House To Consider Package of Legislation that Fix None of the Health Care Problems They’ve Created, While Giving More Tax Cuts to the Wealthy
Washington, DC – Following the announcement from Leader Kevin McCarthy that next week will be “health care week” in the chamber that gloated about repealing protections for people with pre-existing conditions, jacking up premiums and reducing coverage, Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care released the following statement:
“Here’s what the Republican so-called ‘health care’ agenda has done: raised premiums, gutted protections for people with pre-existing conditions and handed billions of dollars in tax breaks to insurance companies and drug companies while they jacked up costs and raked in record profits. Republicans know that when they face their constituents this fall, they will be facing a political mess of their own making. Next week is a year to the day that Americans rose up to defeat health care repeal in the Senate, and all this time later, poll after poll shows health care to still be the top issue for American voters. These bills do nothing to fix the problems they created and are an obvious attempt to create political cover they know they desperately need. These bills are designed to distract from the fact that every chance they get, Republicans vote to repeal protections for people with pre-existing conditions, jack up premiums, reduce coverage and give kickbacks to insurance companies, drug companies and the wealthy.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, House Republicans released a budget resolution which contains massive health care cuts and paves the way for full repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement in response:
“Tomorrow marks the six-month anniversary of the passage of Congressional Republicans’ trillion-dollar tax scam, when Congressional Republicans voted to take health care away from millions of Americans and raise costs on tens of millions more in order to cut taxes for the wealthiest and corporations – but apparently this wasn’t enough, and Congressional Republicans continue to launch almost-daily attacks on Americans’ care. Today’s Republican budget would pave the way for them to repeal the Affordable Care Act, slash Medicare and Medicaid, and drastically cut other health programs when what Americans need is relief from the onslaught of GOP health care sabotage. Enough is enough – it’s time for Republicans to end their war on health care.”
Washington, D.C. – This morning, after Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar misled Members of Congress while testifying before the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, Protect Our Care released a video of House Democrats pressing Azar on his destructive policies, as well as a statement from Communications Director Marjorie Connolly:
“Alex Azar went to Capitol Hill today and continued to lie through his teeth about health care. He repeatedly touted the Administration’s proposed short-term junk plans, while ignoring questions about why these plans can exclude essential health benefits like cancer treatment, maternity care, and treatment for substance use disorder and can deny coverage altogether to people with pre-existing conditions. Azar also tried to duck responsibility for rising premiums, despite a huge quantity of nonpartisan analyses and statements from insurance companies that point directly to Republican sabotage, including the tax bill and junk plan proposal, as culprits behind rising costs. In short, it was just another dishonest day at the office for the ex-insurance lobbyist who is leading Republicans’ partisan repeal-and-sabotage campaign against Americans’ health care.”
Associated Press: A Year After ‘Obamacare’ Vote, Democrats See Election Cudgel. “The Democratic charge on health care represents a turnaround from recent elections… [and] the failed GOP repeal effort helped turn the tables. A Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll last month showed people trust Democrats over Republicans for handling health care by 18 percentage points. A Kaiser Health Tracking Poll in February showed Obama’s law with a favorable rating from 54 percent of Americans, its highest score in more than 80 Kaiser surveys since the statute’s enactment. Marking the vote’s anniversary, progressive groups planned more than a dozen rallies Friday from California to Virginia. The liberal Save My Care was airing a 30-second television ad in Washington, D.C., showing top Republicans celebrating the House vote with Trump in the White House Rose Garden. ‘We won’t forget’ appears on a black screen after newscasters intone the bill’s impact, including letting insurers charge higher prices for people with pre-existing medical conditions.” [AP, 5/4]
Bakersfield Californian: A Year Later, Congress’ Attack On Healthcare Consumers Continues. “One year ago, May 4, 2017, is a day that should live in infamy for 14 California Representatives, including Bakersfield’s congressman Kevin McCarthy, who led the effort to shred healthcare protections for their constituents. While key parts of the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and other federal programs ultimately survived, it was only by a margin of a single vote in the U.S. Senate. We should never forget that these irresponsible Representatives voted for the so-called American Health Care Act and against their own constituents and that they continue attempts to undermine our health system… On this anniversary, Californians cannot forget the decisions made by their Congressmembers, or the continued attempts and administrative attacks on our health care. We must not just remember the past, but work to protect our health care into the future.” [Bakersfield Californian, 5/2]
