Health Policy after the Mid-Terms: NCPA’S Early Take
Republican candidates won a decisive victory at the voting booth on Tuesday, in all races: House, Senate, governorships and state legislatures. The future of Obamacare has never looked worse.
The next battle is more daunting: the Republican Party needs to avoid shooting itself in the foot, govern in a way that achieves results rather than perpetuates partisan bickering and continue to develop patient-centered health reform for the post-Obamacare future. Although Obamacare itself will not be repealed until January 2017, Republican success yesterday gives depth, resilience and energy to the post-Obamacare health reform movement.
Here is a list of some priorities for the new Congress:
- Repeal the excise tax on medical devices. This enjoys broad, bipartisan support — even from Democrats who voted for it when they imposed Obamacare on the nation. The tax is grabbing far less revenue than expected. Nevertheless, an important question stands out: How to pay for the lost revenue under Congress’ scoring rules? Some argue that repeal needs no offset; the industry would prefer that repeal be paid for via corporate tax reform; but grassroots conservatives will be skeptical unless the lost tax revenues are offset by Obamacare spending cuts.
- Shore up Medicare Part D Drug Plans by allowing them to better control fraud, which many Democrats support. Who could be against that?
- Obamacare discourages patient-focused innovation in health insurance plan design. Some Democrats have voiced support for the health insurers’ proposed “copper plan.” This is a point of leverage to open discussions on a wide variety of plan designs that suit patients’ needs, not politicians’ preferences.
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