Republican Health Care Repeal Bill Takes Coverage from 23 Million People

On May 4, 2017, Republicans in the House of Representatives rushed their health care repeal bill to passage without an analysis of its costs or impact on coverage.

Last week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its report and showed that this Republican bill is an astounding attack on health care coverage for all working Americans. 23 million Americans would lose coverage over the next 10 years under this bill with 14 million losing coverage immediately upon enactment. Here’s a three point summary of the Republican bill:

1. A trillion dollars in health care cuts are used to lower taxes on the rich: These cuts are directed at state health care programs and tax credits to purchase individual coverage. This money is used to reduce taxes on millionaires, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies. The top 1% will receive an average of $37,230 every year in tax cuts while the bottom 80% of American would receive less than $400. The repeal of just two taxes that are dedicated to fund Medicare will result in the 400 wealthiest families each receiving $7 million a year on average.
2. Pre-existing conditions discrimination is back: The CBO estimates that half of all Americans live in a state that will waive at least some consumer protections on insurance, allowing insurers to charge more for pre-existing conditions if applicants have a gap in coverage or exclude coverage for important services like hospital or maternity care. Waiving these rules will allow insurance companies to price sick patients out of the market or offer them stingy coverage that won’t provide financial protection.
3. Americans pay more for worse coverage: Cutting subsidies for coverage and deregulating insurance companies means that plans will cover less and cost more, especially for older Americans. The CBO showed an example of a low-income 64-year old who would see their cost for coverage increase by 700% even as their plan is deregulated to cover fewer services.

This bill is currently being considered in the US Senate. Click here or dial 1-855-980-2231 and tell your Senator to oppose the health care repeal bill.

Links:

H.R. 1628, American Health Care Act of 2017 (Congressional Budget Office, May 24, 2017)

New CBO AHCA Score Confirms What We Already Knew (Tax Policy Center, May 24, 2017)

ACA Repeal Would Lavish Medicare Tax Cuts on 400 Highest-Income Households (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 12, 2017)

The most alarming sentence for Republicans in CBO’s new health-care report (Washington Post, May 25, 2017)

The most devastating paragraph in the CBO report (Vox.com, May 24, 2017)