President Trump and his allies in Congress have committed to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As these reform efforts may have broad implications on the American healthcare delivery system, I wanted to inform you of URAC’s position and encourage you to participate in the learning process.

URAC has only two accreditation programs that are directly recognized by policies established in the ACA: Health Plan with Health Insurance Marketplace and Independent Review Organization (IRO).  This is important to note because the direct impact on URAC’s current programs is likely to be limited. That said, any reform will certainly impact URAC’s clients and for that reason, URAC must be vigilant in order to appropriately respond to changing market dynamics.   

Since both of these programs tied to the ACA are specifically related to the Health Insurance Marketplaces, URAC Government Relations (GR) is planning to remain neutral in the debate regarding these provisions. This position allows URAC to remain an independent expert on quality without the appearance of endorsing a political position. As an added benefit, this strategy allows URAC to accommodate the positions of those organizations represented on URAC’s Board of Directors.  

While GR will track efforts to reform the ACA, the debate and the coverage of the debate will be expansive. The best way for URAC to engage in this process is for all of us to openly communicate and share any information we learn. If you’re interested, I encourage you to share news and insights with me and with your colleagues so we may all be better informed. Two non-partisan sources that I recommend if you’re looking to follow the debate are Politico’s Pulse and Kaiser Health News.  

If you have any questions about our strategy or anything you’ve read about ACA reform, please do not hesitate to contact Aaron at aturner-phifer@urac.org.  Also, feel free to leave comments to this post!