Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

New Obamacare replacement plan would hurt CT, report says

  • Health
  • by Ana Radelat
  • August 24, 2017
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Washington – In a fiery speech this week in Phoenix, Ariz., President Donald Trump faulted GOP congressional leaders for failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act and urged them to try again.

One option available to the GOP is a bill being written by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. and Bill Cassidy, R-La., that aims to give states full authority to craft their own health care systems – with some financial aid from the federal government.

The per-capita cuts under the Cassidy-Graham proposal, according to the study.

But that repeal and replace plan would increase the number of uninsured nationwide, restructure Medicaid and have an especially harmful impact on Connecticut and a handful of other states, a liberal-leaning Washington D.C.-based think tank said.

“It would cause many millions of people to lose coverage, radically restructure and deeply cut Medicaid, increase out-of-pocket costs for individual market consumers, and weaken or eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions,” says an analysis released Thursday by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The legislation aims to appeal to both conservatives and moderates alike.

Bill supporters say the Graham-Cassidy plan would give Republican states the flexibility to draft alternative, more conservative, health care plans that work better for their states.

“We need to let states take care of themselves and give power back to the patient,” said Cassidy, a former medical doctor, in a Washington Post op-ed. “ Let a blue state do a blue thing and a red state such as mine take a different, conservative approach.”

The plan would eliminate the ACA’s marketplace subsidies and the increased federal Medicaid funds states like Connecticut received to expand that health care program for the poor to more people – including single adults who did not earn more than 138 percent of the federal poverty rate.

That federal money, which helped states cut the number of uninsured, would be replaced by block grants that would grow at the annual inflation rate — not the higher medical inflation rate.

The Graham-Cassidy bill would also turn the regular Medicaid program, which in Connecticut is funded 50-50 by the state and federal government, into a program in which federal payments are capped based on a per-capita formula. That means that if demand for the program increases, services would likely be cut and/or eligibility restricted.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimated Connecticut could lose almost $2.5 billion a year in federal health care funds by 2026 under the Graham-Cassidy plan.

The plan would also allow states to waive Obamacare regulations on the amount of coverage an insurer must provide and eliminate bans on annual or lifetime limits on coverage.

The Center of Budget and Policy Priorities report said the Graham-Cassidy plan “would effectively punish states that have been especially successful at enrolling low- and moderate-income people in the Medicaid expansion or in marketplace coverage under the ACA, while imposing less damaging cuts, or even initially increasing funding, for states that have rejected the Medicaid expansion, enrolled fewer people in marketplace coverage, and have lower population density and lower per-capita income.”

“The cuts would be especially severe in nine states — California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia, plus the District of Columbia,” the center said. “By 2026, block grant funding amounts in these states would be 50 percent or less of the federal Medicaid expansion and/or marketplace subsidy funding these states would otherwise receive.”

When Congress returns from its summer break in early September, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee plans to hold hearings in the hopes of coming up with a bipartisan health care overhaul. Cassidy is a member of the committee, as is Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. The Graham-Cassidy bill is likely to be discussed.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ana Radelat Ana has written about politics and policy in Washington, D.C.. for Gannett, Thompson Reuters and UPI. She was a special correspondent for the Miami Herald, and a regular contributor to The New York TImes, Advertising Age and several other publications. She has also worked in broadcast journalism, for CNN and several local NPR stations. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Journalism.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Medical providers are taking nature therapy seriously
by Jenifer Frank | C-HIT.ORG

In a time of social isolation and staying home, sometimes a walk in the park is the best medicine.

Have a case of a COVID variant? No one is going to tell you
by Christina Jewett and JoNel Aleccia | Kaiser Health News and Rachana Pradhan

Federal rules around who can be told about the variant cases are confusing, and tests have not been approved.

CT teachers are expected to get vaccinated for COVID at local clinics, but other options could cause problems
by Dave Altimari

School employees could end up on two lists, which means some vaccine might go to waste, officials said.

Grocery store workers ‘disgusted’ with Lamont’s new COVID-19 vaccine policy
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Grocery store workers are frustrated with Gov. Ned Lamont, who is no longer prioritizing them in the coronavirus vaccination schedule.

Breaking with national recommendations, Lamont says Connecticut’s vaccine rollout will now be prioritized by age
by Jenna Carlesso and Keith M. Phaneuf

People aged 55 to 64 will be next in line for the vaccine.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Fitness is part of Connecticut’s COVID solution
by David Humphrey

Based on what we now know about infection rates and transmission, it is more apparent than ever before that gyms, fitness centers, and the physical and mental health benefits of exercise are essential to help our state get through the months ahead.

Opinion Connecticut can’t afford state government-run health insurance
by Mike Licamele

As much as I support strengthening and improving healthcare, I do not believe SB 842 is the way to do that. Instead of trying to force Connecticut residents into a new, government-controlled healthcare system, lawmakers should focus on improving our existing one by building on what’s working and continuing to address lowering costs, not raising taxes

Opinion Disabled, marginalized, stalled and walled
by Doris Maldonado

As a bilingual health information specialist for PATH P2P Family Voices CT and National Family Voices Cultural Responsiveness Telehealth Team, I offer more than professional expertise as well as despair for the marginalized within marginalized communities. I am a Latina with disabilities, adoptive mother of 17-year-old twins with special needs and a thriving toddler.

Opinion The marijuana legalization debate must be based on facts
by Will Jones III

In response to my earlier piece on why Connecticut lawmakers should reject marijuana commercialization,  Brendan Ruberry wrote a rebuttal that, on its face seems scathing, but to be clear, the attempted rebuttal falls flat and well off the mark.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO