In a recent editorial, the New York Times tore into the American Health Care Act, the GOP’s Obamacare replacement plan.
Beginning with the shameful fact that the House bill would strip at least 24 million Americans of health coverage over the next 10 years, the piece builds steam by citing six major offenses. First, the bill “Takes a machete to Medicaid.”
“As a result [of the AHCA], 14 million fewer people would have access to health care by 2026, according to a C.B.O. analysis of the earlier bill, which contained similar Medicaid provisions.”
Second, the AHCA cuts insurance subsidies for those who don’t get insurance through their employer. Over the next decade, the net losses could total $300 billion. This burden will primarily affect the poor and elderly.
On top of that, the Republican healthcare plan eliminates the individual mandate. This was one of the most unpopular parts of the ACA. But without a mandate requiring coverage, young people will likely drop out of the health insurance exchanges. Older people would then be forced to pay higher rates because the insurance pool would shrink – something they would be ill-equipped to do since their subsidies would also be lower.
The AHCA also enables insurance companies to charge people with pre-existing conditions higher rates. According to the NYT piece:
“The chief executive of Blue Shield of California said the bill ‘could return us to a time when people who were born with a birth defect or who became sick could not purchase or afford insurance.’ Republicans say they will require that states with waivers offer high-risk pools and find other ways to help treat these people. The bill offers $138 billion over 10 years to help states pay for such programs. Experts say this is far too little; Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Foundation estimates it would take at least $25 billion a year.”
Overall, insurance would be less comprehensive. The list of essential services provided under Obamacare could be nullified by individual states, leaving people without access to maternity care, cancer treatments, and other health services. Without these benefits, people would be left with something that only nominally qualifies as healthcare.
Finally, the bill has a profoundly negative impact on women’s health. About 2.5 million people – mostly women – rely on Planned Parenthood for cancer screenings, birth control, and other health services. Some 60 percent of Planned Parenthood customers pay for treatment through Medicaid or other government services. But the AHCA prohibits Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood for at least one year, which means that millions of women will be forced to find other locations where they can get care – something that could prove impossible in some areas of the country.
At the risk of sounding downright Trumpian, the American Health Care Act is a total disaster. It increases costs for those who are least able to afford it, decreases the number of people who are covered, and leaves millions of Americans with health insurance that is barely worthy of the name. Check out the full New York Times editorial here.
Featured image via YouTube video.
h/t DailyKos
