24 Million Americans to lose Health Insurance under Republican proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2017
According to a Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate of the Republican Party’s proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, a total of 24 Million Americans will lose their health insurance coverage by 2026 under the Republican’s new American Health Care Act proposed by United States House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and endorsed by President Donald J. Trump.
Former President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party enacted the Affordable Care Act in 2010 to assist uninsured Americans obtain health insurance coverage, which a total of 20 Million did. For seven years during President Obama’s presidency, Republicans opposed and obstructed the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act and claimed to have a proposal of their own to repeal and replace Obamacare that would provide more Americans health insurance coverage at more affordable prices.
After the Congressional Budget Office’s Cost Estimate of this Republican proposal, the truth is that more Americans and their families will lose health insurance coverage and health insurance will cost more than under Obamacare.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), “14 Million more people would be uninsured under the legislation (American Health Insurance Act) than under current law (Affordable Care Act)….Later, following, additional changes to the subsidies for insurance purchased in the nongroup market and to the Medicaid program, the increase in the number of uninsured people relative to the number under current law (Affordable Care Act) would rise to 21 Million in 2020 and then to 24 Million in 2026.”
The CBO Cost Estimate further states that “the reduction in insurance coverage between 2018 and 2026 would stem in large part from exchanges in Medicaid enrollment–because some states would discontinue their expansion of eligibility, some states that would have expanded eligibility in the future would choose not to do so, and the per-enrollee spending in the program would be capped. In 2026, an estimated 52 Million people would be uninsured, compared with 28 Million who would lack insurance that year under current law.” Thus, the total number of Americans without health insurance will grow as high as 52 Million people by 2026 due to the Republican’s American Health Care Act recommendation to stop funding Medicaid to the states for eligible residents.
In addition, the Republican proposal would increase insurance premiums by 15 to 20 percent during 2018 and 2019 than under Obamacare. Americans will have to pay higher insurance costs than currently under Obamacare. A consequence of higher insurance costs under the Republican proposal will cause health insurance coverage deductibles to increase significantly over the current Obamacare deductibles.
Another feature of the Republican proposal is to directly defund Planned Parenthood, a non-profit organization that provides family planning, reproductive health services, and related medical care in the United States, generally in poor and low-income communities with large minority populations. The CBO Cost Estimate states that the Republican proposal would decrease (reduce) direct funding to Planned Parenthood by $178 Million in 2017 and $234 Million over the 2017-2016 period. The reduction of funding to Planned Parenthood would cause reduced access to health care to communities without other health care clinics or medical practitioners who serve low-income populations. CBO projects that about 15 percent of those people would lose access to health care, resulting in the number of births increasing by several thousand every year in the United States.
The Republican proposal will give rich and wealthy Americans a substantial tax break while poor and low-income Americans will lose health insurance coverage. The American Health Insurance Act will reduce $785 Billion in taxes to high-income taxpayers and health insurance companies. Meanwhile, Americans will have to pay higher health insurance premiums, have to get higher insurance coverage deductibles, and/or lose health insurance coverage overall.
Some health insurance experts claim that the Republican proposal is not about providing access to a larger number of Americans than under Obamacare, but rather a blunt political attack on eliminating Medicaid, defunding Planned Parenthood, and a tax break for rich and wealthy Americans while poor, low income, and elderly Americans will have to pay higher health insurance premiums or lose their health insurance coverage.
Republican Congressman Will Hurd (TX-23rd), who represents Eagle Pass and Maverick County, supports the repeal and replacement of Obamacare under the Republican Party’s proposal under the American Health Care Act.
However, Republicans are divided among themselves on whether to support the American Health Care Act as conservative Republicans want more cuts in funding like eliminating Medicaid in 2018 instead of 2020. Several Republican Senators also oppose the current Republican proposal endorsed by President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan. Democrats in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate oppose the Republican proposal under the American Health Care Act and support keeping and improving the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare.
Eagle Pass and Maverick County residents would be severely affected by the Republican proposal as almost 25 percent currently have no health insurance coverage and this proposal would significantly increase the number of uninsured in the community, straining further local health care providers and residents.
The Republican Party’s American Health Care Act proposal is not a genuine attempt to increase access to health insurance coverage to more Americans than the current Affordable Care Act and may have a life and death consequence to the 24 million Americans who will lose their health insurance coverage. One death is one too many to have pay for the Republicans proposal under the American Health Care Act endorsed by President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan.
