HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA): “Two House committees launched into a review on Wednesday [3-8-17] of a Republican proposal to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, legislation that is facing stiff resistance from health-care industry groups and a set of conservative GOP lawmakers…
Early discussion in the committees showed no signs of significant dissent among GOP lawmakers.
But opposition is coming from hospital groups—two of which sent letters of concern to lawmakers—and from some insurers and other industry groups, as well as from a number of Republican governors in states that used the existing law to expand Medicaid coverage for low-income residents. Among the concerns are that the bill would reduce insurance coverage and in some cases, cut industry profits.
Other signs of the turbulent road ahead for the legislation are coming from conservative lawmakers, who say the bill falls short of a more sweeping repeal of Affordable Care Act provisions that they promised voters. They are also concerned that tax credits created by the bill, aimed at helping people buy insurance, amount to a new federal entitlement program.”
-Stephanie Armour, Michelle Hackman, and Richard Rubin, “GOP Health Bill Goes to House Committees as Opposition Mounts,” The Wall Street Journal online, March 8, 2017