In a new comment submitted to the Senate Finance Committee, AMAC Action Senior Vice President Andy Mangione is sounding the alarm about the unsustainable trajectory of healthcare costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Mangione outlines how “many of [the ACA’s] structural flaws continue to drive up costs for ordinary Americans” and calls for “thoughtful reforms” to move toward a system that is “less expensive, more transparent, and more responsive to consumer needs.”
Fifteen years after its passage, the ACA, also known as Obamacare, has failed to deliver affordability as promised. As Mangione notes, “premiums and deductibles have risen steadily, leaving many families facing thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs before they can meaningfully use their coverage.” Even for those with insurance, “people are still delaying or avoiding needed care not because they lack insurance, but because the insurance they have remains too expensive to use.”
The comment highlights that insurers are now proposing “some of the largest rate hikes in years,” made worse by the law’s reliance on federal subsidies that “mask rising prices with taxpayer-funded assistance.” This dependence, Mangione warns, leaves consumers “vulnerable to policy changes in Washington.”
Another concern is consolidation across the healthcare industry. “As providers merge and grow larger, they gain increased market power to demand higher reimbursement rates,” Mangione writes. “Those higher costs are passed directly to consumers.” The organization also criticizes the “complexity and administrative burden of the ACA’s regulatory framework,” which adds costs “that ultimately do not improve care.”
Finally, Mangione points to instability in the ACA marketplaces, with “sudden policy shifts, insurer exits, and uncertainty surrounding federal support” all contributing to rising premiums and fewer choices for consumers.
In closing, Mangione reiterates AMAC Action’s long-standing position: “Congress should move swiftly to get our country off the path to fully socialized medicine by enacting market reforms that increase competition in the marketplace and drive down prices for our members across the country.”
Through its advocacy, AMAC Action continues to champion healthcare solutions that protect seniors, empower patients, and restore affordability for all Americans.
Definitely broken from day 1!
The loopholes for the Insurance companies are as large as a hurricane!
Many I know had to go on the ACA for prescription reasons. The policy they had was great, not expensive and good on scripts. At the end of the year, it was no longer available the following year. Yet, they offered another policy exactly the same under a different name and higher premiums. That loophole needs to be closed!
Now I’m retired and under the Medicare age. A policy that fits my needs and somewhat close to what I had when I retired costs more than what my company paid. I’m paying the cost of a family plan from my work for a single plan from the Marketplace! More for less is not what I call Affordable Healthcare!
Praise for Andy Mangione for the good work involving the reforms that are needed. Regarding the business of the practice of medicine Improved standards for insurance companies and any other groups that make the practice of Medicine possible should be considered .One way to accomplish that would be to require those who are involved in management and at the decision making level to make monthly written reports that pertain to those matters and that information would be available to the public. And the matter of improvements involving Medical Ethics a written report by all doctors that would address any Medical Ethics issues encountered or observed and their opinions about those matters – those reports would be available to the public as well.
Congress is a complete failure. Insurance rated rose rapidly in the years after Obamacare was approved, but it didn’t affect Congress so nothing has happened all these years. Congress has known that consumers were getting crushed but they have done nothing.
Let’s face it, the Obama administration put this failure in place to force this nation into single payer coverage (a national healthcare system). The people have resisted a government run system because our government could not effectively run a lemonade stand. If the government does it costs go up (College tuition anyone?).
It’s time for Congress to again believe in the free market and dump this Obamacare nightmare. Sure there will be people who can afford the coverage they need which is why we have Medicaid for them to fall back on. It may be more effective to create some assigned risk pools in the long run but that will take time something Congress does not have because as usual they have waited until the last minute to address this issue.
Extending the current system, paying the insurance companies $12,000 a year each for something like 7% of our population (for insurance they can’t afford to use) is just plain stupid! More than 30% of these people never made a claim or even tried to use the “coverage” (am I the only one who wonders if these people even have any idea that they have coverage)? Flushing another $180 billion down the toilet every year and expecting young people to pick up the tab (with interest) is criminal!
How do we force Congress to change from being a bunch of self aggrandizing showboats on TV everyday, always begging for campaign donations into a group who will actually work for the people?
ACA is a complete failure with the atrocious premiums benefitting ‘big health insurance’ companies. This is not a joke. It absoluetly needs to be reformed.
Artificial Intelligence is on the way to slash costs and improve treatment.