Perspectives: Despite Senate Difficulties, ACA Is Still At Risk; The Paths Forward For The GOP’s BCRA
Editorial pages analyze the current state of play in Republicans' push to replace Obamacare.
The New York Times:
Health Care Is Still in Danger
Will Senate Republicans try to destroy health care under cover of a constitutional crisis? That’s a serious question, based in part on what happened in the House earlier this year. As you may remember, back in March attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act seemed dead after the Congressional Budget Office released a devastating assessment, concluding that the House Republican bill would lead to 23 million more uninsured Americans. Faced with intense media scrutiny and an outpouring of public opposition, House leaders pulled their bill, and the debate seemed over. (Paul Krugman, 7/24)
RealClear Health:
A Narrow Path Forward For The BCRA
Following a week of high-level negotiations among GOP senators, Republican leadership is planning a Tuesday vote on the motion to proceed to the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA) — the vehicle for their health care reform efforts. The process has been shrouded in confusion and uncertainty, as it still remains unclear what legislation Senate leaders ultimately hope to move forward. And while knowing what’s in the Senate bill may be, as Senate Whip John Cornyn said, a “luxury we don’t have,” it’s worth acknowledging that there’s still a narrow path towards passage. (Shea McCarthy, 7/24)
Boston Globe:
Republicans Must Challenge Trump On Health Care
But though he [Donald Trump] has browbeaten Republican senators for failing to follow through on repealing the Affordable Care Act, abandoning his own campaign commitments doesn’t seem to bother him at all. Months into the GOP’s repeal-and-replace effort, not one piece of legislation Trump has backed, in either the House or the Senate, would keep all of those promises. (7/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Force Congress’s Hand On Health Care
If President Trump is serious about repealing ObamaCare—about delivering a better policy with more choice and lower costs—there’s a simple move he could make that wouldn’t require congressional approval. It would align the interests of lawmakers and their staffers with the interests of voters. (Heather R. Higgins, 7/23)
USA Today:
Former GOP Senator: Resist The Bullying. Don't Vote For A Mystery Health Care Bill.
What do you do when you are a U.S. senator and the president wants you to vote for a health care bill that could radically change health care? You ask questions. You hold hearings. You understand what it would mean to your constituents. You listen to those who know the system. And when it doesn’t add up, you vote against it. (David Durenberger, 7/24)
The Wall Street Journal:
Congress Won’t End ObamaCare, So Here’s How To Mend It
Having so far failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the best way forward for Republicans would be to work with Democrats to improve the marketplaces set up by the 2010 law. While legislation could help, all that really is needed for the marketplaces to succeed is for the Trump administration to do no harm. This means continuing to implement the law without actively undermining it. (Jason Furman, 7/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Under Senate's Obamacare Repeal, Some Americans Would Have To Pay More Than Their Total Income For Health Coverage
One of the ostensibly brilliant ideas in Senate Republicans’ plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act is to move low-income families from Medicaid to the private insurance marketplace, allowing them to use the premium subsidies provided by the ACA. But there’s a catch, according to a new analysis of the proposal. For many low-income families, the marketplace premiums and deductibles combined would amount to more than their total income, even after subsidies. Moreover, despite shifting more of these costs to enrollees, the change would cost the federal government more than Medicaid. (Michael Hiltzik, 7/21)
The Kansas City Star:
Sens. Moran And Roberts: Don’t Endanger My Daughter’s Health
My beautiful daughter Hannah turns 26 this Saturday. Her birthdays are particularly special because she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at age 13. After successful treatment, her cancer returned when she was 14 and she had a less than 10 percent chance of survival. She wasn’t expected to be alive for her 15th birthday. Burkitt’s Lymphoma is a very aggressive cancer that doubles in size every two hours. We were fortunate to receive amazing care at Children’s Mercy Hosptital. Hannah endured dozens of surgeries, 69 days of intense chemotherapy and spent over 300 days in the hospital. She received hundreds of units of blood and platelets, had 38 spinal taps, 18 bone marrow biopsies, a stem cell transplant and countless other treatments and procedures. (Deedra Miller, 7/22)
Lincoln Journal-Star:
Nebraska Needs Health Care Reform
Obamacare is failing in Nebraska. Proponents of the law argued that it would increase choice and lower costs, but the exact opposite has taken place. For instance, earlier this year, Blue Cross Blue Shield announced it would be leaving the state’s Obamacare exchange market. The last remaining Obamacare insurer -- Medica Health -- also announced it might pull out of the market by the end of the year, which would leave thousands of Nebraskans without health coverage. (Jarrett Stepman, 7/24)
