The American Medical Association has decided to speak up after all. They are not happy with the Republican health care plan:
While we agree that there are problems with the ACA that must be addressed, we cannot support the AHCA as drafted because of the expected decline in health insurance coverage and the potential harm it would cause to vulnerable patient populations.
….It is important that the amount of credits available to individuals be sufficient to enable one to afford quality coverage. We believe that credits should be inversely related to an individual’s income….We are concerned [] with the proposed rollback of the Medicaid expansion under the ACA….The AMA cannot support provisions that repeal the Prevention and Public Health Fund or that eliminate the ability of patients to receive their care from qualified providers of their choice.
….We encourage you to ensure that low and moderate income Americans will be able to secure affordable and adequate coverage and that Medicaid, CHIP, and other safety net programs are maintained and adequately funded. And critically, we urge you to do all that is possible to ensure that those who are currently covered do not become uninsured.
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the show?
In a separate commentary, under the headline “Physicians reject House ACA replacement bill,” the AMA’s president says this: “The ratings and analytics firm S&P Global Ratings has already estimated that as many as 10 million Americans could lose coverage if this bill becomes law….That just won’t do.”
Among the big industry players, only the insurance companies continue to remain quiet about the Republican plan. However, with everyone else opposed to it, they might finally decide to speak up. They’re the ones for whom RepubliCare is an existential threat, after all.
But while we’re on the subject, has anyone noticed that there’s one other player who doesn’t support the Republican bill? So far, President Trump’s sole comment about it has been this: “Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation.” By Trump standards, that’s practically a denunciation. Elsewhere in the administration, Tom Price apparently hasn’t read the bill and Sean Spicer’s big pitch was the fact that it has fewer words than Obamacare. This is a decidedly restrained approach. It appears that Trump doesn’t want to be too closely identified with this dumpster fire of a bill. He may not be very smart, but he has an animal cunning that’s probably warning him to keep his distance.
