Category: White House

Trump Administration Continues to Undermine Healthcare for Low-Income Americans

  

The Trump Administration has picked up in 2018 where it left off in 2017 by dealing two more blows to the American health care system. The Department of Labor (DOL) on January 5th published a proposed rule which would expand the ability of groups of employers to create Association Health Plans (AHPs), while today the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to state Medicaid directors indicating support for states to implement work requirements for “able-bodied” adult Medicaid beneficiaries. These moves threaten to restrict access to critical and comprehensive healthcare services for low-income Americans, even as the healthcare coverage of 9 million American children hangs in the balance as Congress continues to drag its feet on a long-term re-authorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (visit ANA’s CHIP action page here).

Association Health Plans

As I wrote in a blog post in October, AHPs currently exist and are used primarily by small businesses to purchase group health coverage, but are regulated under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the same way as coverage purchased on the individual health insurance market. DOL’s proposed rule seeks to make it easier for employers to create AHPs by:  1) allowing AHPs to exist for the sole purpose of offering healthcare coverage and 2) broadening the definition of “commonality of interest” to allow for larger AHPs. This would in effect treat AHPs as large group health insurance plans and allow coverage under AHPs to be sold across state lines under certain circumstances.

Expanding the use of AHPs in this way exempts them from important provisions covered under the ACA. As a reminder, the ACA includes provisions on insurance plans sold on the individual market which:

  • Require plans to cover 10 Essential Health Benefits including reproductive and maternal health services and preventive services;
  • Forbid insurers from charging more to individuals due to pre-existing conditions;
  • Limit the amount insurance companies can charge to older individuals based on age.

While DOL notes that a non-discrimination provision within the proposed rule would prevent denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions, AHPs could still select for younger, healthier individuals in other ways and could still charge higher premiums for older individuals, potentially leaving these individuals (who are statistically likely to be sicker) without a coverage option.

Furthermore, these insurance plans are ripe for instances of fraud, abuse, and insolvency. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 1992 issued a report which slammed similar small business insurance arrangements and noted that they left hundreds of thousands of enrollees with millions of dollars in unpaid claims, while widely failing to meet state insurance laws and regulations. The GAO report found that some plans tried to duck state insurance regulations entirely. This type of Wild West approach to insurance coverage does not offer the comprehensive level of coverage at a low price that the Trump administration claims. Based on the provisions of this proposed rule, we also expect several lawsuits to challenge this based on the legality under current federal law and on the insurance across state lines aspect.

Work Requirements for Able-Bodied Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries

CMS sent a letter on January 11th to state Medicaid directors announcing its support for states to implement waivers introducing work requirements for non-elderly, non-pregnant adult beneficiaries who are eligible for Medicaid on a basis other than disability. CMS bases its support for work requirements on what it describes as the health benefits of community engagement, including work and work promotion.

This latest attempt by the Trump Administration to restrict Medicaid eligibility is, however, nothing more than a straw man argument. Medicaid expansion ipso facto provides healthcare coverage to working, low-income Americans. According to a December 2017 Kaiser Family Foundation issue brief, roughly 6 in 10 of the 22 million non-disabled adults receiving Medicaid benefits are employed either full- or part-time, while 8 in10 of these adults live in a working family. Most of these individuals work either for small firms or in low-paying industries which do not offer healthcare coverage and thus rely on Medicaid for such.

Further, among those adults who are not working, most report a major barrier to employment such as illness, disability, or care-giving duties. According to the same Kaiser issue brief, Medicaid expansion has not negatively impacted labor market participation; in fact, some research demonstrates that Medicaid coverage supports work.

As such, Medicaid work requirements would likely have little to no positive impact on employment and could even negatively impact both access to healthcare and employment prospects for these Medicaid beneficiaries. From an empirical standpoint, the basis for imposing work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries seems to stem less from a desire to assist low-income Americans to access critical healthcare services while simultaneously supporting employment, but rather from a preconceived notion as to the characteristics of the individuals who benefit from Medicaid.

The American Nurses Association opposes any action – legislative or executive – which threatens the ability of Americans to access and receive high quality healthcare. This is particularly true when it comes to the most vulnerable Americans. If 2017 showed us anything, it is that this administration is more concerned with scoring political points and reversing gains made in healthcare than it is about actually ensuring high quality healthcare coverage for all Americans; this seems to be the modus operandi in 2018 as well.

We urge the Administration and Congress to work toward finalizing a long-term Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) re-authorization, toward a market stabilization package including cost-sharing reduction payment funding, and toward strengthening the existing healthcare system – which has resulted in coverage for tens of millions more Americans since 2014 – and put an end to these attempts to sabotage Americans’ healthcare for political gain. ANA is committed to working with Congress and the Administration on legislation and regulations which align with our four core principles of health system transformation. These moves, however, represent a major step backward from achieving those principles.

