Cheri Bustos: Repealing, replacing ACA easier said than done

Feb. 22--PEORIA -- Oversimplified campaign rhetoric about repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act discounts the complexity of America's health care industry, U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos said Tuesday, and would cause chaos for the people and businesses affected by the law.

As Congressional Republicans craft legislation to replace former President Barack Obama's legacy law, Bustos made a stop at a Peoria supportive living community to bring attention to the "real human consequences" such an action could cause.

The Moline Democrat worked in health care for 10 years before her run for Congress. She said making political promises is simple, while creating a system that serves consumers and providers of health care is anything but.

"There is almost nothing more complex than health care delivery, so of course it wasn't repealed on Day 1 and there is no replacement plan," Bustos said at Courtyard Estates.

Bustos pointed to ACA provisions that allow parents to keep their children on their insurance plan up to age 26, protection for those with pre-existing conditions and Medicare reform that makes prescription medicines more affordable for seniors as parts of the act that have improved healthcare for millions of Americans. She also noted that premiums and prescription drugs remain, for many, unaffordable.

The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, should be improved, she said.

"But to throw out the Affordable Care Act without an answer is just going to lead to chaos at places like this, at hospitals all over the country and especially in rural areas where these smaller hospitals that have 25 beds or fewer are just not going to be able to keep their doors open if there is no legitimate replacement plan," Bustos said.

Instead she's pushing to preserve the ACA with additional provisions to bring down costs. She listed as examples the creation of risk pools that would subsidize different groups at different levels based on their health care needs and giving the federal government the ability to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs.

The specifics are unclear about what a Republican plan to replace Obamacare will include. But many groups have offered warnings of what repealing the Affordable Care Act without a legitimate replacement would mean -- including a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released last month that estimated such a repeal would result in a tax cut of about $7 million for each of the nation's 400 richest families while raising taxes on low- and middle-income Americans.

"Families like we're meeting with today, they're not going to stand for that. It is my job to stand up for them and make sure that something like that doesn't pass," Bustos said. "The harsh reality, though, is that I am in the minority (party) in the House of Representatives, so unless we can find people who are willing to work across the aisle and understand people's struggles and how this impacts our pocketbooks, it's going to be very difficult to stop this unless can find people to work together."

Bustos said the Trump administration is off to a "rocky start" but described herself as "ready, willing and able to work with him" and his administration where they can find common ground.

Laura Nightengale is the Journal Star's health and lifestyle reporter. She can be reached at 686-3181 or lnightengale@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @lauranight.

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