U.S. Senate Republican healthcare bill would cause 22 million to lose insurance

[webfact]

U.S. Senate Republican healthcare bill would cause 22 million to lose insurance

By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Susan Cornwell

 

U.S. Capitol is seen after the House approved a bill to repeal major parts of Obamacare and replace it with a Republican healthcare plan in Washington, U.S., May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twenty-two million Americans would lose insurance over the next decade under the healthcare bill drafted by U.S. Senate Republicans, a nonpartisan office said on Monday, an assessment that will likely make it more difficult for the already-fraught legislation to win support for speedy passage.

 

The Congressional Budget Office's assessment complicates the task ahead for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who must find a way to reconcile the demands of moderate Republicans concerned about people losing their insurance and conservative senators who say the bill does not do enough to repeal Obamacare.

 

Several moderates Republicans, including Susan Collins of Maine, have already said they could not support a bill that resulted in tens of millions of people losing their insurance.

 

The CBO estimated that in 2026 49 million people would be uninsured under the Senate bill, compared with 28 million under the current law. It also estimated that the Senate bill would decrease the budget deficit by $321 billion over 2017-2026.

 

The CBO score is likely to amplify criticism from industry groups such as the American Hospital Association and American Medical Association, which said earlier on Monday that the Senate's bill violated the doctors' precept of " first, do no harm."

 

President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress have been pushing to repeal and replace Obamacare, Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature domestic legislation.

 

Republican leaders want to hold a vote on the bill before the July 4 recess that starts at the end of this week. Republicans have only a 52-seat majority in the 100-seat Senate, so McConnell can lose just two Republican senators, relying on Vice President Mike Pence to cast the tie-breaking vote. No Democratic senators have said they would back the bill.

 

LEGISLATIVE TWEAKS

 

Earlier on Monday, Republicans released changes to their healthcare bill, adding a measure that would penalize people who let their insurance coverage lapse for an extended period, following criticism that the original bill would result in a sicker - and more expensive - insurance pool.

 

The original Senate bill had dropped the Obamacare penalty on those who do not have insurance. Experts had warned that cancelling the fine could lead to a sicker pool of people with insurance, because young and healthy people would not face consequences for failing to purchase insurance.

 

The revised bill would impose a six-month waiting period for anyone who lets their health insurance lapse for over 63 days and then wants to re-enroll in a plan in the individual market.

 

The version of a healthcare bill passed by the Republican-majority House of Representatives last month includes a provision also aimed at those who let their insurance lapse for more than 63 days, allowing insurers to charge a 30 percent penalty over their premium for one year.

 

Under Senate rules, the bill must replicate savings projected in a House version of the legislation that passed last month. The CBO found that the Senate bill saved more than the House, clearing one critical hurdle.

 

Democrats have assailed the Republican healthcare proposals, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer strongly criticized the new waiting-period provision, saying in a statement that tens of millions of Americans experience a gap in their healthcare coverage every year because of job losses or temporary financial problems.

 

The provision "would pour salt in that wound, locking American families out of health insurance for even longer, thanks to this six-month ban provision," Schumer said.

 

The American Medical Association said it was especially concerned with a proposal to put the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor on a budget, saying this could "fail to take into account unanticipated costs of new medical innovations or the fiscal impact of public healthepidemics, such as the crisis of opioid abuse currently ravaging our nation."

 

At least four conservative Republicans - Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Ron Johnson and Mike Lee - have expressed opposition to the original draft legislation, saying it does not go far enough in repealing Obamacare.

 

Moderate Republican Senator Dean Heller said on Saturday that he could not support the Senate bill as written, and some other moderates have either withheld judgment or expressed doubts about replacing Obamacare with legislation that is similar to the House version.

 

They are concerned that the party's approach to healthcare would cause too many people, especially those with low incomes, to losehealth coverage. The CBO estimated the House bill would cause 23 million people to lose insurance.

 

Republicans have targeted Obamacare since it was passed in 2010, viewing it as costly government intrusion and saying that individual insurance markets are collapsing. The legislation expanded healthcoverage to some 20 million Americans, through provisions such as mandating that individuals obtain health insurance and expanding Medicaid.

 

TRUMP'S INVOLVEMENT

 

As he did during the House negotiations, Trump has personally pushed for a Senate bill, calling fellow Republicans to mobilize support.

