Now make a deal to repair the Affordable Care Act?

No matter how much states spend on Medicaid, any cuts in federal reimbursements would force them to reduce spending on other programs or raise taxes, or both.

Given this picture, which seems largely favorable, what is it that people mean when they say that they want to replace the ACA? As noted by The Washington Post, many of those seniors who chose to vote for Donald Trump in the expectation – clearly misplaced – that he would keep his promises regarding protecting their healthcare are in for a nasty surprise.

“The administration has tools to destroy to it”, he said of the ACA.

U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said, “There is a group of people that just don’t want health care and aren’t going to take care of themselves”.

“What the bill does is increase costs for older people quite significantly”, she said. “That’s fundamentally inaccurate for me, given my situation”. Also gone would be federal subsidies that let millions afford insurance.

They are older people nearing retirement who will see their premiums skyrocket. The AHCA is opposed by hospital and medical professional organizations as well as those representing older Americans and those most at risk, like the mentally ill.

Top Republicans hope House approval will take place this week. Earlier this month, House Republicans introduced the American Health Care Act, which they say will stabilize the marketplace by helping young Americans buy insurance, get rid of Obamacare’s onerous taxes on the wealthy and give states more freedom to run their own Medicaid programs. Now is the time to be asking those questions of Congress, she said.

In response to widespread criticism, the White House and House leaders have admitted changes to the bill are necessary to secure enough votes to pass it. Under the existing ACA, the option to expand Medicaid was enacted by 31 states and the District of Columbia. In its first three years of operation, 650,000 new people in the state got coverage under Medicaid. I call it getting the sweet spot.

TAX CREDITS/SUBSIDIES: Financial assistance to help consumers purchase health insurance. The health care proposal has divided the Republican Party and united Democrats firmly against it. “It is a very significant cut in taxes, apparently paid for overtime by significant squeezing of the Medicaid system”, Himes said as he hosted a gathering of reporters in Stamford.

The preceding observations, and my analyses below, are based on two sources that generally confirm each other, except as noted: The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s (FactCheck.org) “The Facts of the GOP Health Care Bill”; and the Kaiser Family Foundation’s “Summary of the American Health Care Act”.

“What we’re saying is that now there are slightly more than 2 million kids covered by Medicaid and CHIP in NY, and both of these programs receive a significant amount of federal money”, said Benjamin Anderson, director of health policy for the Children’s Defense Fund in Manhattan. President Trump said during the campaign that his plan would provide health insurance for everyone.

“We’re just letting them know that until this is actually passed – while it does look like changes will be made – it is all just speculation”, he said.