The people are revolting against Obamacare repeal. Republicans are fighting one another over it, with the Koch brothers taking sides. The GOP’s base of older people is becoming increasingly involved in fighting it. Now the healthcare industry itself—which happens to make up about one-sixth of the nation’s economy is speaking out about the looming destruction.
They fear a new GOP-crafted system would reduce premium subsidies and Medicaid funding, drive up the number of uninsured Americans, spike uncompensated-care costs, and threaten their organizations’ financial viability.
“We’ll be facing very serious decisions about what services we offer and how many people we can employ,” said Van Gorder, whose system has held back on hiring for administrative positions since the November elections.
Those anxieties are clear from the results of Modern Healthcare’s first-quarter CEO Power Panel survey, which got responses from 81 of 110 CEOs contacted, as well as from interviews with some of the executives who completed the survey.
“Any drop-off in coverage falls 100% on health systems, because we’re the ones who pay in terms of bad debt and charity care,” said Catherine Jacobson, CEO of Milwaukee-based Froedtert Health.
Of the CEOs surveyed, 77.9 percent oppose repeal, “even with the promise of a replacement plan and a transition period.” An even bigger percentage—79.2 percent—want to see the law’s expansion of Medicaid coverage to low-income adults preserved.
Maybe the healthcare industry’s money will talk even louder than the Koch brothers’ when it comes time for the repeal rubber to hit the road.
Date: March 06, 2017