hospitals, and Many Insurance Companies Line Up Against AHCA
On Wednesday, the American Medical Association released a letter to Congress saying that it “cannot support the [American Health Care Act] as it is currently written.” The AMA “calls itself the largest physician advocacy group in the country.” It backed the nomination of Tom Price, one of the principal authors of the bill, for the office of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Other major physician groups have also come out to either voice their opposition or major concerns with the bill.
Most hospital associations have come out against the bill as well. The nation’s largest hospital association, the American Hospital Association, joined with 6 other associations to send a letter to Congress voicing their disapproval. The letter stated that the associations feared the proposal would “lead to tremendous instability for those seeking affordable coverage.” According to USA Today, “virtually every type of hospital” is represented among the opposition. The hospital associations are also “deeply concerned” that the law will result in massive cuts in federal funding for their healthcare services.
The health insurance industry’s largest trade association, America’s Health Insurance Plans, also sent a letter on Wednesday. This letter was much more appreciative of some of the proposed changes, but it was concerned that the bill would not give enough money to Medicaid and that the new system of tax credits wouldn’t be enough to keep younger, healthier consumers in the insurance marketplace.
White House Avoiding “Trumpcare” Nickname for New Bill
The Trump Administration will not be using “Trumpcare” as a nickname for the American Health Care Act, the Republicans’ new proposed bill to replace Obamacare. Ryan Williams, a former longtime spokesman for Mitt Romney, told Politico, “Anything with the word ‘care’ in it pretty much sounds bad to people these days.” Many other Republican figures were asked about the name “Trumpcare,” and many of them avoided the question or shot down the suggestion.
On the other hand, Democrats are eager to utilize the nickname, possibly as a way of assigning any perceived faults in the law to the president himself. “What we have after the repeal is Trumpcare. Whatever is left after the dust settles is Trumpcare,” said Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO).
Only 3% of Americans Affected by Premium Increases
More than 90 percent of Americans have health insurance and get it through an employer or government programs that don’t include the Obamacare exchanges. Eighty-five percent of people who buy insurance through these exchanges receive federal subsidies that protect them from premium increases. According to a new, interactive infographic released by The New York Times, only 3 percent Americans are affected by Obamacare’s premium increases. According to the U.S. Census Bureau though, the population of the U.S. is around 320 million, so this number would still affect about 10 million Americans.
News Update for March 8, 2017
Conservatives Continue to Oppose “Obamacare Lite” while Trump Pushes for Speedy Replacement
Conservatives continue to oppose Paul Ryan’s new healthcare reform draft, giving it several disparaging nicknames: Obamacare Lite, RyanCare, and RINOcare (Republican in Name Only). Michael Cannon from the Cato Institute said, “It is remarkable that they’ve produced a bill that is so out of touch with ACA opponents.”
However, President Trump doesn’t seem to want any more delays in repealing and replacing Obamacare. Trump has been very direct when addressing lawmakers about the proposed bill: He wants it to be approved promptly and delivered “largely intact.” Trump has also committed himself to becoming “personally involved in persuading skeptical lawmakers and warned that failing to pass the legislation would result in trouble at the ballot box for Republicans who pledged to repeal and replace Obamacare.”
GOP Factions Pose a Threat to New Healthcare Bill
Three GOP factions pose a threat to Paul Ryan’s American Health Care Act’s ability to become law over certain healthcare reforms.
- Western and Midwestern senators: This faction is opposed to any plan that doesn’t provide stability for Medicaid.
- Conservative and Libertarian senators: This faction is opposed to subsidizing individuals’ healthcare expenses.
- Moderate Supporters of Planned Parenthood: This faction may oppose the bill because of severely decreased funding for Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit healthcare clinic catering to women.
To see the Senators in each faction and a full explanation of their arguments, read the Washington Post’s article.
Elijah Cummings Continues Attempts to Lower Prescription Drug Costs
After being delayed for a month, House Democrat and Senior Black Caucus Member Elijah Cummings is meeting with President Trump today to discuss potential ways to lower prescription drug prices. Cummings stated that Trump “promised—both during the campaign and after—that he would support efforts to stem the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs, so I am looking forward to discussing ideas he said he supports.”
News Update for March 7, 2017
House Republicans Unveil Long-Awaited Obamacare Reform Bill: The American Health Care Act
On Monday, House Republicans released a long-awaited proposal to replace Obamacare. Billed as a “more conservative vision” for American healthcare, the bill would be a “remarkable moment” in healthcare legislation because Congress has never before reversed a major program of social benefits that has affected this many people. The House has proposed the legislation, which is designed to ensure the long-term financial stability of the healthcare industry, under two bills.
