Lawmakers should start looking beyond the American Health Care Act

The American Health Care Act’s tour in the House of Representatives was fleeting, but hardly reason to give up on the important work of improving the health of our nation. Instead, Speaker Paul Ryan’s decision to pull the bill from the House floor and regroup reflects an opportunity to learn from recent history and get it right.

Not a single hearing was held on the AHCA, which meant that patients, employers, providers and plans had no voice in the process. Democrats were shut out too. And analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office revealed that the bill would drastically reduce the number of Americans with coverage and cut federal Medicaid support to the states. Perhaps now it is time to take an incremental approach that benefits from widespread stakeholder input.

{mosads}The problems in the individual market have not evaporated.  Ensuring stability for 2018 and beyond is one of the most important actions policymakers can take to guarantee that millions of hard-working Americans avoid dangerous and costly disruptions in coverage and care.  We applaud the administration for its early steps to tighten enrollment processes and urge Congress to quickly address the funding questions. No business can be expected to stay afloat absent basic information about money available. With filing deadlines set for June, time is running out for our nation’s leaders to ensure the market is stable and sustainable.

Beyond the immediate challenges in the individual market, we all know much more can be done to create a high-quality, affordable health system. The members of the Alliance of Community Health Plans are not-for-profit health plans that share a mission to improve the health of the communities they serve. They work together with providers to deliver high-quality, affordable, community-based care to more than 18 million people across the country. Value-based care that rewards doctors and hospitals for doing what is in the best interest of the patient, is critical to a successful, affordable health care system. That’s why we’re focused on smart reforms that prioritize cost-saving measures for patients and improvements to the quality and availability of care.

If policymakers are serious about the cost of care, they will return with all due haste to the problem of sky-high drug prices. Rising drug costs are driving up premiums and taking a massive financial toll on Medicare and Medicaid. President Trump voiced his concern in January, saying, “We have to get prices down for a lot of reasons. We have no choice. For Medicare, for Medicaid, we have to get the prices way down.” The president even went as far as to say that pharmaceutical companies are “getting away with murder.”

The first step is transparency. Insurers are required to file rates with state regulators; doctors and hospitals must now release pricing information. Isn’t it time Big Pharma do the same?

We know that tackling this problem will require new and outside-the-box solutions that foster both innovation and competition. Other industries manage to develop new products and compete on cost. Why not our drug industry? We, at The Alliance of Community Health Plans, hold the view that the overriding goal is to get the right therapy to the right patient at the right time for the right cost.

Government policy must also encourage and support innovations in value-based treatment and patient-centered care, including the use of telehealth to increase access and efficiency of care. Telehealth should be particularly important to Members of Congress from rural districts, many of which are facing health crises related to substance abuse and lack of access to treatment. 

The Trump administration and House leadership will gain little if they dwell on the American Health Care Act as a loss; instead it should be viewed as a learning experience and an opportunity to course correct. Now is the time for everyone to roll up their sleeves, look toward the future, reach across the aisle — and figure out whether they want to be known for dismantling the ACA at all costs, or for taking smart steps to improve it. 

Ceci Connolly is president and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans and a former national health correspondent for the Washington Post. She is an author of the book “Landmark: The Inside Story of America’s New Healthcare Law.”

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.