Repeal of Obamacare worries many Americans

They got some concrete evidence to back up their argument on Thursday night when Senator Susan Collins of ME said she’s a firm “no” on the American Health Care Act. Thirty-seven percent wanted the law repealed, and 35 percent wanted federal spending on health care to decrease, and the role the government plays in health care to similarly decrease.

Speaking of the rise in support for the bill among politicians, Mr Trump said: “I am proud to support the replacement plan released by the House of Representatives and encouraged by members of both parties”.

He cited a 2015 survey by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that found lack of health insurance and high health care costs were the second-biggest reason people with substance abuse disorders went without treatment.

Delaware, like many other states, is struggling with epidemic levels of abuse of heroin and other opiate drugs. As a result, CBO and JCT estimate that, in 2018, 14 million more people would be uninsured under the legislation than under current law. It’s called a per-capita cap, and the payments under that formula would start in 2020, but would be based on how much the state spends this year. Young, however, believes Medicaid cuts are necessary because the expansion under Obamacare is unsustainable.

Failure to at least take the first step in replacing a deeply flawed, government-mandated insurance program will leave a stain on the Republican Party that even the strongest and purest “detergent” will not be able to remove. The president’s goal, he says, is to expand choice and allow people to choose policies – or not – tailored to their needs. This would be a fundamental restructuring of the Medicaid program, affecting over 70 million people.

The proposal also benefits the rich, he said, with tax cuts of almost $600 million, including repeals on investment income, among other savings for high income earners.

“I’m not right now supporting the bill”, he said, “but I’m not opposing it, either”. But in general he says, “It’s bad deal for Texas”.

“Older people living in rural America would be really left behind”, Collins added. “Actually, if there was some better insurance markets out there-which is the goal of this legislation-they would transition off of Medicaid, and get better insurance”.

There are now 33 Republican governors in the USA, 16 of which head states that expanded Medicaid.

“If you’re 50, you are going to pay $2,726 more, and if you’re 64 – and this is not a misstatement – you’re going to pay $8,394 more”, he said.

State leaders don’t just worry about Medicaid cuts.

This story is part of a reporting partnership with NPR, KUT and Kaiser Health News.