CNN
—
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance is trying to hammer out the details of a health care plan “concept” that former President Donald Trump mentioned during a presidential debate in September.
In an interview on NBC's “Meet the Press” the following week, Mr. Vance said Mr. Trump's plan was “actually very simple.”
“We want to make sure that existing insurance (conditions) are covered, we want to make sure that people have access to the doctors that they need, and we want to make sure that people have health plans that: We want to deregulate them so they have a choice.'' It's perfect for them,'' Vance told anchor Kristen Welker.
“We want to make sure everyone is covered,” he continued. “But the best way to do that is to put a lot of people into the same insurance pool, the same risk pool, and that actually makes it difficult for people to make the right choices for their families.”
First the facts: Vance's claim that pre-existing conditions would be covered if insurance companies didn't have to put people in the same risk pool is misleading and needs context. A key pillar of the Affordable Care Act's comprehensive protections for people with pre-existing conditions is its requirement that insurance companies place all individual market enrollees into the same risk pool.
This is important to ensure that insurance companies do not charge high premiums to people with chronic conditions, which could result in many people becoming uninsurable.
Obamacare's protections for people with pre-existing conditions are among its most popular provisions. About two-thirds of Americans say it's “very important” that insurance companies maintain legal obligations that prohibit them from charging sick people or denying coverage based on medical records. It states that. According to February KFF poll.
But like many Republicans before him, Vance believes the way to improve the nation's health care system is to move away from the Affordable Care Act's many regulations and give people more choices. states. Similar views were expressed by congressional Republicans. 2017 Abolition Initiatives The landmark law failed, in part because of concerns that its replacement plan would weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
One example Mr. Vance cited in the NBC interview was allowing insurance companies to separate people into different risk pools, and he echoed this a few days later at a rally in North Carolina. Classifying healthy people into one risk pool would likely lower premiums, but doing the same for sick consumers would almost certainly result in higher premiums.
With a single risk pool, “some people are healthier, but you end up subsidizing people who are not as healthy,” said Sabrina Corlett, co-director of Georgetown University's Center on Health Care Reform. told CNN.
create High risk pool That's because cases of chronically ill people have been brought to court in the past, and most have failed, despite receiving help from state and, in some cases, federal grants. Before the Affordable Care Act, 35 states operated such pools. Corlett calls this “expensive and poor quality ghetto“in Recent blog posts. In 2011, it covered more than 226,000 people, far fewer than those targeted, and recorded a total loss of more than $1.2 billion. Corlett said even with public subsidies, fees and out-of-pocket costs were high and coverage was limited in most states.
Corlett noted that Vance did not mention federal aid to the risk pool of seriously ill Americans.
“It's hard to see how people with pre-existing conditions won't be worse off unless there's a major change in government,” she said, adding that if they have to pay more, “that I would say it's not protected,” he added.
Mr. Vance's campaign did not respond to requests for comment. Harris' campaign announced Monday report He accused Trump and Vance of trying to reinstate high-risk pools that would “drive up costs for those who need health care the most.”
Let's further explain why Obamacare's protections for people with pre-existing conditions work. Such a big deal. Before the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies offering coverage in the individual market often asked enrollees extensive questions about their health history. In many states, people with pre-existing conditions may be turned away or have limited coverage that doesn't cover pre-existing conditions. For example, people with asthma may not be eligible for insurance for upper respiratory care. And even if the medical problem occurred years ago and has been fully resolved, consumers may have a hard time obtaining insurance.
Also, people with chronic illnesses often have to pay much higher premiums to secure a policy.
According to one report, nearly 54 million Americans have pre-existing conditions that would likely make them ineligible for private insurance without Obamacare's protections. 2019 KFF Analysis.
The Affordable Care Act changed the situation for people with pre-existing conditions. In addition to prohibiting insurance companies from denying applicants or charging additional fees based on health conditions, the law also provides coverage for mental health, pregnancy, and prescription drug coverage that are lacking in the individual market. Requires insurance companies to provide a set of essential health benefits that are often policy.
But these mandates also led to higher premiums and more comprehensive coverage for healthier Americans, where not everyone wanted all the benefits they needed. That's why Vance and other Republicans are working to restore more choice to the nation's health care system.
