American Crossroads announcement leans heavily on insurance industry-funded studies to criticize Gideon’s support for a public option for Medicare
New attack announcement by conservative, deep-pocketed organization ignores key component of Senate candidate Sara Gideon’s health-care platform by describing Medicare membership as a ‘gamble’
The announcement by American Crossroads – a political action committee that has spent nearly $ 200 million since 2010 – is part of the Republicans’ national strategy to present the Democratic proposals as a dangerous « takeover government « health care
Ad against Gideon warns of massive tax hikes and closed hospitals in rural Maine, but bases these dire predictions on worst-case scenarios from studies produced for the insurance industry
The ad also doesn’t indicate what the candidate is supporting – in this case, a public option allowing some Americans to purchase Medicare coverage as an alternative to private insurance
Polls suggest a majority of Americans support the general idea of a public option, including a January poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation that found 68% of respondents support the concept
The gambling-themed ad also draws heavily on worst-case scenarios from studies done for a professional group whose members in the insurance and hospital sectors oppose the public option « Medicare for all »
American Crossroads ad never says what Sara Gideon supports Still image from video ad
Gideon, a Freeport resident who currently serves as Speaker of the Maine House, is in a high profile race against incumbent Republican President Susan Collins as well as two independents, Max Linn and Lisa Savage
American Crossroads is one of more than 40 PAC and other outside groups that have collectively spent more than $ 50 million, to date, on the Maine Senate race, according to the Maine Funding Watch Group. campaign, the Center for Responsive Politics
On the far left, progressives like Savage and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders are pushing Medicare for All In such a scenario, every American would get health coverage through the federal program now offered largely to people aged 65 or over, which would likely lead to the elimination of private insurance
But Gideon, presidential candidate Joe Biden and other moderates back a public option Details vary by proposal, but generally speaking, a public option would expand the Affordable Care Act to allow some people to under 65 – but probably not everyone – to get Medicare coverage
But consumers would have a choice – hence the “option” in the public option – and could continue to benefit from the private insurance plans generally offered by their employers
American Crossroads ad claims Gideon’s public option plan « could endanger employer-provided health insurance » To substantiate this, the ad points to a December New York Times analysis 2019 that an inexpensive and efficient public option would likely distract some people from private plans or force commercial insurers to change their offerings
On the other hand, few people would likely give up their private coverage if the public option offered expensive and less robust coverage So it all depends on the structure of the program
« A public option plan would not directly affect private insurers, » says New York Times analysis « But by changing market rules, it could influence a company’s business decisions. And it could affect consumers who wish to purchase private coverage «
Other allegations in the American Crossroads ad address how a public option could affect Maine’s still fragile rural hospitals and consumer wallets
The ad says a public option could « raise taxes for Maine workers by more than $ 2,300 a year. » The figure of $ 2,300 appears to come from increases in payroll taxes which, according to academics at the conservative Hoover Institution, would be required to pay the government’s share of a public option
The January 2020 study was funded « with support from the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, » a trade group made up of insurance companies, hospitals, chambers of commerce and other trade groups The partnership was formed to oppose Medicare for All and a public option
The ad goes on to claim that Gideon’s « health care plan » could lead to the closure of 15 rural hospitals in Maine, 75% of the state’s 21 rural hospitals This scenario is based on an August 2019 study also funded by the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future
Digging deeper, the forecast for 15 hospitals closed is based on revenue losses if 25-50% of people with private insurance chose to take Medicare – which would constitute substantial enrollment in the program
It also assumes that there is no change in current Medicare reimbursement rates, which are generally lower than rates paid by private insurers
But Gideon has said she believes any public option plan should also increase Medicare reimbursement rates
« In the Senate, Sara supports increasing the number of critical access hospitals in Maine and increasing Medicare reimbursement rates to ensure that rural hospitals can continue to meet the needs of their communities. » the Gideon campaign said in response to the American Crossroads Advertising
To be clear, rural Maine hospitals were struggling years before the COVID-19 pandemic made things even more financially precarious Two of 21 rural Maine hospitals, Lincoln’s Penobscot Valley Hospital and Calais Regional Hospital, are bankrupt
A 2017 financial report from the Maine Hospital Association found that Medicare and Medicaid accounted for, on average, 62% of hospital activities, but only 55% of their revenues « due to significant levels of underpayment » by federal programs Private policyholders represented 35% of business but 45% of hospital revenues
« This forces hospitals in Maine to shift the costs of caring for Medicare and Medicaid (MaineCare) patients to commercial health insurance companies, » the report says
These dynamics can also vary widely People with private insurance represent only 25% of clients in some hospitals and up to 50% in others Regional trends in age, demographics and employment also directly affect this breakdown
Profit margins are slim across the board as well, but even more so in rural areas According to figures from the Maine Hospital Association, urban hospitals averaged an operating / profit margin of 17% last year compared to 04 % for rural hospitals
Success Please wait for the page to reload If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page
Hello {SUB NAME}, to comment on stories you need to create a commenting profile This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login Already have one? Log in
Create a comment profile by providing an email address, password and display name You will receive an email to complete the registration Please note that the display name will appear on the screen when you participate
Only subscribers can post comments Please subscribe or log in to join the conversation Here’s why
Use the form below to reset your password Once you have sent your account email, we’ll send you an email with a reset code
var mediaContent = « media \: content, content »;
(a function () {
var now = new Date ();
var cookieName = new RegExp (‘MSPAN_Paywall_views_’ nowgetMonth ());
windowMSPAN = {
Paywall: {
totalViews: function () {
var cookies = documentBiscuitDivided (‘;’);
var val = 0;
if (! cookieNametest (documentbiscuit)) {
return 0;
}
for (var i = 0; i <cookieslength; i) {
if (cookieNametest (cookies [i])) {
val = parseInt (cookies [i] split ('=') [1]);
}
}
return val;
}
}
};
} ());
(a function () {
« use strict »;
if (/ disconnect / test (finderlocation window)) {
var date = new date ();
var cookieString = « MSPAN_Paywall_user = 0; domain = » document locationhost replace (/ ^ w /, ») « ; path = /; expire = » datetoGMTString ();
var cookieString2 = « MSPAN_Paywall_user = 0; domain = » documenthostlocation « ; path = /; expires = » datetoGMTString ();
DatesetHours (dategetHours () – 1);
documentcookie = cookieString;
documentcookie = cookieString2;
}
} ());
Susan Collins, US Senate, Maine, Sara Gideon, Republican Party
World news – United States – Super-PAC ad targets Gideon’s health policies
