I attended former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and former Governor of Wisconsin Tommy Thompson’s presentation titled, “The Future of National Healthcare” yesterday in Madison.
He said he speaks regularly with Speaker Paul Ryan and HHS Secretary nominee Tom Price. In Thompson’s estimation, he believes 75-80 percent of the Affordable Care Act “can be changed administratively.”
Providing more detail, Thompson expects that several “piecemeal” bills will be created this year, focusing on:
- Keeping people younger than 26 on their parents’ coverage,
- Not allowing insurance companies to discriminate based on pre-existing conditions,
- Allowing insurance companies to sell anything on the exchange,
- Allowing insurance companies to sell across state lines, and
- Changing to a block grant model for Medicaid.
“We (also) need long-term care insurance, but Congress won’t take it up (this year) because it’s too complex,” Thompson said.
Healthcare reform, along with transportation and tax reform, was one of three areas that Thompson thought Congress could tackle this year.