U.S. Rep. Tom Reed has rolled out what he sees as a three-step process for the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.
The Corning Republican told reporters in a weekly teleconference that under the reconciliation process for which only 51 Senate votes are needed, a repeal and replace budget mechanism would be sent to President Donald Trump. Next, former Georgia Rep. Tom Price, the new secretary of Health and Human Services would follow Trump’s executive order directing the dismantling of Obamacare. Lastly, a conversation on post-Affordable Care Act health care reforms would take place, Reed said.
Also on Monday, the president met with the heads of some of the nation’s top health insurance providers.
Reed, who was a member of Trump’s transition team and is on the House Ways and Means Committee, said a “replacement package is coming together.” It’s one Reed said he was “taking a hard look at and is generally supportive of.”
Reed said the philosophy behind the replacement health care plan is one that “empowers people rather than government bureaucracies and provides resources and the ability for people to choose health care coverage for them instead of a government bureaucracy one size fits all.”
Under the proposal, refundable tax credits — paid monthly in advance — would put individuals in a position to purchase coverage tailored to their circumstances, Reed said. He also sees wider access for health savings accounts, not just for insurance, but for co-pays, deductibles and other health-related expenses.
Reed also vowed a safety net for the most vulnerable. “Medicaid needs to be part of our health care policy going forward,” he said. “We have to make sure the states have greater flexibility to determine the best safety net” for each.
A Medicaid block grant system would take into account the rise and fall of Medicaid-eligible individuals and make sure states have greater flexibility determine to best provide safety net, Reed said.
Before the block grant system would kick in by 2019 or 2020, there needs to be “a glide path” to transition from Obamacare, Reed said. He does not see anyone who is receiving Medicaid now losing that coverage.
Reed foresees Medicaid being broken into four categories: people with disabilities, children, elderly and able-bodied adults.
While talking about a significantly complicated policy, the transition to a post-repeal era must be done in a responsible way, said Reed, who along with his Republican colleagues in the House voted more than 60 times in six years to repeal Obamacare.
Whatever replaces Obamacare, it must include coverage of children up to age 26 on their parents’ policies, pre-existing conditions and no lifetime cap, Reed said, harkening to policies generally seen as positive in former President Barack Obama’s legislation.
