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While roughly 83% of adults in the United States will visit a health care provider in the next year, an estimated
News
4-28-11 Affordable Care Act Update
April 29, 2011
Federal Legislative Update
Congress remained in recess this week, and many local news reports have focused on growing public concern about cuts proposed in the U.S. House fiscal year 2012 budget blueprint, which passed the House earlier this month. As you may recall, the budget resolution would do away with the coverage expansions provided for in the Affordable Care Act through elimination of funding for health insurance exchange planning grants, affordability credits, and Medicaid expansion.
It also recommends turning the federal-state Medicaid partnership into a state block grant program and transforming Medicare so that seniors would receive a fixed amount to buy coverage on the private market. Because 50 percent of cancer patients are in Medicare and a substantial number of cancer patients receive coverage through Medicaid, this proposal could have a profoundly adverse impact on the constituency the American Cancer Society and ACS CAN serve. When Congress returns next week, the budget debate will move to the Senate, which will consider additional options for reducing the deficit. We will keep you apprised of further developments.
The House plan to cut Medicaid has proven unpopular with a strong majority of the public. According to a poll released this week by First Focus, a bipartisan organization focusing on children’s issues, 70 percent of Americans surveyed disapprove of the proposed $750 billion cut. An even greater proportion of those surveyed -- 73 percent -- oppose cuts to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Two out of three Americans reject giving governors more flexibility to administer the program if it means dropping health coverage for some children.
State Legislative Update – Maine
This week the spotlight is on Maine, where ACS CAN’s senior director of policy, Steve Finan, testified before the legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Insurance and Financial Services in opposition to proposals to repeal existing state laws on guaranteed issue and adjusted community rating. Repealing such laws would represent a big step backwards and make it significantly more difficult for patients to access lifesaving health care.
“Does Maine really want to have a health insurance system that only works well for people when they are healthy, but essentially abandons people when they get conditions like cancer?” Finan asked lawmakers in his testimony. Finan encouraged lawmakers to focus their energy and efforts on using existing law to develop a strong state health exchange that would benefit all.
Litigation Update
As expected, the U.S. Supreme Court declined this week to hear the Affordable Care Act case brought by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on an expedited basis. This decision means that oral arguments will proceed as originally scheduled in May and over the summer in three different Circuit Courts hearing appeals. Also of note, Justice Elena Kagan, the Court’s newest member, did not recuse herself from the decision on whether to hear the case. Because Kagan was Solicitor General when the cases were filed, there was speculation that she would bow out of the challenges to the Affordable Care Act when they reached the high court. The Court's decision not to hold an expedited hearing puts the debate to rest. If Kagan were going to recuse herself, she would done so with this decision.
To date, three federal judges have upheld the law as constitutional, one has struck down the individual mandate portion of it, and one has struck down the entire law. Decisions against the law have been "stayed," or suspended, pending the outcome of the appeals. The Supreme Court is expected to wait until the Courts of Appeals have ruled before accepting the cases in its fall term, with a final decision expected before the Court adjourns for summer recess in 2012.
Affordable Care Act Support Remains Steady
The latest polling data from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows public opinion toward the health care law remaining steady, with approximately 40 percent of Americans approving of the law and 40 percent opposing it. And while the poll finds that the public is skeptical about the changes to Medicare included in the House budget proposal, it also shows that arguments about the potential positive and negative consequences of such changes could significantly sway public opinion. Kaiser says the results suggest that “whichever side does a better job getting its arguments across may ultimately win the public’s favor.”
As always, thank you for all you do every day to support laws and policies that help cancer patients and their families
Christopher W. Hansen
President
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)