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Forbes Breaking News
  • 5 months ago
During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing prior to the congressional recess, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) spoke about cuts to healthcare in the Republican budget.
Transcript
00:00Now, I now recognize Mr. Thompson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to the
00:04witnesses for being here today. Well, Medicare Advantage provides important
00:09benefits to some 54% of our nation's seniors. However, as has been pointed
00:15out, Medicare Advantage is not without its flaws, and those flaws need to be
00:20fixed. Reports of upcoding in Medicare Advantage raise concerns that patients
00:26are being given elevated diagnosis but little to no additional care. There are
00:31concerns that Medicare Advantage companies are limiting patient access to
00:36care by using prior authorization far more than traditional Medicare. Mr.
00:43Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to submit this Wall Street Journal article in the
00:48record that highlights this, and I also ask unanimous consent to submit this
00:54California Hospital Association study on the effects and cost of prior
00:59authorizations for the record. Thank you. The study shows that prior authorization
01:05delays contribute to at least three and a quarter billion dollars in avoidable
01:11costs every year, and that's just in California. Actions like these support the
01:19need to increase transparency and reporting around the Medicare Advantage
01:24program. However, Mr. Chairman, we can't discuss improving health care without
01:29addressing the 500-pound elephant that's in the room today. Access to care is going to
01:36worsen because of the Republicans' big ugly bill, now the big ugly law. Congressional
01:43Republicans just passed a one and a half trillion dollar cut to health care.
01:48Congressional Republicans cut a trillion dollars from Medicaid, cut 500 billion from
01:54Medicare, and failed to extend the enhanced premium tax credits that make
02:00insurance affordable for middle-class Americans. All by adding, while adding over
02:06four trillion dollars to our national debt. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to submit
02:13this committee for the responsible federal budget report about the cost of the big
02:19ugly law for the record. Fifteen million patients will lose their health care
02:24coverage. At best, hospitals will reduce services that they offer in order to stay
02:31open. At worst, hospitals and clinics will close. I've heard from seniors in my
02:36district that they're worried that they will lose their Medicaid coverage, which
02:40contributes to their Medicare cost share. They're terrified that their health care
02:45costs will increase and that they will go bankrupt just trying to get the health
02:49care that they need. All because of the Republicans on this committee and in this
02:54House passed that big ugly law. It doesn't matter if you have Medicaid, private
03:00insurance, or all the money in the world to pay for your care if your local
03:04hospital is closed or had to fire the surgeon who performs the procedure that
03:10you might need, you won't get the care that you need. Congressional Republicans also
03:16hamstrung the student loan access for future doctors. That's going to make it
03:22more difficult to have health care, especially for those of us in rural areas. And
03:28the attack on health care doesn't stop there. The administration wants to slash
03:33research funding. Mr. Chairman, I asked unanimous consent to submit this CBO
03:40analysis showing that NIH funding cuts and FDA staffing cuts would result in
03:47about two fewer drugs coming to market every year. Without objection, Mr. Chairman?
03:54Thank you. However, this analysis is based on a 10% cut is low estimate because the
04:01Trump administration has proposed a 35% cut in NIH funding. CBO said that the
04:08administration's proposed cuts to medical research is so large that they
04:15haven't even been able to determine whether historical evidence can be
04:19generalized and reliably used to estimate the effects. Mr. Fielder, we're
04:27supposedly here to talk about Medicare Advantage to distract from the
04:31devastating cuts to patient care because of this big ugly law. Can you
04:36explain some of the challenges that Medicare Advantage patients might face in
04:41getting the care they need due to the Republicans cut on Medicare, Medicaid and the
04:47ACA? So I think with respect to Medicare beneficiaries, one of the most important
04:52impacts, and it flew a little bit below the radar, but is the challenges that
04:57Medicare beneficiaries are going to be facing in signing up for the portions of
05:01Medicaid that helps with premiums and cost sharing. So, you know, one of the
05:06things that had happened during the Biden administration was they made a set of
05:09changes to automatically enroll some people who are clearly eligible based on the
05:13information the federal government already holds into those so-called Medicare
05:18savings programs. Under the bill, that will no longer go forward and those
05:23people will have more difficulty enrolling in paying their Medicare premiums and
05:27paying for care they need. So, less access to care for Americans. Thank you very much. I yield back.
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