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Public Health & Policy > Health Policy
Senators Seek Answers From HHS Chief on ACA Reforms, Title X Funds
Organ allocation, unaccompanied minors also discussed at appropriations hearing

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by Joyce Frieden, News Editor, MedPage Today
April 04, 2019

WASHINGTON -- Overturning the Affordable Care Act (ACA), maintaining women's access to birth control, and taking better care of unaccompanied minors entering the country without papers were just a few of the issues Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar addressed during a Senate Appropriations committee budget hearing on Thursday.

"The fact is the administration is doing everything it can to sabotage healthcare, and this budget appears to be just more of the same," said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies, which was holding the hearing. "Your budget calls for repealing and replacing the ACA with the failed Trumpcare bill, which was rejected by the last Congress, and ... last week President Trump sided with the [district court] ruling that all of the ACA should be struck down -- all of it."

"According to reports, you initially opposed President Trump on that and issued a statement of support," she continued. "Did you initially object to the president's decision to side with the Texas court because you know the impact this would have; it would be devastating for so many families?"

'Reasonable Minds Can Differ'

Azar did not answer the question directly. "The advice of a Cabinet member to the President of the United States is highly confidential and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to comment on that," he replied. "The position the administration took in the ACA litigation is an appropriate position; it's supporting a district court's decision ... Reasonable minds can differ on this question of legal issues. This is not our policy position; that is a legal conclusion about the ACA ... We want to protect preexisting conditions; if the litigation ends up in that position we want to work with you to secure better care for people and make sure all the issues you raised are taken care of."

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) was a little more friendly to the secretary. "I remember when Congress passed [the ACA], we were promised ... that it would make health insurance more affordable. Has it done that?" he asked.

"No it has not," Azar said. "We were promised health insurance would cost half what it cost at the time; in fact, during President Obama's tenure, it doubled in cost for people having to buy insurance."

"Congress also promised us it would make health insurance more accessible," Kennedy said. "Has it done that?"

"No it has not; in fact it has restricted choices for individuals now, with a large percentage of states having only one carrier in the individual market," said Azar. Kennedy then asked whether the president supported repealing the ACA without a replacement. "The president has always supported replacing the Affordable Care Act with something else that is better," Azar said.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/healthpolicy/79031