Federal health care reform

Saturday, July 01, 2017 12:22 PM
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CMS leaders meet with Sen. Cory Gardner to urge thoughtful health care reform

by Kate Alfano, CMS Communications Coordinator

During the American Medical Association Annual Meeting in mid-June, a subsection of the Colorado delegation to the AMA traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner. Gardner is a member of the group in charge of crafting the senate version of the American Health Care Act (ACHA).

AHCA passed the U.S. House of Representatives in May and received strong opposition from the AMA for the large number projected to lose their insurance, 23 million by the Congressional Budget Office’s estimation; for cuts to Medicaid of $830 billion, for the elimination of the Prevention and Public Health Fund that supports about 12 percent of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Programs, and for the ban on Planned Parenthood funding.

Gardner has already expressed concerns about cuts to Medicaid and how it crucially lacked “stability and certainty” for those in the Medicaid expansion.

“The meeting with Sen. Gardner and his legislative aide went really well,” said CMS President Katie Lozano, MD, FACR. “They listened, asked for more information (articles from CMS magazine including survey results), and understand our concerns about maintaining and increasing coverage.”

CMS Immediate Past President Michael Volz, MD, while discussing maintaining the Medicaid expansion coverage, was asked about the “fundamental difference” in how different political parties view Medicaid. He said, “Actually there isn’t a fundamental difference. We all want the same thing: better, affordable coverage for the people of Colorado.”

CMS and AMA will continue to follow the federal health care reform debate as it unfolds.


Posted in: Colorado Medicine | Health System Reform | Initiatives | Advocacy | AMA
 

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