Washington Examiner: Obamacare Allies Attack Gop To Mark Anniversary Of House Repeal Vote. “Obamacare advocacy groups and allies are trying to remind voters ahead of the November midterm elections about the one-year anniversary of the House’s passage of Obamacare repeal. Groups are planning ads, rallies, and other outreach efforts on Thursday and Friday centered around the May 4 anniversary of the House vote… Protect Our Care is holding a series of 18 to 20 events across 13 states Thursday and Friday… The actions come as Democrats and Obamacare allies hope to hammer Republicans for their attempts to repeal Obamacare in the midterms. Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse said that exit polls in several special elections that Democrats won showed healthcare as a top issue.” [Washington Examiner, 5/3]
Athens Messenger: Reflections On The American Health Care Act. “One year ago, on May 4, 2017, the House of Representatives passed the so-called ‘American Health Care Act,’ or AHCA. The health care repeal bill would have cut coverage, increased costs, and eliminated protections for tens of thousands of Ohioans. The bill also would have imposed an ‘age tax,’ letting insurers charge people over 50 times more for coverage, and put the health of one in five Americans on Medicaid — including seniors, children and people with disabilities — in jeopardy… As we remember the devastation that we narrowly escaped thanks to the Senate striking down the House’s AHCA, we must recommit ourselves to fighting for our health care, holding our representatives in Congress accountable, and, come November, voting out of office those who put partisan politics and big donors before us, their constituents.” [Athens Messenger, 5/4]
Huffington Post: For The First Time In An Election Cycle Since Obamacare’s Passage, A Majority Of The Public Now Approves Of The Health Care Law. “One year ago, President Donald Trump and House Republicans gathered in the Rose Garden for a victory ceremony. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) had just shepherded through a bill repealing major parts of the Affordable Care Act, moving them a step closer to their promise of undoing President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement. ‘We don’t have to talk about this unbelievable victory — wasn’t it unbelievable? So we don’t have to say it again. But it’s going to be an unbelievable victory, actually, when we get it through the Senate,’ Trump boasted, standing in front of beaming House members… ‘We see health care as the defining issue of the 2018 midterms,’ said David Bergstein, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. ‘The Republican health care agenda is incredibly toxic with voters of every political persuasion.’ For the first time in an election cycle since Obamacare’s passage, a majority of the public now approves of the health care law. Democrats now have a sizable advantage over the GOP on the issue, and candidates frequently bring up their support for Obamacare while meeting with voters.” [Huffington Post, 5/4]
Des Moines Register: A Year Later, Republicans’ American Health Care Act Is A Nightmare For Small Businesses. “One year ago this week, a majority of the House of Representatives, including representatives Rod Blum, David Young and Steve King, voted for and passed the so-called ‘American Health Care Act,’ or AHCA, an ACA repeal bill that would have cut coverage, increased costs and eliminated protections for more than 100,000 Iowans. They proved that they are willing to play political games with Iowa’s health care, including thousands of small businesses, farmers, entrepreneurs and the self-employed in their very own districts.” [Des Moines Register, 5/4]
The Hill: Say It With Me: Democrats Are The Party Of Health Care. “From looking at the polling, special election outcomes and national sentiment, the answer should be clear to all of us: Democrats are the party of health care… There has been a sea change for ObamaCare in America. Today, the law is favored by 49 percent of Americans and opposed by 41 percent in the Real Clear Politics average. According to Gallup, 56 percent now believe health care is the government’s responsibility, while only 42 percent think it’s not. A Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll even found that 51 percent support single-payer coverage, while 43 percent oppose it… This sentiment takes on special importance because Friday is the one-year anniversary of the Republicans voting to repeal ObamaCare. So when they say ‘MAGA!’ to you, simply reply ‘Health care!’ to them.” [The Hill, 5/3]
