Republican Walker proposes health tax credits by age, not income

However, he began to show more spark on the trail in Iowa and New Hampshire this week, confronting protesters at the Iowa State Fair and criticizing Republicans in Congress for failing to repeal the president’s health care law as he rolled out his own replacement plan.

His plan, which you can see here, would help individuals pay for their insurance by giving them access to tax credits and subsidies based on their age, instead of income.

Walker would be the first Republican candidate – other than Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who has a deep background in healthcare – to release a comprehensive plan. But still developing their strategies, Walker and Rubio have promised that their plans will be “budget neutral” while repealing all of Obamacare’s tax increases and suggests paying for it with cuts to Medicaid and taxes on expensive health insurance plans. The Wisconsin governor couched his policy as one of common sense – pledging to channel the political aspirations of the everyman should he take the White House. Why haven’t they put a bill to repeal Obamacare on President Obama’s desk?

The Pioneer Press reports Walker has the most support of any of the Republican candidates in Minnesota ahead of next year’s caucus, getting the backing of several prominent politicians including Kurt Daudt (who is serving as the state chairman for Walker’s campaign). It seems that some Republicans want to make repealing the law the centerpiece of their 2016 campaign platform.

By stripping these requirements, health insurers can offer medical plans with vastly lower premiums.

As with the plan proposed earlier this year by Florida Senator Marco Rubio, the main feature of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to change the pre-Obamacare status quo is a refundable tax credit for those who buy insurance outside their workplace. We will allow Americans to purchase health insurance from any state, dramatically increasing choices and competition while spurring cost reductions. However, they have been somewhat deficient as to what exactly they would replace it with.

Under Walker’s plan, Obamacare would be repealed in its entirety.

“His plan is fundamentally accepting the premise of Obamacare – that we need a new federal entitlement program”, Jindal said.

To appeal to those voters, Walker was slated to take a page from Ted Cruz’s manual of demagoguery and distortions, arguing in a speech Tuesday that Washington Republicans let the country down by failing to live up to their promise to repeal Obamacare – and that he would be willing to take on GOP leaders over their betrayal.

The plan also promotes health savings accounts, buying insurance policies across state lines, creating high-risk pools for people with preexisting conditions, tort reform, and the encouragement of wellness programs.

Eliminating the ACA regulations could lower premiums by up to 25 percent, Walker said.

“Given that 70% of new Obamacare enrollees were covered through Medicaid in 2014, we must implement Medicaid reform when we replace Obamacare”, Walker said. “We are going to have to work out some kind of a very, very smart deal with hospitals”, he told CNN when asked how. Eligibles under 17 could receive $900 per year, rising to $1,200 for people 18-34, $2,100 for people 35-49 and maxing out at $3,000 for people 50-64.

Walker also calls for letting people shop for insurance across state lines, something Friedsam said is a popular idea as long as plans are required to offer minimum benefits.

Walker said he’ll give Congress incentives to go along with the proposal.