Senate TrumpCare Bill Does Not Protect Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions
Senate TrumpCare Bill Does Not Protect Americans with Pre-Existing Conditions
TrumpCare Fails the "
Some news outlets are erroneously reporting that the Senate TrumpCare bill protects Americans with pre-existing conditions - it does not. As Senators consider this bill, they should keep in mind all those with pre-existing conditions who will be impacted by this bill.
Almost immediately following House passage of TrumpCare, Senator
Senator
Let's look at an example of someone with a pre-existing condition: a child with a congenital heart disease. Would they be protected under the Senate TrumpCare bill" No. Here's why:
*Families of children with congenital heart disease face extraordinary costs just to keep their children alive. The average price of a congenital heart surgery admission (http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/circcvoq/4/6/634.full.pdf) for pediatric patients was
*Under TrumpCare, insurers could once again impose annual and lifetime limits on benefits - both in the state marketplaces and for those with employer-based coverage. For a child with a congenital heart disease, health care costs could easily exceed annual limits (http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170509/medical-qampa-was-tvs-jimmy-kimmel-right-about-obamacare) in their first year and exceed lifetime limits before reaching adulthood.
*TrumpCare allows states to waive the "single risk pool" requirement under current law and repeals the requirement in the Affordable Care Act that waivers must "provide access to quality health care that is at least as comprehensive and affordable." This means that under the Republican plan, children with congenital heart disease and others with pre-existing conditions could be effectively forced into costly plans in a separate high-risk pool - which have historically had higher premiums, higher deductibles, and higher out-of-pocket costs - in order to ensure coverage for the care required for their particular conditions.
*Steep cuts in Medicaid under TrumpCare - nearly
*At one time, just 20% of children with congenital heart disease lived past their first year. Now, thanks to medical advancements and increased access to quality care, up to 90% of children with congenital heart disease will reach adulthood. TrumpCare risks turning back the clock - denying access to affordable care to children just like
Here's a look at how the press and outside experts explain why TrumpCare doesn't protect Americans with pre-existing conditions:
"Medicaid covers about 70 million Americans, including low-income residents, seniors in nursing homes (over 60 percent of whom are on Medicaid) and people with disabilities. The
"But the
"As the nonpartisan
"In analyzing the House bill provision allowing states to waive the EHB requirements, the
"In short, if the emerging Senate Republican bill lets states eliminate or weaken EHBs as news reports suggest it is likely to do, it simply won't protect people with pre-existing medical conditions, despite claims to the contrary." [CBPP,
"As a result, people with pre-existing conditions in waiver states would face significantly higher costs and find it much harder to find insurance plans that actually covered treatment for even relatively common conditions such as mental health problems or diabetes. The
"In addition, the problem would be particularly acute for older Americans, who would face much higher premiums under the
"The Senate Republican bill, however, seems likely to keep the requirement that insurers not discriminate based on pre-existing conditions, meaning that insurers offering comprehensive plans would have to accept enrollees with costly conditions. Given those requirements, some experts argue that insurers in states that eliminate EHBs altogether would offer significantly less comprehensive plans than were available in the pre-ACA market so as to exclude the most expensive conditions." [CAP,
Go to: https://www.democraticwhip.gov/sites/default/files/The%20Jimmy%20Kimmel%20Test%20PDF%206.23.170.pdf to read the PDF.
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