East Central Minnesota Sun This Week: “I Will Be Forever Grateful That The Senate Failed To Pass A Bill.” “May 4 is the one-year anniversary of the day the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, including Rep. Jason Lewis, voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. If this bill would have passed Congress, people we know would have lost their coverage through the repeal of the Medicaid expansion. Many people, especially seniors, would have been faced with the uncertainty of premium increases. I will be forever grateful that the Senate failed to pass a bill later in the summer.” [Sun This Week, 5/3]
New York Times: On Anniversary Of House Obamacare Repeal, Democrats Look To Extract A Price. “All told, the House bill would have increased the number of people without health insurance by 14 million this year and by 23 million in 2026, the Congressional Budget Office estimated… Beyond the House repeal bill, Democrats have also developed a broader argument that Republicans have inflicted damage on health insurance markets, partly because of actions taken by the Trump administration to undermine the Affordable Care Act. Just this week, they gained an assist from an unlikely figure: Tom Price, Mr. Trump’s former secretary of health and human services, who said that ending the requirement that most people have coverage, known as the individual mandate, would increase costs for people buying insurance. Helping the Democrats, polls have shown that the Affordable Care Act has gained in popularity since the 2016 elections. In an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll conducted last month, Democrats had an 18-percentage-point edge when people were asked which party they thought would do a better job dealing with health care.” [NYT, 5/2]
Albany Times Union: Ad Campaign Targets Faso, Stefanik & Tenney. “On the anniversary of Congress’ passage of the American Health Care Act, which would have repealed key parts of the Affordable Care Act, the labor union 1199SEIU is launching a radio and print ad campaign to remind local voters of that three New York representatives who supported that version of the bill. The union, in a statement, said that the goal of the campaign is to remind voters of that efforts to sabotage healthcare and Medicaid are still ‘a very real threat.’” [Times Union, 5/4]
USA Today: Democratic Candidates Running On Health Care After GOP Attempts To Repeal Obamacare. “Friday marks the year anniversary of House Republicans’ vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. It was the first vote of a months-long effort from congressional Republicans to get rid of the law. It ultimately failed in the Senate, but it left many Republicans on record voting to remove millions of Americans from the rolls of the insured — and Democrats are hammering them for it. After years of playing defense on health care, Democratic candidates have made it a top issue this election cycle. They are pledging to fix the flaws in Obamacare while targeting Republican attempts to “sabotage” it and take coverage away. And grassroots organizations that protested Republican efforts are keeping up the pressure with events planned around the anniversary. ‘This is going to be a continuing conversation throughout the election,’ said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. ‘I’m seeing this as an issue in every state.’” [USA Today, 5/2]
New Jersey Globe: New Kim Video Hits MacArthur On Health Care Vote. “Democratic congressional candidate Andy Kim is using the one-year anniversary of Rep. Tom MacArthur’s move to repeal Obamacare to launch a new web video ad that slams the GOP congressman for introducing legislation ‘that tried to take away health care for millions of Americans.’ In ‘Holding MacArthur Accountable,’ Kim points to the birth of his son as the moment he decided to run. ‘Last year, the doctor told me and my wife that our baby boy might not be able to make it. We had to prepare ourselves for the fact that he might have a problem that would affect him for the rest of his life,’ Kim says in the ad. ‘I remember turning to my wife and telling her that if our family gets through this, if our baby is born healthy, that I will do whatever I humanely can to hold Tom MacArthur accountable for what he did. That’s why I’m running for Congress.’” [New Jersey Globe, 5/4]
Roll Call: Liberal Groups Release Polls Showing Health Care Could Hurt GOP Incumbents. “A sizable percentage of voters surveyed said they were less likely to support Republican incumbents who voted for the GOP health care bill. More voters surveyed in the districts also approved of the health care law than disapproved. ‘It has been one year since House Republicans proudly voted for health care repeal, and it is clear that their constituents have neither forgotten nor forgiven them,’ Tim Hogan, a spokesman for Health Care Voter, said in a statement.” [Roll Call, 5/4]
Washington, D.C. – The conservative Washington Examiner reports that repeal of the Affordable Care Act “may be closer than you think.” In response, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:
“If it’s a day that ends in Y, Republicans are scheming to take away our health care. Today’s report confirms that Mike Pence and Mitch McConnell will stop at nothing to take us back to the days when insurance companies called the shots. The bill they seek to revive would force millions off coverage, make health care even more expensive, get rid of protections for people with pre-existing conditions, re-implement lifetime coverage caps, and slash Medicaid. Enough is enough – it’s time for the GOP to end its war on our health care.”