 

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday that Trump had talked over the weekend to Cruz, Paul and Johnson, as well as Senator Shelley Moore Capito, "and I think several others."

 

A spokesman for Paul said the senator and Trump had a "productive call" and that Paul was open to working with the president and Senate colleagues on improving the bill.

 

America First Policies, a political group run by former Trump campaign staffers, said it would air healthcare-related attack ads against Heller, who faces a competitive re-election race next year. "Why did @SenDeanHeller lie to voters about #RepealAndReplace? He’s now with @NancyPelosi. NOT GOOD! #HellerVotesYes," the group tweeted on Monday, referencing Representative Nancy Pelosi, the top House Democrat.

 

Health insurance companies have expressed concern about the bill's plan to cut Medicaid and the impact on state governments as well as the prospect of losing Obamacare's mandate on individuals to buy insurance.

 

Insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield said in a statement on Monday that it was encouraged by the steps in the revised bill to make the individual insurance market more stable, including strong incentives for people to stay covered continuously.

 

If the Senate passes a bill, it will either have to be approved by the House, the two chambers would have to reconcile their differences in a conference committee, or the House could pass a new version and bounce it back to the Senate.

 

(Writing by Richard Cowan and Frances Kerry; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Eric Walsh, Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker; Editing by Leslie Adler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-06-27

[darksidedog]

Lets not worry about 22 million peasants. Donalds buddies will be better off, and that is all that matters. Apparently!

[FritsSikkink]

I wonder how many of his voters will lose it and how many will only find out now.

[Credo]

There are going to be a lot of his supporters that lose their insurance, but I don't think they will find out until well after the bill is implemented.   

[gk10002000]

What doesn't make the news much is how much Obamare drastically INCREASED most people's payments.  In three years, my premiums in my Grandfathered Blue cross went from 138/month to 508$!  I was an independent contractor and had what had been a fine policy. I decided to take a direct job with a company.  Now when I leave the company,  I will probably leave the USA and hang out overseas for a few years in Thailand, and buying a middle of the road Thai policy.  So even if Obamacare did make some 8 million people eligible for care that previously were denied due to existing conditions, the ACA hurt so many others with higher premiums and sky high deductibles.  And you had no option to decline since they made it the law.  I don't know the answer, but Obamacare was wildly disruptive, and a huge failure by most measures.  Insurance carriers have left cities, states and entire regions.

Edited June 27, 2017 by gk10002000
hit enter too early

[ilostmypassword]

3 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

What doesn't make the news much is how much Obamare drastically INCREASED most people's payments. 

Actually not true. Only if your premiums were unsubsidized did rates go up massively. Roughly 83 percent of people on the exchanges get subsidies. 

[Credo]

7 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

What doesn't make the news much is how much Obamare drastically INCREASED most people's payments.  In three years, my premiums in my Grandfathered Blue cross went from 138/month to 508$!  I was an independent contractor and had what had been a fine policy. I decided to take a direct job with a company.  Now when I leave the company,  I will probably leave the USA and hang out overseas for a few years in Thailand, and buying a middle of the road Thai policy.  So even if Obamacare did make some 8 million people eligible for care that previously were denied due to existing conditions, the ACA hurt so many others with higher premiums and sky high deductibles.  And you had no option to decline since they made it the law.  I don't know the answer, but Obamacare was wildly disruptive, and a huge failure by most measures.  Insurance carriers have left cities, states and entire regions.

But this isn't about Obamacare.   This is about the republican plan, which will leave 22 million without care.   

 

[mfd101]

But but ... we LIKE the ACA because it's so good for us. We just voted against Obamacare cos he's a Muslim and anyway he shouldn't have been President because he wasn't born here ... Never mind, Donald will fix it all so we can keep ACA.

 

The question that arises is: When large numbers of voters are uneducated, ignorant & irrational, how can you run a democracy?

[ToS2014]

1 hour ago, mfd101 said:

But but ... we LIKE the ACA because it's so good for us. We just voted against Obamacare cos he's a Muslim and anyway he shouldn't have been President because he wasn't born here ... Never mind, Donald will fix it all so we can keep ACA.

 

The question that arises is: When large numbers of voters are uneducated, ignorant & irrational, how can you run a democracy?

