When congressional Republicans in 2017 pushed to repeal the Affordable Care Act and slash Medicaid, dozens of doctor teams, affected person advocates, hospitals, and others rallied to defend the legislation and the safety-net program.
Eight years later, two trade teams have been notably restrained as GOP lawmakers think about sweeping new Medicaid cuts: the American Medical Association and the American Health Care Association, which represents nursing houses.
At the identical time, the 2 teams are lobbying Republicans, looking for assist on different priorities.
The AMA is lobbying lawmakers to reverse a virtually 3% lower in Medicare’s charges for physicians. And the AHCA has pushed Congress to roll again laws enacted beneath President Joe Biden that mandate higher staffing ratios at nursing houses.
Representatives of the 2 teams declined to touch upon the file about any connections between the Medicaid struggle and their different legislative priorities.
But AHCA spokesperson Rachel Reeves stated the nursing dwelling group, which has issued a press release defending Medicaid, is speaking with lawmakers concerning the significance of this system for individuals with low incomes and disabilities. “We will make sure that the voices of our community are heard and that the message is loud and clear: Congress must protect our seniors who rely on Medicaid,” she stated. Medicaid is the first payer for nursing dwelling care, masking greater than 6 in 10 nursing dwelling residents.
Nevertheless, different advocates and congressional Democrats stated they’re annoyed by the 2 teams. “The time to speak out is now,” Sen. Ron Wyden, the senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, advised KFF Health News. “Americans will know which organizations stood up against harmful cuts to Medicaid when this fight is over.”
Medicaid, a state-federal insurance coverage plan that along with the associated Children’s Health Insurance Program covers about 80 million Americans, is within the crosshairs as congressional Republicans search to trim a number of trillion {dollars} in federal spending to offset the $4.5 trillion price of extending tax cuts enacted in President Donald Trump’s first time period.
Medicaid cuts on the dimensions being contemplated would put protection for hundreds of thousands of Americans in danger. That has alarmed advocates who work with individuals lined by this system, together with kids, Americans with disabilities, and low-income older adults. Other advocacy organizations who work with these sufferers have been far more lively.
Last week, greater than 400 pediatricians traveled to Washington, D.C., to talk to members of Congress concerning the significance of Medicaid. More than 100 leaders of safety-net hospitals that serve low-income sufferers across the nation did the identical.
Patients’ advocates such because the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network have defended Medicaid. Last month, state medical societies despatched a letter to congressional leaders warning of dire penalties if Medicaid cuts are enacted. And this week, greater than 750 members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are anticipated in Washington, the place the group says they’ll be lobbying to protect Medicaid funding.
“Slicing hundreds of billions of dollars from federal funding will force states to cut the care children and families depend on or raise taxes on hard-working Americans,” stated Chip Kahn, chief government of the Federation of American Hospitals, one other commerce group combating to defend Medicaid.
Building coalitions was crucial in earlier well being care debates, stated Ron Pollack, the previous head of affected person advocacy group Families USA. Pollack helped lead the push for the 2010 Affordable Care Act. “We succeeded in the past because we stuck together,” he stated.
Eight years in the past, the AMA and AHCA have been key members of the coalition that turned again Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, typically known as Obamacare.
The AMA, the nation’s largest doctor group, despatched a number of letters to Congress all through 2017, warning lawmakers in a March 17, 2017, letter that they need to “keep upmost in your mind the potentially life altering impact your decisions will have on millions of Americans.”
And the AHCA’s president was a number one voice opposing repeal, which at one level he known as “the biggest threat that the sector has faced in at least 20 to 25 years.”
This yr, the AMA hasn’t despatched a single letter or issued any information releases opposing Medicaid cuts. By distinction, the group has issued seven information releases since January on the shortage of congressional motion on doctor charges.
The AHCA issued its first public protection of Medicaid on this yr’s debate — a doc it known as a reality sheet — solely the day after House Republicans adopted a price range decision that threatens this system’s funding. When the group issued its 2025 coverage priorities final week, “Priority #1” centered on staffing, together with repealing the Biden-era staffing mandate. “Protecting Medicaid” was “Priority #2.”
The Medicaid debate will probably drag on for months as GOP leaders within the House and Senate attempt to cobble collectively a invoice to increase tax cuts.
Medicaid’s defenders say they’re nonetheless on the lookout for extra voices to talk up.
“Republicans have said outright that silence is consent,” Wyden stated. “If health care organizations don’t speak out against the GOP’s plans to cut health care, Republican lawmakers are going to assume those organizations are on board with their agenda.”