APA Expresses Concerns Over Parts of New Health Care Bill

Two committees of the House of Representatives today began consideration of the American Health Care Act, the Republican mechanism to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ACA).The process will not in fact eliminate the ACA. The current action takes place under complex rules in the House and Senate limited to spending and revenue. This “reconciliation” process requires only a simple majority to pass legislation. To repeal other provisions of the ACA that do not have a direct budgetary impact, the Congress must eventually pass separate legislation that requires a 60-vote majority in the Senate, enough to overcome a filibuster.“While a number of details about the potential impact of the proposed ACA replacement remain unknown, our current understanding of the proposal raises many concerns for people with mental illness,” said APA President Maria A. Oquendo, M.D., Ph.D., in astatement.Major changes to Medicaid are particularly worrisome because almost one-third of people receiving coverage through Medicaid expansion have mental health or substance use disorders, noted Oquendo.The new plan would repeal coverage of “essential health benefits” required in Medicaid expansion plans under the ACA. Such a change would give states the option to end guaranteed treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, thus threatening parity. Other provisions would roll back Medicaid expansion and limit a state’s Medicaid per capita spending.Th...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: ACA Affordable Care Act American Health Care Act APA health insurance Maria A. Oquendo Medicaid expansion psychiatry Saul Levin Source Type: research