Home Health & Hospice Week

New HHS Secretary Promises More ACA repeal phases.

Home care providers’ futures may hinge on the American Health Care Act’s fate, but that is far from certain.

The bill faces opposition from both sides of the aisle. Certain Republican factions criticize the bill as too much like the Affordable Care Act, or “ObamaCare lite.” Democrats protest the legislation’s major rollback of insurance coverage, Medicaid revamp, tax cuts, defunding of Planned Parenthood, and much more.

Legislators on both ends of the spectrum protest the estimated $600 billion price tag for the bill. (At press time, the Congressional Budget Office had yet to issue an official score for the bill.)

Two congressional committees started the clearance process for the bill on March 8 with hearings. The House hopes to pass the bill out of committee and vote on it by early April, notes law firm Hall Render in a blog post. “To pass the legislation, three House committees, Budget, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means, will need to combine legislative text into a single reconciliation bill before going to the House floor for a simple majority vote,” the law firm explains.

The bill’s fate in the Senate is also far from sealed. Senators from states that would lose from the repeal of Medicaid expansion and the switch to block grants may balk.

President Trump has started using a combination of tactics, including in-person meetings and Twitter, to get Republican lawmakers who are criticizing the bill in line. And new Health & Human Services Secretary Tom Price told Fox News that there will be two more “phases” to the repeal and replace effort, which will incorporate more changes President Trump promised in his campaign — and possibly lower the changes’ price tag.

Meanwhile, home care providers are waiting to see what the legislation that is already proposed means for them. “Over the next several weeks we expect to see more details on how and what block grants mean for states,” says Marcia Tetterton with the Virginia Association for Home Care and Hospice. At least home care with high quality and low cost is in a “much better position than some other types of providers,” Tetterton hopes. means for them. “Over the next several weeks we expect to see more details on how and what block grants mean for states,” says Marcia Tetterton with the Virginia Association for Home Care and Hospice. At least home care with high quality and low cost is in a “much better position than some other types of providers,” Tetterton hopes.