Time and opportunity still exist to replace Obamacare. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., ought to make it a priority, and should make clear he is open to pushing through a budget resolution next month to make it happen. It can’t happen without the budget resolution, because that’s the only way they can avoid a bill-killing filibuster and pass the healthcare reform with a bare majority of 50 votes (plus Vice President Mike Pence) in the Senate. I reported in January that a number of conservative groups, under the leadership of former Sen. Rick Santorum, was working hard to craft a new Obamacare replacement that could both pass Congress and work well in the real world. Behind the scenes, those groups (indeed, representatives from a growing number of groups) have continued to meet and tweak their plan, and they seem just a few weeks away from being able to unveil it. When they unveil it, expect a host of such groups to make a concerted effort to rally grassroots support and give courage to House and Senate members to pass it. This is an amazing, even unprecedented project, truly growing up from activists and thinkers rather than being the usual top-down, elected-official-led exercise in sausage-making. I listened in on a March 21 conference call among numerous interested parties, and received further updates within the past week from Santorum. The White House has been quietly but constructively supportive of the project, I am told, and should provide strategic and communications support this time that is well planned, rather than the more seat-of-the-pants effort we all saw last year. Pence, in particular, has been personally engaged. Politically, the now-defunct assessment had been that passing a health-policy overhaul would scare too much of the public in an election year, making it a nonstarter. The growing understanding, though, is that Republicans are already at risk of losing to a “blue wave” this fall anyway, and that bold action to energize conservative grassroots might be the only way to stop the wave. The Left is going to be energized this fall regardless of what Congress does, and those parts of professional suburbia that just won’t vote for Republicans under Trump also aren’t going to become even more anti-GOP than they already are. Indeed, as this is exactly the demographic that suffers the most under Obamacare, it might be slightly less likely, not more, to oppose the GOP if Republicans do actually pass reform. But giving conservative voters a “win” on Obamacare would surely drive up Republican turnout. Substantively, the bill design has evolved since January. It still uses the basic template of last year’s Graham-Cassidy bill, but only in the sense that it would remain a system of block grants to the states. As in January, it still envisions a significant expansion of health savings accounts — indeed, from January’s thought of doubling the existing number of HSAs, the new plan now may quadruple them — and also a guarantee that individuals served by state-government-run plans can opt-out and use the money in private markets instead. A key development, however, has emerged since January. It should help garner the votes of previously recalcitrant Senate Republicans. Under the original Graham-Cassidy bill, the formula for the block grants was seen by some as disfavoring states that already expanded Medicaid coverage under Obamacare. The new formula phases in the grants in a way that ensures those particular states will not see what amounts to short-term cuts in federal funding. This might make the new plan slightly more expensive in the short run, but still well within budgetary parameters, and still better than deficit-neutral. Moreover, the bill’s designers keep tweaking it to produce better risk-mitigation concepts and other ways to keep premiums lower. Politically, the effort got a huge boost when Democrats (ironically) killed efforts to include an Obamacare insurance bailout within the recent budget agreement and spending bills. With that effort dead, key players such as Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., have indicated renewed willingness to go for a “big fix” because their smaller efforts to patch existing law are now dead. In the end, this is not just about budgetary bean-counting or an attempt to gain political bragging rights. This is about better serving patients, giving them more options and making healthcare more affordable. Organizers hope Americans sick of the broken Obamacare system will start calling their members of Congress now, urging them to try again. It’s a worthy undertaking.
Anxiety About Health Care Mounts Due to Destructive Republican Rhetoric
Washington, DC – After new polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation confirmed Americans’ mounting anxiety about Republican health care sabotage, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:
“Despite everything Republicans have thrown at it, the Affordable Care Act still protects every single American with health insurance and connects millions of previously uninsured people with coverage – but you wouldn’t know it listening to Trump and Republicans in Congress. Republicans need to realize that misleading the public, sabotaging the law and spreading fear has real and damaging consequences. Whether you’re a person with a pre-existing condition or the parent of a sick kid, you deserve elected officials who make life easier, not scarier. The constant anxiety Americans now face is yet another hidden cost of Republicans’ relentless repeal-and-sabotage campaign against our health care.”
Key takeaways from the survey:
About half the public overall believes the ACA marketplaces are “collapsing,” including six in ten of those with coverage purchased through these marketplaces. This belief reflects the ongoing uncertainty caused by Republican sabotage and Trump’s divisive rhetoric, but contradicts what the President’s own economic advisors have confirmed about the stability and strength of the individual market.
Because of Republican sabotage, the number of people who are “very worried” or “somewhat worried” that rate hikes will make coverage unaffordable has skyrocketed to 67%, compared with 38% in October 2017.
People are more worried about copays and deductibles – up from 42% to 69%.
People are more worried that insurance companies will stop selling plans – up from 34% to 49%.
People are more worried that there won’t be any plans in their area – up from 33% to 51%.
One-third (34 percent) of shoppers in the individual market say the individual mandate that Republicans repealed was a “major reason” why they chose to buy insurance, and one in ten say they will not buy coverage without it. Research indicates that those most likely to drop coverage are “young invincibles,” who balance the risk pool and act as a downward pressure on premiums. Because of Republicans’ individual mandate repeal, CBO forecasts that average premiums in the nongroup market will increase by 10% in most years of the coming decade.
