APA to Senate: Reject Health Care Reform Proposal That Fails to Put Patients First

APA is urging the Senate to reject thehealth care reform proposal unveiled today by Senate Republicans. A vote on this bill is expected to come as early as next week, before lawmakers break for the July 4 recess.The proposed Senate bill rolls back Medicaid expansion, caps federal funding for the Medicaid program, and removes protections for people with pre-existing health conditions. “Eliminating requirements for coverage of key benefits, including mental health and substance use disorders and other patient protections that are part of the Affordable Care Act, will have detrimental impacts for millions,” APA President-Elect Altha Stewart, M.D., said in apress release issued by APA today. “Mental health is critical to overall health and needs to be equally accessible.”Among other provisions, APA opposes changes to Medicaid that would result in the loss of coverage for many Americans, including the estimated 2.8 million with substance use disorders and 1.3 million with serious mental illness, who gained coverage for the first time under the expansion of Medicaid under the current law. The proposed changes to Medicaid could also mean fewer resources for fighting the nation ’s opioid epidemic. “The Senate proposal represents a significant move in the wrong direction, resulting in fewer people having access to insurance, fewer patient protections, and less coverage for essential behavioral health care,” said APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M....
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: access to care AHCA Altha Stewart APA Medicaid opioid epidemic pre-existing conditions Saul Levin Senate Source Type: research