August 19, 2019 | Updates

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Americans Urge Elected Officials To Build On What Is Working, Reject One-Size-Fits-All Health Care

WASHINGTON – Following the release of new polling data that finds Americans would rather our leaders build on what’s working in health care and fix what’s broken, voices throughout the nation are encouraging elected officials to oppose a one-size-fits-all government insurance system that will force Americans to pay more to wait longer for worse care.

Joe Jackson, Small Business Owner, Arizona:

I saw that there’s a new study out that says the government-controlled health insurance system that some Democrats running for president are pushing would be devastating for rural health care in Arizona, with some 40% put in danger of closing.  Those of us who have lived in “rural” Arizona know that accessing quality care at an affordable price is difficult enough, so I hope that our leaders in Washington aren’t looking to make the situation exponentially worse.

… Maybe they should simply fix what’s broken with the system we have.  That way, at least we can keep our access to rural hospitals should we have an emergency. 

Laura Stevens Kent, Vice President, Hospital Association Of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania:

A newly released report analyzes the potential impact of a Medicare “public option” on U.S. rural hospitals and communities.  The report specifically points out the impact on access and the quality of care that rural hospitals provide to their communities.
 
… According to the report, as many as 55 percent of rural hospitals, or 1,037 hospitals across 46 states could be at risk of closure if a government insurance program – reimbursing at Medicare rates – is offered as a public option on the health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  The at-risk hospitals represent more than 63,000 staffed beds and 420,000 employees.  Authors state that these rural hospitals may have to eliminate services or reduce the number of clinical and administrative staff as a result of the revenue impact of the market shift to a Medicare public insurance option.
 
… This new report points to consequences that should be considered and discussed in the context of the policy conversation surrounding efforts to expand coverage through a “Medicare for All” framework.  

Cathandra Cartado, Arizona:

Finding specialists, keeping one’s doctors, and ensuring one’s health care needs are met is something that Veterans are always battling with their VA healthcare system.  To expect anything different with Medicare-for-all is overly optimistic.

Jan Hartman, Executive Vice President, National Association Of Insurance And Financial Advisors – Pennsylvania (NAIFA-PA), Pennsylvania:

Presidential candidate and Vice President Joe Biden released the details of his long-awaited plan to protect and build upon the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  His proposal may not seem as extreme as some of the candidates running to his left, but it could put us on a similar road, even if it does take a slightly more winding road to a government-run health care insurance system.
 
… [T]he inclusion of the public option seems almost unnecessary—as though it were an afterthought thrown in to take an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach (or in this case, replace the kitchen sink with Medicare for All)
 
… You can’t make changes to fix the ACA if you are also going to include a public option that could ultimately lead to the ACA’s slow demise. And that’s what many in his own party have said a public option would do … And that isn’t how most Americans, or Pennsylvanians, want to see our lawmakers fix health care.  We need to keep building on and improving the ACA to actually make it work better for everyone – a public option won’t help us do that.

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