On the eighth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act being signed into law, Protect Our Care Campaign Chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:
“Eight years after the Affordable Care Act became law, twenty million people have gained coverage; the uninsured rate has been cut in half; and out-of-pocket spending has fallen double digits while medical bankruptcies are becoming more and more rare. Because of the ACA, insurers can no longer deny coverage to the one-in-four Americans with a pre-existing condition or drop coverage due to a yearly or lifetime limit; plans must cover essential health benefits; women cannot be charged more than men; and young adults can stay on their parent’s plan until age 26.
“Today, not only is the ACA more popular than ever, but health care has become a driving factor in elections across the country. The two times Medicaid expansion was on the ballot, in Maine and Oregon, it won overwhelmingly, and voters have cited health care as a top issue, powering Democratic victories in Virginia, New Jersey, Alabama, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. And despite almost a decade of attacks on the law, the American people are more united than ever in favor of expanding access to health care.
“Despite all this, Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans continue their relentless repeal-and-sabotage campaign, raising premiums and out of pocket costs for millions including demanding an age tax for older Americans, taking away protections for people with pre existing conditions, and gutting Medicaid.
“The past eight years have shown just how much progress has been made in the American health care system, and the past year has made clear just how much Americans value the quality, affordable care provided by the ACA. The Affordable Care Act made health care in America immensely better, and we won’t go back.”
In December, Senator Susan Collins voted for a tax bill that will raise health care premiums by double digits and result in millions more uninsured Americans. She asked her constituents to trust her by promising that Congress would pass a bill to fix the insurance markets she voted to throw into disarray. Now she is trying to rewrite history by claiming that she never made that promise. In response to her shocking claim, Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement:
“If Susan Collins thinks she can rewrite history and push a partisan bill that would force more Americans off coverage, allow discrimination against seniors and people with pre-existing conditions, and enshrine Mike Pence’s favorite new anti-choice restriction, she should know better: her constituents simply won’t accept it. Senator Collins should stop spreading tall tales about a partisan bill that would only further destabilize our health care system.”
WHAT SENATOR COLLINS SAYS ABOUT STABILIZATION PROMISE TODAY:
“The idea that this was the one and only issue, and that there was some kind of deal, is not an accurate assessment of what happened.” [The Hill, 3.22.18]
WHAT SENATOR COLLINS SAID ABOUT STABILIZATION PROMISE LAST FALL:
Here’s what she told the Washington Post in December:
That means Collins will have to cast her vote on the tax bill without knowing for certain that commitments made to her will be honored, leading critics to say she’s getting played for a fool.
If she prevails, Collins will have been responsible for the passage of significant legislation that could help make insurance coverage more affordable for tens of thousands of Americans.
And if not?
“I’m counting on the administration to make sure that does not happen,” Collins said in an interview. “I would consider it a very serious breach of a promise to me.”
“I’m pushing to make sure they are passed and signed into law prior to the conference report coming back. So I would know for certain that we’re going to be able to mitigate the impact of repealing the individual mandate.”
AND HOW HER BROKEN PROMISE IS PLAYING:
Today’s editorial in Maine’s newspaper of record: Republicans responsible for looming chaos in health care marketplaces.
“It’s tempting to blame both parties for the latest stalemate, but Republicans own most of this one because they control the process…Collins took a brave stand against repeal of the ACA last summer, but she was on board with the tax bill even though she knew it would have a bad effect on health insurance markets. At the time, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised that Collins’ proposal to offset that disruption would get a vote, but House Speaker Paul Ryan made no such commitment.” [Portland Press Herald, 3/22/18]
Conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin:
“Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) — who was promised in exchange for her vote on the tax bill (that stripped out the individual mandate) measures to reduce Obamacare premium costs — was once again stiffed. Her proposal to restore cost-sharing reduction subsidies and fund state high-risk pools was left out of the omnibus. (As many observed at the time, she was snookered by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.)” [Washington Post, 3.22.18]
Republicans Bear 100% of Responsibility for Avoidable Premium Increases Set to Hit Millions of Middle Class Families This Fall
