Several hospitals and medical groups in the United States are showing their disconformity with GOP’s new bill called “World’s Greatest Healthcare Plan of 2017.” These organizations fear that millions of Americans could lose their health coverage
This body of health agencies were the ones that helped pass the Affordable Care Act back in 2010. In that time, the orientation of the bill was to reach the maximum amount of Americans as possible, focusing on those citizens with lower incomes and considered “vulnerable.” Since the law’s expansion, Medicaid has been able to help a significant part of these citizens, but with the new GOP bill, this help might be in danger.
According to the proposed bill, Medicaid will no longer receive the funding necessary for its formerly approved expansion, as well as federal funding will also be cut in a considerable way. The bill also contemplates the replacement of Obamacare subsidies for a set of refundable tax credits. This would translate into those “vulnerable” Americans receiving less assistance as they will be forced to buy their own coverage.
“It appears that the effort to restructure the Medicaid program will have the effect of making significant reductions in a program that provides services to our most vulnerable populations, and already pays providers significantly less than the cost of providing care,” wrote Richard J. Pollack, CEO of the American Hospital Association.
The American Medical Association letter
The
(AMA) is the largest health organization composed of physicians and medical students in the United States. It was founded in 1847 and currently is a powerful lobbying group that represents the country’s doctors.
This organization expressed through a letter sent to the House of Representatives all its concerns regarding the health care issue in the country. They acknowledged that many problems in the Affordable Care Act must be addressed for it to function more correctly. However, they cannot accept the GOP effort to overhaul the majority of the legislation’s provisions, as it includes the repeal of significant advances in the health care field.
According to the letter, more than 20 million Americans now have health coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act, and the organization says that among its tops priorities there is the fact of ensuring that all of these people conserve the coverage.
Other health agencies have shown their disconformity with the GOP bill. America’s Essential Hospitals, the Federation of American Hospitals, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Children’s Hospital Association, and the American Association of Retired Persons, they all have expressed their opposition to the “World’s Greatest Healthcare Plan of 2017.”
Sean Spicer, White House spokesman, explained that it makes sense that all of these organizations are against the bill since they are not being “paid off” like when the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. However, he said that it would be better if all these interest groups were on board with the proposal.
Spicer concluded by saying that the government’s top priority is to assure the best deal for the American people, even when it seems that most health care related group do not think that this, in fact, is the best deal.
Source: CNN