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

Nov. 29, 2017 CO Health Policy Coalition Update:

"Congress has returned from Thanksgiving with a long to-do list and a short timeline for action. This article from The Hill does a nice job summarizing the various issues that competing for attention and action before the end of the year (which is only about 15 working days for members of Congress). The list includes: government funding, tax reform, health care and immigration.

The topic most directly relevant to the work of this coalition is the Senate proposal to eliminate the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, which is embedded in the Senate tax reform bill. That measure passed the Senate Budget Committee with unanimous Republican support yesterday. It remains unclear if Senate Republicans have the necessary support among their caucus to pass the measure on the floor, but negotiations are underway to win support from holdouts. One of those key Republican Senators is Susan Collins of Maine who is seeking a deal to include policies aimed at stabilizing the health care markets in return for her support of the tax bill. A vote of the full Senate could come as early as Thursday. If that happens, the House and Senate would then need to reconcile their bills before sending a measure to President Trump. You can read coverage of the progress of the tax bill, including specifics on the provision to repeal of the individual mandate, from the news outlet of your choice, including: Reuters, Washington Post, The Hill, Politico. Links to resources analyzing the potential impacts of mandate repeal are available below my signature line. 

The provision to eliminate the individual mandate has been met with strong opposition from most health care stakeholder groups, including hospitals, physicians, health plans and consumer advocacy organizations. Many organizations have sent letters and / or released Action Alerts and other tools to make it easier to weigh in with their Senators on this issue. Here are links to a few example letters and Action Alerts you can access if you and / or your organization want to weigh in on this issue today or tomorrow. 

Letter from Physician, Hospital & Health Plan Groups

Statement from American Public Health Association

Statement from Families USA

Action Alert from Healthier Colorado 

Action Alert from CO Center on Law and Policy

Analysis of Mandate Repeal Impacts: 

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that repealing the mandate will: 

--reduce the number of insured Americans by 13 million, 

--drive up insurance premiums for individuals by as much as 10 percent and

--reduce federal spending by $338 billion over 10 years.

Analysis released in the L.A. Times on Monday, shows how repealing the individual mandate would further reduce access to coverage and drive up costs in rural communities in particular. The article includes a number of interesting maps which illustrate the potential impact in western Colorado.

The Center for Budget Policy and Priorities released a memo analyzing the potential implications if repeal of the individual mandate moves forward along with market stabilization policies including those contained in the Alexander-Murray proposal. "

Protect our Care Colorado Coalition Update:

"Protect Health Care from the GOP Tax Heist!

The Senate could vote this week on a tax bill that will leave low-income and middle-class Americans worse off and gut health care programs! The House has passed their version of this terrible bill, which means we must now fight to stop it in the Senate. While Americans were enjoying time with family and friends over the holiday, the Senate GOP has continued to push their tax bill forward. While there are some differences between the House and Senate bills, the overarching impact is very similar. The Senate tax bill cuts taxes for the wealthiest 1% and big multinational corporations permanently, harms low-income and middle-class families over time, and adds $1.4 trillion to the deficit over 10 years. We know from the GOP budget that they plan to pay for this increase in deficit by gutting Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion, Medicare by over $400 billion, and slashing other programs that hard-working American families rely on. The Senate GOP tax bill also includes repeal of the ACA's individual responsibility provision, which will lead to double-digit premium spikes every year and 13 million fewer Americans having health insurance. We need your help to send Senator Cory Gardner a clear message that this bill is bad for Coloradans. This tax heist:

• Will lead to even more disastrous cuts to health care than we've seen in the devastating Republican health care repeal bills that failed due to enormous public pressure.
• Will disproportionately benefit millionaires and large profitable corporations, not small businesses or the middle-class.
  • 80% of the tax cuts go to the top 1% and big corporations
• Will devastate Colorado's state budget and lead to cuts in state programs and services that help families get by and get ahead.

The Congressional Budget Office just released their analysis of the bill. You can read more about that here. You can also read the recent editorial from the Denver Post that calls out this bill for being what it is, a lie.

Call our Senators and tell them to oppose this tax scam!
Senator Gardner-Denver:(303)391-5777 DC: (202) 224-5941

Senator Bennet-Denver:(303)455-7600 DC: (202) 224- 5852

Social Media: We are using the hashtags #TrumpTaxScam, #GOPTaxPlan, #GOPTaxScam, and #NotOnePenny to talk about the tax bill.

• @SenCoryGardner Oppose the #GOPTaxPlan that leaves 13 million more uninsured, increases deficit by $1.5 trillion, gives the wealthiest big tax cut while hurting the middle class #TrumpTaxScam
• @SenCoryGardner The ACA provides 600K Coloradans with quality health insurance. Fix it, don’t repeal  through #TrumpTaxScam
• @SenCoryGardner Don't increase the deficit, give 80% of tax cuts to top 1%, or gut the ACA/Medicaid/Medicare to pay for it. #VoteNo on #GOPTaxPlan
• Health care cuts shouldn't be used in the GOP tax heist to cut taxes for the wealthiest 1%, sticking middle-class Americans and future generations with a $1.5 trillion bill over 10 years. #VoteNo on #GOPTaxScam @SenCoryGardner
• @SenCoryGardner You've said you don't want to increase the deficit. Prove it and #VoteNo on #GOPTaxScam. Don't use health care cuts to pay for tax cuts for millionaires.
• @SenCoryGardner Voting for "skinny" repeal in the #GOPTaxScam will raise premiums on Coloradans and leave thousands without insurance. #VoteNo."