Axios Live: Affordable Care Act subsidy expiration driving health care debates
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Rep. Robin Kelly talking with Axios' Caitlin Owens. Photo: Denny Henry on behalf of Axios.
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers discussed the main challenges of improving access to health care, a top priority on Capitol Hill, at an Axios Live event last week.
Why it matters: As rising costs, provider shortages and chronic illnesses complicate an overburdened system, pressures to lower costs and reduce barriers to access force difficult tradeoffs.
- Axios' Caitlin Owens spoke with Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) and Rep. Bob Onder (R-Mo.) at the event, sponsored by Alliance for Patient Access.
Driving the news: The fight over extending Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced subsidies before they expire at the end of the year is one of the biggest topics driving health care access conversations in Washington right now.
What they're saying: Kelly is in favor of extending the subsidies. "I don't want it extended just for one year. … I would even go for two years, even though I want longer than that," Kelly said.
- "But I don't want it to be we just extend it to get through November 2026, and then all of a sudden it goes away. I want more guarantees as a part of the extension," Kelly added.
- "There are a number of problems with those subsidies," Onder said. "I think these subsidies will expire. If not, they need serious modifications."
- "What we need to do is step back and look at the whole ACA scheme in the first place," he added, saying the policy drove up costs.
The bottom line: "Just in general, in the richest country in the history of the world, everyone needs to have health care – quality, accessible and affordable," Kelly said. "And whether that means a future for the ACA or something else, we definitely need to look at health care for everyone."
- "The biggest barrier to health care is … we've spent more than any other country on earth, and we don't always get the best outcomes," Onder said.
Content from the sponsored segment:
In a View From the Top conversation, Josie Cooper, Alliance for Patient Access executive director and COPD Action Alliance senior advisor, explained why COPD has become one of the most significant public health crises. It's the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
- "This is a disease that despite a huge number of people impacted … [it] doesn't get the shine it needs, and policymakers also have not really prioritized the disease," Cooper said.
- "There are educational programs that are underfunded. COPD is woefully underfunded in terms of research dollars, and we don't have enough congressional champions."
