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Statement of ACAP CEO Margaret A. Murray on the Better Care Reconciliation Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 22, 2017
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515
STATEMENT OF ACAP CEO MARGARET A. MURRAY
ON THE BETTER CARE RECONCILIATION ACT
WASHINGTON—Margaret A. Murray, CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), made the following statement on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) released today in the United States Senate:
“What we’ve seen thus far raises profound concerns.
“Medicaid is the backbone of health coverage for more than 74 million low-income, aged, blind and disabled Americans. Nearly 20 million of them receive services through ACAP-member Safety Net Health Plans. The BCRA moves in a dangerous and harmful direction for poor, aged and disabled Americans and the health plans and providers that serve them—whether it is phasing out Medicaid coverage for millions of Americans, threatening the viability of the Medicaid system through underfunded per capita allotments, or failing to protect the integrity of actuarially-sound rate-setting practices that underpin Medicaid managed care.
“On the Marketplace side, the bill maintains guaranteed-issue provisions, but at the same time repeals the individual mandate—with no apparent mechanism for requiring or encouraging otherwise healthy people to sign up. It’s perplexing, to say the least, that this two-ingredient recipe for sending insurance markets into a ‘death spiral’ is in the bill. While we wholeheartedly support guaranteed issue, the individual mandate or something similar is needed to assure that insurance markets are viable.
“We have a number of other concerns about the legislation. While we are continuing to review the bill, we would refer to the previous letter we have sent the Senate on the AHCA that will serve as the basis for our continuing review. However, based on what we’ve seen, this legislation moves in several dangerous directions simultaneously.”
About ACAP
ACAP represents 60 Safety Net Health Plans, which provide health coverage to more than twenty million people in 29 states. Safety Net Health Plans serve their members through Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Marketplace and other health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.
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