House GOP’s ACA replacement plan shouldn’t have come as a surprise

Regarding the ongoing coverage of the Republicans’ efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (“24 million would lose coverage under GOP’s Obamacare repeal plan,” ModernHealthcare. com, March 13), a large portion of the healthcare industry—including notfor-profit hospitals, physicians, hospital corporations and pharmaceutical/medical supply companies—is very worried about the House replacement proposal, the American Health Care Act, introduced earlier this month.

I don’t blame them. Since last year, I have been writing op-eds explaining how the Paul Ryan-Tom Price health reform proposals would be a disaster for America. The AHCA clearly is the latest incarnation of those ideas.

I have a lot of industry experience, having been a senior executive of several healthcare companies over several decades and director of health planning for the state of Georgia. But I do not consider myself to be uniquely qualified to examine healthcare reform issues. Others are well aware of the negatives of movement away from the ACA, as well as the downside of gutting traditional Medicaid and meddling with Medicare.

Where were the lobbying organizations for the above groups, out to lunch? Why did the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and others decide to support the Price nomination for HHS secretary?

Had they ever read his House bills, which parallel the AHCA?

The bottom line is that they were either completely naive or scared to death of President Donald Trump and frozen in place. My bet is the latter. I just hope that their lobbying is not coming too late. Jack Bernard Peachtree City, Ga.