Trumpcare "disaster for Ohioans?" Kasich apparently says yes (Cleveland: low income, health insurance)

[WRnative]

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is vehemently opposed to rolling back the expanded Medicaid provisions of Obamacare.

<<They should consider what Kasich, who sometimes seems to be the only Republican adult taking part in the ACA debate, wrote Friday: "It is unrealistic to think that cutting coverage saves any money, since we will only see uninsured people returning to the emergency room for their care - and walking away from unpaid bills.">>

Paul Ryan's approach to Obamacare repeal bulldozes Ohio interests: Thomas Suddes | cleveland.com

<< But [Trumpcare] also phases out the expanded Medicaid coverage that is in place in Ohio and 30 other states. Not having a viable alternative is counterproductive and unnecessarily puts at risk our ability to treat the drug-addicted, mentally ill and working poor who now have access to a dependable source of care.>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/o...alth-care.html

[WRnative]

Kasich says Trump may agree with his position critical of the House bill's limits on Medicaid expansion. Kasich also said that he disagreed with VP Mike Pence's claim that the House Trumpcare bill provides Ohio with sufficient Medicaid resources.

<<Kasich recently spoke with President Trump and his top advisers at the White House about where he was coming from on health care. At the time, Kasich said that the president "was very responsive" to his concerns about the Affordable Care Act and the Medicaid expansion. A Kasich adviser later told NBC News that when Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner reminded the president that he was in favor of what's in the House plan, the president responded, "I like this plan better...."

Responding Sunday to a local interview Vice President Mike Pence did this week with an Ohio TV station claiming that the new legislation will give Ohio the "resources and flexibility that they need to be able to meet those needs going forward," the governor flatly stated "no, he's not right," referencing the 700,000 people now receiving coverage under the state's Medicaid expansion.


"Look, the bill needs [to be] fixed," Kasich said. "The current system doesn't work. That's why it's possible to get Democrats involved … it's not like we love Obamacare. It means don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Don't kill Medicaid expansion, and you've got to fix the exchange, but you have to have the ability to subsidize people at lower income levels. If you are drug addicted, if you are mentally ill, you have to consistently see the doctor. From what I see in this House bill, the resources are not there.">>


John Kasich Critiques GOP Health Care Plan Over Medicaid Cuts - NBC News

[WRnative]

Gov. Kasich's concern about the current House Trumpcare plan on Ohio's Medicaid funding may be well placed:

<<Ohio boasts that it manages Medicaid costs well, helping it serve more people for each tax dollar spent. But the Republican replacement for Obamacare would give Ohio too little money to do that, a study released Monday shows.

The state would fall behind by $19 billion to $25.6 billion by 2025 because the new formula would not keep pace with cost increases, says the analysis by the Center for Community Solutions, a nonpartisan Cleveland-based think tank.>>


Ohio could lose billions to pay for healthcare under Obamacare replacement, studies show | cleveland.com

[WRnative]

Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove expresses concerns similar to Gov. Kasich about the House Trumpcare bill, saying that loss of coverage presents serious concerns for hospitals.

<<
In particular, the fate of those who obtained health insurance through Medicaid expansion or using the ACA's premium tax credits are subject to the highest risk of losing coverage under the AHCA, which House Republicans unveiled Monday. The potential consequences of this are worrisome to hospitals, many of which were able to decrease bad debt and charity care under the ACA because of those two major provisions, according to Dr. Cosgrove.


"About 52 percent of hospitals in 2016 essentially didn't make any money," he said. "They're hanging on a very tenuous financial situation and if you begin to take away a lot of the coverage for the care that they provide then they're going to be in even deeper financial trouble.">>


Cleveland Clinic CEO on ACA replacement: 'We're really concerned'



https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/v...op-health-bill


Cosgrove also expressed concern that the House bill is being advanced through committee without being scored by the Congressional Budget Office, which is charged with providing coverage ratios and assessing the cost of any health plan.


<<Cosgrove also said the plan's lack of a budgetary score makes it impossible to assess how many people might lose coverage because of the plan, or whether the plan will come with savings or costs.>>


Cleveland Clinic's Toby Cosgrove pans GOP healthcare plan: Ohio Politics Roundup | cleveland.com

[WRnative]

Ohio Democrats criticize increase in uninsured population under Trumpcare. Echoing Gov. Kasich, Sen. Sherrod Brown worries about the decrease in funding for those with opioid addictions:

Uninsured would rise by 24 million under GOP plan to repeal Obamacare | cleveland.com

[residinghere2007]

The repeal of the Medicaid expansion is something that I know is going to hurt a lot of Ohioans, many in my own family. I have relatives who are too young for Medicare (in their 50s) who lost jobs during the financial crisis. They have jobs now but make less than $17k per year and they get their medical coverage now through Medicaid due to the expansion. They are on no other social welfare programs.

