We won, now what? My account of Health Action 2018 at Crooked Media

The Affordable Care Act's passage through 2017 was a bit like Odysseus' ship sailing past the six-headed monster Scylla: six men gone, but the ship sails on (only to be destroyed by thunderbolt a few episodes later, but never mind that part). 

Health Action 2018, Families USA's annual confab of healthcare activists, was largely devoted to taking the measure of the political power somewhat miraculously tapped by a wave grassroots passion and action that staved off repeal -- and groping toward a path by which Democrats can build on or move beyond the ACA in years ahead.

I have an article up at Crooked Media that examines what kinds of next steps - or false starts -- the conference conversations point toward:

What I learned at Health Action 2018

Below, a few notes from Health Action 2018, Families USA's annual conference -- things I learned, or learned in more detail, or was forcefully reminded of. [Update: my report about what the conference suggested about where Democrats may be headed on the healthcare front is up at Crooked Media.]

         Re Medicare:

• Many low income sixtysomethings face a "Medicare cliff" at age 65. They've had all their medical expenses paid by Medicaid;  now, suddenly, they're faced with Medicare's 20% copays, drug costs, etc. (Leslie Fried, National Council on Aging)


• Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs), a variety of programs through which low-income Medicare enrollees' premiums or out-of--pocket costs are picked up by Medicaid, are all underutilized. Only about half of those eligible are enrolled. Funding for State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIP), which provide enrollment assistance to seniors, is grossly inadequate and at risk. Susan Collins has stood up for SHIP. (Leslie Fried).  I plan to learn more/post more about the Medicaid-->Medicare cliff.

At Health Action 2018, a focus on racial discrimination in healthcare

Last week I attended Health Action 2018, Families USA's annual gathering of healthcare advocates, ACA navigators, healthcare wonks and politicos.  I have a post in progress probing where the conference suggests Democrats may be headed next on the healthcare front.

One piece of that puzzle is how directly Democrats focus on equity issues -- specifically racial and ethnic inequities.  These present something of a political conundrum in that, as longtime former Senate aide (and healthcare adviser in the Obama administration ) Chris Jennings put it, "equity doesn't sell."  Proposals pitched to help the disadvantaged, Jennings asserted, arouse suspicions among many that others' gain will be their loss. People value programs that seem to treat everyone equally. "Medicare for all" polls well because it's perceived as a system that all pay into and all benefit from.

Notwithstanding that reality -- or perceived reality -- Families USA, to its credit, is training its focus on equity issues, and the conference reflected that in two plenary sessions in particular. Below is an an outtake of sorts from my broader conference overview in progress, focused on those panels -- and on Cory Booker's speech, which also focused on equity.