Representative Poliquin of Maine’s second district has prepared a handy form letter to send to constituents who write or call his office expressing support for the ACA. I thought it would be helpful to walk through some of his statements to see how they hold up. A full copy of the letter is at the end of this post (I’ve removed the name of the recipient who shared the letter with me).
Just for fun, along with each of my comments, I’ll include sources for my statements – you know, facts. Before we get started, a note about my perspective. As many of you know, I support the ACA and continue to think it is a great step forward. Twenty million more people have health insurance now than before the law was passed. However, no one denies that the law needs adjustments. Changes are often required after a complicated law gets passed. Unfortunately, in this case, due to the partisan rancor in DC, once the law was passed there were no fixes permitted by Congress, leading to the current issues.
Now let's look at some specifics.
“…suffocating under the spiking ObamaCare monthly premiums...”
Yes, premiums went up for 2017 at a greater rate than they did the previous two years - but let’s remember how premiums acted before the passage of the ACA – they went up in even greater increments. It is also worth noting is that the headlines regarding spiking premiums refer to averages across carriers and across the country. In many states, the market is working well. States that have chosen to expand Medicaid (MaineCare) have seen lower premium increases than states like Maine that have not. Additionally, the subsidies received by many of the enrollees will shield them from the increases.
- http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2016/07/21/obamacare-premiums-are-lower-than-you-think/
- http://acasignups.net/tags/2017-rate-changes
“…losses of more than 30 million of taxpayer dollars...”
He is referring to Maine Community Health Options (MCHO), one of the COOP plans that were created through the ACA. These plans do not receive federal money. What they have received is loan guarantees from the Federal Government. While MCHO had a bad year in 2016, they are recovering; as noted by Maine’s Bureau of Insurance: “CHO's ability to stabilize its operations in 2016 and achieve plan results up to this point is encouraging and merits its re-entry into the Maine individual health insurance market for 2017.”
- http://www.pressherald.com/2017/01/17/intermed-blocks-new-patients-with-community-health-options-insurance/
- http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2016/10/11/maine-co-op-can-sell-2017-coverage
“…supported the Obamacare repeal initiation vote...”
Many times, over the past several years the house has voted to repeal the ACA. In all that time, they have not come up with a replacement plan. It’s easy to vote for a bill that you know will be vetoed – it’s a lot harder to come up with workable policy proposals.
This link is a walk through the history of promises by the Republicans to come up with a replacement plan: https://storify.com/JeffYoung/just-in-time
“…replacement includes coverage for pre-existing health conditions...”
Slogans are easy; policy is hard. What does Rep. Poliquin mean by including coverage for pre-existing conditions? If, as in the ACA, it means they will be charged the same rate as everyone else then there will need to be a mechanism, like the mandate, so that people do not just purchase coverage when they need it. If they mean something else, we need details – it will be easy to say it includes coverage but how much might that coverage cost? Will they require "continuous coverage" - an ideal state that in the real world is hard to execute?
- http://time.com/money/4632898/obamacare-affordable-care-act-repeal-what-happens-preexisting-conditions/
- http://obamacarefacts.com/the-continuous-coverage-exclusion-for-pre-existing-conditions/
“…eliminate job-killing taxes...”
My question here is how will the replacement plan be financed if the taxes associated with the ACA are eliminated? Providing Medicaid or subsidies takes money. If the taxes are repealed, how will the replacement plan be funded? What do you think the chances are that the Republican House and Senate will impose new taxes to cover their “replacement” plan?
If they don’t intend to provide subsidies at least as large as the current ones, millions of people will lose coverage, contrary to the current promises of Republican leadership and the President. Don't be fooled by the phrase "universal access”. Access is not coverage. I have access to purchasing a Lamborghini, but that doesn't mean I have the funds to do so.
To sum up, the letter below contains several half-truths and misdirections. It also gives no credit to the positive impact the law has had. As the debate over the future of the ACA continues, let's try and stick to the facts.
