Tester fields questions on GOP health bill

As the debate around health reform continues to unfold in Washington, Montana senators this week are discussing the Republican effort to replace former President Barack Obama’s health-care law.

Tuesday night, Democratic Sen. Jon Tester hosted a Facebook live event responding to Montanans’ questions around the repeal and replace effort.

Hours before, Republican leaders delayed the vote on their health-care bill until after the July 4 recess. According to the Associated Press, the delay was spurred by a lack of votes to begin debating the legislation.

“There was finally realization by the leader that this bill was very flawed and would not get enough votes to pass if it was brought up this week,” Tester said in his opening remarks during the live stream.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Senate Republican proposal would leave 22 million more Americans uninsured in 2026 compared to Obama’s law.

Fifty of 53 Senate Republicans must vote for the bill for it to pass. At least five GOP senators had said they would vote against beginning debate.

“I think there will be a lot of arm twisting over the next few weeks to try to get people to vote for this bill,” Tester said.

Montana’s Republican U.S. senator, Steve Daines, is scheduled to hold a teleconference Wednesday night with constituents. Daines has said he’ll decide whether to support his party’s health-care bill after hearing from voters.

MORE THAN 4,000 people tapped into the hour-long live stream Tuesday night as Tester gave his take on the bill. Roughly 400 people submitted questions during and leading up to the event.

Tester first read a question that asked whether it was better to have the Senate’s version of health reform rather than “the failing system that we have now.”

“This Senate bill is not a step forward,” Tester said in response.

Two years in a row, Montanans have faced double-digit premium rate increases. The increases matched national trends and contributed to the GOP argument to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Tester said under the GOP proposal, people in their 20s are more likely to see their premiums drop. But he said the bill increases premiums for people in their 50s and 60s.

“We call that an age tax,” Tester said.

In Flathead County, people in their 20s would see lower premiums initially if the Republican plan went into effect, but with fewer tax credits.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in 2020 a Flathead County resident that’s 27 years old with an annual income of $30,000 on a bronze plan under the current health law will have a premium of $830 after tax credits. If the Republican plan took place, that Flathead resident would see their net bronze premium hit $1,390.

A 60-year-old county resident on the same income would see their bronze plan go from no cost due to current tax credits to $2,790 if the Republican plan passes.

Those numbers don’t include cost-sharing assistance under Obama’s law that lowers deductibles and co-payments for low-income marketplace enrollees.

Tester said the plan also doesn’t “deal with the working poor.” The Senate plan includes a cap on Medicaid dollars and a rollback to Medicaid expansion — in which roughly 77,000 Montanans are enrolled.

Responding to several questions regarding the plan’s impact on veterans, Tester said there are roughly 100,000 veterans living in Montana.

He said half of those veterans choose to receive their health care outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs — many of which he said are enrolled in Medicaid.

He said according U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, if the GOP plan goes into place, potentially another 700,000 veterans could enroll in the VA — meaning the already stretched-tight system would need more resources to meet the growth of demand.

Tester said while a vote on the Senate bill is expected sometime next month, he still believes the Affordable Care Act could remain.

“Working together in a bipartisan way, I think the Affordable Care Act can be fixed,” he said.

People interested in calling in during Sen. Daines’ teleconference Wednesday can text “SenatorDaines” to 828282 or call Daines’ offices to get registered for the event. Office locations and numbers are available at https://www.daines.senate.gov.