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Poliquin explains vote, but Collins has questions about AHCA bill

U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, is one of 217 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives who voted for the American Health Care Act. The narrow 217-213 approval now sends the AHCA bill to the U.S. Senate, where U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is likely to be a key player, having submitted an alternative plan for replacing the Affordable Care Act. PHOTO / MAINEBIZ
By James McCarthy

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted 217-213 to pass a bill that rolls back major provisions of the Affordable Care Act, sending the measure to an uncertain fate in the Senate. The American Health Care Act’s passage in the House comes more than a month after Republicans’ first attempt to bring it to a vote on the House floor, an effort stymied at the last minute when the party came up short of the 216 votes it needed.

Maine’s 2nd District Rep. Bruce Poliquin was among the Republicans voting for the AHCA bill, while 1st District Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, voted against it. Poliquin issued a statement on his website explaining why he voted for the GOP’s AHCA bill:

“With bipartisan Maine reforms at the center of this new bill, and with Maine having ensured essential health benefits and pre-existing conditions are covered under state laws, I have decided to vote yes on this health care legislation.

“Under Maine’s 2011 bipartisan reforms, those with pre-existing conditions were covered at the same cost as everyone else, with guaranteed coverage. Maine also ensures EHB’s, essential benefits, are always in place through a series of laws confirmed by Maine’s Superintendent of Insurance. I am confident that even if Maine state government sought a waiver not only would Maine people have essential benefits but pre-existing conditions would fully covered. Our state has already proven it — and our state has proven it can dramatically lower some health insurance premiums and stem the tide of rising costs with its reforms. It has worked in Maine.

“I expect the U.S. Senate to make further changes to this bill as it moves on from the House and I welcome those changes. I hope it comes back stronger and better. This simply moves this issue onto the Senate.”

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Poliquin concluded: “ObamaCare is failing, and Congress must act to rescue American families.”

The American Health Care Act dismantles key ACA provisions such as essential health benefits and pre-existing condition protections. The vote was held without a Congressional Budget Office score on the cost and impact of the revised version of the American Health Care Act. The CBO’s analysis of the original AHCA draft found an additional 24 million Americans would be uninsured in the next 10 years while also saving $337 billion in federal budget deficits, according to Healthcare Dive.com. 

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is cosponsoring with U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a separate ACA replacement plan in the Senate called the Patient Freedom Act of 2017, issued this statement after Thursday’s House vote: “Although I will carefully review the legislation the House passed today, at this point, there seem to be more questions than answers about its consequences.”

Collins has six key questions

Collins listed these six key questions that would guide her evaluation of the House plan:

  • What will be the effect on the people of Maine, including those who rely on the ACA for their health insurance coverage?
  • What will Mainers pay compared to their costs under the ACA? I am particularly concerned about the effect on low-income older individuals living in rural areas. The House bill’s tax credits do not adequately take into account income levels, or geographical differences in health care costs.
  • Exactly how does the bill treat individuals with pre-existing conditions? There should be no barrier to coverage for pre-existing conditions as long as people enroll and pay their premiums.
  • Will certain vital services for special education students be affected by the changes the bill makes to Medicaid?
  • How will the changes in Medicaid affect individuals and families, states, hospitals and other health care providers?
  • Finally, will the bill make insurance more affordable and increase access to quality care?
Other voices on Thursday's vote

Here are a few of the many statements issued Thursday about the bill:

Mitchell Stein, an independent health policy analyst who formerly served as policy director of the Maine nonprofit Consumers for Affordable Health Care: “The bill passed without hearings, with the final text made available mere hours before the vote, with many members of the House saying they had not read it, and without a CBO analysis. There was no public support for the bill: no provider groups, no patient groups and no hospitals came out in support of the AHCA. As written it may benefit a few young healthy people, but it will harm many old, sick and low-income people.”

Emily Brostek, executive director of Consumers for Affordable Health Care: “Somehow, Speaker Ryan and the House Freedom Caucus have managed to make a bad bill even worse. The current legislation continues to do almost everything that most Americans strongly oppose — no more coverage for pre-existing conditions; no more essential health benefits; and no more cost protections for seniors. We’re shocked to see this bill come back even more blatantly destructive than before.

“House Republicans have fast-tracked a bill that will destroy lives and bankrupt families, just so they can put a checkmark next to a campaign promise. Their plan won’t make things better; it will create chaos in the system and rip away health coverage for millions across the country, including tens of thousands in Maine. Now their Senate colleagues have been left to clean up the mess and make sure these careless policy proposals don’t advance.”

American Medical Association President Andrew W. Gurman, M.D.: “The bill passed by the House today will result in millions of Americans losing access to quality, affordable health insurance and those with pre-existing health conditions face the possibility of going back to the time when insurers could charge them premiums that made access to coverage out of the question. Action is needed, however, to improve the current health care insurance system. The AMA urges the Senate and the administration to work with physician, patient, hospital and other provider groups to craft bipartisan solutions so all American families can access affordable and meaningful coverage, while preserving the safety net for vulnerable populations.”

Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network: “The bill passed by the U.S. House today risks placing millions of Americans into a system in which they could be unable to afford their health coverage. Allowing patients to be charged more for coverage based on their health status risks making pre-existing condition protections virtually meaningless. A return to medical underwriting, combined with seriously weakened standards for what constitutes good coverage through the erosion of Essential Health Benefits, sets up a situation whereby payers can cherry-pick their customers and leave patients with serious conditions like cancer with few if any affordable insurance options.”

Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president of AARP: “AARP is deeply disappointed in today’s vote by the House to pass this deeply flawed health bill. The bill will put an age tax on us, harming millions of American families with health insurance, forcing many to lose coverage or pay thousands of dollars more for health care. In addition, the bill now puts at risk the 25 million older adults with preexisting conditions, such as cancer and diabetes, who would likely find health care unaffordable or unavailable to them.” 

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