'You're more likely to get it wrong:' Here's what doctors and patient advocates are saying about the Senate's secret healthcare plan

Jessica Kourkounis/Associated Press

Doctor and patient organizations have some thoughts on what they'd like to see out of healthcare reform currently being drafted by a group of Senators. 

In May, the House of Representatives voted in favor of the American Health Care Act, the GOP's Obamacare replacement plan. At the time, many groups spoke out against the bill.  

Now, lawmakers in the Senate are working to draft their own bill. Little is known about what will be included with it, and doctors and patients organizations haven't had as much of a chance to share their thoughts on the legislation as they did under the ACA. 

The Senate bill is set to be released on Thursday. Here's what doctors and patient groups would like to see in it. 

American Academy of Pediatrics — "Any new health care policies must increase the number of children with access to comprehensive and affordable health insurance."

The organization, which represents 66,000 pediatricians, has been against the AHCA since March. 

Simply, the AAP would like to see healthcare reform that covers more children. 

"Any new health care policies must increase the number of children with access to comprehensive and affordable health insurance," the AAP wrote in a letter to Senator Orrin Hatch. 

That means increasing coverage to parents, specifically through the expansion of Medicaid that was part of the ACA.

The AAP along with other groups also created a checklist of what healthcare reform has to cover to satisfy them.

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American Lung Association and a coalition of patient groups - Healthcare reform should provide adequate coverage.

Back in March, the American Lung Association and other patient groups laid out three main principles for what they'd like to see come out of healthcare reform: affordability, accessibility, and adequacy. While the first two terms are pretty straightforward, the "adequacy" component refers to making sure that basic healthcare needs are covered, such as patient visits, hospitalizations, and prescriptions. 

The coalition of other patient groups that includes: the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, March of Dimes, the National Organization for Rare Disorders, the National MS Society, and WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease.

That's been hard to communicate since the groups haven't had a chance to voice their opinions to the lawmakers. 

"You're never going to get everything right," Erika Sward, the assistant vice president of national advocacy at the ALA told Business Insider. But when you completely exclude patient organizations from the conversations, "you're more likely to get it wrong," she said. 

American College of Physicians — "Expand access and coverage."

The organization, which represents 148,000 internal medicine physicians and medical students, opposes the AHCA bill and isn't too happy about the lack of transparency in the Senate. 

In a 16-page document, the ACP outlined what they'd like to see out of healthcare reform. Here's the short version:

1. Expand access and coverage
2. Bring greater value for the dollars spent
3. Reduce the crushing administrative burden on physicians and patients
4. Leverage technology to improve patient care
5. Support a well-trained physician workforce
6. Reduce barriers to care for patients with chronic diseases
7. Support scientific research and policies to improve public health

See the rest of the story at Business Insider