***NEWS RELEASE***
For Immediate Release
June 12, 2017
CONTACT:
Beth Harrison, Hamilton Strategies, 610.584.1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton, 215.815.7716, 610.584.1096, ext. 102
7 Dangers of Guaranteed Issue
Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom: Policies on Pre-Existing Conditions Are Keeping a Failed Government Health Care System Alive
ST. PAUL, Minn.—According to at least one lawmaker, 2017 may not be the year for an Affordable Care Act repeal.
The Hill is reporting that Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) doesn’t think Congress will reach a deal to repeal and replace Obamacare, stating, “It’s unlikely that we will get a healthcare deal … I don’t see a comprehensive healthcare plan this year.”
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), according to The Washington Times, said the effort has new steam, claiming the Senate is “close” to settling on its own Obamacare repeal-and-replace plan, especially with added pressure to deliver on health promises this summer.
“We’re getting close to having a proposal to whip and to take to the floor,” McConnell said. “We’ve had seven years to talk about health care.”
McConnell’s claims are encouraging, says Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, www.cchfreedom.org) president and co-founder Twila Brase, as repeal efforts have seemingly stalled. And while lawmakers may have their own individual reasons for not moving forward, she adds that guaranteed issue may be why many are holding on to a failing government health care system.
Brase, who recently wrote an exclusive op-ed for Townhall.com on the subject, says guaranteed issue is one of the matters holding lawmakers back from truly returning health freedom to all Americans. In the op-ed, Brase writes that Obamacare repeal should be well within reach, especially because repeal language can be very simple. Read Brase’s entire op-ed here.
“Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said, ‘We could repeal all of Obamacare … I just don’t buy the fact that we can’t do that.’ I agree,” Brase writes. “The path to repeal is simple. In 2010, Democrats used their majority power to pass Obamacare. Now Republicans must use their majority power to repeal it. Republicans should not dither. If Obamacare is not ripped out by its roots, the future of health freedom is dim.”
Guaranteed issue—an Obamacare mandate that dictates that no one will be denied coverage, regardless of health status, age, gender or other factors, such as pre-existing conditions—shouldn’t be the reason for preventing millions of Americans from experiencing freedom in their health care. Brase says there are seven dangers of hanging on to government health care because of guaranteed issue:
- Guaranteed issue is the centerpiece of socialized medicine.
- True insurance is eliminated because premium-holders are forced to cover the costs of people with known (uninsurable) conditions.
- Guaranteed issue results in sky-high insurance premiums to cover costs of enrollees with uninsurable conditions.
- The cost of “uninsurable-condition coverage” forces middle-class Americans to go uninsured.
- Due to narrow networks and pre-authorization, guaranteed issue does not guarantee access to care.
- Mandated coverage for uninsurable conditions encourages moral hazard; people wait to buy coverage until they are ill or injured and may discontinue coverage after care is received.
- Guaranteed issue does not address the real cause of pre-existing conditions.
The Hill went on to report that the Senate has been working on its own health care bill since the House recently passed its bill. Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (Texas) said a bill would pass through the chamber by the end of July. But, according to The Hill, “there are deep divisions on issues such as how to handle the Medicaid expansion and Obamacare’s insurer regulations, and (McConnell) has lowered expectations.” McConnell has previously said he doubts the Senate will reach 51 votes on health care reform and suggested that moving ahead on tax reform legislation could be simpler.
CCHF’s initiative, The Wedge of Health Freedom (www.JointheWedge.com), is using third-party-free direct payment to transform the entire health care system back to freedom and restore simplicity, affordability and confidentiality. Nearly 200 Wedge practices, where patients can find affordable, patient-centered care, are located in 44 states and listed online.
CCHF is a national patient-centered health freedom organization existing to protect health care choices, individualized patient care, and medical and genetic privacy rights. For more information about CCHF, visit www.cchfreedom.org, its Facebook page or its Twitter feed @CCHFreedom. Also view the media page for CCHF here. For more about The Wedge of Health Freedom, visit www.JointheWedge.com, The Wedge Facebook page or follow The Wedge on Twitter @wedgeoffreedom.
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For more information or to interview Twila Brase of Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom, contact Beth Harrison at 610-584-1096, ext. 104, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, or Deborah Hamilton at 215-815-7716 or 610-584-1096, ext. 102.
