January 23, 2011
Area(s) of Interest: Health Care Reform 


The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted last week to repeal federal health care reform, but the measure is not expected to be taken up by the Democratic-led Senate.

The House also voted to direct committees with jurisdiction to develop new legislation to replace the reform law.

The California Medical Association (CMA) did not take a specific position on a bill repealing health care reform and continues to articulate what California's physicians support and oppose about the Affordable Care Act.

CMA will continue to work closely with congressional leaders to boost Medicare and Medi-Cal funding and tackle other necessary changes associated with the implementation of health care reform.

CMA supported many provisions in health care reform, such as dramatically expanding access to care and market reforms that outlaw rescissions and force insurers to spend at least 80 percent of their revenue directly on patient care. However, CMA opposed--among other things--creating a non-elected board with broad new authority to govern Medicare and Congress's failure to replace the program's flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) funding formula.

Contact: Elizabeth McNeil, 415-882-3376 or via email.