Tag: GOP healthcare

Obamacare’s Future Now Depends on an Unhappy White House

The following article by Steven Pressman was posted on the Conversation website July 18, 2017:

Tom Price, the secretary of health and human services, has repeatedly warned that Obamacare is near collapse. “The situation has never been more dire,” he said on July 10. Credit Jim Watson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The congressional effort to overhaul the health care system appears to be in shambles. But the current health care system lives on. And decisions the Trump administration makes about how to manage it could have big effects on who has coverage next year, and what it costs them.

The Department of Health and Human Services is in charge of administering Obamacare, and so far the department’s staff has given many public indications that it does not enjoy such duties.

The Department of Health and Human Services is in charge of administering Obamacare, and so far the department’s staff has given many public indications that it does not enjoy such duties. Continue reading “Obamacare’s Future Now Depends on an Unhappy White House”

Governors Call for Bipartisan Fix to Health Care

The following article by Kyle Stewart was posted on the Roll Call website July 18, 2017:

State leaders want to be at decision table with Congress

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is one of 11 governors calling for a bipartisan solution to health care reform. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Following the collapse of the Senate’s health care overhaul bill, a group of governors are suggesting a new way forward: bipartisanship. And the group wants a spot at the decision table.

Eleven governors from across the nation issued a statement Tuesday morning calling on the Senate to stop the effort to repeal the 2010 health care law without a replacement.

“This could leave millions of Americans without coverage,” the statement said. “The best next step is for both parties to come together and do what we can all agree on: fix our unstable insurance markets.” Continue reading “Governors Call for Bipartisan Fix to Health Care”

Failure

The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website July 18, 2017:

With Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Mike Lee (R-UT) releasing separate statements Monday night confirming they will not support the Senate version of Obamacare repeal and replace, the legislation was dealt a near fatal blow. The failure to rally enough senators around the Senate version – especially with deep cuts to Medicaid that will hurt millions of constituents – resulted in a quick tweet by President Trump calling for simple repeal of Obamacare with a promise to work (possibly with Democrats) to craft new legislation. Continue reading “Failure”

Why Repeal-and-Delay Is a Risky Health Care Strategy

The following article by Margot Sanger-Katz was posted on the New York Times website July 7 2017:

President Trump and Senator Ted Cruz have each talked up the possibility of repealing Obamacare without an immediate replacement. Credit Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

If you can’t repeal and replace Obamacare all at once, what about just repealing it first, and coming up with new ideas later?

That was the preferred political strategy of many in Congress after the election, but it was ultimately rejected by the White House and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who determined that Republicans should repeal and install a new plan simultaneously.

Now, as Republican senators balk at the health bill their leaders have drafted, several politicians have suggested that it’s time to return to the original idea. Such a strategy would come with tremendous political risks for Republicans and practical risks for consumers, many of whom might end up dealing with zombie-like markets. Continue reading “Why Repeal-and-Delay Is a Risky Health Care Strategy”

e ‘Bare bones’ insurance policies really only work for people who are healthy

The following article by Lenny Bernstein and Paige Winfield Cunningham was posted on the Washington Post site July 15, 2017:

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) wants to again allow insurers to sell “bare bones” health-care plans. Critics say his amendment to the Senate GOP health-care bill could destabilize insurance markets. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)

Before the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies could offer any combination of benefits in most states and legally call them a health insurance policy. A huge deductible? Coverage for only one night of hospitalization? Nothing for maternity care, mental health or medication?

If consumers were willing to buy such “bare bones” plans — and some people did, usually at very low prices — those policies were considered health insurance coverage.

“If they sold you a policy that covered [only] a toothbrush, that qualified,” said Karen Pollitz, senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Continue reading “e ‘Bare bones’ insurance policies really only work for people who are healthy”

The 5 faulty beliefs that have led to Republican dysfunction on health care

The following article by J.B. Silvers was posted on the Conversation site July 12, 2017:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, shown here in June, 2017, is scheduled to unveil a revised version of the Senate health care bill today. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

As we watch for a new version of a Senate health care bill today, an outside observer might think that Congress is just dysfunctional, lurching from one extreme to another in search of something that works for health care reform.

The latest development has been the inability of Republicans to even agree on their own proposal and, worse yet, what should come next if it fails. Should they repeal the Affordable Care Act and worry about a replacement later or just try to “fix” the ACA now?

But the problem is much deeper than just a policy fix. As a former health insurance CEO and professor of health finance, it seems clear to me that Republicans are making five key implicit assumptions that are inherently problematic: Continue reading “The 5 faulty beliefs that have led to Republican dysfunction on health care”

Why Single-Payer Health Care Saves Money

The following article by Robert H. Frank was posted on the New York Times website July 7, 2017:

The total cost of providing health coverage under the single-payer approach is actually substantially lower than under the current system in the United States. Credit Christophe Vorlet

Lingering uncertainty about the fate of the Affordable Care Act has spurred the California legislature to consider adoption of a statewide single-payer health care system.

Sometimes described as Medicare for all, single-payer is a system in which a public agency handles health care financing while the delivery of care remains largely in private hands.

Discussions of the California measure have stalled, however, in the wake of preliminary estimates pegging the cost of the program as greater than the entire state government budget. Similar cost concerns derailed single-payer proposals in Colorado and Vermont. Continue reading “Why Single-Payer Health Care Saves Money”

What will happen to my mom?

My mom is 97 years old and has severe dementia.  She has been in a memory care unit for three years.  My mom loved reading, loved book, but now can’t recognize even one written word.  She can’t hold a conversation or count past one.

And mom has outlived her live savings.

The skilled nursing care she is receiving is being paid for by Medicaid.  So if the present GOP health care bill becomes law, Medicaid will be cut. Continue reading “What will happen to my mom?”

Kids in pro-Trump rural areas have a lot to lose if GOP rolls back Medicaid

The following article by Noam N. Levey was posted on the Los Angeles Times website July 6, 2017:

Communities like this aging West Virginia coal town along the Kanawha River were key to President Trump’s victory last year; more than two-thirds of voters in surrounding Fayette County backed the Republican nominee.

Now, families in this rural county and hundreds like it that supported Trump face the loss of a critical safety net for children as congressional Republicans move to cut hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade from Medicaid, the half-century-old government health plan for the poor. Continue reading “Kids in pro-Trump rural areas have a lot to lose if GOP rolls back Medicaid”

How bills to replace Obamacare would especially harm women

The following article by Simon Haeder was posted on the Conversation website June 29, 2017:

A woman speaks up at a town hall gathering with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) in March 2017. Mark Crammer/AP

As members of Congress are heading back to their districts over Fourth of July break, the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), America’s health care system and millions of Americans continues to hang in the balance.

While the House and Senate version of a proposed ACA repeal differ in the details, their broad outlines essentially boil down to three major items.

Both essentially roll back the Medicaid expansion enacted in the ACA that has benefited more than 10 million Americans.

Both significantly reduce funding for the entire Medicaid program that currently benefits 75 million Americans. Continue reading “How bills to replace Obamacare would especially harm women”