COVID-19 and the Impact of ACA Consolidation

ST. PAUL, Minn. — With coronavirus spreading nationwide, the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) wants to remind Americans how ten years of the Affordable Care Act have created barriers and regulations that reduce patient access to care, not only during a nationwide public health crisis but every day of the year.

“Today is the 10th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, which was designed to consolidate the entire health care industry. With coronavirus on the loose, what does this mean for small communities and rural areas whose hospitals were shut down as a result of unfunded mandates and unaffordable regulation? How much longer will it take them to get the care they need?” asked Twila Brase, president and co-founder of CCHF.

“What does this mean for patients and hospital staff forced to enter or work at the huge medical facilities that are, or may soon be, filled with coronavirus patients? How easy will it be to maintain social distancing? And how has ACA consolidation, which reduced the number of health care facilities, impacted the total amount of masks, respirators, intubation supplies, medications and staff available at any given time?”

To help solve shortages caused by consolidation under the ACA, the 35 states with laws that require legislation or lengthy government approval processes before hospitals and other facilities can expand the number of beds, open new facilities, or offer new services should repeal their laws.

“Given the expected need for more beds and more facilities, state legislatures should repeal Certificate of Need and similar laws to help patients get ready access to the care they need during this coronavirus emergency,” said Brase.

CCHF maintains a patient-centered, privacy-focused, free-market perspective. CCHF has worked in its home state of Minnesota and at the national level for more than 20 years to protect health care choices, individualized patient care, and medical and genetic privacy rights. In 2016, CCHF launched The Wedge of Health Freedom, an online directory of direct-pay practices (JointheWedge.com)

Twila Brase, RN, PHN has been named by Modern Healthcare as one of the “100 Most Powerful People in Health Care.” She is the host of the daily Health Freedom Minute radio program heard by over 5 million weekly listeners on more than 800 radio stations nationwide, and the author of the four-time award-winning book, “Big Brother in the Exam Room: The Dangerous Truth About Electronic Health Records.”