Go back to the drawing board, US hospitals tell Senate on health bill
Healthcare and drug stocks have rallied as the Republicans’ replacement for Obamacare is not quite as bad as feared — but the industry still deems it unworkable
New York/Boston — Hospital trade groups had one message to the small group of Senate Republicans who released their health bill after two months of closed-door meetings: "Go back to the drawing board." While US hospital and other healthcare stocks rallied on Thursday, with a sense of relief that the spending reductions contained in the plan weren’t as deep, or fast, as investors had anticipated, the biggest hospital associations in the country lambasted the proposal. The Better Care Reconciliation Act, which would replace Obamacare, puts the health of millions of poor, elderly, disabled and chronically ill patients at risk, said Rick Pollack, CEO of the American Hospital Association. "We urge the Senate to go back to the drawing board and develop legislation that continues to provide coverage to all Americans who currently have it," he said in an e-mailed statement. After years of criticising Obamacare for being too expensive and not delivering for patients, Republicans are now tryi...
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