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Larry Levitt Profile picture
@larry_levitt
Sep 19, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
President Trump and many other candidates opposing the ACA say they support protecting people with pre-existing conditions. Now seems like a good time to ask how they would do that if the ACA gets struck down, which is all of a sudden more likely.
Overturning the ACA is not only about pre-existing condition protections. It's also about the Medicaid expansion, closing the Medicare drug coverage donut hole, preventive services, Medicare payments to hospitals, taxes, and much more.

kff.org/health-reform/…
You can’t just click your heels together three times to get insurance companies to guarantee pre-existing condition protections.

It takes strict regulations, plus government spending to make coverage affordable and encourage people who are currently healthy to enroll, too.
27% of non-elderly adults, or 54 million people, have a pre-existing condition that would have led to a denial of individual insurance before the Affordable Care Act.

kff.org/health-reform/…
President Trump vows to protect people with pre-existing conditions. His record:

Supported ACA repeal and replace bills that would have weakened protections.

Expanded short-term plans that do not have to cover pre-existing conditions.

Supports a lawsuit to overturn the ACA.

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More from @larry_levitt

Larry Levitt Profile picture
Jun 11
The Biden Administration has issued a proposed rule that would remove medical debt from credit reports.

This wouldn't eliminate medical debt itself, but would prevent it from ruining people's credit.

consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsr…
Image
According to @KFF polling and research, 100 million people have some form of health care debt, and medical debt totals at least $220 billion.

healthsystemtracker.org/brief/the-burd…
Especially with the proliferation of high-deductible insurance plans, medical debt can affect almost anyone when the crapshoot of an acute or chronic illness hits.
Read 4 tweets
Larry Levitt Profile picture
Jun 8
Trump started a program where private Medicare drug plans could cap insulin copays voluntarily at $35.

Biden has required a $35 insulin copay cap in Medicare and proposed extending it to people outside of Medicare. Image
Major insulin makers have voluntarily capped insulin costs at $35 per month for many following the requirement in Medicare. But, there’s no guarantee that continues without a federal law.
A big question Trump has never answered: If elected, would he continue to implement the requirement for the government to negotiate drug prices in Medicare passed by Democrats and Biden? Or, would he seek to repeal or weaken it?
Read 4 tweets
Larry Levitt Profile picture
Mar 28
In a long-delayed rule, the Biden Administration has reversed the Trump Administration's expansion of short-term health plans that were exempt from the ACA's requirements for coverage of pre-existing conditions and essential benefits.

cms.gov/newsroom/press…
The Trump Administration had allowed short-term plans exempt from ACA rules to be purchased for up to 364 days and renewed for up to 3 years. The Biden Administration is limiting them to no more than 4 months.
Short-term health plans have much lower premiums than ACA plans. That's because they deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and may not cover benefits like drugs, maternity care, mental health, and substance use treatment.

kff.org/affordable-car…
Read 5 tweets
Larry Levitt Profile picture
Mar 26
The House Republican Study Committee budget plan would make sweeping changes to health care, reducing federal spending significantly and rolling back regulations. 🧵
The House Republican Study Committee budget would convert the ACA premium subsidies and Medicaid into block grants to states and reduce federal spending on those programs by $4.5 trillion over a decade.
Under the House Republican Study Committee budget, ACA protections for pre-existing conditions would be rolled back.

People could be charged higher premiums based on their health.

Insurance would be guaranteed renewable, but a gap in coverage could lead to a denial.
Read 7 tweets
Larry Levitt Profile picture
Mar 18
This somewhat complicated chart from the body that advises Congress on Medicare (@medicarepayment) is quite stunning when you think about it.

It costs the government $83 billion more to provide coverage through private Medicare Advantage plans than in traditional Medicare. Image
It costs the government more to provide coverage through private Medicare Advantage plans than it would in traditional Medicare due to a kind of double whammy. Plans enroll healthier than average people. Yet, they are good at coding diagnoses that make them look sicker.
Given the overpayments, you would think cutting payments to Medicare Advantage plans would be an attractive target to reduce the deficit or fund other priorities.

But, insurers are profiting and are a powerful lobbying force. And, seniors get extra benefits at no premium.
Read 6 tweets
Larry Levitt Profile picture
Mar 6
A somewhat wonky thread on what a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket drug costs in private insurance would mean. A similar cap will apply in Medicare next year under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Before the new $2,000 cap on drug costs in Medicare, there was no cap on out-of-pocket drug costs or any cap on out-of-pocket costs at all. So, this will help people with high drug costs a lot. Plus, the government subsidizes the premium.
Employer plans are already required to cap out-of-pocket costs overall under the ACA. Also, drugs are often not subject to deductibles. Patients can, of course, still face high medication costs for expensive drugs with coinsurance.

kff.org/report-section…
Image
Read 7 tweets

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