"....When large numbers of voters are uneducated, ignorant & irrational..." the fundamental definition of government, any government.

[ToS2014]

The simple matter is that the government should focus their efforts on the insurance industry somehow, and GET OUT of the rest.  It's sad that a government 'says' that they can dictate medical insurance.  Even worse is all those that voted for a government to install such a scheme.  Just remember all the 'goodies' sold to appease the masses during the ACA debate and now look at the mess.  Cover those poor or in need yes, but to dictate that I have to purchase an insurance product that I cannot ever use, in my case it's Medicade pt B, is just plain wrong.

[boomerangutang]

It's an interesting dynamic.  Much focus has been put upon politicians and consumers, yet a comparative amount of focus has not seemed to be upon other factions.  Some examples:

 

>>>>   drug prices are driven by greed from drug companies.  There are reasons Americans are forced to pay much more than any other countries.  Example:  a bag of saline solution which should cost a few bucks, winds up costing over $100 in a US hospital.

 

>>>>   insurance companies' greed.  A whole book could be written about that, and their high-paid lobbyists in DC.

 

>>>>  Medical professionals are also driven by base human desires to get as much money as possible. 

 

>>>>  Americans;  are among the fattest, on average, in the world, and probably ingest the highest % of junk food.  High costs and high incidence of medical care is as much about personal responsibility as anything else.   Americans, as a whole, are a sickly group of people.  

 

>>>>  The more hand-outs Americans get, the more they want, and the more they think they deserve.  It's a ratchet affect.   There are towns in SE USA, for example, where over 60% of all residents get government hand-outs.  Rich people get a larger % of hand-outs (TARP and bail-outs for the Big 3, for examples)

 

>>>>  added to the item above:  information from on-high (Feds, schools, parents, experts) is largely abetting the poor health habits of Americans in general.  Several examples of foods which society has little problem with:  red meat, trans-fats, sugar, starchy foods, MSG, pork, fatty foods, processed foods, additives, etc, .....the list goes on.

 

The items above, particularly when added together, = reasons why a Scandinavian-type single-payer, healthcare-for-all-citizens will be increasingly difficult, as each week rolls by.   Americans, as a whole,  are getting sicker, and rich people + corporations aren't going to get any less greedy.

 

[boomerangutang]

What do you expect from "The Party of Reagan" where ketchup was officially listed as a vegetable for children's lunches.   In the 1980's, school lunch programs required that they provide 2 vegetables for each meal.  No problem, for Republican law-makers, ......just tell school chefs to put a blob of ketchup on each plate.   As for the other vegetable?  I don't know, maybe a pencil-sized slice of carrot.    ......and we wonder why so many inner-city kids (and Republican politicians) grow up with learning disabilities.

[halloween]

How to lose the next election.

[attrayant]

4 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

What doesn't make the news much is how much Obamare drastically INCREASED most people's payments.  In three years, my premiums in my Grandfathered Blue cross went from 138/month to 508$!  I was an independent contractor and had what had been a fine policy. I decided to take a direct job with a company.  

 

Let's see if we can get your rant back on topic by answering a simple question:  Do you believe health care should be subject to the whims of a free market?

[Andaman Al]

5 hours ago, mfd101 said:

 

The question that arises is: When large numbers of voters are uneducated, ignorant & irrational, how can you run a democracy?

Are we talking about the United States here or somewhere like Indonesia with 400 million illiterate followers of another Monotheistic religion or places in the Middle East where the same uneducated, ignorant and irrational citizens pose a threat to any type of civilised life style?  Zionists, extreme Islamics and extreme Christian gun toting morons. Same same just slightly different!

 

In civilised countries healthcare is a right, it is what starts to  differentiate civilised from third world. The US are now taking a huge step back by repealing the ACA when all they had to do was fix the bits that were clearly in need of attention. All because Trump allows his bruised ego to want to wipe out anything Obama - just because he got the birther thing wrong and was made to look a fool.

[tomwct]

More Fake News! 22 Million, who never had insurance before ObamaCare and they got a policy free, but they could not use it because they had a $8000 deductible, but it was free. No it wasn't free, the US Taxpayer paid for it! Now these people who do not work need to find a job and then they can buy some health insurance, like 90% of the other Americans. That's the

way it works. We do not want Socialized Medicine! Thank you President Trump! Making America Great Again one day at a time!

