The Republican strategy to kill the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) could have some unintended consequences. The House recently approved a bill (HR1) that would bar using government appropriated funds to pay workers or contractors to implement any part of the Affordable Care Act. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) studied the likely effects of de-funding health care reform and its cost to the government.

De-funding any and all parts of the Affordable Care Act would mean states would not be provided money to develop insurance exchanges that would enroll people in health insurance plans starting in 2014. It would also kill the already implemented Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan that is available to people who have been turned down by insurance companies.

But the Republican bill would also affect ongoing programs such as Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D drug plans. The CBO  report said the funding ban would prevent Medicare from establishing contracts to administer its Part D drug program, as well as its Medicare Advantage program.  All Medicare Advantage and Part D contracts expire on December 31, 2011. According to the CBO, since Medicare funding comes under the Affordable Care Act, contracts to pay insurance companies to manage Medicare Advantage and Part D would be banned under HR1. That would cause quite a bit of chaos for the eleven million people enrolled in Medicare Advantage and the 30 million or so with Part D drug coverage.

So it looks like Republican efforts to stop health care reform with a broad brush would kill things they hate, but also important programs that currently exist. Fortunately, the House of Representatives can come up with crazy bills and approve them until the cows come home.  The same or similar bills must be approved by the senate, and then they have to be signed by the President.  So Medicare Advantage and Part D are safe for now.

Arizonans for Health Care Freedom sent me an email to ask for support in their effort to protect Arizonans from government-run health insurance.  Here’s what they are telling our fellow citizens about how Washington wants to force health insurance coverage on everyone.  Be afraid! Be very afraid!!

Q. All this health care reform talk won’t impact me. I can afford to pay for anything the government plan’s won’t cover. Why do I care?
A. The goal of those leading Washington’s push for health care reform – including President Obama and Congressional Democrats – is to create a “one-size-fits-all” system that includes every American. Failure to buy government-approved insurance would result in a fine or worse, while opting out to spend your own money on legal health care would be forbidden by law.

If D.C. politicians mandate that you participate in a government-controlled plan, it won’t matter if you have $1 or $1 billion to your name. With every doctor and every treatment under government control, we, the patients, will have no right to control our own health care decisions.

My Response:  What are they talking about?  The legislation being discussed has insurance companies offering a list of approved plans from which people can select one that fits their needs – from coverage to premium.  The government would require a  minimum amount of coverage – like preventive care being included – that would protect consumers. 

The idea that everyone must buy insurance is not disputed by insurance companies and many Republicans – because if everybody is paying into the system (the young, the healthy, and the not-so-healthy) there will be enough money to make the system work. This is how insurance works. And again, all the current bills call for health insurance to be purchased through private insurance companies.

Q.  Why should we allow private health insurers to continue to do business? They’re too expensive, they refuse to cover the treatment that I need, and they will not take care of pre-existing conditions?
 
A. You are absolutely correct. The private health insurance industry has serious flaws that must be fixed ASAP. We should have more choices to seek out health plans that fit our family’s needs, health plans that are more accountable to us as customers, and health insurance that we can take with us when we move or change jobs. Do you think you and your family will be better protected after being forced into a government-controlled HMO? Do you really trust Washington bureaucrats to make the right decisions to get you the care YOU need without life-threatening delays or outright denials? We don’t need government control. We need government to allow for better options to be developed to increase access and reduce cost.

My Response:   THERE IS NO GOVERNMENT HMO  in any of the bills. By the way, if you have insurance through your employer, guess what? You are in an HMO or a PPO plan which are networks of health care providers that are contracted with your health insurance company.  And guess what? If your employer changes insurance plans, YOU ARE FORCED to change your doctor if he isn’t in the new network.  

It’s interesting to see anti-reform groups play on people’s “fear of government” when they attack health care reform. But don’t people hate insurance companies as much as they hate government?  The current (and future) bureaucrat making decisions about your health care is working for an insurance company!