GOP Bill Destroys Health Coverage for 32 Million

Next week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will bring his Affordable Care Act Repeal bill up for a vote after all. If passed, the bill would repeal the ACA (aka ObamaCare) in two years, but doesn’t provide a replacement. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that, if the bill passes, 17 million Americans would lose health coverage next year, 32 million by 2026. CBO estimates that average insurance premiums would rise 25 percent next year, 50 percent by 2020, and double by 2026.

Worried insurers would probably start leaving the individual insurance market in the next few months or hike rates sharply.

President Trump threatened Senate Republicans with political retribution if they don’t vote for the homicidal bill. He’ll probably tweet them from the golf course this weekend to make sure they’re working on it [Update: Yes he did].

More:

“CBO Makes It Clear Repealing Obamacare Without a Replacement Would Be a Disaster,” Ed Kilgore, New York Magazine

“Here’s what health care looks like if Republicans’ Obamacare ‘repeal and delay’ plan succeeds,” Max Ehrenfreund, Washington Post

“H.R. 1628, Obamacare Repeal Reconciliation Act of 2017: Cost Estimate,” Congressional Budget Office

Update:

“Parts of Senate GOP Health Care Bill Break Rules, Parliamentarian Says,”Mary Ellen McIntire, Roll Call

Related:

“Trump can’t make a health care deal because he doesn’t understand health care,” Ezra Klein, Vox

___________________________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-qcn

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine

House Health Care Bill Leaves 23 Million Americans Uninsured

The “American Health Care Act” was passed by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives before the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office could determine how much it would cost and who would be covered. The CBO has finished the analysis, and the AHCA score is, basically GOP +1, Americans less than zero. 14 million Americans would be without health insurance next year, 23 million within a decade. In states that seek waivers from providing essential health coverage mandates, a feature of the bill, insurance would be priced out of reach for many people with preexisting conditions. There would be a new tier of plans at lower cost that don’t actually cover major medical risks, so the CBO doesn’t count the projected buyers as insured.

The cynical, life-threatening measure might reduce the federal budget by $119 billion over a decade, less than the $150 billion in savings projected by Paul Ryan, who wants to use any health care savings to give the wealthy a tax break. For the GOP, there’s no problem that can’t be solved by tax cuts for the rich.

Under the GOP Plan, 24 Million People Will Lose Health Coverage

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has scored Paul Ryan’s 53-page American Health Care Act, and found it would save $337 billion over 10 years by denying health insurance to 24 million Americans. 14 million would lose coverage in the first year and insurance rates would rise 15-20% in 2018-2019. The AHCA celebrates all this by giving billions in tax breaks to the rich.

The biggest losers with the GOP health care bill? Americans who voted for Trump.

More:

“Health Bill Would Add 24 Million Uninsured but Save $337 Billion, Report Says,” Thomas Kaplan and Robert Pear, New York Times.

“The CBO’s nonpartisan report on the Republican ACA replacement plan, explained in 6 charts: It’s an attack on the poor.” Alvin Chang, Vox

Update:

Turns out that White House analysts are even more pessimistic than the CBO, and think 26 million people would lose coverage.

“White House analysis of Obamacare repeal sees even deeper insurance losses than CBO,” Paul Demko, Politico

____________________________

Short link: http://wp.me/p6sb6-piR

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Yahoo Buzz | Newsvine