Different Visions: Are Republicans Trying ‘To Starve’ Obamacare To Death; Analyzing The State Of ACA Insurance Markets And Premiums
Opinion writers offer a variety of thoughts on health policy issues, including whether the health law is "collapsing under its own weight," some ominous predictions about the individual insurance markets, the importance of the public option and a range of other ideas.
The New York Times:
How The G.O.P. Sabotaged Obamacare
Obamacare is not “collapsing under its own weight,” as Republicans are so fond of saying. It was sabotaged from the day it was enacted. And now the Republican Party should be held accountable not only for any potential replacement of the law, but also for having tried to starve it to death. The Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday released its accounting of the House Republicans’ replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act, and the numbers are not pretty: It is projected to leave 23 million more Americans uninsured over 10 years, through deep cuts to insurance subsidies and Medicaid. The report underscores how the bill would cut taxes for the rich to take health care away from the less well-off. (Abbe R. Gluck, 5/25)
The Wall Street Journal:
How To Read An ObamaCare Prediction
The political world waited with rapt attention Wednesday for the oracles at the Congressional Budget Office to release their cost-and-coverage predictions for the revised House health reform bill, which arrived late in the afternoon. But while Washington stood by, two reports emerged from the real world that are far more consequential. (5/24)
Los Angeles Times:
Trump's Team Issues A Stunningly Dishonest Study Of Obamacare Rate Increases
The Department of Health and Human Services seemed mightily pleased with a statistic it issued Tuesday. The agency’s figures showed that premiums on the Affordable Care Act exchanges “doubled” from 2013 through this year. This might not sound like good news for the people buying their coverage on those exchanges, but to HHS it was vindication. “This report is a sobering reminder of why reforming our healthcare system remains a top priority of the Trump administration,” agency spokesperson Alleigh Marré said. (Michael Hiltzik, 5/24)
Kansas City Star:
Should A Limited Public Option Be Part Of Health Care Reform?
Weren’t we focused on health care reform just a few weeks ago? Yes we were. And as it turns out, while we’re all looking at other things, lawmakers in Washington are still working on a rewrite of the Affordable Care Act. There were two important developments over the last two weeks we should think about. (Dave Helling, 5/24)
Stat:
Native Americans’ Health Threatened By Denial Of Medicaid Expansion
America has broken several centuries worth of promises to its indigenous people. And we’re poised to do it again. ... The Affordable Care Act provided a way to improve the health of thousands of Native Americans through Medicaid expansion. It provided a much-needed injection of funding to the long-neglected Indian Health Service and tribal health facilities by raising the income level needed for eligibility. With the poverty rate at 28 percent among Native Americans, this group disproportionately benefited from Medicaid expansion. (Kevin Duan and Aaron Price, 5/25)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Health Care Reform The Wisconsin Way
Wisconsin has been a leader in covering its residents with high-quality health care and providing community supports so people with disabilities and frail elders can stay in their homes and communities and out of costly facilities. The American Health Care Act poses a particularly dangerous threat to our state’s residents, in part because we have done so much right. (Barbara Beckert, 5/24)
Lexington Herald Leader:
Calling Dr. Paul: Seriously, You Don’t Think The U.S. Can Afford Health Care?
The United States spends more per person on health care than any other country, but our health outcomes are far from the best. Simply put, the challenge facing Congress is how to get more value for all that money. Yes, the details are complex, but we’re a big, complex country with a big, complex economy. Our elected leaders should engage that complexity and produce practical reforms and solutions that inspire confidence in the future. That is a reasonable expectation. (5/24)
