24 March 2023 House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee holds hearing on factors driving unaffordable health care On March 23, the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee held a hearing entitled "Why Health Care is Unaffordable: The Fallout of Democrats' Inflation on Patients and Small Businesses." The hearing, held on the thirteenth anniversary of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) passage, put on display the partisan divide in addressing rising health care costs. During the hearing, Republican members spoke critically of the ACA, the Inflation Reduction Act's provisions to extend enhanced federal subsidies and the impact on inflation and health care costs. Democrats, meanwhile, spent their time defending the ACA and touting the coverage gains seen under the law. During the hearing, lawmakers heard from a panel of witnesses featuring small business owners and health policy experts. The small business owners spoke about their struggles to provide affordable health care for employees post-ACA and the policy experts discussed factors, including health care consolidation, that are driving high prices, and ways to ease those pressures. More information is available here.
Document ID: 2023-0568 | |||||||
