Hartford HealthCare CEO Says GOP Health Care Bill ‘Has Significant Flaws’

March 09--The CEO of Hartford HealthCare said a Republican proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act "has significant flaws and unanswered questions" and its lack of a score by the Congressional Budget Office is "troubling."

"As our colleagues at the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and other professional organizations have pointed out, this legislation may make it more difficult for people to obtain health insurance," Elliot Joseph said in a written statement.

Joseph said he was particularly concerned about changes to Medicaid funding directed to the states. The Republican bill would impose limits beginning in 2020.

"Medicaid covers nearly one in five Connecticut residents," Joseph said. "Behind that statistic are real people. Think about the single mother who works to support her family but still earns very little. The notion that we might remove insurance coverage for her and her children, without having adequately considered the consequences, seems irresponsible."

Joseph said that without Medicaid coverage, patients "will not receive preventative care" and "will arrive at our hospitals and emergency rooms sicker -- creating higher cost and less healthy people."

The bill, championed by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., passed two key House committees Thursday. Its fate is far less certain in the Senate, where moderate and conservative Republicans, as well as Democrats, have expressed concerns.

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