GOP Finally Has A Health Care Plan And It’s A Huge Step Backward
Think Progress tells you what’s wrong with the plan Republicans have finally offered.
1. It would kick millions of Americans off of their health plans.
Right off the bat, the Patient CARE Act would repeal Obamacare in its entirety, meaning that the three million Americans who have already enrolled in new plans through the law’s state and federal marketplaces and the millions more deemed newly eligible for Medicaid coverage in states that expanded the program would lose their health coverage…
2. It dismantles many of Obamacare’s core consumer protections.
Chances are, you’ve benefited from at least one of Obamacare’s consumer protections, like a free checkup, preventive screening for HIV, a mammogram, or no-cost birth control. Millions more will benefit in the coming years, thanks to the law’s requirement that individual policies sold through the marketplaces cover a broad range of “essential health benefits” like maternity care, mental health care, and prescription drug coverage.
Say goodbye to all that under the Patient CARE Act…
3. It does almost nothing for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
Some estimates have shown that as many as half of all Americans have some sort of pre-existing condition. If you’re one of them, good luck getting insurance under the Patient CARE Act.
Under the bill, insurers can still turn away people with pre-existing conditions. The only exception is if you have “continuous coverage,” meaning you’re either already insured or have been able to maintain some form of insurance despite losing the coverage you had through your employer…
4. It would make millions pay more for their employer coverage.
The Patient CARE Act would also amount to a tax hike for the more than 150 million Americans who get coverage through their employer. In an effort to encourage Americans to choose skimpier health plans, the bill sets a cap on the federal tax exclusion for employees’ health care…
5. It provides fewer subsidies to help Americans buy health care.
Coburn-Hatch-Burr does preserve Obamacare’s insurance subsidies in theory. But in practice, the bill pushes more costs onto consumers.
In lieu of Obamacare’s sliding scale insurance subsidies for people between the poverty level and four times the poverty level, the Patient CARE Act provides a flat subsidy that increases with age and is only available to people making up to three times the poverty level.
