AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, MD, issued the following statement regarding the inclusion of a proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate in Senate tax reform legislation:
“The AAMC is deeply disappointed that Senate Republican leadership has decided to put the health and well-being of millions of Americans at risk by proposing to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate as part of their tax reform package.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, a repeal of the individual mandate would result in 13 million more individuals without insurance by 2027. The nation’s medical schools and teaching hospitals know first-hand that patients without insurance are more likely to forgo preventive care, leading to potentially more complex and costlier treatment when they do eventually seek out care.
America’s teaching hospitals will continue to provide care for all Americans, regardless of their level of coverage. However, increasing the numbers of uninsured patients without corresponding support for the safety net will threaten both urban and rural providers, creating a ripple effect on regional health care networks.
We urge senators to work to ensure that this provision is not included in any final tax reform legislation.”
The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association dedicated to transforming health care through innovative medical education, cutting-edge patient care, and groundbreaking medical research. Its members are all 154 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 80 academic societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC serves the leaders of America’s medical schools and teaching hospitals and their more than 173,000 full-time faculty members, 89,000 medical students, 129,000 resident physicians, and more than 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences.