U.S. Sen. Steve Daines seized on the shortcomings of Obamacare to drive home his point that the existing health care system is in a “death spiral,” but acknowledged that the GOP proposal currently stalled in the Senate needs work.
Speaking by telephone on Wednesday night to listeners from across Montana on his 17th “tele-town hall conference,” a forum that has become the Republican lawmaker’s signature public square, Daines fielded questions from a half-dozen residents who voiced strong concerns about the GOP’s proposed health care measure — some felt it didn’t do enough to “repeal” the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, while others criticized its emphasis on cutting taxes for the wealthy rather than improving health care for all U.S. citizens.
During his wide-ranging opening remarks that a few listeners called too lengthy, Daines offered the assurance that the Republican health care proposal, a vote for which has been postponed until next month as Senate leaders attempt to whip enough votes to pass the bill, will surely be modified.
“I guarantee you [the current bill] won’t be the bill that is voted on, and that is because it is dynamic and fluid,” he said. “Health care is so important. It is one of the most important personal issues that each person faces.”
Prior to taking questions, Daines methodically ticked through a litany of perceived problems with Obamacare, as well as with Montana’s Medicaid expansion, calling the measures unsustainable and threatening a wholesale collapse of the individual marketplace.
“We’ve seen higher-than-expected enrollment in Medicaid expansion, but we’ve also seen higher-than-expected expenses,” Daines said. “I can tell you, we’re blowing the budget. We are busting the budget.”
Drawing on the specter that the Montana Legislature may not renew Medicaid expansion when it sunsets on June 30, 2019, Daines said the GOP health care bill offers tax credits to the 70,000 Montanans who received health care under the expansion provision the state Legislature passed in 2015.
According to a report commissioned by the Montana Health Care Foundation and released this week, under the Senate’s proposed “Better Care Reconciliation Act” Montana would lose $5.3 billion in federal Medicaid funds between fiscal years 2020 and 2026, or 40 percent of the state’s current federal Medicaid funding.
Montana’s Democratic Sen. Jon Tester has staunchly opposed the GOP bill, saying the deep cuts to Medicaid would hurt Montana’s most vulnerable populations.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan federal agency that provides budget-related information to Congress, 22 million fewer Americans will have insurance coverage under the GOP bill over the next decade, with people between the ages of 50 and 60 disproportionately affected.
Daines took aim at the CBO forecast, calling it “weak at best.”
One caller, a man who identified himself as John from Libby, said the Republican bill’s thrust appears to lean heavily on rolling back Obamacare and cutting taxes for the wealthy rather than improving the country’s health care system. He expressed concerns about the potential for rural communities and hospitals to be overlooked.
“I’m just wondering if the focus is too much about trying to do away with Obamacare and not enough to do with trying to make improvements to our coverage,” the caller said.
Daines said he has engaged in “spirited debate” about the repeal of a 3.8 percent investment tax on capital gains that applies to individuals earning $200,000 or more per year, or couples earning more than $250,000, which would save the wealthy exorbitant amounts of money.
“I share your concern about this tax piece. I don’t disagree,” Daines said.
He also promised to fight for funding to rural hospitals and community hospital centers across the state.
“The rural voice has been loud and clear on that, including your senator from Montana,” he said.