The AHCA: Obamacare Minus Assistance to the Poor and Middle Class
After a week of studying the Republicans’ Obamacare replacement, it is clear that their strategy is to keep many things about Obamacare intact- the insurance regulations, state based marketplaces, penalty for not having insurance. They just want to cancel the financial assistance that helps people afford insurance and send it to rich people as tax cuts.
After years of complaining about mandates, Medicare cuts, regulation-Oh the regulations!– Republicans decided that they were fine with all of that. No, what’s really bothering them about Obamacare is that it makes insurance too affordable.
Things the Republican bill changes:
- Premiums for middle aged, rural and moderate income people will increase by up to 750%,
- 24 million fewer people will have insurance.
Things it does not change:
- Medicare Advantage cuts,
- The penalty for not having insurance (it just gets paid to insurers instead of the government now!),
- The package of benefits required to be covered by health insurance,
- Our hybrid state/federal health insurance regulation system (no “getting rid of state lines“).
So, if your view of Obamacare is that it is great, except insurance is too affordable and too many people have it, then this is the bill for you. However, that sentence seems to describe Republican members of Congress and no one else.
how democracy works 
No trackbacks yet.