Ex-Medicare chief blasts GOP bill on health care

June 16--ANDERSON -- The former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid predicted more than 310,000 Hoosiers will lose health care coverage if the American Health Care Act is adopted.

Andy Slavitt, who led the centers from March 2015 until January 2017, spoke in a conference call to Indiana reporters on Thursday.

Insurance providers have until Wednesday to notify the state of Indiana if they will continue to provide coverage through health care exchanges.

Anthem Blue Cross recently announced it will not participate in Ohio.

Slavitt said actions by President Donald Trump are undermining the insurance market and that there is now instability in the insurance exchanges.

He said Anthem is re-evaluating its rates in Indiana for 2018 and could eliminate some coverage offerings.

Slavitt said Care Source, another Indiana insurance provider, was seeing rates stabilize and had projected a 2.2 percent increase for 2018 in the state.

He said Hoosiers could see an increase in insurance premiums of $2,425 in 2018 and an increase of $4,620 by 2026.

Indiana insurance rates dropped by 3 percent this year in the exchanges, Slavitt said.

"Indiana is not reliant on one insurer," Slavitt said. "Indiana has a health marketplace. The state is competitive for insurance companies.

He said Indiana has done a better job of pricing than other states. The state is aided by the quality of care in hospitals, he said.

Trump has called the American Health Care Act passed by Republicans in the House "mean," and Republicans in the U.S. Senate are ironing out details in secret, Slavitt said.

"The Republicans in the Senate are rushing to pass a bill," he said. "It will be very close to the harmful bill passed by the House. There have been no hearings and no expert input. We won't know what the bill contains until hours before the vote."

Slavitt said the public needs to be able to read the bill and determine the impact on families in what could take a decade before any changes are made in the future.

"They need to drop the secret hearings," he said. "They need to release the bill before the vote and let people know how it will impact them."

Slavitt said the analysis of the American Health Care Act passed by the House could result in 3 million people losing health care coverage and premiums could increase by 20 percent.

"The House bill allows insurance companies to charge those Americans over the age of 50 five times as much for coverage," he said. "It will cost older Americans up to $8,400 per year."

Slavitt said the bill includes lifetime caps on insurance coverage that could bankrupt families and increase out of pocket costs by 60 percent over the next decade.

He said major health care groups want the House bill to be rejected because it's not good for the health care system.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 640-4863.

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