Minnesota hospitals don’t back Republican replacement bill

March 15--Minnesota hospitals say they don't support federal legislation from House Republicans that would repeal and replace the federal Affordable Care Act.

The Minnesota Hospital Association, which is the trade group for most hospitals in the state, says the bill in its current form would significantly cut federal funding that supports coverage for thousands of Minnesotans via Medicaid, MinnesotaCare and tax credits on the MNsure insurance exchange.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) needs fixes, the hospital association said in a statement issued Wednesday, but the current law helped drive down the rate of Minnesotans lacking coverage to just 4 percent.

The trade group says the bill from Republicans called the American Health Care Act won't benefit Minnesota or its residents.

"We cannot support a return to a system that increases our rate of uninsured; re-creates a reliance on the emergency room; and discourages preventive care, mental health care, routine screenings and other health care throughout a person's lifetime," said Lawrence Massa, the president and chief executive of the Minnesota Hospital Association, in a statement.

The ACA has helped hospitals financially by reducing uncompensated care costs. In Minnesota, charity care costs declined from $226 million in 2010 to $164 million in 2014.

A report earlier this month from Moody's Investors Service said the Republican bill would be "credit negative" for hospitals because the plan "would reduce the number of people with health insurance and increase bad debt and uncompensated care costs."

Nationally, the American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association are among the health care trade groups that have said they don't support the Republican bill as it currently stands.

Twitter: @chrissnowbeck

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