Healthcare industry groups rush to analyze the latest attempt to repeal Obamacare as the deadline for a vote nears.
UPDATED at 8:20 PM ET Thursday, September 2017
With the Senate poised to vote next week on the Graham-Cassidy proposal to replace the ACA, political pundits, consumers, and even late night talk show hosts are weighing in.
Many healthcare industry groups are also making their positions known.
- On Thursday, the National Association of Medicaid Directors released a media statement urging Congress to "revisit the topic of comprehensive Medicaid reform when it can be addressed with the careful consideration merited by such a complex undertaking."
- The CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation condemned the Graham-Cassidy proposal in a statement using these words: "This is not the right future for our country."
- AHIP In a letter to senate leaders, says the legislation would further destabilize the individual market and be a detriment to individuals with pre-existing conditions. " No one should be denied or priced out of affordable coverage because of their health status," the letter says.
- America’s Essential Hospitals, the trade group that represents safety net systems, says Graham-Cassidy provides "no meaningful relief from looming cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments."
- The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association opposes the bill because it says it would allow states to waive key consumer protections, as well as undermine safeguards for those with pre-existing medical conditions.
- The CEO of ACHP, the Alliance of Community Health Plans, tweeted this on Wednesday:
Cost Forecasting
- The CBO says it will release a preliminary assessment of the proposal by early next week.
- An analysis by Avalere Health, a consulting firm, concludes that the proposal would cut federal healthcare funding to states overall by $215 billion through 2016 and by $4 trillion over 20-years, compared to current law.
Philip Betbeze is the senior leadership editor at HealthLeaders.