Healthcare Stakeholders May Balk at Full Repeal

The answer seems to be no. However, the door is definitely open to tweaking the law. "Our membership is looking ahead now. We want more people to be covered," Mary R. Grealy, president of the Healthcare Leadership Council, told HealthLeaders Media. The council represents a coalition of CEOs of diverse healthcare companies and organizations, including McKesson and Walgreens.

While Grealy says council members intend to focus "a laser-like beam on reducing healthcare costs," she explains that the group has concerns about the existing law. "We're worried that the [individual mandate] penalty isn't high enough and that people will still make the decision not to get coverage." The council wants to see IPAB repealed and changes made to the medical device tax.

The medical loss ratio provision, which requires health plans to limit administrative expenses to between 15% and 20% of premiums, is unpopular with America's Health Insurance Plans, which contends that the MLR does nothing to address the real driver of premium increases: the underlying cost of medical care.