FEDERAL UPDATES

Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson Moves funding for Medicaid expansion, premiums tax credits, and cost-sharing reduction subsidies to a block grant that will completely end in 2026 Places a per capita cap on Medicaid Repeals individual and employer mandates Repeals the medical device tax Gives states the ability to waive ACA protections https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senators-introduce-graham-cassidy-heller-johnson

What about Bernie? Universal health coverage is goal Single payer is a way to get there https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/9/8/16271888/health-care-single-payer-aca-democratic-agenda

CHIP September 30, 2017 – deadline to reauthorize Senate Finance Committee announced a bipartisan agreement to 5-year extension with a phase out of the 23% bump to 11.5% in 2020 and completely gone in 2021 Legislative language should be released soon https://www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/hatch-wyden-push-to-extend-chip-funding-provide-additional-protections

What can you do? Sign on! Call your representative and senators and tell them to vote for a clean reauthorization of CHIP funding

HELP Committee Hearings Lots of Tennessee influence Chairman Sen. Alexander Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak Governor Haslam Dr. Manny Sethi of Vanderbilt and Healthy Tennessee

HELP Hearing Testimony Encouraging: Advocating for extension of CSRs Pushing for Reinsurance Ominous: - Asking for unspecified “state flexibility” in the regulation of insurance, suggesting relaxation of consumer protections

Cuts to enrollment and outreach assistance The administration cut funding for ACA outreach and enrollment by an average of 43% nationally based on performance, despite pulling funding for outreach at the end of last open enrollment, leading to 30,000 fewer people enrolling in coverage THCC leading this campaign Outreach is the best may to reach healthier, oftentimes younger people who bring the costs of the risk pool down

What has this funding accomplished in Tennessee? In 2016-2017, certified application counselors helped enroll more than 11,000 individuals in ACA Qualified Health Programs, CHIP, TennCare, or Medicare Savings Accounts through more than 2,400 in-person outreach and education events reaching over 97,000 people. They reached over 3.8 million Tennesseans through radio, TV, newspaper, and social media.

What can you do? Request meetings/calls with our Senators and HELP committee staff. Write letters to the editor

What’s our message? Thank Sen. Alexander for his efforts. Ask him to stay focused on market stabilization, and leave repeal and Medicaid alone. Don’t weaken insurance protections for consumers with pre-existing conditions Enrollment assistance and outreach are essential to market stabilization.

STATE UPDATES

Work requirements There is a handout on work requirements that everyone has

What can you do? Share the stories of anyone you know who has had trouble working due to health issues and caregiving responsibilities

Closing the coverage gap Opioid epidemic September is National Recovery Month

What can you do? Make the case for comprehensive Medicaid services, rather than targeted services alone, for people with substance abuse disorders.

Questions?