They don’t want to actually repeal anything.
They want to rearrange it.
From the man I spoke to last night . . .
Summary of the AHCA:
* Repeals the individual and employer mandate.
* Eliminates virtually all of the ACA taxes and defers the “Cadillac tax” on high-cost health insurance plans until 2025.
* Provides a refundable tax credit based on age, not income. The credit starts at $2,000 per person for 18 year olds and gradually increases to $4,000 as people age. The maximum for a family is $14,000.
* People purchasing catastrophic health insurance plans, without the current ACA benefit mandates, can receive the tax credits.
* Expands health savings account (HSA) contributions to $6,550 per year for individuals and $13,000 per year for families.
* Reforms Medicaid. States would receive per capita federal block grants. States that did not expand Medicaid under the ACA would receive more federal money for disproportionate share hospitals (those hospitals that have a higher share of low-income patients) and possibly more funds because of changes in the federal match. Phases out Medicaid expansion starting in 2020 and gives states more control over the entitlement.
* States would receive federal money through a $100 billion grant over the next decade which apparently could be used for such things as high-risk pools.
* Retains several ACA provisions. Children can stay on their parents’ health insurance plans until age 26. The bill addresses the pre-existing condition mandate. (There is a loop-hole for insurance companies, however. If a person does not continuously have insurance for two months, the company can charge an additional 30 percent premium surcharge.)
* Changes the community rating from 3:1 to 5:1 which will make health insurance more affordable for younger, healthier individuals.
* Cuts $337 billion off the federal deficit over ten years.
* Lowers taxes by $883 billion for everyone who uses health care. Eliminates the ACA taxes on drug companies, medical device manufacturers, insurance companies and insurance plans.
* Lowers insurance premiums ultimately by 10 percent.
* Places a limit on Medicaid spending for the first time in the history of the entitlement, saving $880 billion over ten years.
AUTHOR
DR. ROGER STARK MD
Health Care Policy Analyst
rstark@washingtonpolicy.org
(206) 937-9691