Here’s what doctors and patient advocates think about the Republican healthcare bill
The Obamacare replacement plan is headed for a vote in the House on Thursday afternoon.
That’s after some changes have been made to the American Health Care Act, the bill that aims to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
The bill now includes a new addition, called the MacArthur amendment. The amendment would allow states to receive waivers to avoid some of the regulations set up under the ACA. And on Wednesday, Rep. Fred Upton introduced an amendment that allowed for $8 billion in funding to protect people who are sick in the case that those waivers are triggered.
The two amendments have led to dozens of patient advocacy groups and physician groups to speak out.
10 patient advocacy groups —”There is no substitute for fundamental, unequivocal protections for people with pre-existing conditions.”
On Wednesday, in response to Upton’s amendment to the bill, 10 patient groups sent a release stating their opposition to the new amendment and the bill as a whole:
“Despite the Upton amendment, we remain strongly opposed to the American Health Care Act and urge Congress to consider the people at the heart of this decision,” the groups said in a statement. “The various patchwork solutions offered by lawmakers would still leave the millions of patients we represent, who have serious and chronic health conditions, at risk of not being able to access life-saving treatments and care.”
“There is no substitute for fundamental, unequivocal protections for people with pre-existing conditions.”
The groups included the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the American Diabetes Association, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, March of Dimes, the National Organization for Rare Disorders, the National MS Society, and WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease.
American Academy of Pediatrics — “The current version makes an already bad bill even worse for children and families.”
The organization, which represents 66,000 pediatricians, originally cited changes to the Medicaid program as the reason why it couldn’t support the bill.
“As Congress began considering changes to the ACA and Medicaid, the message from America’s pediatricians was clear: any changes to the ACA cannot erode the progress we have made in reducing child uninsurance. Unfortunately, the AHCA does not meet this test and the AAP opposes it as currently drafted,” the AAP wrote in a letter in March.
On May 1, the organization reiterated its position.
“Pediatricians have been voicing our opposition to the AHCA since it was initially introduced, and the current version makes an already bad bill even worse for children and families,” the AAP said in a statement.
The AAP was also one of six physician groups that sent a letter to Congress in April opposing the bill, along with the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Osteopathic Association, and the American Psychiatric Association.
American Medical Association — “Nothing in the MacArthur amendment remedies the
shortcomings of the underlying bill.”
The biggest group of doctors in the US doubled down on its opposition to the AHCA.
“We are deeply concerned that the AHCA would result in millions of Americans losing their current health insurance coverage. Nothing in the MacArthur amendment remedies the shortcomings of the underlying bill,” the AMA said in a letter to Congress on Thursday.
The organization previously said it wouldn’t support the bill’s plans to roll back Medicaid expansion or the repeal of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which helps fund the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Regarding the new amendment, the AMA’s concerns centered around individuals who have preexisting conditions, who might find their healthcare coverage unaffordable.
American Nurses Association — “The new bill is an even further departure from our principles.”
The American Nurses Association originally opposed the bill, in part because of the rollback on Medicaid expansion and the defunding of the Prevention and Public Health Fund.
“In its current form, the bill changes Medicaid to a per capita cap funding model, eliminates the Prevention and Public Health Fund, restricts millions of women from access to critical health services, and repeals income based subsidies that millions of people rely on. These changes in no way will improve care for the American people,” the organization wrote in a letter March letter.
The group’s president tweeted on Thursday, calling the bill “worse than before.”
The new bill is an even further departure from our principles; endangers consumer protections put into place by the ACA #ProtectOurCare http://pic.twitter.com/UXB94Gdlps
— ANA President (@ANAPresident) April 27, 2017
American College of Physicians — “We continue to urge that Congress move away from the fundamentally flawed and harmful policies that would result from the American Health Care Act.”
The organization, which represents 148,000 internal-medicine physicians and medical students, sent another letter in opposition to the bill.
The College strongly believes in the first, do no harm principle,” the organization wrote in a letter Monday. “Therefore, we continue to urge that Congress move away from the fundamentally flawed and harmful policies that would result from the American Health Care Act and from the changes under consideration—including the proposed ‘Limited Waiver’ amendment—that would make the bill even worse for patients.”
When the AHCA was originally released, the ACP had worried that those with preexisting conditions, while still technically covered, may not be able to afford coverage under the AHCA.
“We urge you to oppose the American Health Care Act because it would weaken key gains in coverage and consumer protections and lead to fewer people having access to affordable coverage,” Dr. Nitin Damle, the ACP president, wrote in a letter to Congress at the time.
American Hospital Association — “The latest version of the AHCA continues to put health coverage in jeopardy for many Americans.”
The organization, which represents thousands of hospitals and health systems, said it still couldn’t support the bill, in part because of what it might do to people with preexisting conditions.
“The latest version of the AHCA continues to put health coverage in jeopardy for many Americans,” Richard Pollack, the organization’s president and CEO, wrote in a statement. “Our top concern is what this change could mean for older and sicker patients, including those with pre-existing conditions, such as cancer patients and those with chronic conditions.”
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