1. House votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act
On July 11th the House voted 244-185 to pass the “Repeal of Obamacare Act” in hopes of overturning President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. This marks the 33rd time that the Republican-controlled House has voted to overturn the President’s health reform law since 2010. Yet, as with the previous bills passed in the House, this one is almost certain to be tabled in the Democrat-controlled Senate. This vote was largely viewed as symbolic, intended to get conservative voters excited about the November election and reaffirm the Republican stance on the law. The Kaiser Family Foundation has compiled news coverage on the topic.
Think you know what the ACA entails? Take the Kaiser Family Foundation quiz to find out how you compare to the rest of the country!
2. States consider opting out of Medicaid expansion
After the Supreme Court ruled that states were no longer required to participate in the Medicaid expansion, many governors have stated that they will not be expanding the program. Currently five Republican governors have announced that their states will be opting out: Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. An additional four states are leaning toward opting out as well. Ten are definitely expanding and 27 remain undecided. (CNBC) The governors opposed to the expansion believe that the expansion will crush their state budgets. On the other hand, a primary aim of the law is to expand health insurance coverage and this aim relies on the expansion of Medicaid. Hospitals may also suffer from state opt-outs, as many agreed to cut their reimbursement rates in exchange for the money they would collect from newly enrolled Medicaid patients. Without Medicaid expansion, hospitals would be left with reduced rates and continued large numbers of uninsured patients that they must care for. Washington Post
A Washington Post Infographic explains who would be most affected by states opting out:
A large subset of the population would be ineligible for Medicaid if a state opts out because they earn too much money (varies by state), but are also ineligible for insurance subsidies because they earn too little (less than 133% of the poverty line). Arkansas for example only provides Medicaid to families who earn less than 17% of the poverty line, so if the state opted out of the expansion, those who earned between 17% and 133% of the poverty line would remain uninsured.
3. Firefighters gain yearlong health coverage
Seasonal firefighters have been granted yearlong health insurance coverage similar to that of federal land management agencies. Just hours after representative Diana DeGette (D-Co) introduced the bill assuring health coverage for firefighters, President Obama ordered federal agencies to grant yearlong coverage to seasonal firefighters. This summer there are 10,000 seasonal firefighters who will gain coverage. The estimated cost of this expansion has not been released.
NPR
4. Mental illness coverage expanded in health law
Prior to the passage of the ACA, most insurance companies imposed annual and lifetime caps, high deductibles, or no coverage for treatment of mental illness and substance disorders. Though the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equality Act of 2008 mandated that coverage be the same for psychiatric and medical illnesses, the limited application of the act (to large employers with benefits that already covered mental health) resulted in little effect. But now that this parity is combined with an individual mandate and coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions, care for those with psychiatric illness is likely to improve.
New York Times
Your loyal Legislative Affairs team,
Brad Hunter – Northeast Region
Robert Sanchez – Central Region
Sean Vanlandingham – Southern Region
Claire Sadler – Western Region
William Teeter – National Delegate
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To access previous updates see our blog at:
https://www.aamc.org/members/osr/communications/legislative_affairs/
On July 11th the House voted 244-185 to pass the “Repeal of Obamacare Act” in hopes of overturning President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. This marks the 33rd time that the Republican-controlled House has voted to overturn the President’s health reform law since 2010. Yet, as with the previous bills passed in the House, this one is almost certain to be tabled in the Democrat-controlled Senate. This vote was largely viewed as symbolic, intended to get conservative voters excited about the November election and reaffirm the Republican stance on the law. The Kaiser Family Foundation has compiled news coverage on the topic.
Think you know what the ACA entails? Take the Kaiser Family Foundation quiz to find out how you compare to the rest of the country!
2. States consider opting out of Medicaid expansion
After the Supreme Court ruled that states were no longer required to participate in the Medicaid expansion, many governors have stated that they will not be expanding the program. Currently five Republican governors have announced that their states will be opting out: Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. An additional four states are leaning toward opting out as well. Ten are definitely expanding and 27 remain undecided. (CNBC) The governors opposed to the expansion believe that the expansion will crush their state budgets. On the other hand, a primary aim of the law is to expand health insurance coverage and this aim relies on the expansion of Medicaid. Hospitals may also suffer from state opt-outs, as many agreed to cut their reimbursement rates in exchange for the money they would collect from newly enrolled Medicaid patients. Without Medicaid expansion, hospitals would be left with reduced rates and continued large numbers of uninsured patients that they must care for. Washington Post
A Washington Post Infographic explains who would be most affected by states opting out:
A large subset of the population would be ineligible for Medicaid if a state opts out because they earn too much money (varies by state), but are also ineligible for insurance subsidies because they earn too little (less than 133% of the poverty line). Arkansas for example only provides Medicaid to families who earn less than 17% of the poverty line, so if the state opted out of the expansion, those who earned between 17% and 133% of the poverty line would remain uninsured.
3. Firefighters gain yearlong health coverage
Seasonal firefighters have been granted yearlong health insurance coverage similar to that of federal land management agencies. Just hours after representative Diana DeGette (D-Co) introduced the bill assuring health coverage for firefighters, President Obama ordered federal agencies to grant yearlong coverage to seasonal firefighters. This summer there are 10,000 seasonal firefighters who will gain coverage. The estimated cost of this expansion has not been released.
NPR
4. Mental illness coverage expanded in health law
Prior to the passage of the ACA, most insurance companies imposed annual and lifetime caps, high deductibles, or no coverage for treatment of mental illness and substance disorders. Though the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equality Act of 2008 mandated that coverage be the same for psychiatric and medical illnesses, the limited application of the act (to large employers with benefits that already covered mental health) resulted in little effect. But now that this parity is combined with an individual mandate and coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions, care for those with psychiatric illness is likely to improve.
New York Times
Your loyal Legislative Affairs team,
Brad Hunter – Northeast Region
Robert Sanchez – Central Region
Sean Vanlandingham – Southern Region
Claire Sadler – Western Region
William Teeter – National Delegate
-------------------------------------------------------------------
To access previous updates see our blog at:
https://www.aamc.org/members/osr/communications/legislative_affairs/