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Thousands Of Kansans Would Lose Coverage Under AHCA, Says Former Health Care Official

Jasleen Kaur
/
flickr Creative Commons

Much attention has been paid to how the Republican health care bill passed by the House last month would increase costs for people with preexisting conditions. But a former official with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says it would affect just about everyone dramatically.

Olathe native Tim Gronniger oversaw payment reform at CMS under the Obama administration. At a recent town hall sponsored by opponents of the AHCA plan, he said the House bill would cost 200,000 Kansans their coverage and raise costs for just about everyone else.

“Everyone has a family member who has been sick. Everyone has that the possibility of losing their job or someone in their family member facing a layoff," he said. "And so the bill would upend protections that we all depend on.”

The Senate is working on its own measure, and Gronniger said he hopes it will scrap the House bill.

“Why not try to write a bill that increases insurance coverage?" he said. "It is eminently doable and totally feasible to write a bill that does that."

Gronniger said he hopes Republican Senators Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran see things the same way.

Dan Margolies is KCUR’s health editor. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.

Dan Margolies is editor in charge of health news at KCUR, the public radio station in Kansas City. Dan joined KCUR in April 2014. In a long and varied journalism career, he has worked as a reporter for the Kansas City Business Journal, The Kansas City Star and Reuters. In a previous life, he was a lawyer. He has also worked as a media insurance underwriter and project development director for a video production firm.