Debate Swirls on Potential Obamacare Repeal
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe president of the Indiana Hospital Association says "it’s still anyone’s guess" as to how potential changes to the Affordable Care Act will pan out. Brian Tabor, who took the helm at the IHA last month, believes the debate on the future of the nation’s health care system will continue, regardless of the regulatory outcome. He says the organization that represents nearly every hospital in the state is "laser-focused" on three priorities: protecting the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0, maintaining Medicaid funding levels to the state and shoring up the individual health insurance market.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Tabor said "we do want to see some action in the short run. We are not just saying no."
The IHA board of directors last month voted in opposition of a previous Senate attempt to replace Obamacare, saying it would jeopardize coverage for hundreds of thousands.
Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN) voted against a motion to proceed, calling the process partisan and "an attempt to jam through proposals that would threaten the health and economic well-being of millions of Americans." Senator Todd Young (R-IN) voted in favor, saying "insurers have fled the individual market and premiums continue to rise without any indication the law’s death spiral will stop." Donnelly has stated plans to put forth an amendment he says would protect HIP 2.0 and Medicaid coverage.
In an open letter Monday to Hoosiers, Governor Eric Holcomb urged more state control in whatever final form proposed changes would take.
The initial motion to proceed advanced by a vote of 51-50. Vice President Mike Pence broke the tie after Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) joined all 48 democrats in voting no. Later in the evening, the Senate voted down a full repeal-and-replace measure by a 57-43 count.
Tabor concluded "there are changes that need to be made (to the current system), but we don’t want to see the number of Hoosier who have gained insurance reduced."
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Indiana Hospital Association Inc. President Brian Tabor said “we do want to see some action in the short run. We are not just saying no.”