Rethinking health care while repealing Affordable Care Act

Jan. 18--JOHNSTOWN -- With speculation growing on what a replacement for the Affordable Care Act will look like, U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus on Tuesday provided a broad outline of what he and other Republicans on Capitol Hill may be cooking up.

Not surprisingly, their still-emerging plans carry a distinct free-market flavor, moving health care away from what he described as a system based on decisions by "bureaucrats in Washington" to a model featuring more choice and flexibility for consumers, as well as more competition for their business.

In other words, those extrapolating President-elect Donald Trump's "insurance for everybody" comment last weekend into visions of a single-payer health system should put the cork back in the champagne.

Mr. Rothfus, R-Sewickley, who was in Johnstown to discuss health care issues with Conemaugh Health System executives, envisions a "consumer-driven" structure where a range of different groups -- church groups, professional associations and so on -- can become health care insurance pools wielding the purchasing power of their numbers.

Acknowledging that insurers need time to develop products, he would like to see consumers have a menu of coverage options by fall. "It's not going to be in a month, in a day or in an hour as has recently been suggested," he said.

"What we have to acknowledge is that what we have now is not working."

The Republicans' "repeal and replace" mantra has alarmed many of the 20 million Americans who gained access to insurance through the ACA and now are worrying about, and in some cases actively protesting against, the law's repeal.

Mr. Rothfus, whose party wields a majority in both houses of Congress and now the White House, said Tuesday, "The rug will not be pulled out from folks." But he insisted that the Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010, has not lived up to its promise and must be replaced.

"There are people who have gained access to insurance, but we have to look at a plan that is a better deal for folks."

While marketplace enrollment has seen gains this year, he said millions of Americans are still opting to pay the penalty for remaining uninsured, figuring they'll be better off.

Mr. Rothfus also pointed to a "collapsing" marketplace as insurers drop exchange plans, as others raise premiums and deductibles for those who do enroll.

Saying the Affordable Care Act "has not worked as advertised," Mr. Rothfus, who represents the Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District, which includes Beaver County and parts of five other counties including Allegheny County, believes it is now time to rethink how the nation provides, and pays for, health care and health insurance.

"This is an opportunity for a conversation that we should have had seven years ago."

Steve Twedt:[email protected] or 412-263-1963.

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