Doggett Opening Statement at Health Subcommittee Hearing on Modernizing Care Coordination to Prevent and Treat Chronic Disease
It’s nice to be back together after such a long break. Today’s focus on improving care coordination is certainly a laudable one that we can all agree on. I just wish there was more bipartisan coordination to come up with a solution that assures access to care for the millions of Americans who will soon lose their ability to see a family physician.
About 60% of American adults have at least one chronic condition, and for people like Walter, a small business owner in Austin, the Affordable Care Act has protected him from unjust coverage denials due to his diabetes. Many of my colleagues who demand a repeal of the ACA seem to have forgotten that there was a time when you could be denied coverage or charged more because of diabetes, cancer, surviving domestic violence or sexual assault, being a woman, being a certain age, or any other excuse an insurer might come up with. Thanks to the protection for pre-existing conditions, Walter and his wife have been able to rely on Marketplace plans to maintain his diabetes treatment and protect them from an unforeseen emergency. Next year, they will pay $700 more per month because Republicans are taking away the tax credits that helped them obtain coverage.
I agree with Republicans about cost containment, but they have neither offered a remedy or supported my proposals to rein in pharmaceutical price gouging and Medicare fraud. After failing more than 70 times, they once again offer to replace Obamacare with Nothingcare. No alternative plan that protects pre-existing conditions, assures access to basic medical care, or protects the 60% of Americans who cannot afford a $1,000 medical emergency, let alone the astronomical bills that come with treating cancer, a heart attack, or another dreaded diagnosis.
After more than 8 years, Trump still only has “concepts of a plan.” His secret plan remains a secret. Indicative of the priority he has placed on a solution. Like prices on everything from groceries to furniture, Trump continues to do nothing to bring down health care costs. But like any great snake oil salesman, he does have a name for his elusive plan: TrumpCare. I’m sure it will be just as successful as Trump University.
The only plan I’ve heard so far from my colleagues is to eliminate the ACA and give people some cash to go shopping for their health care through a Health Savings Account. This plan is just about saving Republicans politically, not saving Americans’ access to health care.
Health Savings Accounts are a continuation of Republicans’ tax giveaway for the wealthy. As triple-advantaged tax shelters, HSAs have become a lucrative tool for wealthy Americans to pay for a boat, a sauna, or a vacation. For the low-income families that the ACA protects, these accounts are useless because they do not have the spare funds to contribute. Nearly 60% of the value of the ACA tax credits benefit families earning 200% of the federal poverty line, which is about $64,000 for a family of four. Meanwhile, about half of the value of HSAs benefit households earning over $200,000.
Even if taxpayer dollars were provided for these HSAs, expecting the sick and injured to have the time and negotiating power to obtain quality and affordable care from a health conglomerate on their own is as absurd as Trump’s claims that he has already lowered prices by 1,500%. That would mean consumers are receiving free drugs and a 1,400% rebate—certainly miraculous.
At best, Republicans have not come up with a health care plan yet. At worst, they’re rallying around a proposal that leaves the most vulnerable Americans with no protection whatsoever as they fight fine-print caveats and denials at the same time they fight a disease. Let’s improve care coordination, but first, we must protect the ability to receive care.
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