Ron Pollack, Kathleen Sebelius: ACA replacement bills 'constitute a very cruel war on the poor'

In an op-ed for Health Affairs, former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Ron Pollack, executive director of healthcare advocacy group Families USA, called attention to aspects of the House and Senate healthcare bills that they believe will disproportionately harm low-income Americans.

Here are four key thoughts from their article.

  1. New caps for Medicaid eligibility, with the individual annual income cap coming in at just over $16,000, make it much harder for low-income people or the working poor in need of Medicaid services to qualify for the program if they exceed that threshold.
  2. New caps on federal funding for Medicaid are adjusted based on overall inflation rates and not medical inflation rates, which rise more quickly.
  3. Reduced premium subsidies make it harder for low- and middle-income individuals and families to afford private insurance.
  4. With many tax cuts afforded to wealthy individuals in these bills, the cuts to low-income services cannot be seen as part of an overall strategy for financial prudence but instead a direct attack on the poor.

More Articles on Leadership

Win now, win later: 3 core capabilities for value-based care
3 more GOP senators come out against healthcare bill after vote delay
Trump acknowledges health reform bill may not 'get done'

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Whitepapers

Featured Webinars