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

The Senate Republicans introduced Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) last Thursday! Learn more:

Colorado Health Institute - Questions and Answers About the Better Care Reconciliation Act

The latest from the Colorado Health Policy Coalition:

"If anyone tells you they know what is going to happen next in the federal health care debate, don’t believe them. By now you all know that Senate Republicans made the decision yesterday afternoon to delay a vote on their proposal until after the July 4th Holiday. Lacking the votes to pass their proposal and the time to negotiate amendments ahead of the break, Republican leadership opted to forego their planned vote this week in favor of trying to garner necessary support to pass the measure in July. Here are links to a few stories on where we stand in the process.

• Senate GOP yanks Obamacare repeal bill, Politico, June 27 
• Short on Backers, GOP delays vote on health bill, Wall Street Journal (subscription required), June 27 
• Trump, Senate leaders attempt to regroup after postponing vote to overhaul Obamacare, Washington Post, June 27 

Also yesterday:
· Leading Colorado health care providers gathered at the State Capitol to express their concerns about the Senate process and proposal and released polling data re: Colorado opinions on the federal health debate.
· Colorado’s Governor John Hickenlooper played a leading role among a bi-partisan group of Governors calling for a re-write of the Senate bill. Their event in Washington DC yesterday garnered a lot of attention. It will be interesting to see what role Governors could play in helping to craft the next iteration of federal legislation. For more speculation on the role of Governors in this debate, check out this article from The Hill.

This saga is far from over. We’ll keep you updated with new information as we get it."

The latest from the Protect our Care Colorado Campaign:

"Vote postponed—more time to act!

The Senate vote has been postponed until after the July 4th recess.

Your actions to oppose this legislation are working, giving us more time to weigh in.

Today, Senator McConnell postponed the vote on the Senate version of the health care legislation until after the weeklong July 4th recess. Yesterday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office revealed what we all know—that the Senate repeal and replace effort will be very bad for Colorado. Twenty-two million Americans stand to lose coverage under the Senate version of the bill.

The so-called Better Care Reconciliation Act (Senate version of the AHCA):

• Repeals support for out of pocket expenses for low and moderate income families;
• Decreases the value of the health plans offered to people who purchase health insurance on their own, therefore, increasing out of pocket expenses;
• Penalizes older people by allowing insurance companies to charge older people 5 times more than younger people and by increasing the amount seniors have to pay for their premiums to over 16% of their income; and
• Makes deep cuts to Medicaid, threatening care for children, seniors and people with disabilities.  

Contact your Senators! 

Tell them to reject the Senate Healthcare Bill and protect Coloradans with pre-exisitng conditions! 

Senator Gardner

Denver: (303) 391-5777

DC: (202) 224-5941

Email Senator Gardner

Senator Bennet 

Denver: (303) 455-7600

DC: (202) 224-5852

Email Senator Bennet

Don't worry—here are couple draft emails for you if you're stuck! 

Draft #1

Dear ____,

My name is ____ and I live in ____, Colorado. I am emailing to urge you to oppose the repeal of the ACA and the proposed Republican Plan. The bill would result in 22 million people losing their insurance, and make coverage less accessible and more costly. Real lives are at stake, and the replacement plan is irresponsible and harmful.

Best,

(Your name here)

Draft #2

Dear ____,

My name is ____ and I live in ____, Colorado.  I am emailing to urge you to not support the Republican Healthcare bill. (Insert personal healthcare story here). Congress must ensure Coloradans like me don't lose healht insurance, experience higher costs, or have their plans cancelled. 

Sincerely, 

(Your name here)

Join us on social media! 

• Use social media to tell our Senators to reject repeal and protect health care for Coloradans! Tag@SenCoryGardner and @SenBennetCO

• Sample Tweets: 
  • .@SenCoryGardner Vote no on #BCRA. We can't afford higher costs & cuts in coverage just to give the rich another tax break. #ProtectOurCare
  • .@SenBennetCO The #ACA has helped 600K Coloradans get health insurance, thanks for your work to #RejectRepeal #ProtectOurCare

• Use this sample graphic: 

Attend an event! 

• Rally—Senator Gardner: Our Healthcare Need over Millionaire Greed—this Wednesday, June 28th, at11:00am at Senator Gardner's Denver office. 

• Candlelight Vigil—Standing Up for Health Care: Candlelight Vigil—this Wednesday, June 28th, at 8:00pmat the Colorado State Capitol. 