BEFORE PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SABOTAGE, THE MARKETS WERE STABILIZING
Trump White House Today Admits The Marketplaces Were Stabilizing. “After an initial adjustment period, insurers’ financial health, as measured by their stock prices, surpassed earlier levels … While insurers initially incurred losses in the ACA marketplaces as they adjusted to new regulations and a relatively unhealthy risk pool, insurers are now profiting on the individual market as well.” [CEA, 3/18/18]
In 2017, Congressional Budget Office Reports: ACA Market Is Stable. “The subsidies to purchase coverage combined with the penalties paid by uninsured people stemming from the individual mandate are anticipated to cause sufficient demand for insurance by people with low health care expenditures for the market to be stable.” [Congressional Budget Office, 3/13/17]
In 2017, S&P Global Reports: ACA Market Will Remain Stable So Long As The Trump Administration Is Not “Disruptive.”S&P Global repeatedly reports that “2016 results and the market enrollment so far in 2017 show that the ACA individual market is not in a ‘death spiral.’ However, every time something new (and potentially disruptive) is thrown into the works, it impedes the individual market’s path to stability.” [S&P Global, 4/7/17]
THEN REPUBLICAN REPEAL ATTEMPTS UNDERMINED THE MARKET
Ongoing Republican repeal attempts throughout 2017 created uncertainty that insurance companies said forced them to hike premiums: “Obamacare markets are undergoing a slow-motion meltdown as Republicans stoke a climate of uncertainty while struggling to agree on their own plan for overhauling American health care.” [Politico, 6/8/17]
AND IF THAT WASN’T ENOUGH, PRESIDENT TRUMP STARTED TO SABOTAGE THE MARKETS, WHILE REPUBLICANS ON THE HILL DID NOTHING TO STOP IT
On October 13, 2017, President Trump Ended Cost Sharing Reductions (CSRs), Payments To Insurers That Help Lower Income Americans Afford Health Coverage In The ACA Marketplace. [Washington Post, 10/13/17]
Kaiser Family Foundation: Lack Of CSR Payments Resulted In Surcharge In Premiums Of 7.1 To 38 Percent. “As shown in Table 1, among those insurers that specify the surcharge on silver plans for the discontinuation of CSR payments, the amount of the surcharge ranges from 7.1% to 38%.” [KFF, 10/27/17]
THEN CONGRESS PASSED A TAX CUT FOR THE WEALTHY AND CORPORATIONS THAT ALSO RAISED PREMIUMS AND WILL TAKE COVERAGE AWAY FROM MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
Last December, Congressional Republicans Passed A Tax Bill That Strips 13 Million Of Insurance And Raises Premiums By Double Digits. “The Senate bill’s repeal of the individual mandate (the requirement that most people get health coverage or pay a penalty) would cause 13 million more people to become uninsured, raising the uninsured rate among the non-elderly from 11 percent to about 16 percent, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates. It also would raise premiums by an average of 10 percent in the individual market by 2027, according to CBO.” [CBPP, 12/8/17]
Urban Institute Predicts Near 20 Percent Premium Increases Next Year And Millions Of Americans Losing Coverage Due To The Repeal Provision In The Tax Law And Trump Sabotage. According to a study by the non-partisanUrban Institute, Republican health care sabotage is set to artificially inflate premiums by double digits for millions of families this fall. The study forecasts an 18.2% increase in 2019 premiums for Affordable Care Act plans and millions of Americans losing their coverage because the Trump and Congress repealed the individual mandate and the Trump Administration’s proposal to sell junk plans that do not meet ACA requirements. [Urban Institute, 3/14/18]
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS BROKE THEIR PROMISE TO PASS A STABILIZATION BILL IN 2017
After Being Promised To Have A Stabilization Bill As Part Of The Tax Bill, Sens. Alexander And Collins Issued A Statement Saying They Asked Sen. McConnell To Postpone Stabilization Until 2018. ‘Rather than considering a broad year-end funding agreement as we expected, it has become clear that Congress will only be able to pass another short-term extension to prevent a government shutdown and to continue a few essential programs,’ said the Senators. ‘For this reason, we have asked Senator McConnell not to offer this week our legislation which independent analysts Avalere and Oliver-Wyman say would reduce premiums by about 20 percent for the 9 million Americans who have no government subsidies to help them buy insurance in the individual market. Instead, we will offer it after the first of the year when the Senate will consider the omnibus spending bill, the Children’s Health Insurance Program reauthorization, funding for Community Health Centers, and other legislation that was to have been enacted this week.’” [Alexander and Collins Statement, 12/20/17]
HOUSE REPUBLICANS INDICATED THEY WOULDN’T SUPPORT STABILIZATION
Speaker Ryan Opposed Efforts To Stabilize The ACA Dating Back To October 2017. Last October, Ryan spokesman, Doug Andres, said, “The speaker does not see anything that changes his view that the Senate should keep its focus on the repeal and replace of Obamacare.” [Matt Fuller, Huffington Post Reporter, 10/18/17]
