Opinion Pieces

The AHCA score: A high cost to American health
https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/healthcare/335831-the-ahca-score-a-high-cost-to-american-health
By: Rep. Salud Carbajal | 6/1/17

Four months into my first term as a Member of Congress, one thing has been made perfectly clear – the majority party has shown little regard for running legislative business in regular order.

The passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) was a painful example of this disappointing reality. Republicans voted on their most recent misguided healthcare repeal proposal without a single hearing or waiting for a cost estimate, rushing forward a bill that will affect the lives of our constituents without knowing its full impact.

This is unconscionable when considering legislation that has life and death consequences for millions of people.

We knew when the AHCA passed the House this bill would have real devastating impacts to the health and financial well-being of many, particularly those living with preexisting conditions, older Americans not yet eligible for Medicare, and those relying on Medicaid. Now, the non-partisan economists with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) have confirmed how harmful this bill is in their stunning analysis report.

The AHCA leaves 23 million more Americans uninsured in the next decade. Many are being forced off their insurance plans by skyrocketing premium costs due to a preexisting condition or their age.

Twenty-three million is not an abstract number in my mind. After watching this bill pass on the House floor, I immediately thought back to countless stories I’ve heard from my constituents about the real-life consequences of this legislation for Central Coast families.

Particularly for people like Baylee, a young constituent of mine from Lompoc, Calif. When Baylee was diagnosed with Common Variable Immune Deficiency, it was bittersweet. Her mother, Annette was relieved after years of searching for answers that they finally identified what was making her daughter sick and how they could manage her illness to help her live a full and healthy life.

Baylee’s susceptibility to infections due to her autoimmune disease can thankfully be managed with medication, allowing Baylee to pursue her passions on Cabrillo High School’s soccer and golf teams. Without insurance coverage, these critical prescriptions would cost their family $27,000 every month.

The day the healthcare repeal passed, Baylee’s mother Annette called my office, panicked about what this meant for her daughter living with a preexisting condition. If California chose to waive the preexisting coverage requirement for insurers, as is allowed for states under the AHCA, her family would have to face the unfathomable choice between the cost of keeping their child healthy and financial ruin.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that one in six Americans with preexisting conditions will be forced out of insurance coverage under this plan. Partly due to the ability for states to opt-out of insurance protections for preexisting conditions under the MacArthur amendment, but also because insurers will now be allowed to charge these patients, who are most in need of care, drastically higher premiums.

Our healthcare system as it currently stands is far from perfect and I’ll be the first to point out its flaws. Too many Americans are still struggling to pay for high insurance coverage premiums and prescription drug costs.

We need to work together to fix what’s broken, not break it beyond repair.

The AHCA will have life and death consequences for our constituents, and it is unfortunate that most my Republican colleagues voted to pass it before hearing what it meant for the 23 million Americans expected to lose coverage. This misguided bill would raise premiums on expectant mothers, take away cancer patients’ care, and raise premiums up to 800 percent for older Americans. It reduces spending for the sick, for the working class and for the elderly, and in turn gives significant tax cuts to the wealthy.

I urge my colleagues in the Senate to put health of the American public, and kids like Baylee, over political games and outright reject this cruel piece of legislation.