Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

WASHINGTON – A coalition of House Republicans and Democrats have agreed to a proposal to update the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

The Problem Solvers caucus – co-chaired by local Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY-23) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and comprised of 43 members from both sides of the aisle – has agreed to a slate of updates and fixes to not overturn, but stabilize, Obamacare.

During his weekly conference call with regional media, Reed outlined details of the stabilization plan, which would work to stabilize the insurance market. In addition, it would also makes a series of changes that have received bipartisan backing.

Highlighting the agreement is a proposal to fund Obamacare subsidies, which insurance companies rely on in order to stabilize rates and reduce out-of-pocket costs for the poor.

We would pay for the stabilization through a state stability fund, as well as the cost sharing reduction payment – that is the subject of a lawsuit and have been ruled illegal by the courts – coming from the White House and going to the insurance carriers,” reed said.

The Plan would include several other fixes, including raising the employment number from 50 to 500 to better protect small businesses and increasing full-time status from 30 hours to 40 hours.

WRFA asked Reed what his biggest concern was with the proposal, and he said that it may send the wrong message regarding his stance on Obamacare’s future.

“We stand for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. We don’t think it’s the best healthcare policy for America. We need to do better for the American people. And so maybe some people are thinking if we do this, they’ll think that we’ve abandoned our position when it comes to the Affordable Care Act. That’s just not accurate, but we can see that attack. I can see that as being something people will throw out there,” Reed said.

The Problem Solvers Caucus only comprises 10 percent of the total House membership, but Reed said it does send a signal to the rest of Washington that it’s time to work together.

“We’ve shown as 43 members from diverse areas of the country who have different districts, but at the end of the day we can go into a room, look each other in the eye – it takes a lot of hard work – and we can trust each other and we can start to compromise where 80 percent of the loaf is a victory for each of us. That to me is the greatest win.”

Even if lawmakers were to agree to the plan, it would also need the approval of President Donald Trump, who’s said numerous times he wants to fully repeal and replace Obamacare, and he’s willing to pull funding in order to expedite the process.

The roll out of their stabilization proposal follows weeks of meetings between Problem Solvers caucus members, who wanted to develop a plan to stabilize Obamacare if the GOP’s repeal effort sputtered.

However, it’s appearing more and more likely they won’t be able to make good on their seven-year effort, at least for the foreseeable future.

Two GOP senators – Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) – sealed the fate of the Senate version of the American Health Care Act late Monday when each announced they would vote “no” in an initial, critical vote that had been expected as soon as next week.

The announcement meant that at least four of the 52 GOP senators were ready to block the measure – two more than Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had to spare in the face of a wall of Democratic opposition.

The implosion leaves a divided GOP with its flagship legislative priority in tatters, and confronts a wounded President Donald Trump and congressional leaders with dicey decisions about addressing the perhaps unattainable promise of repealing President Barack Obama’s law.

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo

ALBANY – More than 15,000 people in Chautauqua County will see a negative impact as a result of the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. In addition, the county government will likely see a loss of more than $2.4 million in healthcare funding.

That’s according to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who discussed on Wednesday the impact the potential repeal of the Patient Protection and ACA would have on health care coverage of New Yorkers and the state budget.

Gov. Cuomo said that if the repeal of the ACA were enacted, as is expected by the republican controlled congress, an estimated 2.7 million New Yorkers would lose coverage and New York State would experience a direct state budget impact of $3.7 billion. Also, New York Counties would see a total loss of nearly $600 million of federal funding.

The governor – who is against the repeal – said that since its implementation, the ACA has become a powerful tool to lower the cost of health insurance for local governments and New Yorkers, and it is essential that the federal government does not jeopardize the health and livelihoods of millions of working families.

According to the Governor’s office, the NY State Health Insurance Exchange, created as a result of ACA, has successfully cut the percentage of uninsured New Yorkers in half, from 10 percent to 5 percent.

The bill undoing the president’s prized overhaul will be the first order of business for the House, marking a sharply partisan start on Capitol Hill to a congressional year in which legislating may take a back seat to politics.

Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23) said that in addition to repealing Obamacare, House republicans are expected to put forward their own alternative plan that he says would, among other things, reduce healthcare costs.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

“Allowing insurance to be bought across state lines. That’s a well known proposal that’s out there and I think has common ground for us to use market forces to force the carriers to compete for the business,” Reed said. “When it comes to tort reform and getting defensive medicine out of the system. I think there’s a lot of agreement that could be reached there if we took on that issue. And going after waste, fraud and abuse. Those are the low hanging fruit areas of medicare and medicaid where we may be able to have some small victories that lead to bigger victories.”

Meanwhile, the measure to repeal Obamacare already has passed the Senate under special rules protecting it from Democratic obstruction.

Despite dozens of past votes to repeal the health law in full or in part, Republicans never before have succeeded in sending a full repeal bill to the White House.

They insist that doing so will fulfill promises to their constituents while highlighting the clear choice facing voters in the November presidential election.

Obama will veto the health law repeal bill, which also would cut money for Planned Parenthood.

Republicans will then schedule a veto override vote for Jan. 22, when anti-abortion activists hold their annual march in Washington to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in 1973 that legalized abortion.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has made a decision that upholds a key component of the Affordable Care Act – which held to further strengthen the law and prevent it from being dismantled by its opponents.

The high court ruled 6 to 3 in King v. Burwell to uphold federal subsidies for low- and middle-income Americans to help pay insurance premiums. Following the decision, President Barack Obama said the law has proven it can work and has already helped millions of Americans, adding that with the new ruling by the court it is likely here to stay.

In writing the opinion of the ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr. said that Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them.

Congressman Tom Reed (R-NY 23rd Congressional District), who represents Chautauqua County in Congress and who has been a long-time opponent of federally funded healthcare, said he is disappointed by the ruling and it’s now up to Congress to make every effort to repeal the law.

The Corning Republican also said that If the American people really want to see the law repealed, they will have to make it happen by voting for a candidate that supports that action in the 2016 presidential election.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

WASHINGTON – Chautauqua County’s Congressman wants to make sure the head of Health and Human Services department is aware of the problems facing rural hospitals.

During a recent hearing of the Ways and Means Committee, Tom Reed (R-Corning) and other committee members heard about the problems facing hospitals throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes. Specifically, about the hits they are taking as a result of what Reed says are ongoing cuts from Obamacare and reimbursement rates cuts included in the White House’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget proposal.

Reed specifically highlighted two hospitals in the district during the hearing – St. James Mercy in Steuben County and Lake Shore Hospital in Chautauqua County – as examples of local hospitals struggling under the current health care landscape.

Reed’s comments for Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius came during a Ways and Means Committee hearing on the President’s budget proposals for the Department of Health and Human Services for Fiscal Year 2015.