The nation's healthcare providers are watching a Republican White House and Congress actively sabotage Obamacare and mess around creating a slap-dash, cut-and-paste "replacement" plan that would upend one-sixth of the nation's economy—their entire industry. They're watching it with horror and warning Republicans of the massive disaster they're courting.
The House's version of the Affordable Care Act repeal-and-replace bill would leave 23 million more people uninsured and save the federal government $119 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And that has hospitals wondering how they'll care for those uninsured. […]
Rick Pollack, president of the American Hospital Association, issued a statement that said: "We cannot support legislation that the CBO clearly indicates would jeopardize coverage for millions of Americans."
Dr. Andrew Gurman, president of the American Medical Association, also responded with a statement that said low-income families on Medicaid would be hardest hit. […]
"We understand the Republican point of view that the current escalation (in Medicaid spending) is unsustainable for the country," said Dr. Akram Boutros, CEO of Cleveland's MetroHealth System, which sees about 140,000 Medicaid patients every year. But shifting costs to states, and ultimately, reducing eligibility and cutting payments to providers is not the answer, adding that Medicaid has the slowest growth in spending of any payer. [sic]
Medicaid indeed does have the slowest rate of growth of any payer and is far more cost effective and efficient than private insurance. But the folks on Medicaid don't have the same lobbying power that the people who are getting the tax cuts gutting Medicaid will pay for. Let's hope the providers have enough juice with the Senate to override them.