Congress can’t keep kids covered as 2017 comes to a disappointing end

  

Congressional Republicans immediately followed their passage of a tax bill that will have a devastating impact on public health by voting for an irresponsible spending stopgap that needlessly jeopardizes the roughly nine million American children who rely on coverage from the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). While regrettable, this sequence of events was a fitting conclusion to 2017 on Capitol Hill, where majority lawmakers showed a persistent and troubling desire to limit Americans’ access to health care.

While the stopgap bill passed by the House and Senate will fund CHIP through the end of March 2018, it continues to create reckless uncertainty as state officials who manage the program are forced to run it on a month-to-month basis. Despite the widespread bipartisan support the program has historically enjoyed, congressional leaders proved unable to reach an agreement on the usual five-year long-term spending approval that CHIP has received in the past.

Republicans also chose to punt to 2018 on health marketplace stabilization efforts that are even more urgent in the wake of the tax bill’s passage. While the proposals from Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA), as well as Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) will not mitigate all the damage done by individual mandate repeal, they will help lessen the negative impact from President Trump’s unilateral and dangerous decision to end stabilization funding earlier this fall.

And though both measures would have an objectively positive impact on the health marketplace congressional Republicans seem intent on destroying, it remains unclear whether the measures – together or separately – could garner a majority of support in either chamber, particularly the House of Representatives where more conservative members enjoy increasing influence.

Despite these developments, almost nine million Americans reportedly signed up for coverage during this year’s Open Enrollment period that concluded on December 15, nearly matching last year’s total. This took place despite the administration’s efforts to limit enrollment, by cutting the sign-up period in half and slashing funding for promotional efforts to educate the public. The enrollment figures are a clear sign that Washington’s focus in 2018 must turn away from creating roadblocks to health care, and instead find new ways to help Americans get and stay covered.

Tax Reform and Spending Measures Threaten Healthcare for Millions – Including Children

  

Congressional Republicans threaten to put coal in the stockings of millions of Americans this holiday season, as they are poised to pass a massive tax bill – the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – that promises to significantly reduce the number of Americans with health insurance. Meanwhile, House members have decided to play politics with the health care coverage of 9 million children, as they have placed a provision to re-authorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) into a spending measure that could potentially lead to a government shutdown.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

The push toward final passage of a tax reform bill took a major step forward this week, as House and Senate Republican members of the conference committee  settled on a compromise version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Among its many provisions, the bill eliminates the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, which requires Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a financial penalty. As we have written before, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that repealing the individual mandate would result in 13 million fewer Americans having health insurance. Such a reduction in coverage would result in negative health outcomes, higher costs, and a decreased focus on primary care and preventive services.

The bill also lowers the threshold for an individual to claim a medical expense deduction. More Americans will also likely find it necessary to take this deduction – without health insurance coverage, they will be much more likely to experience crippling medical expenses.  The bill allows individuals to deduct medical costs greater than or equal to 7.5% of an individual’s income; this is lower than the 10% threshold under current law. This is deceptive, however, as the threshold to claim the medical expense deduction will return to 10% in tax year 2019 and is only available to tax filers who itemize their deductions.

The likelihood for passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that came out of conference committee is still fairly uncertain. The conference committee held its only public meeting yesterday. The next steps in the process will be votes on the floors of the House and Senate. The timeline for these votes is not crystal clear, but the expectation is that both chambers will vote on final passage next week. Once this occurs – and assuming that the bill passes both chambers – it will head to President Trump’s desk, at which point he will sign it into law.

Children’s Health Insurance Program

Congress recently passed a continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels through December 22nd. This funding deadline, however, is fast approaching, and Congress will need to pass yet another spending bill by that date in order to avoid a government shutdown. House Republicans have already proposed such a measure, which would extend government funding through January 19th, and provide a crucial five-year extension of CHIP. A point of contention, however, is that the spending measure would fully fund the Department of Defense for the full year with a $73 billion funding increase over current spending levels. This is a non-starter for Congressional Democrats, who have demanded a dollar-for-dollar increase in spending for domestic programs for any spending increase in defense programs.

The funding situation for CHIP is truly dire. Federal spending authorization for the program ran out on September 30th; Congress has failed to act for over two months. While states have been using reserve funding to fill the gap, that excess funding will soon run out. Sixteen states – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Minnesota, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts, Delaware, and New Hampshire – anticipate running out of funding by the end of January 2018. It is absolutely critical that Congress pass a CHIP reauthorization immediately; playing politics with the healthcare of 9 million American children is unacceptable.

We urge you to make your voices heard in Washington and to make it known that nurses demand comprehensive and quality care for all of the nation’s citizens, regardless of age or income level. Click here to tell your  representatives loudly and clearly that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is bad for Americans’ health and well-being and that CHIP is a crucial program for our children’s health.