Dems Take The Senate: What Does It Mean For Health Care?
民主黨拿下參議院： 這對醫療保健意味著什麼
Victories by Democrats Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff in Georgia’s Senate runoffs Tuesday have changed the dynamics for health-care legislation. However, experts believe that small changes are more likely than major structural overhauls, according to the New York Times.
民主黨人拉斐爾·沃諾克和約翰·奧索夫週二在喬治亞州參議院決選中的勝利改變了醫療立法的動態。然而，據《紐約時報》報導，專家認為，小的變化比重大的結構改革更有可能發生。
A series of tweaks bolstering the Affordable Care Act stands the best chance of passage. Legislators could make insurance subsidies more generous, get coverage to low-income Americans in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid, and render moot a pending Supreme Court lawsuit that aims to overturn the entire law.
一系列支援《平價醫療法案》的調整最有可能獲得通過。立法者可以使保險補貼更加慷慨，覆蓋到那些沒有提高聯邦醫療補助的低收入的美國人，並使最高法院即將進行的旨在推翻整個法律的訴訟變得毫無意義。
But structural overhauls such as Medicare for All, which would move all Americans to a government-run health plan, face a much tougher road. So would elements of Joe Biden’s health agenda, such as a public option, which would give Americans a choice between a new public plan and private insurance.
但是，像全民醫保這樣的結構性改革，將讓所有美國人都轉向政府管理的健康計劃，面臨著一條更加艱難的道路。喬·拜登的健康議程要素也是如此，比如公共選擇，這將讓美國人在新的公共計劃和私人保險之間有選擇。
There are several areas of health policy where congressional aides and health policy experts could see Democrats focusing their efforts this year. Smaller policy reforms are expected to be easier, both legally and politically, while more ambitious policies may not easily slot into strict parliamentary rules — or the political preferences of enough Democratic lawmakers.
國會助手和衛生政策專家可以看到民主黨今年將在衛生政策的幾個領域集中精力。較小的政策改革在法律上和政治上都預計會更容易，而更具野心的政策可能不容易納入嚴格的議會規則——或者說足夠多的民主黨議員的政治偏好。
ACA expansion
平價醫療法案擴大
Congress is most likely to act on a set of changes meant to expand the ACA and make health coverage less expensive for those who buy their own plans. One priority is raising the income ceiling for those who receive subsidies, which would expand the number of people who qualify for help. Another is rewriting formulas to peg the size of the subsidy to a more generous health insurance plan, a way to increase the amount of assistance.
國會最有可能對一系列旨在擴大平價醫療法案的改革採取行動，降低那些購買自己計劃的人的保險費。當務之急是提高領取補貼者的收入上限，這將提高有資格獲得補助的人的數量。另一個方案是重寫將補貼規模與更慷慨的醫療保險計劃挂鉤的公式，這是增加援助金額的一種方式。
Closing the Medicaid gap
縮小醫療補助差距
In the 12 states that do not participate in the health law’s Medicaid expansion, millions of low-income Americans are left without affordable coverage options. Many Democrats are eager to change this but have so far been stymied by states’ decisions to decline the program. One option that has been floated is to extend the ACA’s tax credits to this population. They wouldn’t get to enroll in Medicaid, but they would have access to a highly subsidized private plan on the health law’s marketplace.
在12個不參與健康法聯邦醫療補助擴大的州中，數百萬低收入的美國人沒有負擔得起的醫保選擇。許多民主黨人急於改變這種狀況，但迄今為止，各州決定拒絕該計劃，阻礙了這一計畫。已提出的一個選擇是將 ACA 的稅收抵免擴展到此類人口。他們無法參加聯邦醫療補助計劃，但他們可以在醫療市場上獲得一個高度補貼的私人計劃。
Reducing drug prices
降低藥品價格
Lowering drug prices has been a Democratic policy priority for many years, and one that Biden endorses, at least in general. Experts believed that certain drug pricing controls might be possible with reconciliation since they have clear budgetary effects. But the politics of passage could be difficult with narrow majorities in both the House and Senate and such strong opposition from the drug industry.
多年來，降低藥品價格一直是民主黨的政策重點，也是拜登支援的政策重點，至少一般如此。專家們認為，某些藥品定價管制有可能通過調節來實現，因為它們具有明顯的預算影響。但是，由於參眾兩院的疲軟和製藥業的強烈反對，這個法案可能很難通過。
Public option
公共選項
Biden included a public health insurance option, available to all Americans, in his 2020 campaign platform. The slim majority in the Senate, however, may make it hard to move this type of plan forward.
拜登在2020年的競選綱領中包括了一個提供給所有美國人的公共醫療保險方案。然而，參議院的多數人的疲軟態度可能使得推進這類計劃變得困難。
Medicare for All
全民醫療保險
The obstacle to such a plan is more likely political than procedural. Currently, a majority of House Democrats back Medicare for all, but that would not be nearly enough votes to pass such a bill. An even smaller share of senators backs the plan.
實施這一計劃的障礙更有可能是政治性的，而不是程式性的。目前，大多數眾議院民主黨人支援全民醫保，但這還不足以通過這樣的法案。支援該計劃的參議員比例甚至更少。
Source文章來源: www.benefitspro.com