The National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics (NAAOP) released the following statement regarding the impact of the 2012 elections on healthcare:
The hotly contested 2012 election consumed the nation’s attention and resulted in unprecedented political spending over the past year but resulted in very little change in the power structure in Washington DC. President Obama won reelection, the Senate remained in the control of the Democrats, and the House remained in the control of the Republicans.
President: After billions spent in this election cycle, including through “Super Political Action Committees (PACs),” only two states, Indiana and North Carolina, which President Obama won in 2008, moved into Governor Romney’s column since the last presidential election. The President won at least seven of nine battleground states, including Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin. The President won 303 electoral votes to Romney’s 206, with Florida still too close to call. The popular vote totaled 58,933,000 votes for the President, or 50 percent, while Romney received 56,548,000 votes, or 48 percent.
Senate: With some Senate races still too close to call, Republicans are poised to pick up at least three Senate seats from Democrats, but Democrats are also poised to pick up at least three seats from Republicans, keeping the Senate totals largely intact. A notable loss for the O&P community is the Senate race in Nebraska, where former Senator and Governor Bob Kerrey, a Democrat, Vietnam veteran, and lower-limb amputee, was not able to overcome his Republican opponent, Deb Fischer. Bob Kerrey was a proven champion for the O&P community when he last served in the Senate ten years ago.
House: Republicans held control of the House of Representatives, with Democrats likely picking up no more than eight House seats. A number of House races are still too close to call but those races appear to be leaning Republican. The current Republican majority is 25 seats, so Democrats will not materially increase their power in the House. Notable races include a win in Illinois by Tammy Duckworth (D), an Iraq veteran and high-profile amputee, and a loss in New York State by Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R), current Chair of the House Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Subcommittee on health, which has held two hearings in the past six months on VA prosthetics. Chairman Buerkle has been a true leader on this issue. How this impacts the O&P profession’s VA agenda will become clear in the weeks to come.
Healthcare: The results of this election will impact healthcare in two major ways: On reform of Medicare and Medicaid, momentum will be curtailed to turn Medicare into a voucher program and block grant Medicaid. However, these “entitlement” programs will continue to be at risk of additional spending cuts in the context of solving the “fiscal cliff” and the $700 billion in cuts already in law will not be repealed, as Romney promised in recent months. The Affordable Care Act will be implemented rather than being repealed, but implementation of the state insurance exchanges and federal subsidies to purchase insurance may be delayed as Congress debates ways to trim federal spending in the coming months. In addition, a flurry of federal regulations impacting O&P, including essential health benefits and the medical device tax, are expected to be released in the coming days.
NAAOP will continue to keep its members and friends informed of developments as they occur. For more information, visit www.naaop.org or e-mail info@naaop.org
