One in Six May Lose Health Insurance Under the GOP’s Obamacare Replacement

The legislation, being called the American Health Care Act, would convert Medicaid financing to a capped allotment of federal funds to the states on a per-capita basis and would “fundamentally destroy the Medicaid program as we know it”, said LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan. A significant number of women, especially low-income women, have obtained insurance coverage through their state’s marketplace and Medicaid expansion under the ACA.

Wherry and her colleagues based their findings on data from four years prior to the state Medicaid expansions and two years afterward. Such caps would shift the burden of the Medicaid program from the federal government to the states, many of which will be unable to take on the additional costs. Tax credits increase to offset premium hikes, but not 100 percent. Of the 20 million who got health insurance through Obamacare, at least half of them got it as a result of Medicaid expansion.

Larimer County Commissioner Steve Johnson said the county, which is the main access point for many Medicaid recipients, will also watch the bill to see what it will mean for residents.

The ACA also requires that all insurance companies cover maternity care and mental health care, services that were commonly excluded by individual insurers.

“As always, we will continue to join forces with our fellow patient advocates and strategic partners to ensure access to quality care for those who need it, and we will continue to fight tirelessly to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes”. (Think long-term substitutes, paraprofessionals, or say, a bus driver who is also the football coach.) Some districts in IN have sued the federal government over this provision of the law.

“I would say there’s a lot of uncertainty right now at the federal level particularly around health-care and what’s going to happen with regard to Medicaid”, Carlson told the audience at the Broadway Commons in Salem, where commissioners spoke on issues such as economic development, homelessness, and transportation. So this provision pits different education groups against one another. Under the AHCA, he would not be able to deduct x amount of money from his taxes because he chose not to buy a health plan. The proposed Republican bill would slash these subsidies and replace them with much smaller retroactive tax credits for private insurance.

The ACA made several changes to the tax code meant to increase health insurance coverage, reduce health care costs, and finance health care reform. The unions are fans of the ACA overall, but they’d love to see this tax go away.

Despite opposition from conservatives, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has promised to deliver the 218-vote majority required for the bill to clear the House.

The bill also increases contribution limits to Health Savings Accounts (HSA), which allow families with certain high-deductible health plans to save tax-free for out-of-pocket medical expenses. This is being done without public input, without hearings, without estimates on costs or premium increases, and without knowing how many people will lose coverage. For instance, a child with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder may no longer be covered for psychiatric care. A statement released Tuesday from his office is mindful that committee review and amendments could alter the bill, and Fitzpatrick, whose district includes all of Bucks County and part of eastern Montgomery County, will monitor the process.