Members of Congress went home to their districts and states over the Presidents’ Day recess, and presumably heard a lot about health care. With all its problems, the Affordable Care Act has made health care possible for millions of people. Congress hasn’t yet figured out how to respond.
Congress hasn’t yet decided what it can do, and by when, with the Affordable Care Act. Members of Congress went home to their districts and states over the Presidents’ Day recess, and presumably heard a lot about health care. While there are frustrations with out-of-control prices and limited availability of plans and insurance companies in some areas, there are also millions of people who now have health care coverage who couldn’t get it before the Affordable Care Act passed. If nothing else, members of Congress are likely to return to work with a mandate to tread carefully when it comes to health care.
Medical savings plans are not likely to benefit people who cannot put enough (or anything) aside for future health care costs. Tax incentives do not create wealth. Caps on Medicaid do not persuade insurers or providers to charge less. Most states will not be able to absorb a loss in the federal share of support for Medicaid – the result will be fewer people served.
Among the many angles and details to consider, some members of Congress have chosen to focus on the impact of health program changes on Native Americans. Early in the debate, Representative Tom Cole (OK) wrote to House leadership to urge protection of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), which was approved in 2010 as a rider on the Affordable Care Act. Representative Tom O’Halleran (AZ) then gathered 27 members from both parties together on a letter to House and Senate leadership pointing out specific improvements made by the IHCIA, and the broader access to health care for Native Americans provided in the Affordable Care Act. “Repealing the ACA without a feasible, bipartisan plan that upholds our commitments to Indian Country will only further widen the glaring health disparities that tribal communities face,” the letter said. Eight faith groups also joined together in a letter with a similar message, which went to members of six relevant committees.
