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News
1-20-11 Affordable Care Act Update
February 8, 2011
1/20/11 This message is being sent to NHO Senior Staff, ACS Division Mission Vice Presidents, ACS Advocacy Leaders, ACS Advocacy Personnel, Media Advocacy and ACS CAN Staff.
Below is this week’s update on the Affordable Care Act. As always, thank you for all you do every day to support laws and policies that help cancer patients and their families.
Health Care Reform Repeal Bill and Replace Resolution Pass the House
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday night on legislation (HR 2) to repeal the Affordable Act. The legislation passed, as expected, 245-189 on a mostly party-line vote. The legislation has been sent to the Senate, where Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said that he does not plan on bringing the bill up for a vote. Senator Reid has vowed to do everything he can to protect the new law, and to stop any attempts to weaken it in any way.
House leadership turned today to the next phase of its effort to dismantle the law. The House debated and voted on H Res. 9, which calls on three House committees of jurisdiction for health care and the House Judiciary Committee to write and report out legislation that proposes changes to the law. The legislation passed 253-175, and signaled the beginning of a more targeted pushback against the law that will play out in the House over the next two years. Much of the attention will be focused on the four House committees over the next few months as they are actively engaged in hearings that discuss proposed changes to the law, as well as oversight of the work that is being done by the federal departments on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Read coverage from Roll Call:
ACS CAN Call Campaign
Leading up to yesterday’s vote in the House, ACS CAN launched an effort to generate calls into several congressional offices from constituents who are opposed to the repeal of provisions that are helping to expand access quality, affordable health care. The calls were directed at a targeted number of both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. In four days, a total of 10,527 calls – at least 500 per target office – were made. The calls emphasized the patient protections included in the law, including the elimination of exclusions based on pre-existing conditions, and urged members to vote against the repeal legislation. Read the ACS CAN press release.
Legal Challenges
U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson on Wednesday approved a request by the state of Florida to add six new states to the multi-state/NFIB lawsuit against the health reform law. The federal government opposed the move, but Judge Vinson ruled that the new plaintiffs don't change anything about the underlying case. The new states are: Ohio, Kansas, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Maine and Iowa, bringing the total number of states involved in the pending district court suit in Florida to 26. Virginia and Oklahoma are also pursuing separate legal challenges to the law bringing the total number of states to 28.
Also this week the Department of Justice also filed a formal appeal this week of a December 13, 2010 decision by Federal District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson that the law is unconstitutional. Hudson ruled in December in favor of the commonwealth of Virginia in its suit.
Read coverage from CQ:
States and Medicaid
In the states, Society Divisions and ACS CAN continue to work to protect Medicaid funding and state programs from budget cuts. A recent letter from 33 Republican governors to the Administration and Congressional leadership urged them to eliminate the Medicaid Maintenance of Effort (MOE) provisions that were included in the Affordable Care Act, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The MOE requires states to keep eligibility and enrollment activities at the same level as they were prior to the enactment of those laws.
In response, Society Division and ACS CAN government relations staff are utilizing a number of strategies, including a new fact sheet that explains why the Medicaid MOE is so important for cancer patients and their families. Attempts to cut Medicaid budgets in the states are expected to continue throughout the year. ACS CAN’s talking points on Maintenance of Effort are attached.
New Poll Shows Few Americans Support Total Healthcare Law Repeal
Americans’ views of the Affordable Care Act continue to remain divided along partisan lines, but few opponents support full, immediate repeal of the law according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week. While 50 percent continue to oppose the legislation, only 33 percent of those who oppose it are advocating for its complete repeal. The poll concluded that Americans generally are influenced by claims that the law will hurt the country’s deficit, with 78 percent of Republicans and 46 percent of Democrats saying the law will increase the federal budget deficit. Read the Washington Post article for more on the poll.
HHS Releases New Report on Individuals with Pre-Existing Conditions in the U.S.
On Tuesday, January 18, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report showing that 129 million Americans under age 65 have pre-existing conditions, and could be denied coverage if the Affordable Care Act was repealed. The report was released the same day the House began debate on the repeal bill. Read the HHS press release and the Los Angeles Times story.
Christopher W. Hansen
President
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)