Health providers, lawmakers, scholars sound off on Senate’s anti-Obamacare bill

June 23--Here's a sampling of reactions to the Senate GOP bill meant to revamp the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. The measure was unveiled to the public Thursday.

Patty Maysent, chief executive, UC San Diego Health

The Affordable Care Act, whatever its shortcomings, has measurably improved health-care coverage and the lives of millions of Californians, including 3.7 million low-income Californians who are getting health coverage through Medicaid expansion and 1.5 million enrolled in Covered California plans. Most were previously uninsured, and the whole health-care system is in a better place today because of the ACA.

The question is: Will the proposed Senate plan put us in a better place? The answer is plainly and clearly no. While it softens some of the most egregious elements of the House plan, the Senate version still calls for deep cuts to Medicaid and still results in millions of Americans losing their health insurance.

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Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican representing South Carolina

A person making about $12,000 a year will have more access and a lower cost of health insurance. And that's a really good thing.

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Robert Sideman, economist, San Diego State University School of Public Health

Cuts in Medicaid eligibility and caps on federal funding will lead to a significant increase in the number of uninsured. Also, without standardized benefits and an individual mandate, many healthy individuals will once again opt not to purchase insurance policies or will select less costly policies with fewer benefits. This will likely result in increased premiums for others who have more comprehensive policies. The changes incorporated in the Senate bill will adversely impact access by those with low incomes and will also put more financial stress on certain providers, such as hospital emergency departments.

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Ron Nehring, former campaign spokesman for Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas

The Senate Republican discussion draft represents tremendous progress. Collapsing insurance markets would receive a boost with a $15 billion short-term stabilization fund. Obamacare's individual and employer mandates would go, along with its many taxes. Subsidies would be replaced with market-oriented, advanceable and refundable tax credits for people with low incomes.

Important aspects of current law are preserved, like coverage for pre-existing conditions, and allowing children to stay on their parents' insurance plan to age 26.

Progress has been made, negotiations continue and there is now great cause for optimism that Obamacare's days are finally numbered.

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Fran Butler-Cohen, chief executive, Family Health Centers of San Diego

This bill takes Americans to a new low, it's a major mistake on so many fronts. The U.S. is already dead last or ranked very low when compared to other industrialized countries' health-care systems and when looking at life expectancies for people younger than age 65. The Senate's destruction of our newly developing health-care system is clearly not a move forward. Penalizing those who are most vulnerable in our society does not serve the common good.

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Thomas Donohue, president and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

The Senate health-care bill will help to stabilize crumbling insurance markets caused by the Affordable Care Act, work to curb runaway premium increases and jettison ill-conceived Washington mandates and taxes that have weighed heavily on our economy. This is an extremely important step in putting doctors and patients ahead of politicians when it comes to American health care.

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Michael Hopkins, chief executive, Jewish Family Services of San Diego

(We are) opposed to the Senate Better Care Reconciliation Act in its current form. The draconian cuts to Medicaid will put lives at risk -- including low-income pregnant women, children and older adults. Over 60 percent of nursing-home spending in the U.S. is provided by Medicaid. Where are low-income Americans in need supposed to turn when private care and insurance are beyond their means?

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Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., who wrote a crucial amendment to the House's bill to replace the Affordable Care Act

I am glad to see the Senate further improve the (House measure) and put us one step closer (to repealing Obamacare).

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Gary Rotto, senior vice president of government and community affairs, Borrego Health

Block granting Medicaid poses a great risk to community health centers and the patients we serve in medically underserved communities. As nonprofit health centers, we work on tight margins and reinvest any excess revenues back into the community to provide care. For decades, the federal government has recognized both our unique role in the communities in which we serve as well as our proven effectiveness by guaranteeing full reimbursement for our actual cost to provide care. The so- called flexibility provided to states in a block grant situation is a direct attack on our ability to provide high-quality care in underserved communities. In some communities, health centers will cease to exist.

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Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who helped draft the Senate health bill

It's been made clear to us that (Democrats) don't want to participate in the process, and (they) are turning a blind eye to the millions of people who are being hurt today by premiums. Our response to them is, "We don't care."

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Chris Van Gorder, chief executive, Scripps Health

From a (health provider's) perspective, this bill is worse than the Affordable Care Act. It lowers the income threshold for subsidies, eliminates out-of-pocket expense reductions for low-income beneficiaries and will also increase deductibles for millions of patients. During the next seven years, the federal funding for Medicaid expansion will drop from 90 percent to 57 percent, putting a huge burden on states such as California that have expanded their programs.

If it passes both houses and is signed by the president, we will see more uninsured either by choice due to the elimination of the coverage mandates in the ACA or because this bill would lower the number of people who will qualify for monthly premium subsidies.

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Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah

Currently, for a variety of reasons, we are not ready to vote for this bill, but we are open to negotiation and obtaining more information before it is brought to the floor. There are provisions in this draft that represent an improvement to our current health-care system, but it does not appear this draft as written will accomplish the most important promise that we made to Americans: to repeal Obamacare and lower their health-care costs.

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Twitter: @paulsisson

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