Sen. Casey says GOP health care bill hurts county residents

July 07--U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., on Thursday released a report saying the Senate Republican health care bill will endanger health care coverage for Centre County residents and damage the economy in the rural areas of the state.

Casey's report analyzes the effect that the Senate bill, known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act, would have on each county in the commonwealth.

"The Senate Republican bill is a bad bill for lots of reasons, but in so many ways it's like a wrecking ball," Casey said. "I think that applies to the adverse impact it could have on rural Pennsylvania."

Under the BCRA, about 730,000 additional Pennsylvanians could be uninsured by 2026 and about 320,000 people would lose the coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act, according to the report.

In June, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation issued spending and revenue impact estimates of the BCRA on the federal budget. About $320 billion would be trimmed from the federal deficit by 2026 and reduction in Medicaid spending would produce the largest savings, according to the CBO and JCT.

Centre County is represented in the U.S. Senate by Casey as well as Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. Following the CBO report, the Medicaid funding numbers have been heavily discussed by the GOP and the Democrats.

The CBO estimate compares Medicaid spending in the BCRA to the ACA, which grows faster and by more over the nine-year period. The result is about $770 billion dollars more in spending over the time period under the ACA, according to the CBO.

Toomey's office told the Centre Daily Times that Medicaid will not lose funding and will continue to increase over the nine-year period under the BCRA, with the exception of 2020.

"I just don't buy the argument. I don't think anyone believes that if the dollar amount is higher 10 years later that somehow that can't be considered a cut," Casey said. "Over time, if you're putting less money into a program like Medicaid, it's a cut no matter how much you describe it."

About 15,000 residents of Centre County receive health care through the state's Medicaid program and about 3,500 purchase insurance through the ACA marketplace, according to the report. If the BCRA becomes law, Casey said almost 6,000 Centre County residents would lose their health care insurance in 2018.

Medicaid subsidies are one of the main sources of revenue for rural hospitals in the state and make up about 10 percent of their revenue statewide, according to the report.

The decrease in Medicaid spending under the BCRA would result in the loss of almost 400 health care jobs in Centre County and about 11,000 statewide by 2026, according to the report.

"It doesn't improve access to care. It's a bill that hurts the middle class -- it threatens jobs and it would put economic activity in our state, and I think a lot of other states at risk," Casey said.

Leon Valsechi: 814-231-4631, @leon_valsechi

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