House Republicans unveil Obamacare replacement plan
However, it is important to note that likely Democrats might not support this at all and some Republicans especially in the Senate have said they won't support it. So, this doesn't mean it will pass both houses and be signed by the president at all. It's just the plan they have so far. So, through time it either will pass or it won't and it likely will be modified a lot to make it pass from here.
Will it pass? At best at present I would give it a 50-50 but it could be much worse than that of passing at all through both houses and get signed by the president. After all, the devil is always in the details and REpublicans "HAVE NEVER AGREED UPON ANY HEALTHCARE PLAN BEFORE IN HISTORY". THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF REPUBLICANS NOW FOR THEM TO LIKELY EVER AGREE.
House Republicans tonight unveiled their plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act
(ACA) -- former President Obama's signature healthcare legislation --
years after the measure was signed into law and several weeks into Donald Trump's presidency.
The plan, released by the Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and
Commerce Committee, outlined the Republican strategy for following
through with their 2016 campaign promise to repeal and replace the Obama
administration’s signature legislation.
President Trump has railed against the Affordable Care Act, variously
calling it a "horrible disaster" and a "lie" and made its replacement a
top priority.
The GOP plan dumps the ACA's individual mandate, creates a system of tax credits to provide access to care and freezes Medicaid expansion beginning in 2020.
"The American Health Care Act is a plan to drive down costs, encourage
competition, and give every American access to quality, affordable
health insurance," House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement.
But the plan keeps two major provisions of the ACA in place, such as
provisions for not denying care for pre-existing conditions and allowing
people under 26 to stay on their parents' insurance.
What the bill does:
The bill immediately eliminates the individual mandate, which requires
people to obtain health insurance or face a penalty. Over the next three
years, Obamacare taxes, penalties, and subsidies will be repealed.
The legislation creates an age-based tax credit to help Americans
purchase health insurance, but in a concession to conservatives, House
republicans added an additional cap on those credits.
Despite opposition from Senate Republicans who said they will not
support a bill that doesn’t protect state expansions to Medicaid, the
House plan freezes Medicaid expansion starting on January 1, 2020.
Those currently enrolled in Medicaid or who will join the government
program that provides medical coverage to low income families and
individuals will be grandfathered in.
The bill also gets rid of government funding for Planned Parenthood. The White House proposed preserving federal funding for Planned Parenthood on the condition that it ends its abortion program, but their offer was rejected.
What it does not change:
The bill keeps in place two of the most popular Obamacare provisions:
those with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage, and young
people can stay on their parent’s health insurance plans until they
reach the age of 26.
What we don’t know yet:
The cost and number of people who could lose insurance is still unclear. The bill has not yet been scored by the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan congressional research office that provides guidance on economics and the budget for Congress.
Their guidance will provide information about how many Americans could
potentially lose their coverage and the full cost of the bill.
This is a developing story. Please check back in for updates.
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