The California Assembly Republican Caucus has declared that people with pre-existing conditions are the root cause of escalating health care costs. From their statements on their website Covering Health Care: A California Resource Guide, one can only come to the conclusion that California Republicans feel that sick people should be denied guarantee issue health insurance so premiums of healthy people won’t be adversely affected.
It’s not a fake website, they really believe it
I don’t normally troll Republican websites, but after being alerted by a Facebook friend about a post called California GOP creates fake healthcare website to discourage constituents from obtaining insurance, I had to peek inside. The California Republican Assembly Caucus sponsored website is not “fake”. It is a GOP generated fear mongering website meant to promote half-truths and myths about the Affordable Care Act and Covered California. California Assembly Republicans apparently do believe that denying and “rating up” sick people is a good thing.
Misleading questions and answers
On the FAQs section of the website, “Why is the cost of health care rising?” the Assembly Republicans answer,
A: The Affordable Care Act has a number of provisions that have driven up insurance costs. These provisions include:
- Insurers must sell insurance to everyone even if they have a pre-existing medical condition. Individuals with pre-existing conditions drive up costs because their medical conditions mean that they will use more health care than a healthy person.
- The Affordable Care Act limits what insurers can charge someone with a pre-existing condition. This means that healthy individuals will pay a higher rate to ensure that individuals with pre-existing conditions do not pay higher rates.
Health insurance will lower health care costs
The first problem with their answer is that they are purposely confusing the cost of health care services with the cost of health insurance. These Republicans are hoping to stir up opposition to the Affordable Care Act and Covered California by erroneously equating the cost of health care services to the cost of health insurance. Part of rise in cost for health care services is because people DON’T have health insurance creating unpaid emergency room bills. See also The Roots of Health Care Cost Increases by Anthem Blue Cross. Their analysis cites high technology imaging and over utilization of prescription medications as prime reasons for the rise in health care costs.
Should we make sick Medicare beneficiaries pay more?
The second problem is they purposely fail to identify that it is the market for individual and family health plans that has been most dramatically impacted by the ACA. Small and large group plans, along with Medicare, have seen virtually no price inflation because of the ACA. But they want to leave the impression that all health insurance premiums, regardless of type, are rising dramatically as a result of the ACA. Regardless of a person’s health status, when they turn 65, and have worked the requisite number of years, Medicare is GUARANTEE ISSUE. Medicare doesn’t charge more just because you are sick.
Pregnant women need not apply for GOP
Without actually putting it into print, these Republicans are insinuating that people with pre-existing conditions (pregnancy is a pre-existing condition) are not worthy of health insurance because their presence will raise the premiums for “healthy” people. The level of enmity and bitterness toward women who might be pregnant (a pre-existing condition) which causes a man’s health insurance premium to increase certainly dashes any “Pro-Family” or “Compassionate Conservatism” marketing appeal the Republican might have had.
Group rates for individuals and families
The California Assembly Republican caucus also fails to mention that both small and large group employer health plans, along with Medicare, are GUARANTEE ISSUE. That means that any person with any pre-existing condition CAN NOT be denied coverage. The new individual and family plans are priced similar to small group plans in California primarily because they are GUARANTEE ISSUE. See comparison of individual and small group rates for 2014.
Shame on those sick people for costing me money
The fact that the Republicans tacitly endorse charging a higher rate to someone with a pre-existing condition, or denying them coverage altogether, is just loathsome. Any sane person that endorses the position of “profits before people” is not fit to be a California Assembly member. Truly, why don’t they go out and spit on their fellow Californians for being born with a pre-existing condition or contemplating having a family. For these Republicans, they are trying to create a wedge issue between those with pre-existing conditions and the healthy, rugged, independent, “get guvment outa my hair” conservatives.
NIMGP: Not In My Group Plan
Of course, I would like to know how many of these California Republican Assembly Caucus members have pre-existing conditions themselves or a family member with a health challenge. I wonder how many of these Republicans would feel warm and fuzzy inside if they received a notice of denial or a rate increase because of a pre-existing health condition. Perhaps they would relish in the fact that their higher premiums for being a human being a health challenge helped keep the rates low for their healthy neighbor. But we’ll never know since member of the California Assembly has GUARANTEE ISSUE group health insurance.
Worst is yet to come, be very scared
This politically slanted poor excuse for an informative website also makes attempts to whip up the fear in consumers and seniors on other issues as well.
Seniors
Seniors on Medicare may not see changes immediately to their benefits or coverage. Down the line, however, the erosion and accessibility of care may become a problem.
Do the Republicans have any studies or research to back up this claim? No, it’s just better to put a half-truth on the internet and let the conspiracy theories begin.
Cuts to Medicare Provider Rates
To pay for other components of the Affordable Care Act such as expanding Medicaid and creating state health exchanges, Medicare providers will see rate cuts nearing $200 billion over the next decade. These cuts could potentially result in the exodus of doctors from the Medicare system and force Medicare recipients to find new providers, possibly facing longer wait times for care as that pool of doctors shrinks.
This is more unsubstantiated hyperbole. Medicare is too big for doctors and hospitals to jump ship. Doctors help comprise the advisory panels that set the Medicare service reimbursements. When a sentence includes the phrase “could potentially” that is code for “I’m taking a random stab in the dark and don’t have clue about what I’m talking about.”
Unelected Board Determines Future Cuts to Medicare
The Affordable Care Act creates the unelected Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a 15-member body appointed by the President, whose role beginning January 15, 2014 will be to make legislative recommendations on additional cuts to Medicare if cost of the program grows too rapidly.
Death Panel in disguise
I’m surprised they didn’t title this “Death Panels”. There are numerous unelected panels that advise Medicare and other programs. The authors of the ACA understood that Congress can never say “no”, even to a bloated, outdated and unnecessary program or service. It’s funny that Republicans worry about the IPAB when they proposed slashing billions of dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps) which will hurt scores of moderate and low wage families. Unless the IPAB is comprised of a bunch of heartless California Republican Assembly Caucus members, I doubt there will be many decisions that adversely impact Medicare beneficiaries as drastically as what the GOP has already proposed with turning Medicare into a voucher program.
We stand for healthy people
The ultimate irony of the Republican Assembly website is their tag line, “Standing Up for Working Families in California”. In light of their position against anyone with a pre-existing condition they should change it to, “Standing Up Only for Healthy Working Families”.