The Democratic governor sent a letter in January to U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, imploring him not to enact legislation that requires more people to seek basic health care in emergency rooms or that shifts costs to the states. Rand Paul and Mike Lee have said they will not support it because of the tax credits included in the bill, and because they argue it does not truly repeal Obamacare.
Advertisement
Two of the most popular features of the Affordable Care Act, including letting young adults 26 or younger to stay on their parents’ healthcare package and forbidding insurers to deny coverage to those with preexisting conditions, were kept in the proposed draft.
The new provision added overnight by ending government subsides to buy health insurance and instead offering tax credits also lends uncertainty to healthcare advocates who are already anxious about how low income families could be impacted.
“If you buy health insurance, you’re eligible for a tax credit that pays for probably two-thirds of what the cost of your insurance is”, said Joseph Bast, president and CEO of the Heartland Institute.
Republicans’ market-driven plan to replace it, however, has been roundly criticised by some members of their own party – especially in the US Senate – and also has been met with consternation from conservative pundits.
“The concern about patients being stuck with a bill they can’t pay is sort of legitimate”, Antos said. They used data from the National Health Interview Survey and compared results from the expansion and non-expansion states.
House Republicans unveiled their long-awaited plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act this week.
The top USA doctors’ organisation and several hospital groups have come out strongly against the Republican plan, saying it would probably cause many patients to lose insurance and raise healthcare costs. This year, our state will receive roughly $14.1 billion in federal money to cover those Medicaid bills, but the proposed Republican health care plan would reduce federal funding to many states by imposing hard caps.
“I’m going to be very anxious to hear how we get 51 votes and how the House gets 218”, Blunt told reporters.
“Before people even reach retirement age, big insurance companies could be allowed to charge them an age tax that adds up to thousands of dollars more per year”, Nancy LeaMond, AARP’s executive vice president, said in a statement. “But it’s perhaps the first group – the healthy people who were paying the full rate – who could conceivably get some help under the Republican plan”.
Advertisement
Among others, Trump cited the promise that Obama’s health reform “would bring premiums down $2,500 for a typical family”, but noted that those premiums actually shot up “by more than $4,000”. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, said Thursday.