Take a deeper dive! 

• This week there is a national focus on substance use disorders (SUDs) and the impact that cuts to Medicaid could have  on the ability to help treat SUDs like opiod addiction. Community Catalyst is hosting aTwitter chat this week to discuss: 

• Here's some sample social media posts to use:
  • #Medicaid cuts will not be tolerated. Treatment saves lives. #ProtectSUDServices
  • Don’t turn back the clock on my #essentialhealthbenefits #ProtectOurCare #ProtectSUDServices
  • Emergency opioid response funding is no replacement for reliable health care coverage #ProtectSUDServices

• Here are a few SUD resources:
  • Colorado Health Institute paper demonstrating the extent of the opioid crisis in Colorado.
  • New op-ed from Mental Health Colorado's Andrew Romanoff"

Latest from CO Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF)

Senior Dental News Bulletin - June 2017
CICP Communicates - May 30, 2017

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

The Colorado Health Policy Coalition met last week and shared this via email after the gathering:

"Thanks to the more than 60 of you who joined us yesterday for our panel discussion on Medicaid in the context of federal health reform. And huge thanks to our excellent panelists, Sue Birch, Jeff Bontrager, Joan Henneberry and Bill Lindsay, for sharing their time, insights and expertise with us. As follow up from the meeting, attached please find:

·      High level summary notes of the panelists’ comments

·      Jeff Bontrager’s slide presentation

·      Colorado Medicaid and CHIP handouts from the CO Department of Health Care Policy and Financing

Additionally, here are a few other resources that were referenced in remarks made in the meeting and / or relevant to the conversation:

·      “Medicaid is too expensive not to cut and too critical to decimate,” Denver Post Editorial, May 29, 2017

·      “The Senate’s Medicaid Moment,” Wall Street Journal Editorial (subscription required), June 6, 2017

·      Medicaid in Small Towns and Rural America: A lifeline for Children, Families and Communities, Georgetown Center for Children and Families and University of North Carolina NC Rural Health Research Program, June 2017

·      Urban Institute report on how Medicaid spending disparities among states is problematic for a per capita cap approach, September 2016

·      “With or without Washington, states are already remaking Medicaid,” Politico, June 12, 2017

Clearly there are both political and policy questions that face us: how do we best engage in the political discussions happening in Congress and at the US Department of Health and Human Services to help shape federal policy change? How do we best engage in efforts locally to prepare Colorado for whatever lies ahead? We clearly heard from the panelists a need for engagement in both arenas – political and policy.

We’ll be working with the CHPC’s informal steering committee on next steps, including a new sign-on letter for the broad coalition. We will also continue monitoring the situation in Washington and providing email updates on the rapidly changing landscape there. And, as always, we are here to serve as a resource for your organization’s individual advocacy efforts. As a reminder, we have fact sheets, profiles stories of Coloradans from different parts of the state who would be impacted by changes to various provisions of the Affordable Care Act and are happy to help answer questions, track down data and / or connect you with other organizations in the coalition that may share your priorities. Please don’t hesitate to reach out.

For those of you feeling a sense of urgency to engage our U.S. Senators to express your opposition the American Health Care Act (the bill passed in the US House) and/or specifically the proposed changes to Medicaid, please check in with the Protect Our Care Colorado coalition, a local coalition of primarily consumer advocacy groups being led by the CO Consumer Health Initiative (CCHI). For more information about or to get involved with Protect Our Care CO, contact CCHI Executive Director, Adela Flores-Brennan."

Latest from CO Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF)

• SIM newsletter - June 2017
• Medicaid Primary Care Payment Reform - "The Primary Care Alternative Payment Methodology webinar and handouts are on the Department's Primary Care Payment Reform website. On the website you will find a link to the recorded webinar from May 24th, performance and structural measures, timelines, and a lot more information. We will continue to update the website and notify you through this email address of when more detailed information is posted online."
• CCHAP Practice Manager Newsletter - June 14, 2017 (Includes great information from HCPF!)

