Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta may be in charge of the Trump administration’s labor policy, but that didn’t stop Senate Democrats from grilling him instead on the subject of healthcare during an appearance before a Senate committee Tuesday to discuss his department’s budget.
Democrats repeatedly asked him about the impact the Senate Republican leadership’s legislation to partially replace and repeal Obamacare would have on the economy, arguing that the Republicans were making a grave mistake.
Acosta repeatedly pushed back against the Democrats’ arguments, while also noting that healthcare wasn’t his area of expertise and he was there to discuss his department’s budget. The exchanges underscored the intensity of the fighting in the Senate ahead of a vote on the legislation, which Republican leaders hope to hold later this week.
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, pressed Acosta on the Senate bill from the start of the hearing. “As you probably know, this is going to have a devastating impact on jobs as well as across the country. A lot of our rural hospitals are telling us that because of the loss of dollars that they will shut their doors or become much smaller as well as the number of nursing homes that telling us of the devasting impacts. Have you shared with the president those job loss numbers?”
Acosta replied that he wasn’t certain that the premise of her question was correct. “Senator Murray, at present, I do not have specific job loss numbers with respect to the healthcare industry. But let me say this a little more generally: I think the issue is a little more complicated and a little more subtle because at the same time that some jobs may be reduced many other jobs may be created.” He said the department had heard from many employers concerned about the burden imposed on by high healthcare costs under Obamacare.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pointed to Monday’s Congressional Budget Office analysis of the Senate GOP legislation that said 22 million people would be without healthcare insurance, including from losing employer-based coverage. “Do you think the purpose or the outcome of healthcare reform should be [coverage for] more or less Americans?”
Acosta replied that the administration had to be mindful of whether employers were able to offer coverage at all, which he indicated was jeopardized under the current system. “Senator, the purpose of healthcare reform is to ensure that individuals have access to insurance choice,” he said, adding that measuring strictly be the amount of money spent or the people covered wasn’t always the right metric.
Asked by Murphy if he thought the 22 million where choosing to drop insurance, Acosta indicated that may be the case for many. “Many individuals are finding that they cannot afford what is in effect a broken system,” Acosta said.
Sen Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., argued that the CBO report did indicate that many would voluntarily drop coverage. “The CBO report indicates to me — maybe I’m reading it wrong — that 15 million people would drop the coverage they have today because there would be no fine if they are not covered,” he said.
