After much debate, House Republicans introduced the American Health Care Act, their ACA alternative, on March 13, 2017 to mixed reviews.
1. CNN reports the bill's proposals include:
- Eliminating the individual mandate that fined citizens for not having insurance;
- Maintaining coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions;
- Allowing children to stay on their parents plan until they're 26-years-old;
- Subsidized insurance through age-based refundable tax credits, phasing out credits for individuals making more than $75,000;
- A restructured Medicaid program based on block grants;
- The elimination of the ACA's Medicaid expansion with a concession to the 31 states that already expanded the program.
2. The Menlo Park, Calif-based Kaiser Family Foundation analyzed the programs analyzed the difference between the ACA's tax credits and the AHCA's tax credits. In general, people who are older with lower-income or live in high-premium areas would've received larger tax credits under the ACA than the AHCA.
On the other hand, people who are younger, have high incomes or live in low-premium areas received more under the replacement plan.
3. Matthew Fiedler, a fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution — a liberal think tank — estimates at least 15 million fewer people will lose coverage under the new plan, Forbes reports. Mr. Fiedler believes that estimate could rise considerably.
4. Forbes reports four Republican senators — Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska — all oppose the bill. To pass the bill, Forbes believes at least two of these senators would need to vote in favor of it.
5. Republican lawmakers are celebrating the bill, CNN reports. House Speaker Paul Ryan said the ACA is "rapidly collapsing," before touting the AHCA.
He said in a statement, "The American Health Care Act is a plan to drive down costs, encourage competition, and give every American access to quality, affordable health insurance. It protects young adults, patients with pre-existing conditions, and provides a stable transition so that no one has the rug pulled out from under them."
6. President Donald Trump tweeted his support of the bill, "Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation. ObamaCare is a complete and total disaster - is imploding fast!" before adding that the GOP would release an amendment to the bill getting
7. Politico reports that Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., urged Republican legislators to "slow down" on their ACA repealing efforts.
He said in the report, "I've always been concerned that the public needs to absorb this. We're not going to be judged by when we did it but how we did it. Going too quickly is a risk we're going to take if we don't slow down here a little bit."