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

The Colorado Health Policy Coalition shared this on Tuesday:

"While the U.S. Senate is out of session for its Memorial Day recess this week, word is that they have started drafting their health care bill. No formal timetable for introduction of the bill has been released, but it is rumored that the Senate could have a draft bill to share as early as next week.
Updated CBO Analysis of AHCA

As we shared with you last week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released an updated analysis of the American Health Care Act, as passed by the House. Here are a few good pieces on the new report:

10 Key Points from the CBO Report on Obamacare Repeal, Politico, May 24
New CBO AHCA Estimate, Health Affairs Blog, May 25
CBO Score Underlines GOP Tensions on Obamacare Repeal, The Hill, May 26
New AHCA CBO Report Changes Very Little, Forbes, May 30"


Have you checked out the resources to get active through the Protect Our Care Colorado campaign (a coalition managed by the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative)? The campaign shared this yesterday:

"The U.S. Senate is negotiating their version of the bill. These backroom negotiations on the future of our health care are being held by a group of conservative and moderate Republican Senators, including Colorado's Senator Cory Gardner.

This means Coloradans have a key role to play in whether this repeal effort continues or what form it takes in the Senate, but because the negotiations are taking place in secret, we don't yet know what the Senate is actually considering. Call Cory Gardner to demand transparency and ask him to protect Colorado’s health care.

Keep Calling our Senators!

Tell them to reject repeal and protect Coloradans with pre-existing conditions!

Senator Gardner -  Denver: (303) 391-5777 DC: (202) 224-594

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

Want to do something beside making calls and sending emails?

Consider submitting a letter-to-the-editor to a newspaper in your area. Here's a quick guide you can use.

Updated Messaging on Medicaid cuts in the AHCA:

Rural:
Many healthcare providers -- especially rural hospitals -- will be forced to close as a result of these cuts. These cuts will be a disaster for Colorado’s rural communities and rural Coloradans will have less access to the care they need, when they need it.

Seniors:
Medicaid helps seniors pay for nursing home care and long-term care services in their home that Medicare does not cover. With a quickly growing older population in Colorado, this is important to Colorado’s overall health.

Children and Families:
Children who have Medicaid are more likely to attend school, graduate from high school and attend college than those who are uninsured. Cutting Medicaid will make it harder for children to succeed.

Economic Stability:
Congress wants to pass the buck and shift the costs to states and middle-class working families, all while giving a tax break to the very wealthy. This is not a solution. The costs are still there, and Colorado can’t afford to pick up the tab.

State Flexibility:
Medicaid is very flexible now for Colorado. The program allows our state to make decisions around eligibility, benefits, premiums, and cost-sharing, as well as provider payment. Colorado is efficient and innovative with Medicaid dollars.

Opioid Epidemic:
Medicaid is critical to fighting the opioid epidemic. Gutting Medicaid will disrupt addiction treatment coverage for millions of Americans and hinder states’ ability to fight this crisis.

Market Stability:
Without Medicaid, the private insurance market and Medicare will not work. Medicaid is a critical part of our healthcare system as a whole.

There are other ways to take action today. Please share with your networks and friends:

If you have 2 minutes: 

• Use Social media to tell our Senators to reject repeal and protect Coloradans with pre-existing conditions!. Tag @SenCoryGardner, @SenBennetCO. 
• Share this story about Linda and Javi, two people who depend on medicaid: Medicaid gives Linda and Javi hope for the future. Watch their story & tell Congress #HandsOff Medicaid https://youtu.be/WIok-WC3CEE
• Share Healthier Colorado’s Ad asking Senator Cory Gardner to Protect our Health Care:https://healthiercolorado.org/ahca-ad/

If you have 15 minutes: 

• Share your story. Stories are powerful and sharing them is making a difference. 

If you have an hour: Show up in person! 

• Pay your respects to the end of health care: March to tell Cory Gardner his agenda is a death sentence for Colorado http://bit.ly/2rld2h4
• Organize or Join Actions with Allies PPFA, MoveOn and Indivisible. You can find an event below to join or organize your own. These events are listed on a central website and you can find them here: ResistanceNearMe.org. 

Join Us: The Protect Our Care Colorado Campaign is growing! Other organizations can join online here."

Latest from CO Dept. of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF)

• At a Glance - May 2017
• CICP Communicates - May 30, 2017
• Medicaid Primary Care Payment Reform - "The Primary Care Alternative Payment Methodology webinar and handouts are on the Department's Primary Care Payment Reform website. On the website you will find a link to the recorded webinar from May 24th, performance and structural measures, timelines, and a lot more information. We will continue to update the website and notify you through this email address of when more detailed information is posted online."