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The American Hospital Association (AHA) is urging all ASHE members and members of other AHA personal membership organizations to contact legislators regarding proposed health care legislation. House Republican leaders last week unveiled a legislative package to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Among other changes, the American Health Care Act (AHCA) would:
- eliminate the penalty for noncompliance with the ACA's individual and employer mandates and replace the law's means-tested advance premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions with tax credits that vary by age for individuals under a certain level of income;
- end the enhanced Medicaid federal funding for future expansion populations, beginning in 2020, and transition the Medicaid program to a per capita cap funding model; and
- repeal most of the law's taxes.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the non-partisan federal agency that produces independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the congressional budget process, yesterday estimated that 14 million more people would be uninsured in fiscal year 2018 under the bill. Overall, nearly 24 million people would lose coverage over the next 10 years, CBO estimated. This would have a significant impact on the health of those individuals. The bill also would reduce Medicaid program funding by $880 billion over 10 years. In addition, the AHCA would not restore the hospital market- basket reductions used to help fund the ACA coverage expansions, leaving hospitals less-equipped to respond to the needs of these newly uninsured.
Please contact your representative and urge him or her not to support the bill when it comes to the House floor for a vote. The bill will be marked up by the House Budget Committee on Thursday, March 16, and the full House could likely vote as early next week.
The American Hospital Association shared its concerns last week in a letter to members of the House and urged Congress to take steps to protect patients, and find ways to maintain coverage. AHA was joined by the America's Essential Hospitals, Association of American Medical Colleges, Catholic Health Association of the United States, Children's Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, and National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems in voicing concern about the bill's impact on coverage.
Please continue to reach out and reinforce the message that coverage must be maintained for the millions of people who could lose it if this legislation becomes law. ASHE and AHA will continue to keep members updated on the impact of the AHCA.
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