The Protecting Pre-existing Conditions and Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2019 – introduced by house leaders – would, if passed, enhance the existing Affordable Care Act. The American Hospital Association (AHA) released a public statement of approval last week. "There's no doubt that our country needs to improve coverage and access. Today's bill proposed by House Democrats can help achieve both,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “Among the many policies in the bill we support are protecting coverage of pre-existing conditions and essential health benefits, fully funding efforts to educate consumers about their coverage options, and protecting consumers from 'health plans' that do not constitute true insurance, including short-term, limited-duration policies.”
Protecting Pre-existing Conditions and Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2019 would:
· Expand eligibility for and provide more generous tax credits for individuals to purchase health insurance on the exchanges
· Support federal and state efforts aimed at enrolling more people in insurance coverage under the ACA
· Set up reinsurance programs
· Support states that want to set up their own insurance marketplace
· Reverse the administration's actions to expand association health plans and short-term health plans
· Curtail the administration's efforts to give states waivers to undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions and weaken standards for essential health benefits
"A report we released earlier this month showed that taking steps to strengthen the current system – as this bill does – would result in more people gaining coverage than under other proposals that would more fundamentally disrupt how Americans get coverage, such as a Medicare public option,” said AHA’s Pollack.
