What's next at the national level with health care?

Congress is currently in recess but that doesn't mean efforts relative to national health care reform aren't still happening! Although we don't know what will happen next its still a great time to reach out to our elected officials and let them know what you think. Click here to visit the Protect our Care Campaign where you can find ways to engage including events, speaking points, contact info, etc.

The Colorado Health Policy Coalition recently shared these thoughts on the efforts in DC:

'Meanwhile, here is some of what is being said and written about next steps with health reform:

Senate Rs Leave Health Care to the House – On March 28, both Senators Mitch McConnell and John Thune made comments indicating that the Senate would not take up health care reform until the House Republicans came to agreement on a bill that worked for them. Read coverage of these comments from The Hill. Despite this, Senator Mike Lee of Utah published a blog post on Monday in the conservative outlet The Daily Signal calling for continued focus on health reform, saying in part: “If we want to get this policy right—and we owe it to the country to try—then it would be a dereliction of duty to give up on health care reform after just over two weeks of trying.”

Pelosi / Schumer Send Letter to Trump – On March 30, Democrat leaders from the House and Senate sent a joint letter to President Trump urging a focus on enforcing and fixing the Affordable Care Act. Read the letter here.

Wonks Weigh In – A number of health policy experts and pundits have weighed in over the last week about possible next steps and bi-partisan paths forward. They include:

·      Harris Meyer for Vital Signs, Modern Health Care’s blog (March 27),

·      Sara Collins and David Blumenthal for To The Point, The Commonwealth Fund’s blog (March 31),

·      Julie Rovner for Kaiser Health News (April 4),

·      Billy Wynne for Health Affairs Blog (April 4)"