Edited June 27, 2017 by tomwct

[halloween]

Just now, tomwct said:

More Fake News! 22 Million, who never had insurance before ObamaCare and they got a policy free, but they could not use it

because they had a $8000 deductible, but it was free. No it wasn't free, the US Taxpayer paid for it! Now these people who

do not work need to find a job and then they can buy some health insurance, like 90% of the other Americans. That's the

way it works. We do not want Socialized Medicine! Thank you President Trump! Making America Great Again one day at a time!

Health insurance only for those who can afford it. How do you feel about euthanasia?

[ilostmypassword]

4 minutes ago, tomwct said:

More Fake News! 22 Million, who never had insurance before ObamaCare and they got a policy free, but they could not use it

because they had a $8000 deductible, but it was free. No it wasn't free, the US Taxpayer paid for it! Now these people who

do not work need to find a job and then they can buy some health insurance, like 90% of the other Americans. That's the

way it works. We do not want Socialized Medicine! Thank you President Trump! Making America Great Again one day at a time!

I'm not surprised you're such an ardent supporter of Trump since you clearly are completely unacquainted with the facts As of 2015, 14.5 million additional people got insured through the Medicaid expansion alone.  There is no premium for that coverage. You know, it's not mandatory to have an opinion about something you clearly have no knowledge of.

Edited June 27, 2017 by ilostmypassword

[Grubster]

7 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

What doesn't make the news much is how much Obamare drastically INCREASED most people's payments.  In three years, my premiums in my Grandfathered Blue cross went from 138/month to 508$!  I was an independent contractor and had what had been a fine policy. I decided to take a direct job with a company.  Now when I leave the company,  I will probably leave the USA and hang out overseas for a few years in Thailand, and buying a middle of the road Thai policy.  So even if Obamacare did make some 8 million people eligible for care that previously were denied due to existing conditions, the ACA hurt so many others with higher premiums and sky high deductibles.  And you had no option to decline since they made it the law.  I don't know the answer, but Obamacare was wildly disruptive, and a huge failure by most measures.  Insurance carriers have left cities, states and entire regions.

The reason you paid more is because Obama care forced insurance companies to actually pay for your care, which they didn't before. By the way insurance companies are the biggest part of the health care problem and will never be a solution.

[ilostmypassword]

1 minute ago, Grubster said:

The reason you paid more is because Obama care forced insurance companies to actually pay for your care, which they didn't before. By the way insurance companies are the biggest part of the health care problem and will never be a solution.

Well, not really. They do work in lots of countries in Europe.  But you need very strict rules which are identical in principle to those of Obamacare. Still, it has been shown that a fully nationalized system is somewhat cheaper and delivers similar results.

[ilostmypassword]

9 minutes ago, Grubster said:

The reason you paid more is because Obama care forced insurance companies to actually pay for your care, which they didn't before. By the way insurance companies are the biggest part of the health care problem and will never be a solution.

Yes, it used to that insurance companies devoted a huge amount of resources to looking for any reason to disqualify  policy holders from getting care when they got sick. Administrative costs for insurance companies were about 27 percent. Under Obamacare, administrative costs are limited to 1 percent.

[tomwct]

22 minutes ago, halloween said:

Health insurance only for those who can afford it. How do you feel about euthanasia?

No these are people who can work, but have chosen not too! The disabled have full coverage, but able bodied will not! IN America we want to choose where we go to hospitals and doctors! Under ObamaCare most doctors and hospitals refused to accept. We are bringing back market based medical care, which 90% of Americans have through through employers. So, if your a bum, you do not need to buy. They got a free taxpayer policy, but they couldn't use because on

average they had a $8000 deductible. So the only people making money was the insurance companies who offered these crazy policies with high deductibles. ObamaCare is bankrupt and not effective. Lousy insurance. Just another lousy government program.

Edited June 27, 2017 by tomwct

[ilostmypassword]

2 minutes ago, tomwct said:

No these are people who can work, but have chosen not too!

LIke the children covered under Medicaid which will be drastically cut.

[Jingthing]

5 minutes ago, tomwct said:

No these are people who can work, but have chosen not too! The disabled have full coverage, but able bodied will not!

