Obamacare needs win-win-win solution

March 01--The federal government should focus on the people it serves when it comes to the Affordable Care Act and a possible repeal and replace measure, a National Association of Health Underwriters regional vice president said Wednesday.

Kelly Fristoe, the NAHU Region IV vice president and an underwriter at Financial Partners in Wichita Falls, said partisan politics is getting in the way of a product that continues to erode and creating a permanent solution that doesn't change every time a new administration moves into the White House. He said if the focus can shift from government to the people, the problem can be solved.

"We can all agree there are problems with the Affordable Care Act, major problems that need to be solved because right now the individual market is incredibly unstable," he said. "We have to stabilize that market first."

Fristoe said Congress must decide on a plan to repeal and replace or repeal and repair President Barack Obama's signature legislation, but it has to be done through regular order in the U.S. House and Senate to make sure all Americans are being represented and served. He said the math has not worked regarding how the health law and federal and state marketplaces wound up being structured.

Like the Democrats in 2010 when the ACA was passed, a Republican-controlled White House, Senate and House will have to own the decision they make.

"We've got one more chance to get this right," he said, "and we can't afford to get it wrong again. It would be nice to do this in a non-partisan effort."

U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry said Wednesday he is for repealing the health law and doing things with the health-care system that makes it better.

"There are some changes, some of which we've talked about for years, that we have an opportunity to do and we need to do that," he said. "The way it is now, Obamacare is failing fast."

The congressman previously has cited provisions such as pre-existing conditions and parents carrying children on their insurance until the child turns 26 as a couple items that would make sense to retain.

A leaked House Republican plan, posted on Modernhealthcare.com, would send Medicaid block funds to states based on per-capita figures, would repeal all taxes associated with the ACA, and apply a new tax on employees based on the level of coverage their employer benefits provide.

Thornberry said he supports the overall outline of the House Republican plan, but details will likely change as committee work and votes on specific portions of the law get underway.

Fristoe said he and others in the health insurance industry have urged Congress to keep the tax credits that help some individuals afford health insurance through the federal and state exchanges. He said if the tax credits are immediately eliminated, some people would no longer be able to afford their insurance premium. Instead, they are asking that the tax credits stay in place through next year.

"We can always go back and redo and create a fair tax credit for people to buy health insurance," he said. "That can be done on the back side, but what we proposed to legislators is don't touch the tax credits right now. Let them continue on to 2019. That was our plea, to keep these tax credits in place because if you get rid of them, overnight you have created 15-20 million uninsured people."

Other area professionals are encouraging Congress to steer clear from what is called the employer exclusion, which is a tax deduction for health insurance premium portions paid by employers. Fristoe said eliminating that tax benefit or placing a cap on it removes the incentive for companies to provide employer-based health coverage for employees.

Follow John Ingle on Twitter at @inglejohn1973.

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