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ACP: Postponed vote confirms flaws of the Senate health care act

The Senate’s decision to postpone the vote on its Better Care Reconciliation Act confirms that the legislation is vitally flawed, according to a statement issued by the ACP.

“The [Better Care Reconciliation Act] does not meet — or come close to meeting — the criteria that ACP established that any reforms to current law should first, do no harm to patients,” ACP president Jack Ende, MD, MACP, said in the release.

The policies proposed under the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) will jeopardize the health care of millions of Americas by reducing premium and cost-sharing subsidies for the most vulnerable people in the individual insurance market, thus increasing the risk of mortality in the uninsured population, according to ACP. It will also change the financing of Medicaid and lessen vital coverage and consumer protections for those who most need them, Ende wrote

Ende’s comments also reflect the findings of a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, which suggested that a lack of insurance is associated with an increased risk of mortality.

With the policies indicated in the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the House counterpart, just as flawed, it’s clear that the Senate is failing to listen to physicians and other health care professionals, which will result in a bill that does not improve patient care or the U.S. health care system, according to ACP.

These concerns are not new, as the ACP, AAFP, and AAP have previously criticized the bill, citing that it would negatively impact the American people.

“ACP urges the Senate to ultimately reject the BCRA and start over,” Ende said. “Instead Congress should look for bipartisan solutions to improve current law, such as those proposed in in ACP’s Prescription for a Forward-Looking Agenda to Improve American Health Care.”

Disclosures: Ende is president of the ACP.