The largest physicians' group in the country has announced its opposition to the Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, saying it goes against the "do no harm" principle.
"On behalf of the physician and medical student members of the American Medical Association (AMA), I am writing to express our opposition to the discussion draft of the "Better Care Reconciliation Act" released on June 22, 2017," wrote AMA executive vice president and CEO James Madara, in a letter to the Senate leaders of both parties. "Medicine has long operated under the precept of Primum non nocere, or 'first, do no harm.' The draft legislation violates that standard on many levels."
He added, "we have consistently urged that the Senate, in developing proposals to replace portions of the current law, pay special attention to ensure that individuals currently covered do not lose access to affordable, quality health insurance coverage. In addition, we have advocated for the sufficient funding of Medicaid and other safety net programs and urged steps to promote stability in the individual market.
"Though we await additional analysis of the proposal, it seems highly likely that a combination of smaller subsidies resulting from lower benchmarks and the increased likelihood of waivers of important protections such as required benefits, actuarial value standards, and out of pocket spending limits will expose low and middle income patients to higher costs and greater difficulty in affording care."
The AMA wasn't alone in announcing its opposition to the GOP healthcare bill. Forty economists, including six winners of the Nobel Prize, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to voice their "believe that the Better Care Reconciliation Act would reduce coverage nearly as much as the House bill that the Congressional Budget Office estimated would take coverage away entirely from 23 million Americans and narrow coverage for millions more."
The economists added that, "At a time when economic change is making life more difficult for all but the relatively well-to- do, denying people to access health insurance is a giant step in the wrong direction."