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 In a battle waged since the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act,
Democratic President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy
achievement, Republicans including President Donald Trump have long
vowed to repeal and replace the law. But they failed for years to
coalesce around an alternative.
With a proposal now on the table, the fate of the plan is uncertain
even with Republican majorities in both chambers. Also unclear is
where Trump stands on many of the details.
"Today marks an important step toward restoring healthcare choices
and affordability back to the American people," the White House said
in a statement, adding Trump looked forward to working with Congress
on replacing Obamacare.
Republicans condemn Obamacare as government overreach, and Trump has
called it a "disaster."
Critics complained about the penalty the law charged those who
refused to buy insurance. The Republican proposal would repeal that
penalty immediately.
Congressional Democrats denounced the Republican plan, saying it
would hurt Americans by requiring them to pay more for healthcare,
to the benefit of insurers.
Obamacare is popular in many states, even some controlled by
Republicans. It has brought health insurance coverage to about 20
million previously uninsured Americans, although premium increases
have angered some.
About half those people gained coverage through an expansion of the
Medicaid program for the poor. The Republican proposal would end the
Medicaid expansion on Jan. 1, 2020, and cap Medicaid funding after
that date.
Just before the plan was unveiled, four moderate Senate Republicans
jointly expressed concern that an earlier draft would not adequately
protect those who got coverage under Medicaid, raising doubts about
the legislation's future in the Senate.
Several Senate and House conservatives have already expressed doubt
about another aspect of the plan, the offering of tax credits for
the purchase of health insurance. The proposal seeks to encourage
people to buy insurance with the age-based credits, which would be
capped at upper-income levels.
The legislation would abolish the current income-based subsidies for
purchasing insurance under Obamacare.
The proposal would protect two of the most popular provisions of
Obamacare. It would prohibit insurers from denying coverage or
charging more to those with pre-existing conditions, and it would
allow adults up to age 26 to remain on their parents' health plans.
Trump has long supported by both ideas.
The measure would also provide states with $100 billion to create
programs for patient populations, possibly including high-risk pools
to provide insurance to the sickest patients.
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'FRANKLY NOT ENOUGH'
The overall cost of the Republican plan, a key issue in a time of
high federal deficits, was not yet known, Republican aides said. Two
House committees will next review the plan.
Craig Garthwaite of Northwestern University said the proposed tax
credits, which would range from $2,000 to $4,000, were "frankly not
enough for a low-income person to afford insurance."
Republicans said the legislation would give Americans the
flexibility to make their own healthcare choices, free of
Obamacare's mandate that people buy health insurance and the law's
taxes, including a surtax on investment income earned by
upper-income Americans.
"Our legislation transfers power from Washington back to the
American people," House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady said in
a statement.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement, however,
that "Trumpcare doesn’t replace the Affordable Care Act, it forces
millions of Americans to pay more for less care."
"Paying for all this is going to be a big issue," said Joe Antos of
the American Enterprise Institute think tank.
"It's possible that CBO (the Congressional Budget Office) is going
to say the Medicaid reductions aren't enough to offset the revenue
losses from repealing all the taxes."
A hospital group voiced disappointment that lawmakers were willing
to consider the measure without knowing how much it cost or how it
might affect healthcare coverage.
The proposal "could place a heavy burden on the safety net by
reducing federal support for Medicaid expansion over time and
imposing per-capita caps on the program," said America's Essential
Hospitals, which represents hospitals that provide care to
low-income and uninsured individuals.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell and Yasmeen Abutaleb; Editing by Kevin
Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)
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