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HHS: 'We face serious consequences' if ACA repealed
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In her last public speech on the Affordable Care Act, outgoing HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell touted progress made under the legislation, but warned of what could happen if Republicans succeed in repealing it.
Although health care has undergone bits and pieces of reform throughout history, Burwell said, “by the time President Obama took office, the need for reform was overwhelming.”
Costs were rising, millions of Americans did not have adequate health care coverage, and 40 million Americans did not have any health insurance at all, she told the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Under the ACA and with continued growth of the marketplace, the uninsured rate has dropped to a record low, nearly three dozen states have expanded their Medicaid programs, and the proportion of those Americans who can no longer afford health coverage has dropped by a third.
“[In addition,] our national economy is now projected to spend $2.6 trillion less on health care over the course of a decade than was projected before the law passed — even as 20 million more people have health coverage,” Burwell said.
She said a replacement plan must consider how many people it will cover, the quality of coverage it will offer, and whether it can keep health care costs trending down.
“If it fails on any of these, it’s a step backwards,” she said, adding that compromise is possible, but critical topics would have to be addressed.
“Let’s see a plan to have a conversation, a plan that has details…” she said. “I don’t think most women think it’s a nitty-gritty detail whether or not their contraception is covered at no additional cost. I don’t think it’s a nitty-gritty detail whether or not your pre-existing condition is really protected. And that’s the level the conversation needs to get to.”
Burwell added that the pending repeal by the incoming president and Republican-controlled Congress could have dire consequences if there is no replacement in place.
“… The damage to the country’s individual insurance market will begin this spring. If health insurance companies don’t know what the market will look like going forward, many will either raise prices or drop out. That means more Americans won’t be able to afford coverage, and others won’t be able to find it at all,” she said. “… States and hospitals will be in budget limbo. Governors of both parties have said that repeal and delay would create unacceptable uncertainty for their state budgets, and their states’ economies. Meanwhile, some rural or community hospitals will have to shrink or even shut down if they can’t count on funding through Medicaid.”
Burwell also said an estimated 30 million Americans would lose their health insurance if ACA is repealed without a plan in place.
“We face serious consequences,” Burwell said. “But delaying tough choices isn’t what Americans do in their own lives, and it’s not what they deserve from Washington.”
Burwell’s comments echo those of several health care associations. including the ACP, which earlier this week, sent Congress a letter recommending that the protections ACA established be preserved.
Further reading:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?421199-1/hhs-secretary-sylvia-burwell-addresses-national-press-club
Disclosure: Burwell works for the HHS.