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ACR asks Senate to address coverage concerns for chronically ill patients
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In a statement, the American College of Rheumatology has asked the Senate to address coverage concerns for patients with chronic illness in their upcoming vote on the American Health Care Act.
“With the revised [American Health Care Act] AHCA bill now moving to the Senate for review, the [American College of Rheumatology] ACR remains deeply concerned that the legislation does not go far enough to ensure affordable insurance coverage for the 54 million Americans living with rheumatic diseases,” Sharad Lakhanpal, MBBS, MD, said in an ACR press release.
Lakhanpal also said recent changes to the bill would adversely affect patients with rheumatic disease.
“Changes made to the bill in recent weeks — specifically those outlined in the MacArthur Amendment — would allow states to opt out of many of the crucial consumer protections the [Affordable Care Act] ACA provides to chronic disease patients, including essential health benefits, the ban on health status underwriting and the 3-to-1 age rating ratio,” Lakhanpal said. “If states waive these protections, health care coverage will become unaffordable for individuals with pre-existing conditions like arthritis and may lead to discrimination against individuals with certain high-cost medical conditions.”
Lakhanpal said there is additional funding needed for high-risk patients.
“Furthermore, the $8 billion in additional funding for high-risk pools is a short-term fix for people with life-long care needs,” he said. “High-risk pools have been historically underfunded, and chronically ill patients seeking this type of coverage regularly experience soaring deductibles and premiums. Without an official score from the Congressional Budget Office, there is no way to assess whether the additional funding would be enough to offset coverage losses for people living with arthritis.”
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