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Statement of ACAP CEO Margaret A. Murray on the Revised Better Care Reconciliation Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 13, 2017
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Christian Hertenstein, (202) 683-3194
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 revised Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) released today in the United States Senate:
“The Senate has had ample time to better the Better Care Reconciliation Act. We are disappointed the new version of the bill still dangerously erodes coverage for tens of millions of low-income Americans.
“As we have stated before, Medicaid provides critical health coverage for more than 74 million low-income, aged, blind and disabled Americans, 20 million of whom receive services through ACAP-member Safety Net Health Plans. The BCRA’s erosion of the Medicaid expansion, underfunded per capita allotments, and failure to protect the integrity of actuarially-sound rate-setting practices underpinning Medicaid managed care will cause irrevocable harm to millions of poor, aged and disabled Americans on Medicaid .
“On the Marketplace side, the revised bill does little to ensure truly comprehensive, affordable coverage is available to all Americans. We remain concerned that a 6-month waiting period will do little to replace the individual mandate and may lead to a death spiral. Additionally, we are concerned that the individual market would be further destabilized and segmented by allowing plans to sell inadequate coverage that will not truly protect enrollees in the case of unexpected medical bills.
“We continue to have many concerns about this legislation. We refer to the previous letter we sent the Senate on the BCRA on many other concerns, though we will continue to evaluate additional changes to the bill and look forward to reviewing an updated CBO score. However, based on what we’ve seen, this legislation continues to move 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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