Washington State Discount Health Insurance Quotes

GOP Candidates Push State Role In Health Care

Topics: Politics , Public Health , Health Reform , States

Exchanges on health policy were limited in Thursday’s Republican presidential debate, but Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney once again lashed out at each other on the issue and Rep. Michele Bachmann renewed her criticism of Perry’s efforts to get Texas children vaccinated against HPV.

Here's a partial transcript of the debate's health care points:

PERRY : Speaking of books and talking about being able to have things in your books, back and forth, your economic adviser talked about Romneycare and how that was an absolute bust. And it was exactly what Obamacare was all about.

As a matter of fact, between books, your hard copy book, you said it was exactly what the American people needed, to have that Romneycare given to them as you had in Massachusetts. Then in your paperback, you took that line out. So, speaking of not getting it straight in your book sir, that would be a –

(APPLAUSE)

KELLY: Governor Romney?

ROMNEY : Governor Perry, we were talking about Social Security, but if you want to talk about health care, I’m happy to do that.

BAIER : We are going to have a round on that.

ROMNEY : I actually wrote my book, and in my book I said no such thing. What I said, actually — when I put my health care plan together – and I met with Dan Balz, for instance, of The Washington Post. He said, "Is this is a plan that if you were president you would put on the whole nation, have a whole nation adopt it?"

I said,"Absolutely not." I said, "This is a state plan for a state, it is not a national plan."

And it’s fine for to you retreat from your own words in your own book, but please don’t try and make me retreat from the words that I wrote in my book. I stand by what I wrote. I believe in what I did.

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States with Republican governors kept up the pressure last week on Washington to give the states greater control over health care under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Twenty-one Republican governors sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking for greater authority over some provisions of health reform, including the ability to define “essential” health benefits and set minimum criteria for participating in insurance exchanges. They threatened not to run their own state-based exchanges if HHS does not act on their requests. Sebelius quickly responded with her own letter in which she reviewed the various options states have to reduce costs in their Medicaid programs, and she indicated she is continuing to review what authority she may have to “waive the maintenance of effort under current law.” Senate bills have already been introduced to address the role of the states in health care reform, which is sure to keep the issue on the front burner. Visit Easy To Insure ME for more info

Federal

The House Committee on Ways & Means held a hearing last week on “The Health Care Law’s Impact on Medicare and Its Beneficiaries,” featuring testimony from CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, M.D., and CMS Chief Actuary Richard Foster. Berwick testified that the PPACA has had a positive impact on Medicare beneficiaries, noting that beneficiaries now have first-dollar coverage of key preventive benefits, additional assistance with prescription drug costs, and an annual wellness visit with the physician of their choice. In response to concerns noted by several committee members about the impact of funding cuts on Medicare Advantage, Berwick indicated that Medicare Advantage enrollment increased by 6 percent from 2010 to 2011. He suggested that the program is healthy and offers robust choices. Foster’s testimony reiterated his prior projection that the PPACA will cause Medicare Advantage enrollment to decline by about 50 percent by 2017 — from a projected 14.5 million under the pre-PPACA law to 7.3 million under the new law.  His testimony further explained that Medicare Advantage enrollees will experience “a large increase in out-of-pocket costs” and “less generous benefit packages” because PPACA will reduce rebates to Medicare Advantage plans, with the reduction in rebates reaching ,500 per beneficiary by 2019.

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