IN America we want to choose where we go to hospitals and doctors! Under ObamaCare most doctors and hospitals

refused to accept. We are bringing back market based medical care, which 90% of Americans have through through employers. So, if your a bum, you do not need to buy. They got a free taxpayer policy, but they couldn't use because on

average they had a $8000 deductible. So the only people making money was the insurance companies who offered these

crazy policies with high deductibles. ObamaCare is bankrupt and not effective. Lousy insurance.

So much misinformation there, but I'll go for the big one --

https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-257.html

 

Quote

 

Of the subtypes of health insurance, employer-based insurance covered 55.7 percent of the population for some or all of the calendar year, followed by Medicaid (19.6 percent), Medicare (16.3 percent), direct-purchase (16.3 percent), and military coverage (4.7 percent).

 

 

 

To add, trumpcare calls for ending mandating larger employers to provide medical insurance. ACA does for large employers but not smaller ones.

 

So it is quite logical to assume that if trumpcare passes that some larger employers currently mandated to provide health insurance will no longer do so. Of course, many still will, but if they're not forced to, not all will. 

 

Edited June 27, 2017 by Jingthing

[Grubster]

I also get a kick out of the AMA saying their fist precept of " first do no harm" , when they are routinely prescribing medicines that they know their patients don't need like statins and blood pressure meds that cause a lot of damage but require return visits to check for the damage they may be doing.  They make money for selling Big Pharma's products, they make money on the return visits and they really make money when they make you sick.  Really bad system we have, I'm very glad I am in the VA system.

[attrayant]

37 minutes ago, tomwct said:

More Fake News!

 

Thanks for putting a disclaimer at the beginning of your posts.  That really saves us time.

[Jingthing]

To add something very important, under ACA you could only sign up during the open enrollment period (with some exceptions such as moving out of state). 

 

It was mandated with penalties for non-compliance but the penalties waived for low income, living abroad, etc.

 

Under proposed trumpcare, it is highly likely they will need some kind of replacement for the mandate/penalty scheme in order to "persuade" younger and healthier people to participate.

 

Under the passed house trumpcare bill that is done by imposing a large surcharge on premiums for six months those who have had a lapse in coverage and decide they need it, generally because of a medical event.

 

The original senate bill text has no replacement for mandates/penalties but already they're talking about a six month LOCKOUT for those with a lapse in coverage. 

 

If they do pass a trumpcare bill with the ACA mandates/penalties killed (which the republicans are committed to for purely ideological political reasons) and they do not replace with a replacement for mandates/penalties, the private health insurance market will almost definitely collapse very quickly. 

 

Think about it. There would be no incentive for anyone not currently with health problems to have insurance. Have an accident. Book your policy in the ambulance. Doesn't work. 

 

Edited June 27, 2017 by Jingthing

[ilostmypassword]

1 minute ago, Grubster said:

I also get a kick out of the AMA saying their fist precept of " first do no harm" , when they are routinely prescribing medicines that they know their patients don't need like statins and blood pressure meds that cause a lot of damage but require return visits to check for the damage they may be doing.  They make money for selling Big Pharma's products, they make money on the return visits and they really make money when they make you sick.  Really bad system we have, I'm very glad I am in the VA system.

A lot of free market critics of government point to the VA as a failure and proof that government can't provide decent medical care. Yet the actual customers, the Veterans, overwhelmingly share a very favorable view of the VA's performance.

[rudi49jr]

Republicans don't give two hoots about Joe Sixpack and if he has health insurance or not. For all they care the common man/woman can suck it and die if they can not afford health care. Karen Handel, who won the elections in Georgia's 6th Congressional District by a tiny margin (52-48) herself said that she does not support 'livable wages'. And that is probably the official Republican viewpoint: keeping the poor poor. Need I say more?

[Jingthing]

5 minutes ago, rudi49jr said:

Republicans don't give two hoots about Joe Sixpack and if he has health insurance or not. For all they care the common man/woman can suck it and die if they can not afford health care. Karen Handel, who won the elections in Georgia's 6th Congressional District by a tiny margin (52-48) herself said that she does not support 'livable wages'. And that is probably the official Republican viewpoint: keeping the poor poor. Need I say more?

Yes, Hillary Clinton (don't groan, she won't run again) has labelled the republican party the DEATH PARTY in the wake of their disgusting, murderous trumpcare (really about NOT CARING) proposal.