State Thoughts On Pending Health Plans: Protect Medicaid Expansion; What About Nevada’s Obamacare Solution?
As lawmakers on Capitol Hill prepare for the unveiling of the Senate GOP's health bill, opinion writers across the country examine how key health policy ideas might work in their states.
Cincinnati Enquirer:
Medicaid Expansion Must Be Protected
We need more help combatting addiction and increased access to affordable health care for all of us. As the Ohio Senate considers its budget and U.S. Senate considers the AHCA, Medicaid expansion must be protected. (O'dell M. Owens, 6/20)
Arizona Republic:
Nevada Had - And Wasted - The Perfect Obamacare Solution
Last week, the Nevada state Legislature handed Gov. Brian Sandoval an innovative opportunity to replace the Affordable Care Act at the state level. Unfortunately, he didn’t take advantage of the opportunity. ... Assembly Bill 374 would have directed the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services to ask for a CMS Waiver (called an 1115 waiver) to allow any Nevadan to buy a Medicaid managed care plan. Nevadans eligible for an Affordable Care Act tax credit (called an advance premium tax credit) or cost-sharing reductions based on income could have used them to help pay their share of the premium. ...
“Medicare for All” is getting a lot of national attention again these days. Perhaps it’s time to add “Medicaid for Many” to the discussion.
(Daniel Derksen and Will Humble, 6/20)
Los Angeles Times:
Single-Payer Healthcare For California Is, In Fact, Very Doable
The California Senate recently voted to pass a bill that would establish a single-payer healthcare system for the entire state. The proposal, called the Healthy California Act, will now be taken up by the state Assembly. The plan enjoys widespread support — a recent poll commissioned by the California Nurses Assn. found that 70% of all Californians are in favor of a single-payer plan — and with good reason. Under Healthy California, all residents would be entitled to decent healthcare without having to pay premiums, deductibles or copays. (Robert Pollin, 6/21)
Cincinnati Enquirer:
GOP Health Plan Would Fail To Deliver On President's Promise
The emerging attempt by the Republican Senate majority to secure the 51 votes necessary to approve a new health care act, overturning Obamacare, on a timetable designed to avoid any committee hearings or debate, will do great harm to hundreds of thousands of Ohioans and millions of Americans. ... This fails utterly to fulfill the promise of lower costs without lowering coverage made by President Donald Trump during his campaign and which the people of our nation deserve. (John Pepper, 6/20)
Chicago Tribune:
Another Obamacare Rate Shock
Buckle up, all you Illinoisans who depend on Obamacare health coverage. Wednesday is the deadline for rate request proposals from insurers. Customers can expect hefty premium hikes for next year's policies. Yes, again. It'll be this way until this faltering law gets fixed or replaced. For 2017, you may recall, Illinois rates leaped by more than 40 percent. For 2018, we'll see. (6/20)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Wrong Direction On BadgerCare
Wisconsin lawmakers have proposed BadgerCare changes that would require the documentation of specific work hours and impose time limits on childless adults receiving health insurance when they are not working at least half-time. ... But requiring the demonstration of work hours is fundamentally misaligned with the realities of the low-wage labor market. (Laura Dresser and Elizabeth Lower-Basch, 6/20)
