Where the heck is that Obamacare repeal that we’ve been promised for the last 6 years?
Congressional Republicans attempted to repeal all or parts of Obamacare countless times during Obama’s presidency (only to have their repeal bills vetoed by him every time). Now that they have a president who will actually sign off on their repeal bill, what’s the hold up?
Apparently, there’s an internal debate over what Obamacare will be be replaced with. When doctors are removing a cancer, do you think they ever stop to debate what they’ll replace it with?
Despite the hysterical cries that millions will go without healthcare in absence of Obamacare, the majority of gains in coverage resulting from the law are actually from individuals being insured through Medicaid. While their eligibility is intertwined with Obamacare’s existence, they could be granted an exception during the transition period for whatever Obamacare replacement is implemented.
But what will that replacement be? A leaked 106 page document that outlines the GOP leadership’s plan to repeal and replace the law has some insights.
[This would-be] bill eliminates most of the onerous, market-distorting provisions contained within the Leviathan law. It eliminates many of the subsidies that reduce the incentives for those who are currently outside the labor force to remain there, and it kills the individual mandate to purchase insurance.
Based on age, not income, the plan would establish tax credits to help uninsured patients afford private insurance plans.
The plan scales back or eliminates some of ObamaCare’s most burdensome tax provisions, including Medicare surtax on wages and self-employment income.
It eliminates federal Medicaid expansion by 2020, but preserves capped payments to states based on the number of enrollees in states that expanded Medicaid already. Most encouragingly, the plan includes grants to states that would allow them to experiment with programs designed to increase coverage rates or reduce premiums.
There are less appealing elements of the plan too, of course. For instance, according to The Hill, “As an alternative to ObamaCare’s individual mandate, the plan would allow insurers to charge people 30 percent more on their premiums if they had a gap in coverage and then signed up again.” Additionally, “the GOP’s plan for revenue generation leans heavily on a cap on tax-exempt status for employer-sponsored health-insurance plans above the 90th percentile. That is to say, the most generous health plans in the country would be taxed. When this was included in ObamaCare, it was dubbed the “Cadillac tax,” and its implementation was delayed on more than one occasion.”
H/T: Commentary Magazine
According to Gallup, 29% of Americans say Obamacare has hurt them and their family, while the percentage of people saying it helped their family stands at a mere 18%. Take a look at the horror stories of skyrocketing premiums and deductibles, and it’s clear that the so-called “Affordable Care Act” (Obamacare’s official name) isn’t affordable for many.
Nearly twice as many people are being hurt by the law than helped. What’s the hold up in scrapping it?
Do you think Congress should just repeal Obamacare right away, regardless of their replacement plan? Let us know in the comments!