House Conservatives Called Alexander-Murray Stabilization Bill A “Nonstarter.” “House conservatives appear united in opposition to the health care stabilization proposal crafted by Sens. Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray. ‘Right now it’s a nonstarter,’ House Freedom Caucus member Dave Brat said Tuesday during a Conversations with Conservatives press event.” [Roll Call, 10/24/17]
Rep. Tom Cole: “The Idea You’re Going To Vote For Billions Of Dollars To Stabilize A System You Never Supported In The First Place — Pretty Hard To Choke Down.” “In addition to the dispute over abortion language, GOP lawmakers were reluctant to sign off on provisions that shored up the Affordable Care Act, a law they all opposed. ‘Nobody in that room voted for Obamacare, so the idea you’re going to vote for billions of dollars to stabilize a system you never supported in the first place — pretty hard to choke down,’ said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.).” [Washington Post,3/19/18]
PRESIDENT TRUMP AND SPEAKER RYAN REPEATEDLY TRIED TO DERAIL STABILIZATION NEGOTIATIONS BY ADDING MORE CONSERVATIVE DEMANDS
September 2017: “House Speaker Paul Ryan And The White House Have Informed Senate Republican Leaders That They Oppose A Bipartisan Plan To Stabilize Obamacare Being Written In The Senate.” “House Speaker Paul Ryan and the White House have informed Senate Republican leaders that they oppose a bipartisan plan to stabilize Obamacare being written in the Senate, according to Trump administration and congressional sources, in a clear bid to boost the Senate’s prospects of repealing the health law.” [Politico, 9/19/17]
March 2018: The White House Released A List Of Conservative, Deal-breaking Demands To Stabilization. In the middle of bipartisan negotiations on stabilization, the White House released a list of its conservative demands, including:
Expanding the Hyde abortion language
Codifying the Administration’s Short-Term proposal into law that undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions
Expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) that is essentially another tax cut for the wealthy
Imposing an age tax on older Americans by letting insurers charge people over 50 five times more than younger people. [White House Document, obtained by Politico, 3/8/18]
The Hill: White House pushes for conservative changes to ObamaCare fix
Politico: White House pitch to bolster Obamacare includes tough trade-offs for Democrats
Wall Street Journal: Trump Administration Pushes Conservative Goals in Health-Care Market Changes
Vox: The White House might have just blown up the last best hope to stabilize Obamacare
Talking Points Memo: White House Demands Threaten Bipartisan Effort To Bring Down Health Premiums
NOW, THE LATEST REPUBLICAN STABILIZATION PLAN THREATENS PRE EXISTING CONDITIONS AND ESSENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS
AND, REPUBLICANS ADDED A PARTISAN POISON PILL THEY KNEW WOULD TORPEDO BIPARTISAN STABILIZATION NEGOTIATIONS
Statements
Sen. Patty Murray: “They’re Moving Further And Further Away From Their Original Goal.” “We’re not going to give them an expansion of Hyde and say that’s a goal we all agree to…They’re moving further and further away from their original goal, which was to make sure people have lower costs and access.” [Washington Post, 3/8/18]
Sen. Patty Murray: “They Keep Throwing Obstacles In.” “If we would just go back to the basic premise here and do what we all agreed to do, we’d be able to get this done.” [Washington Post, 3/8/18]
Speaker Paul Ryan Refuses To Introduce Stabilization Without Restricting Women’s Access To Health Care. “House Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.) told his GOP conference at a Tuesday meeting that he wouldn’t bring the measures to the floor without accompanying language known as the Hyde Amendment, ensuring taxpayer dollars can’t go toward plans that cover abortions.” [Washington Post, 3/8/18]
Headlines
Washington Examiner: House Republicans seek anti-abortion protections in Obamacare stabilization bills
Huffington Post: Another Obamacare Stabilization Bill Is In Trouble, This Time Because Of Abortion
BY REFUSING TO ADDRESS THEIR OWN SABOTAGE WITH BIPARTISAN STABILIZATION, REPUBLICANS NOW BEAR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONSEQUENCES
Lindsey Graham: Republicans “Own The Outcome” On Health Care. “Sen. Graham told Breitbart News, ‘In October, premiums are going up. Obamacare cannot be fixed. It’s going to continue to collapse, and then, we own the outcome. By repealing the individual mandate, which is a step forward in the eyes of the public, we own the issue. We have a responsibility to do something about the collapsing Obamacare system. I believe that we’re going to get blamed more than Democrats because we stopped trying to repeal Obamacare, and to suggest that we don’t own it is just simply politically naive.’ Graham continued, ‘It can hurt us in 2018. It can hurt by our base feeling like we betrayed them. It can hurt us from people suffering from Obamacare, like we don’t have a solution. It will energize Democrats. It can undercut everything we did on the tax cut side.'” [Breitbart, 2/6/18]
