Chesco congressmen join health care caucus.
Bipartisan group offers proposals to stabilize health insurance markets
Area congressmen who represent Montgomery, Chester and Berks counties have signed on to proposed legislation that they say would offer a set of solutions to stabilize health insurance markets and provide relief to individuals, families, and small businesses.
The package was announced July 31 by leaders of the bipartisan Problems Solvers Caucus, made up of Democrats and Republicans who have taken it upon themselves to attempt to bridge the gaps that have polarized Washington, D.C., most notably in the debate over health care reformand the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
According to a news release issued by the cochairs of the group, the 44 Republicans and Democrats “delivered a set of principles to advance solutions to address the destabilized individual health care market. These bipartisan proposals focus on areas they can find broad consensus to work together to stabilize the health care industry.”
By resetting the health care conversation in Con- gress, the caucus members are attempting to set the stage “for the kind of bipartisan solutions that Americans have been yearning for” and “restore some predictability as insurance companies make decisions about premium prices in 2018,” according to the release.
U.S. Reps. Ryan Costello, R-6th Dist., Pat Meehan, R-7th Dist., and Lloyd Smucker, R-16th Dist., are members of the caucus. They represent most of the counties in southeastern Pennsylvania, including Berks, Chester and Montgomery.
“Task one is to stabilize the insurance marketplace this year for all Americans,” said Costello in a statement. “We need to ultimately implement sustainable reforms to improve our health care system, and it needs to be anchored from the ideological center in order to pass both chambers of Congress and have the confidence of the American public.
“That’s the reality as I see it, I think a broad crosssection of my constituents and Americans agree, and that’s how I intend to help lead this effort,” he added.
“I’m glad to be part of a bipartisan group of House members working together to pick up the pieces of the Senate’s failed attempts to address the failures of Obamacare,” said Smucker.
According to the group, it is clear that the individual health insurance market is deteriorating in some areas of the country. The individual market needs restructuring, and its package is designed to implement changes in time to take effect for insurance plans offered for 2018. Committees of jurisdiction should begin to address the issue through regular order.
Costello, in an interview, said he would work to bring the matter to the House’s Energy and Commerce Committee, of which he is a member. The danger of leaving the ACA’s costsharing reduction (CSR) payments in the hand of the Trump Administration, which has threatened to suspend them on a month-by-month basis, or any administration, is untenable, he said.
“That is not a way to go forward providing assurances for our health care system,” he said. “You need to handle things on a responsible way that protects constituents and the health care system as we know it.”
The legislation would bring CSR payments under congressional oversight and an appropriations process, but ensure they have mandatory funding. It would also create a dedicated stability fund that states can use to reduce premiums and limit losses for providing coverage — especially for those with pre-existing conditions.
Additionally, according to the caucus, the legislation would adjust the employer mandate by raising the threshold on the requirement for employers to provide insurance under the employer mandate to businesses of 500 employees or more. “The current employer mandate places a regulatory burden on smaller employers and acts as a disincentive for many small businesses to grow past 50 employees,” the group said in its release.
It would also repeal the medical device tax, a proposal that has gained momentum in both parties.
“The last great hope for this country is that Republicans and Democrats prove they can work together,” said caucus Co-Chairman U.S. Rep. Tom Reed, a New York Republican. “We’ve locked arms to continue the fight for the American people, their families and their health care. We as a caucus, will continue to work together with bipartisan dignity and commitment to the American people, who deserve stable health care and a functional Congress.”
“For too long, health care has been viewed as a fiercely partisan battleground, but the Problem Solvers Caucus has shown that it is possible to forge cooperation and fight through the gridlock. We all heard what (U.S. Sen.) John McCain said — it’s time for bipartisan solutions,” added caucus Co-Chairman U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey. “This plan will help small businesses and families, especially those with pre-existing conditions, by making permanent cost-sharing reductions while protecting Medicaid for seniors and those struggling with substance abuse disorders.”
The caucus is half Democratic and half Republican by design: If a member wants to join, he or she must bring a partner from the other party. The caucus leaders do not name the membership, leaving it to individuals to declare their affiliation. At present, six representatives from Pennsylvania — all Republicans — are part of the caucus: Costello, Meehan, and Smucker as well as U.S. Reps. Charlie Dent, R-15th, of Allentown, Brian K. Fitzpatrick, R-8th, of Bucks County, and Glenn Thompson, R-5th, of Centre County.
The caucus was instrumental in pushing a proposal to avert a government shutdown in April, and it has made it a goal to pass tax reform and an infrastructure bill — with bipartisan support.