A couple of them had no insurance, even at their previous jobs because they could not afford to pay the premiums. They had some serious health problems and one of my aunts developed heart problems due to not having dental coverage to treat gum disease. No dentist would let her pay on a payment plan and because she mad so little money, they would not give her credit to treat her gum disease. When Medicaid passed in Ohio she was able to be treated and her doctor literally has told her that that coverage saved her life. I'm worried she will no longer have any medical care again if Medicaid expansion is reversed.

However, I personally have a pretty petty sort of personality and I do feel that they need to hurry up and do the repeal. Ohio voted for Trump knowing that he wanted to repeal ACA. I think many of the Trump supporters did not think he would do it. Many I know personally really didn't think he would. All of them are low income and get their health coverage via Medicaid. So I am more of a "you get what you voted for" person and I will say "I told you so" once they lose coverage and are put in a desperate place. I only feel for my family members who knew Trump was a risk and who did not vote for him because of it.

[Natural510]

I'm pretty much in the same boat, residing. Elections have become sporting events for too much of our public, with voters wanting to be coddled and entertained. Well, they have real world consequences and many people will soon realize "you don't know what you have until it's gone".

[SoulJourn]

Trump's plan, if you can call it that, will leave many Ohioans, and others, without coverage, He plans to sell something to people who can't afford to purchase it.

Kind of like taking away food stamps and replacing it with a cook book. "Look at all the food you can have on the Free Market! It's so much better than state food!"

Perhaps. But if you can't afford to buy it, it leaves you hungry and sick.

[jmc94]

Originally Posted by residinghere2007

The repeal of the Medicaid expansion is something that I know is going to hurt a lot of Ohioans, many in my own family. I have relatives who are too young for Medicare (in their 50s) who lost jobs during the financial crisis. They have jobs now but make less than $17k per year and they get their medical coverage now through Medicaid due to the expansion. They are on no other social welfare programs.

A couple of them had no insurance, even at their previous jobs because they could not afford to pay the premiums. They had some serious health problems and one of my aunts developed heart problems due to not having dental coverage to treat gum disease. No dentist would let her pay on a payment plan and because she mad so little money, they would not give her credit to treat her gum disease. When Medicaid passed in Ohio she was able to be treated and her doctor literally has told her that that coverage saved her life. I'm worried she will no longer have any medical care again if Medicaid expansion is reversed.

However, I personally have a pretty petty sort of personality and I do feel that they need to hurry up and do the repeal. Ohio voted for Trump knowing that he wanted to repeal ACA. I think many of the Trump supporters did not think he would do it. Many I know personally really didn't think he would. All of them are low income and get their health coverage via Medicaid. So I am more of a "you get what you voted for" person and I will say "I told you so" once they lose coverage and are put in a desperate place. I only feel for my family members who knew Trump was a risk and who did not vote for him because of it.

While I definitely agree it's frustrating that people voted him in, I find it hurts too many people who didn't to find any joy in saying "I told you so". I know a few people on medicaid who voted for Trump. But so are their kids. And it's a sad situation that everyone is suffering.

[WRnative]

At a recent forum at The City Club in Cleveland, Kasich and Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove warned that Trumpcare will drive up healthcare costs and threaten the continued viability of hospitals.

<<
Last year, 23 percent of hospitals in the U.S. were in the red and 55 percent lost money caring for patients, Cosgrove said. And that's after the Affordable Care Act gave states like Ohio the option to expand Medicaid coverage, a move that insured 700,000 more Ohioans and guaranteed hospital payments for people who in the past didn't have insurance coverage.


"If we have more and more difficulty, with more and more unpaid for patients, we're going to have an increasing number of hospitals that are either going to go out of business or go bankrupt," Cosgrove said. "We're going to have increasing difficulty with providers being fiscally solvent."


At the Cleveland Clinic, 62 percent of patients are on Medicaid, Medicare or don't pay, Cosgrove said.


Kasich said healthcare reform should focus first on ensuring all Americans have insurance coverage, then on working out the rest of the problems in the industry. >>


John Kasich, Cleveland Clinic's Toby Cosgrove say healthcare reform needs to focus on controlling costs (photos) | cleveland.com


Both Kasich and Cosgrove emphasize that drug prices must be brought down, but the Republicans in Congress have consistently resisted efforts to limit drug prices, and Pres. Trump has not pushed any drug price control initiatives despite campaign promises to do so.