While the House narrowly approved the American Health Care Act Thursday afternoon, which replaces major parts of the ACA, the legislation still does not have support from the American Hospital Association nor its president and CEO, Richard Pollack.
Mr. Pollack has been outspoken about the AHA's opposition to the AHCA. In March, he sent a letter to members of the House outlining the AHA's stance on an earlier version of the Republican healthcare bill.
The GOP was able to whip the vote after adding two key amendments to the AHCA, but, despite the last-minute changes, the AHA still strongly opposes the measure.
NPR's Robert Sigel spoke with Mr. Pollack Thursday about the newest version of the AHCA and why he is against it. Here are three key takeaways from their conversation.
1. The MacArthur amendment is a big concern for hospitals. Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., proposed an amendment to the AHCA that would allow states to seek federal waivers from the ACA's essential health benefits requirement and its community rating rule. "It would allow, under those waivers, insurance companies to be able to charge higher amounts to people that have preexisting conditions," said Mr. Pollack. "Those are people with issues like cancer and chronic conditions. And that's a real concern to us."
Although another last-minute addition to the AHCA would add $8 billion more for patients in high-risk pools, Mr. Pollack said that isn't enough.
"It's been an uneven track record over the years in terms of the utility of high-risk pools," he said. "And in relationship to the funding that was provided for it, it doesn't appear as if that will be enough to address the problems of people that are in that situation."
2. Patient access to care is a top priority. When asked to sum up the effect the AHCA could have on hospitals, Mr. Pollack said, "The real concern is not so much on hospitals per se. It's on the people that we take care of and the communities we serve." He said a real worry for hospitals is the millions of people who will lose insurance coverage if the AHCA becomes law. "When those individuals don't have access to preventative care to prevent them from ending up in the emergency departments, that's a real concern to us."
3. Hospitals hope the Senate goes back to square one. Mr. Pollack said he hopes the Senate "restarts and resets" the discussion on the healthcare overhaul. "And I think that most House members would concede that what passed the House today is not going to be the final product. And we look forward to working with the Senate on that."
Access the full conversation between Mr. Sigel and Mr. Pollack on NPR.
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