Congressman hosting health-care roundtable at Somerset Hospital

Jan. 17--The Affordable Care Act -- arguably the most divisive domestic policy of this generation -- might soon be significantly altered.

President Barack Obama's signature legislation has enabled about 20 million previously uninsured Americans, so far, to get coverage and controversially required citizens to purchase insurance or pay a fine.

The program has been supported by Democrats and vilified by Republicans.

Now, with the GOP controlling both chambers of Congress and Republican President-elect Donald Trump set to take office on Friday, the ACA's future is in doubt.

U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Sewickley, an opponent of Obamacare since even before it was enacted in 2010, once again called for changing the system on Tuesday when he hosted separate healthcare round tables at Somerset Hospital and at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown.

"We're seeing a lot of pressure points everywhere," Rothfus said during the Somerset event. "And we want to move ahead with healthcare reform that actually addresses the issues, moves away from Washington mandates, and expands consumer choice and flexibility, while maintaining insurance products for individuals who have pre-existing conditions.

"That's a personal one for me. I'm a cancer survivor."

On Tuesday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office issued a report that stated if the House's Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 were put into place, repealing parts of the ACA, the number of uninsured citizens would increase by 18 million and premiums in the non-group market would grow by 20 to 25 percent during the first new plan year following enactment.

Under the current ACA format, health insurance costs are expected to rise 22 percent on average across all marketplaces in 2017 with some expenses covered by cost-sharing subsidies, according to information released by the Obama administration.

"We're looking at a system that's collapsing right now," Rothfus, from the 12th Congressional District, said. "We're looking at non-sustainable escalations of premiums and deductible costs."

Rothfus does not think any changes would result in customers immediately losing coverage.

"Nobody's going to have the rug pulled out from under them," Rothfus said. "The plans that are out there right now will be on the exchanges this fall, so people need to be aware. The headlines I've seen -- '20 million people losing health insurance' -- it's just not true. Those representations are being made by the same people who sold a failing program."

Along with Obamacare, Rothfus and the round table participants discussed other issues affecting local healthcare, including the opioid epidemic and the economy's impact on medical services.

"I think Congressman Rothfus is very engaged in what's going on and really gets the need for economic development and improvement of local healthcare access," Somerset Hospital CEO Craig Saylor said. "I'm very, very encouraged to hear what he's doing at the national level with the restructuring of national healthcare initiatives, but also focusing on how it applies to the individuals in his district -- whether it be the working families, whether it be the retired folks."

Representatives from Somerset and Conemaugh also received the opportunity to update Rothfus about developments at their hospitals.

"We appreciate the opportunity to speak with Congressman Rothfus and his staff about the changing healthcare climate," Conemaugh Health System CEO Steve Tucker said. "We discussed our priorities and anticipated challenges in the year ahead.

"We were also able to provide the congressman with an update on many projects including our new Conemaugh East Hills outpatient center, our use of telestroke technology and the recruitment of more than 25 physicians in the past year."

Dave Sutor is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at (814) 532-5056. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Sutor.

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