ACA repeal would have ‘huge impact’ locally

Jan. 24--Repealing former President Barack Obama's health care law without a replacement could leave 5,785 Otsego County and 4,461 Delaware County residents uninsured, officials said last week.

That means about 10 percent of the counties' populations would be affected, according to the Healthcare Association of New York State, a nonprofit organization that represents health care networks and hospitals in the state.

Congress passed a measure last week to take the first step toward dismantling the Affordable Care Act, responding to pressure from then-President-elect Donald Trump to move quickly even as Republicans and Trump grapple with what to replace it with.

Meanwhile, local doctors have expressed concern for residents who would lose their insurance if Obamacare, as it's called, is overturned.

One resident who said she would be left in the lurch is Diane Belsky(ASTERISK) of West Laurens, who said dismantling the Affordable Care Act would mean she would have a difficult time paying for her three prescription medications.

"I go to the doctor's a lot and have medicine I have to take," said Belsky, 61, who suffers from neuropathy -- a burning, stinging pain in the feet. "I'm retired and not on disability. I found an insurance plan that is very affordable through the New York State of Health. I don't have a co-pay. ... (President Donald) Trump can't take it away, I wouldn't think, without having some other kind of plan in place. I'm obviously worried about it, but whatever happens is going to happen."

One of "the really positive things" about the ACA is that "it got a lot of people insured," according to Dr. Christopher Wolf-Gould, a family physician in Oneonta.

"It's very important to make sure these individuals will not lose their coverage," he said.

Wolf-Gould and his wife, Carolyn, also a doctor, volunteer at the Oneonta Community Health Center, which was founded in 2008, he said. Often called the Free Clinic, the facility provides primary care to low-income, uninsured patients and is funded by donations.

Since the implementation of the ACA, the number of patients seen at the Free Clinic has drastically declined "because more people obtained medical insurance" and didn't need the free service, Wolf-Gould said.

Dr. Carolyn Wolf-Gould agreed that a repeal of ACA would have "a huge impact" locally.

"The Affordable Care Act has made enormous changes in my life as a physician and also in the lives of my patients," said Wolf-Gould, who is the medical director of the Susquehanna Family Practice and Gender Wellness Center. "It has allowed me to provide quality care to a huge number of patients who previously were marginalized by not having any insurance."

OFFICIALS: LOCAL HOSPITALS WOULD FEEL THE PINCH

Passed in 2010, the ACA extended health insurance options to some 20 million Americans, prevented insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions and steered billions of dollars to states for the Medicaid health program for the poor, according to The Associated Press.

The Wolf-Goulds said removal of the law would put an additional financial stress on area hospitals. Hospitals have to provide care regardless of whether a patient can pay for it, but fewer people would be able to afford that care, they said.

They're right, according to HANYS. If Obamacare is repealed and not adequately replaced, hospitals in Otsego County could lose more than $87 million in associated Medicare revenue cuts during the next decade. Delaware County hospitals could lose more than $5 million.

Hospitals and health systems across New York are already in a vulnerable position as they struggle to adjust to declining reimbursements, changing payment models and other market forces, according to Vance Brown, president and chief executive officer of Bassett Healthcare Network.

"That environment is only going to become more difficult to navigate with a repeal of the ACA or portions of it underway but no immediate replacement on the horizon," Brown told The Daily Star. "We have been and will continue to be in touch with our state and congressional representatives to urge them to do all they can to support strengthening the health care delivery system and assuring access to care for all."

AREA LEGISLATORS TAKE STANCES

Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook, and U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-New Hartford, voted last week in favor of a joint budget resolution that allows Congress to repeal-and-replace Obamacare, according to the AP and a media release from Tenney's office.

"If we do not address the problems of the ACA, the law will crumble under its own weight," said Faso in a statement emailed to The Daily Star. "My goal is to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to replace the faulty foundation with strong policy that will expand access to quality and affordable health insurance."(ASTERISK)(ASTERISK)

In her media release, Tenney said Obamacare "has failed to deliver on the promises made to the American people and it must go."

"Americans were promised they could keep their doctor and insurance if they chose to do so," she said. "That has been proven to be false. ... Under Obamacare, the quality of care has deteriorated, while the cost of services has skyrocketed for average consumers who have less choice and less freedom because of this law."

On Jan. 11, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, delivered a speech on the Senate floor to announce her push to fight efforts to reverse progress on women's health care made under the Affordable Care Act.

Gillibrand filed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Resolution that would take a stand against any attempt to take away or roll back the coverage protections and access to care for women under the ACA, according to a media release from her office.

"I am outraged by this, and I stand with the millions of American women and men who are outraged too," Gillibrand said in the release. "The Affordable Care Act gave more women access to health care than our country has ever had before. ... women can now have access to contraception care, cancer screenings, and mammograms. ... If my colleagues destroy the Affordable Care Act, it will have real, direct, and painful consequences for millions of American women and their families."

Carolyn Wolf-Gould said it's important for people who feel passionately about the issue of health insurance to call and write to their regional representatives.

"We need to urge Congressman Faso to rethink his vote," she said, "and let him know that his re-election hinges on how he handles this."

(ASTERISK)Editor's note: Diane Belsky is a former employee of The Daily Star.

(ASTERISK)(ASTERISK)Faso's statement was received after deadline and was added to the online version of this story.

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