American Health Care Act & Better Care Reconciliation Act

President Trump and congressional Republicans promised that their repeal and replace plan would provide better care, cover more people, and cost less. Health care experts agree – their plans would force millions of people to lose coverage or pay significantly more for less comprehensive care.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that under the House Republicans' replacement plan there will be 23 million more uninsured people by 2026. The Senate Republicans’ plan would leave 22 million more people uninsured, according to the CBO.

Additionally, the American Health Care Act would:

• End Medicaid expansion in 2020, effectively ending health coverage of 11 million people. Medicaid expansion is especially important in rural communities, where poverty rates are higher and there is less access to insurance through work.
• Reduce financial assistance to help lower- and moderate-income people pay their premiums. Many will see their premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs increase by hundreds to thousands of dollars.
• Pass health care costs and risk onto the states, such that states will be forced to end coverage and eliminate health care services.
• Cut taxes of the wealthy by an estimated $592 billion. These tax cuts are paid for by taking Medicaid away from low-income people.
• Repeal the requirement for employers to offer health insurance to their employees.
• Eliminate funding after FY 2017 for the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) within the ACA and adds one-time, supplemental funding increases for both the Community Health Center Program and to combat the opioid abuse and mental health crises. This is problematic because the PPHF currently funds a significant portion of the CDC’s budget.

The Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 would:

• Eliminate the Medicaid expansion and allows work requirements for certain individuals, but allows federal budget restraints to be lifted during declared emergency.
• Allow insurers to offer cheaper, inadequate “skeleton” health insurance plans, and allow exemptions from requirements such as no-cost preventive care or coverage of essential health benefits, as long as they offer at least one plan meeting ACA standards.
• Eliminate funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) after Fiscal Year 2017 (the PPHF currently funds a significant portion of the CDC’s budget), however an additional $45 billion over ten years would be provided to states to address the national opioid crisis, mainly for addiction treatment; ignoring the need for the support services for individuals with underlying mental and substance use disorders.
• For those purchasing insurance, eligibility for subsidies would be scaled back from 400% to 350% of federal poverty level for a basic plan with less coverage beginning in 2020. Those who were eligible for subsidies may now receive tax credits to purchase high-deductible, catastrophic plans.
• Repeal taxes on a wide range of providers and services intended to fund the purchase of affordable healthcare and incentivize healthcare.