Allan Appel Photo
“I hope this bill never sees the light of day,” said DeLauro.
Mark Federchuk is a Trump supporter who as a younger man used to drive a big tractor-trailer on “The Road to Nowhere”, an Alaskan infrastructure project of 2005 that has grown to become a symbol of the waste in government.
He thought that was the problem — not the Republicans’ American Health Care Act (AHCA), which, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s recent findings, undermines Medicare, cuts Medicaid by $823 billion, and could leave 23 million people uninsured by 2026. He tried to make that case to U.S. Senator Chris Murphy and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who appeared on Wednesday morning to discuss the proposed changes to, and possible repeal of, the Obama Administration’s Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Murphy and DeLauro weren’t buying.
Murphy, DeLauro, and Stein at the panel discussion.
Federchuk’s position appeared to be a minority of one among about a hundred residents of the Bella Vista senior complex on Eastern Street, where Murphy and DeLauro came with experts to explain the issues and the health consequences of the AHCA’s passage to the lives’ of Connecticut seniors. They also made a passionate plea for voices to be raised in opposition.
Murphy and DeLauro, who received enthusiastic whistles and shouts of support as they entered — including “Rosa for President” — brought with them Executive Director Judith Stein of the Center for Medicare Advocacy and Ellen Andrews of the Connecticut Health Policy Project
“This is not a health care bill. This is a tax cut bill for the wealthy,” said Stein, echoing points that Murphy and DeLauro had both made in their opening remarks.
According to a fact sheet Stein distributed to residents, Medicaid currently covers 768,000 people in Connecticut, or about 21 percent of the population. Current Medicaid spending under the ACA fluctuates based on a state’s needs. The proposed AHCA bill caps Medicaid spending no matter the changing needs of the population, such as more seniors requiring coverage, an epidemic, or even a natural disaster.
Mary Elia, Joelle Fishman, and Edie Fishman of the Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans said their goal is people in the streets to oppose the bill.
She said the bill also “gratuitously weakens” Medicare by repealing the small tax on wealthy earners of over $200,000, which is one of the sources of revenue for the benefits and protections under Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
The result of this provision of the AHCA alone is to “destabilize the Medicare Trust Fund by three years,” she added.
Among the results of the current AHCA’s passage, according to Andrews, would be the slashing of Medicaid “to the bone.” That means $1 billion less would flow to Connecticut, pressuring an already deeply budget-challenged Connecticut state government to fill the hole. People over 60 could see a rise in insurance premiums of 50 percent, “if you can [even] get it,” she said.
Addressing Federchuk’s concern of a health care system with waste in it, she added: “I agree with the Republicans that health care is expensive. But this bill doesn’t address what’s driving costs,” like Medicare not being permitted to negotiate down prices with drug companies, and better chronic care management.
If the Republicans wanted offer real solutions, Stein added, “we have some solutions in Connecticut. We got 32 percent more doctors to take on Medicaid patients and to get people out of the emergency room and paid them [the doctor] to coordinate care. If the feds want to save money, we can tell them how,” she said.
Federchuk, in blue, mayoral candidate Marcus Paca and resident Patricia DePalma.
DeLauro called the Republicans’ bill “inhumane” in its elimination of 23 million people from insurance, according to CBO estimates, by 2026. She cited the only significant benefit as a $7 million tax cut to the 400 wealthiest American families.
“That’s the trade-off” for the $800 billion to $900 billion in Medicaid cuts nationwide, she added.
Bella Vista resident Alice Selby, who used to work at Stop and Shop, said that she had been diagnosed just this year with cancer. “Without insurance, I wouldn’t be here today,” she said.
Murphy also used the word “inhumane” to describe the proposed cap to Medicaid spending by state. If the cap had been reached in Connecticut, people like Selby might not have had access to the care she needs.
Constantinople and Murphy.
“It’s called rationing of care. That’s something we should not be engaged with in the United States of America,” DeLauro added.
Murphy expressed quiet outrage that the bill is currently being reconfigured by 13 Republican senators and secretly, “behind closed doors.”
He called it “morally objectionable” that none of those senators is a woman. “It doesn’t seem right since most of the cuts in the [Republican proposed] health care bill affect women,” he added.
He also expressed profound concern that with such a low bar — cutting 23 million people from Medicaid in the House bill — if the Senate comes up with a bill that cuts only, for example, 17 million, “they’ll say it’s improved.”
What should folks in the audience do?
The experts, Stein and Andrews.
DeLauro called the raised voice of people the indispensable “ingredient.” Murphy called for a nationwide movement to show the Republicans what was truly at stake.
“We can’t promise [we’ll be successful], but we’ll fight,” he said.
As the pols left and the Bella Vista-ists lined up for the pizza lunch that had been provided, Selby said she felt encouraged and confident by what she’d heard.
Federchuk had not changed his position. “I’m in favor of Trump’s budget because we have got to cut. We have to think of the future. Our grandkids have a lot to lose,” he said.
Ward 11 Alder Barbara Constantinople, whose district includes Bella Vista, said that many people in her ward voted for Donald Trump. “I tell them, ‘What a mistake they made,’” she said.