Here are some of the changes:
- The individual mandate, which penalizes Americans for not having health insurance, would be removed. Insurance companies would be permitted to “impose a surcharge of 30 percent” to people who discontinue coverage and then resume it later on.
- The employer mandate, which penalizes large employers when they don’t provide health insurance to their employees, would also be eliminated.
- “Age-based tax credits ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 [would replace] the Affordable Care Act’s income-based subsidies.”
- A major overhaul of Medicaid that phases out the open-ended federal funding system it is currently using with a program with spending caps.
- Insurance companies would be permitted to charge older enrollees 5 times as much in premiums as compared to the cap of 3 times as much under Obamacare.
American Health Care Act Has Long, Uphill Climb Before Passage
In the House, many conservative Republicans are still voicing their displeasure with the bill. Representative Dave Brat (R-VA), a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, told Politico that he has “seen no evidence that this bill will bring the cost curve down.” Representative Justin Amash (R-MI) insulted the bill by calling it “Obamacare 2.0.” It’s not known if House conservatives will attempt to vote against the bill though. GOP leaders in the House expect that some conservatives and moderates in their party will vote against it. The bill can only lose 21 Republican votes, assuming that the Democrats stand against it unanimously.
If Democrats vote against it along party lines, the bill would lose if just 3 of the Senate’s 52 Republican senators defected. Four Republican senators have already told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that they plan to oppose any plan that would cut Medicaid for people in their states. Two conservative Republican senators, Rand Paul (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-UT), have already come out publicly against the plan as well.
American Health Care Act Reforms Obamacare, But Also Leaves Parts of It Unchanged
The American Health Care Act seeks to get rid of almost all of Obamacare’s taxes, except the “Cadillac” tax, which taxes high-cost health plans. There is a lot of bipartisan opposition to this tax, which was originally going to take effect in 2020 under Obamacare. The new bill proposes keeping this provision in order to not add to the deficit.
The law also keeps some of the more popular parts of Obamacare unchanged:
- Insurance companies “have to offer health plans to people, regardless of” pre-existing conditions.
- “Plans cannot cap the amount they pay in claims in a year or” in their customers’ lifetime.
- Adult children can stay on their parents’ plans until age 26.
- Some of the required benefits of Obamacare’s Essential Health Benefits will stay in place, including “preventive medicine and maternity care.”
Tax Credits Between Affordable Care Act vs. American Health Care Act
The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a new tool that compares estimates of premium tax credits Obamacare Marketplace enrollees would receive under Obamacare in 2020 with what they would receive under the newly proposed American Health Care Act. The map shows county-by-county results for how much more or less enrollees would receive in tax credits depending on age, income, and home county. Both policies include tax credits, but Obamacare “takes family income, local cost of insurance, and age into account,” whereas the new policy focuses “only on age, with a phase out for individuals with incomes above $75,000.”
News Update for March 6, 2017
Newest Version of House Obamacare Replacement Bill Leaked Again
Last Friday, Politico was able to obtain leaked documents outlining the latest version of the House’s Obamacare replacement bill. This is the second Obamacare replacement bill proposal to be leaked in the span of a month.
Some of the key components of the proposal include:
- Tax credits based on age, but it wouldn’t allow wealthier Americans to qualify for the tax credits. No specific cut-offs have been proposed yet though.
- Eliminating many of Obamacare’s taxes.
- Extending the lifetime of health plans that pre-existed Obamacare that don’t meet many of the law’s requirements.
- Creating a “reinsurance” fund for states to help shore up the individual health insurance market. The bill would grant states the ability to reimburse insurance companies from the fund if medical claims of covered individuals are between $50,000 and $350,000.
Healthcare Executives Worried About Trump Administration’s Changes to Obamacare and Healthcare Industry
Healthcare industry CEOs are, according to a survey by Modern Healthcare, nervous about many things they believe will result in major changes to the healthcare industry. The survey, which contacted 110 CEOs and received 81 responses, shows that more than 75% of the respondents do not support a repeal of the Affordable Care Act “with a phaseout period and a promise of a replacement.” Many CEOs “fervently hope Republicans move deliberately and thoughtfully, and preserve affordable coverage for the 20 million people who obtained insurance under the ACA.” According to Catherine Jacobson, the CEO of Froedtert Health, “Any drop-off in coverage falls 100% on health systems, because we’re the ones who pay in terms of bad debt and charity care.”
The survey shows CEO opinions on a wide variety of healthcare concerns. You can read more here.
