AARP pushes back against Senate health bill

KAILUA-KONA — Seniors in Hawaii could face drastic spikes in health insurance premiums under the U.S. Senate’s proposed health care bill, AARP said Tuesday.

KAILUA-KONA — Seniors in Hawaii could face drastic spikes in health insurance premiums under the U.S. Senate’s proposed health care bill, AARP said Tuesday.

The organization, which advocates on behalf of Americans 50 and older, outlined its concerns about the bill, which they said will result in skyrocketing costs in the individual private insurance market.

In Hawaii, the group said, a 60-year-old Hawaii resident in the individual market making $50,000 a year could see a premium increase of $7,420 in 2020.

However, Senate Republican leaders on Tuesday shelved their plan to overhaul health care with majority leader Sen. Mitch McConnell announcing a delay for voting, the Associated Press reported.

In a letter to all 100 senators, AARP urged senators to vote down the Better Care Reconciliation Act, urging them to “start from scratch and craft health care legislation that ensures robust insurance market protections, lowers costs, improves quality and provides affordable coverage to all Americans.”

The organization also vowed to monitor each senator’s vote on the proposed bill and report those votes to members and other older Americans.

Both of Hawaii’s senators have spoken out on the Senate floor in opposition to the GOP proposal as written.

“There are just two things that Americans need to know about the Republican health care plan: it’s going to make health insurance more expensive, and it’s going to make it harder to get health care in the first place,” said Sen. Brian Schatz last week. “That is the bottom line of this bill. Higher costs for less care – and all for a tax cut for the rich.”

Sen. Mazie Hirono also took the floor to criticize the bill’s potential effect on women and the way the bill was written.

“The fight against Trumpcare continues, but I’m going to do everything I can to protect women’s health and their right to control their bodies” Hirono said. “I urge my colleagues to oppose any measure in Trumpcare that takes women back to the days when our very gender was considered a preexisting condition.”

The AARP’s Public Policy Institute looked at the expected increases in premiums and out-of-pocket costs for older residents by income level should they choose to keep their current coverage.

“Forcing people over 50 to pay thousands more will mean many people in Hawaii will not be able to afford to go to the doctor, fill their prescriptions or get the care they need,” said AARP Advocacy Director Audrey Suga-Nakagawa.

Among local residents watching the bill is Roberta Murray, a 65-year-old resident of Kailua-Kona.

Although she is now receiving Medicare benefits, she said, she’s worried for friends and acquaintances who still depend on benefits afforded through the Affordable Care Act.

After Murray retired from her full-time job at the end of 2013 to become a caretaker for her husband, she was able to continue her coverage for 18 months before she had to enroll in the individual market.

Murray said she used both the Hawaii Health Connector and HealthCare.gov before she became Medicare eligible at the end of October last year.

“It made it easy for me to continue to have health care for myself,” she said of the current law.

Murray said Tuesday that she had concerns for friends who are caregivers who receive benefits through both the Affordable Care Act and programs like Medicaid.

“They will be totally squeezed out,” she said. “And they’ve got serious conditions.”

It’s especially concerning for those who are between retirement and becoming Medicare eligible and might have to forego coverage during the time in that gap.

“If you’re not working and not yet eligible for Medicare, what’ll you do?” she asked. “How much of your budget can you set aside for health care?”