Senate Health Care Votes: Major Reforms Are Urgently Needed

Today the Senate is expected to vote on two different bills meant to address the looming premium spikes for insurance purchased on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Both proposals are expected to fail.

Brandon Novick, Domestic Policy Coordinator at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), released the following statement:

“The American health insurance system is broken. While neither of these bills fixes that, the Republican proposal is far worse.

“Over 20 million Americans who purchase health coverage on the ACA marketplace get enhanced subsidies from the federal government that help them afford skyrocketing premiums. The Republican bill allows these enhanced subsidies to expire, leaving low- and middle-class Americans to pay thousands more to afford their health plan premiums. Instead, the bill will allow certain Americans to get $1,000 – or $1,500 for those 50-64 years old – in 2026 and 2027 for Health Savings Accounts. These payments don’t go to premiums but they partially cover deductibles. Yet, the only Americans who qualify are those enrolled in Catastrophic and Bronze plans – which have the highest deductibles and out-of-pocket payments that far exceed $1,500.

“To put it simply, the Republican plan is to massively increase the premium payments for millions of Americans while allowing a fraction of them to spend up to $1,000 or $1,500 a year on health care expenses, which are a fraction of the deductible they have to pay anyway before insurance coverage would kick in.

“The Democratic plan is simpler: Three more years of the enhanced subsidies. If this bill passes, Americans won’t have to pay an abrupt spike of thousands of dollars to afford their premiums … at least until 2029. Without further legislation, Americans will face a similar crisis three years from now.

“It is essential to point out that neither bill addresses the fundamental issues of why health insurance and health care costs are much higher in the United States while we suffer worse health outcomes. Both public and private insurers in the US pay more than in other countries for the same goods and services due to massive consolidation, lack of transparency, higher payments for doctors (especially specialists), and patent monopolies.

“Our private insurance system is massively inefficient; we pay more for administrative expenses than other wealthy countries. We could save hundreds of billions of dollars through lower administrative costs and ensure health coverage for every American by moving to a Medicare For All, single-payer health care system. Republicans argue that the Affordable Care Act wastes money and enriches private insurers; there is a way to stop this waste while expanding access to health care rather than limiting it: Medicare For All.”