Conservative Activist Groups to Launch Campaigns to Pressure Republicans on Obamacare Repeal
Conservative activist groups, many of which can be traced back to the billionaire Koch brothers, are about to launch a campaign called “You Promised.” The campaign seeks to strongly pressure GOP lawmakers into repealing Obamacare, as the GOP has been running on the idea of Obamacare repeal for years. Many Republican lawmakers are worried that they’ll lose their seats in Congress since backing the law’s repeal might prove unpopular to their constituents, particularly, but not exclusively, in swing districts and swing states.
Older Americans Are Continuing to Voice Their Concerns About Obamacare Repeal
AARP and other representatives of America’s elder community “are bombarding congressional offices with objections as two House committees” are planning to vote on Republicans’ Obamacare repeal bill. They are worried over insurance premium increases of 20 to 25 percent or higher. The Affordable Care Act prevents older Americans from being charged more than 3 times what younger insurance enrollees are charged. The House bill could possibly allow premiums to be 5 times higher. Some states could choose to charge even more than that.
The proposal could have “a severe impact on Americans age 50 to 64 who have not yet become eligible for Medicare,” said David M. Certner, the legislative policy director of AARP. In the meantime, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price stated on Sunday that he and the White House would stand firm behind not cutting Medicare.
News Update for March 3, 2017
House Speaker Paul Ryan Plans Vote on Obamacare Replacement Bill for Later This Month
House Speaker Paul Ryan is feeling more and more confident about getting an Obamacare replacement bill passed through the House of Representatives. In a closed-door meeting on Thursday, Ryan said he expects a vote on an Obamacare replacement bill to occur sometime in the next 3 weeks, according to various sources who attended the meeting.
At a press conference on Thursday, Ryan stressed Republican unity on the progress for repeal and replace so far. Despite concerns from conservative Republicans over the GOP leadership’s insistence on refundable tax credits, Ryan said the GOP is “in sync – the House, the Senate and the Trump administration, because this law is collapsing.” Privately, many Republicans are stressing that “they have no problem steamrolling conservatives by daring them to vote against” the bill.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is much more apprehensive about the Senate. McConnell told reporters, “The goal is for the administration, the House and the Senate to be in the same place. We’re not there yet.”
Senate Republicans Opting Not to Write Their Own Bill, Taking Up House’s Obamacare Bill Instead
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) told the media on Thursday that Senate Republicans would wait on the House’s upcoming Obamacare repeal bill rather than creating one on their own. “The goal is for the House to pass a bill that we can then take up and pass here in the Senate,” Cornyn said. If the Senate were to decide to change the House bill, it would have to be sent back to the House for the House to pass again before returning the bill back to the Senate. Although much of the media’s coverage on Obamacare is focused on House Republicans and their difficulties unifying around an Obamacare replacement plan, Senate Republicans themselves might face some difficulty in regard to unity when it comes time for them to vote.
Some Republicans Worried About Tying Obamacare Repeal with Planned Parenthood Defunding
Many Republicans, particularly more conservative ones, have pushed to defund Planned Parenthood for many years. Moderate Republicans are worried that conservatives will include measures to defund Planned Parenthood in an Obamacare replacement bill. “I, for one, do not believe that Planned Parenthood has any place in our deliberations on the Affordable Care Act,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Murkowski also added that she wouldn’t vote on any measure that would deny her constituents access to healthcare provided by Planned Parenthood. Representative Charlie Dent (R-PA) believes that “healthcare reform is controversial and complex enough without Planned Parenthood. Why put it in? It makes this whole exercise more difficult.”
Trump’s CMS Pick Approved by Senate
On Thursday, the Senate confirmed President Trump’s nominee to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Seema Verma, who was confirmed on a 13-12 vote, “is the owner of SVC, a healthcare consulting firm” that “has helped redesign Medicaid programs in several states, including Indiana.” In this capacity, she worked closely with Vice President Mike Pence, who was then the governor of Indiana. Some Democrats have expressed concern about possible conflicts of interest that might have come up during her time working with the Indiana state government.
News Update for March 2, 2017
Republicans Are Working on a New, Top Secret Obamacare Replacement Draft
House Republicans are currently working on a new draft of an Obamacare repeal and replacement bill. The Republicans are being extremely secretive with the document, which is currently locked up in a “dedicated reading room” and can only be read by certain members and staff on the House Energy and Commerce panel. No copies are allowed outside of the room.
