The American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals are warning President-Elect Donald J. Trump and top leaders in the House and Senate that repealing Obamacare is likely to spell disaster for healthcare.
Moreover, they say, the repeal would hurt care, and they estimate the move would cost $165.8 billion over five years.
Both Trump and the Republicans in Congress have promised a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare. Trump has promised he would end Obamacare on Day 1 of his presidency.
The AHA and FAH both released reports on Tuesday aimed at making their case for the ACA with Trump and Republicans in Congress.
“We respectfully urge you to also include in such legislation the prospective repeal of funding reductions for Medicare and Medicaid hospital services for patient care that were included in the ACA for purposes of helping fund coverage for the insured,” Richard Pollack, president and chief executive of the AHA, and Charles Kahn, the president and CEO of the FAH, wrote in a letter to Trump and to vice-president-elect Mike Pence
The hospital associations also called attention to two reports prepared by the healthcare economics consulting firm Dobson | DaVanzo on hospital payment cuts.
The first refers to the $165.8 billion loss the repeal – without a replacement – would have on hospitals.
The report also figures that hospitals would lose $289.5 billion in inflation updates if the payment cuts in the ACA are not restored and that the full restoration of the Medicare and Medicaid DSH payment reductions would amount to $102.9 billion.
“Losses of this magnitude cannot be sustained and will adversely impact patients’ access to care, decimate hospitals’ and health systems’ ability to provide services, weaken local economies that hospitals help sustain and grow, and result in massive job losses,” the hospital associations conclude.
The letter is signed by AHA President and CEO Richard J. Pollack and FHA President and CEO Charles N. Kahn.
Read the AHA and FAH letter here.
Read the Dobson-DaVanso report here.