Numerous healthcare organizations, leaders and agencies voiced their opinion on a recent healthcare bill proposed by Senate Republicans, which is slated to head to a vote next week.
The bill, spearheaded by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., would restructure Medicaid's financing to a per-capita system and create block grants for states to fund their own healthcare programs, among other provisions.
Here are nine reactions from various health organizations and leaders regarding the proposed legislation.
1. Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove, MD, said the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill "is going to threaten the financial viability of a lot of hospitals across the country."
2. Senior citizens who make less than $25,000 annually may see their healthcare costs rise by as much as $16,714 under the proposed legislation, Washington, D.C.-based American Association of Retired Persons stated.
3. Chicago-based Blue Cross Blue Shield Association stated the bill "reduces funding for many states significantly and would increase uncertainty in the marketplace, making coverage more expensive and jeopardizing Americans' choice of health plans."
4. Richard Besser, MD, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, N.J., said the proposed bill "could result in dramatic damage to the nation's healthcare safety net … [which] is simply bad for health."
5. "Repealing the individual mandate without alternative incentives for enrollment will lead to fewer people enrolled and higher premiums," said Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson.
6. In a letter to Senate leadership Sept. 19, James Madara, MD, president and CEO of the American Medical Association in Chicago, said the organization believes the proposed legislation "would result in millions of Americans losing their health insurance coverage, destabilize health insurance markets, and decrease access to affordable coverage and care."
7. America's Health Insurance Plans in Washington, D.C., stated the Graham-Cassidy bill "would have real consequences on consumers and patients by further destabilizing the individual market … pulling back on protections for pre-existing conditions … and potentially allowing government-controlled, single payer healthcare to grow."
8. Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Medicaid Directors noted "the per-capita caps and the envisioned block grant would constitute the largest intergovernmental transfer of financial risk from the federal government to the states in our country's history."
9. Charles Kahn III, president and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals in Washington, D.C., said the proposed legislation "could disrupt access to healthcare for millions of the more than 70 million Americans who depend on Medicaid and the marketplaces for their health coverage. … We urge the Senate to reject legislation that fails to move us forward in assuring Americans access to affordable healthcare and coverage."