Rep. Charlie Dent: Republicans “Own” Health Care Now. “Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) argued Friday that President Trump was ‘ill-advised’ to end key ObamaCare payments, warning that the GOP now ‘owns’ whatever happens to ObamaCare. ‘I think the president is ill-advised to take this course of action because … we, the Republican Party, will own this,’ Dent, a key House moderate who is retiring from Congress at the end of his term, said on CNN. Asked about Trump’s previous comments blaming problems with ObamaCare on former President Barack Obama, Dent pointed out that Republicans currently control the White House and have majorities in both chambers of Congress. ‘Barack Obama is a former president. President Trump is the president and he’s a Republican, and we control the Congress,’ Dent said. ‘So we own the system now. We’re going to have to figure out a way to stabilize this situation … This is on us.'” [The Hill, 10/13/17]
Washington Post: “The Pottery Barn Rule Comes To Mind: You Break It, You Own It.” “This is not ‘letting’ Obamacare fail. Many nonpartisan experts believe that these active measures are likely to undermine the pillars of the 2010 law and hasten the collapse of the marketplaces. The Pottery Barn rule comes to mind: You break it, you own it. Yes, the plate you just shattered had some cracks in it. But if you dropped it on the ground, the store is going to blame you.” [Washington Post, 10/13/17]
Washington Post: “Trump’s Not Going To Be Able To Avoid Blame For Kneecapping Obamacare.” [Washington Post, 10/13/17]
“After Months Of Pinning The Blame For Obamacare’s Shortcomings On Democrats And Watching His Own Party Fail To Act, President Donald Trump Just Took Ownership Of A Struggle That’s Consumed Republicans For Seven Years.” “After months of pinning the blame for Obamacare’s shortcomings on Democrats and watching his own party fail to act, President Donald Trump just took ownership of a struggle that’s consumed Republicans for seven years. Trump’s decision late Thursday to end government subsidies to insurers to help lower-income Americans afford to use their coverage under the Affordable Care Act was the most drastic step he’s taken to undermine his predecessor’s signature achievement. It also lobbed a live bomb into the laps of Republicans lawmakers 13 months before congressional elections after he publicly berated the party’s Senate leadership for being unable to keep a longstanding promise to repeal the law.” [Bloomberg, 10/13/17]
The American People Agree: President Trump And Congressional Republicans Are Playing Politics With People’s Health Care. A poll conducted last September found that 61 percent of voters believed President Trump was “trying to make the Affordable Care Act fail,” and 64 percent of voters said Trump is “playing politics with people’s health care.” The poll also found that the American people seriously disapprove of how Republicans in Congress are treating health care: 80 percent of voters disapprove while only 20 percent approve. [Garin Poll, 9/5/17]
Let’s be clear about one thing, except for perhaps a handful of Republicans (and perhaps not even that many) Republicans don’t care one iota about stabilizing the Affordable Care Act (which only needs stabilizing because of their very own sabotage). As a party, their operating theory has been to destroy the law for eight years and to believe that they now want to make it work better is pure fancy.
This whole thing has been a GOP led sham. Remember, the whole notion of a stabilization bill was dead late last year until they needed Susan Collins’ vote for the tax scam bill which ripped away health care from millions to fund tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations. Collins is a Republican and was always going to vote for the tax bill – but she needed cover to vote for a bill that ripped away coverage and spiked premiums for millions of Americans. She got it in the form of a promise to pass legislation to stabilize the markets – a promise we said from the beginning Republican’s would never keep. We used to say that Collins got played by a desperate leadership which needed her vote for the only piece of major legislation they had a prayer of passing in 2017, but she’s been in Washington 30 years, she knew this was never going to happen – or, at a minimum, should have known.
Fast forward to today. Republicans have seen the studies – they know their sabotage is going to massively spike premiums and threaten coverage – but they hate the ACA – always have – and broadly speaking have no interest in helping it survive. They also know they need to provide cover to Collins because given the margins in the Senate they still need her vote on close bills. So they put forward a bill that they know Democrats won’t support – which all but codifies junk plans, sets the stage for high risk pools and imposes unacceptable restrictions on abortion – a classic poison pill if there ever was one. And they’ll force a vote on this bill separate from the omnibus because they know it will fail – which is what they want – and then they will blame Democrats for what ensues in the market and try to claim they would have fixed it. That’s complete and utter horse manure and no reporter, editorial writer or voter should buy the GOP’s crocodile tears over the failure of their so-called stabilization bill.
My mother taught me growing up that when in doubt consider the source. Republicans are going to claim that THEY are the ones who want to stabilize OBAMACARE and that Democrats stood in the way? Give me a break.
