This week (May 24), the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its estimate on the financial impact of the American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA). In early May, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the AHCA in a close vote without receiving the estimate from the CBO.
While AADE had serious concerns about the AHCA prior to the CBO score and its impact on people with or at risk for diabetes, these concerns have been elevated subsequent to the score’s release.
Of major concern to AADE are the following two issues which the CBO report reveals:
- The number of uninsured people will skyrocket. According to the CBO report, 23 million fewer Americans will be insured under the AHCA by 2026. The CBO points out that some individuals would willingly lose their insurance while others would unwillingly lose their insurance because they wouldn’t be able to afford it.
- Insurance premiums for the elderly (pre-Medicare eligible) and poor people could increase over 850% thereby putting health insurance far out of research for millions of Americans who have diabetes. While premiums may decrease for large portions of the population, AADE remains deeply concerned over possible large premium hikes that could hit low income older adults who are not yet eligible for Medicare.
These issues must be addressed, in order to ensure that all persons with diabetes have access to needed medical services and treatment for their diabetes, including DSMT.
Both of these conclusions reached by the CBO point to a step backward in the treatment of diabetes in our country.
The current provisions in the AHCA combined with the budget cuts in the White House’s proposed budget (cuts to Medicaid and CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, by $616 billion over 10 years) if enacted, would have a deleterious impact on the treatment of diabetes and pre-diabetes.
The bill must now be considered by the Senate, and a final version agreed to by both chambers before it is sent to the President. AADE hopes the Senate will carefully consider the impact that this legislation will have on the millions of people who have or are at risk for getting diabetes and that they will pass legislation that will:
- maintain and build on the health-care access gains achieved in the last eight years.
- ensure affordability, particularly for people with chronic diseases like diabetes who are considered “high utilizers” of health care.
- support high-quality care and guarantee coverage of a comprehensive set of essential health services which people with diabetes require to manage their disease
If you have any questions or comments, please contact AADE Advocacy Director Kurt Anderson at kanderson@aadenet.org