The heightened security is a response to last week, when a previous draft was leaked and widely panned by conservative House members. Today, Representative Chris Collins (R-NY) told the media, “The [new] draft is going to be available tomorrow for those of us on the health subcommittee to start poring through.”
GOP Infighting Is “How You Come Up With a Good Public Policy”
There has been some recent concern over the GOP’s seeming inability to find a compromise on an Obamacare replacement bill. In light of this, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) appeared on Fox & Friends to alleviate this concern. Rubio stated, “This notion that because there’s five different ideas about it, that’s a sign of weakness – is ridiculous.” The senator argued that it was “a good thing that there are a lot of different ideas” because it was a sign of a healthy debate that would result in better public policy.
New Study Indicates More and More Americans Are Having Trouble Paying for Their Insurance
- Around 43 percent of adults with health insurance are having difficulty affording their deductible. This is an increase from 34 percent from a comparable survey taken in 2015.
- Around 37 percent of adults say that they are having trouble affording their premiums. This is an increase of 27 percent.
- Around 31 percent of adults say they are having trouble paying for prescriptions and copays for doctor visits. This is an increase of 24 percent.
Many Community Clinics Fear Being Shut Down in Face of Obamacare Repeal
Coinciding with the implementation of Obamacare, 950 community health center sites have opened in the last 7 years. Much of the costs to open and maintain these community clinics are paid for through provisions in the Affordable Care Act. Many operators of these clinics are now worried about the futures of their clinics, which often provide healthcare services in parts of the country with large shortages of availability in service. “Between 2011 and 2015, local clinics across the country received $11 billion” through the Community Health Center Fund, one of Obamacare’s provisions, in order to maintain operations.
Congress, with bipartisan support, has extended funding before, most recently in 2015 in order to provide $7.2 billion. However, the funding is set to expire in September of this year, and, with so much of the Affordable Care Act up in the air, many people are worried.
News Update for March 1, 2017
President Outlines Five Major Components for Replacing Obamacare
In President Trump’s address to Congress last night, he laid out some key points in his plan to replace Obamacare. The outline for his plan includes:
- Making sure that “people with pre-existing health conditions are guaranteed ‘access’ to health insurance.”
- Giving tax credits to “people who buy their own health coverage” and expanding health savings accounts so that people can more easily design their own health insurance plans.
- Making sure states have “the resources and flexibility” to use Medicaid programs to help poor people with their healthcare concerns.
- Bringing “down the price of high-cost drugs” and lowering insurance costs with various legal reforms.
- “Creating a national insurance marketplace” that lets insurance companies sell plans across state lines.
New Study Shows Current ACA Replacement Plans, Compared to ACA, Will Lower Health Insurance Tax Credits for Consumers
The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a new analysis estimating that health insurance tax credits in 2020 would, on average, be at least 36 percent lower under replacement plans proposed by Republicans than under Obamacare. The analysis states that the current tax credit for Obamacare exchange customers would rise from an average of $4,615 in 2020 to $6,648 in 2027. However, at least one ACA replacement plan would see a much slower rise in tax credits: from $2,957 in 2020 to $3,729 in 2027.
GOP Set to Hold Meeting to Discuss Obamacare Repeal Bill
Congressional Republicans are currently far from a consensus about how to repeal and replace Obamacare. The party’s reaction to the President’s speech last night has also highlighted differences between conservative and moderate Republicans, who are in disagreement over tax credits for people who pay for their own health coverage. Trump did not specify if the tax credits he supports will be refundable or nonrefundable, which is at the root of the disagreement among the factions of the GOP.
Other disagreements revolve around the nature of Medicaid expansion. “My concern is that we want to make sure none of these folks gets dropped. And I’m not fully convinced that what the House is working on can give me that assurance,” said Senator Shelley Capito (R-WV). Other Republicans, like Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, believe that voters “didn’t tell us to repeal [Obamacare] but keep the Medicaid expansion.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will hold a special meeting with Republican members of both houses of Congress on Wednesday in order to try to hash out an understanding.
Is Obamacare Tied to Early Retirement?
An article from The New York Times suggests that it might be harder for people to retire early if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. Many of Obamacare’s provisions helped prevent a phenomenon “called job lock — the need to maintain a job to get health insurance.” Many studies have shown that there was “evidence of job lock in the pre-Obamacare” years. Some suggest that if it wasn’t for job lock, there would be more job mobility and growth in business because people would be more likely to take risks and innovate.
As a licensed agent with HealthMarkets, I (Robert Morgen) am sharing this article with my LinkedIn community. I serve Nevada, California, Arizona, Texas, & South Carolina as a Health Benefits Adviser.