DUNKIRK, N.Y. -- The Congressional Budget Office is estimating 23 million fewer people will be insured under the American Health Care Act by 2026 than under the current system.
Rep. Tom Reed, R-NY-23, said he anticipated the score. He said, logically, legislation to repeal a law that mandates health insurance would be expected to, at least initially, decrease the amount of people covered.
Reed said the federal government's challenge is to deliver a better health care system to Americans so that they want insurance. Part of that, he said, is making medical services more affordable. Reed said there's bipartisan support for finding ways to make good quality care more efficient and finding other places where costs can be reduced.
The congressman said Federally Qualified Health Centers are one example of innovative ways to provide care to more people. He toured one of the not-for-profit facilities, The Chautauqua Center in Dunkirk, Tuesday. The organization which operates in part with federal grant funds, treats underserved and often low-income patients in the community.
During a roundtable, CEO Mike Pease thanked Reed for the financial support but expressed concerns about the AHCA. Among them, he believes the amount of uninsured patients the organization is mandated to serve would increase significantly and that New York may target the reimbursements it receives for Medicaid and Medicare.
Reed said he heard the concerns and would fight to make sure The Chautauqua Center is funded.
"I think when we have that open and honest conversation with our leaders in Albany, I think we'll win that argument day in and day out because the people aren't stupid," Reed said.
The U.S. Senate is currently considering the health care legislation. Reed and his Republican colleagues in the house already passed the bill.