Congress must not replace Obamacare with a reform that covers fewer Americans, the American Medical Association wrote Tuesday in a letter to leadership.
The AMA acknowledged that ongoing problems with health insurance should be addressed, but said actions to ditch the Affordable Care Act should not result in fewer people getting health insurance. It also urged lawmakers to propose a specific replacement for the law before they take actions to repeal it.
“In considering opportunities to make coverage more affordable and accessible to all Americans, it is essential that gains in the number of Americans with health insurance coverage be maintained,” the AMA wrote in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
The U.S. uninsured rate has dipped from about 16 percent to around 9 percent under the healthcare law, a major success often cited by its supporters. At the same time, the law’s insurance marketplaces have suffered from soaring premiums and reduced competition, prompting widespread calls for changes.
“Health system reform is an ongoing quest for improvement,” the group wrote. “The AMA supported passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) because it was a significant improvement on the status quo at that time. We continue to embrace the primary goal of that law — to make high-quality, affordable health care coverage accessible to all Americans.”
“We also recognize that the ACA is imperfect and there a number of issues that need to be addressed. As such, we welcome proposals, consistent with the policies of our House of Delegates, to make coverage more affordable, provide greater choice, and increase the number of those insured,” the group wrote.
The letter says that policymakers should explain “in reasonable detail” what would replace the health care law before they use the budget reconciliation process to repeal its biggest parts.
“Patients and other stakeholders should be able to clearly compare current policy to new proposals so they can make informed decisions about whether it represents a step forward in the ongoing process of health reform,” the AMA wrote.
Four other leading medical associations called for similar steps in a letter sent to Congress Monday, urging lawmakers to ensure that any Obamacare replacement covers at least as many people.
