Weasels in Shallow End of Healthcare Pool: McConnell Headfirst “Leading”

e.g., McConnell is 5 feet tall – Pool is 3 feet deep – 

(His H/S math was lousy, too)

This excellent report from the Washington Post. And this set of possible violations of the Byrd Rule that requires 60 votes to move the bill:

1.  Credible estimates suggest the ACA (Obama-care) boosted the number of insured people now with health insurance by over 20 million.

2.  The CBO, reports on the GOP replacement bills, said that the individual market would be stable in most markets for at least for the next 10 years under the ACA (Obama-care).

3.  As for Obamacare being too expensive, most people who participate in the exchanges receive tax subsidies that shield them from premium increases.

4.  The health-care costs have slowed since the passage of the ACA, though the jury is out that the law is mostly responsible.

The Kaiser Family Foundation estimated that cumulative premium increases before the ACA passed into law were:

Ø   63 percent from 2001-2006

Ø   31 percent from 2006-2011

Ø   20 percent for 2011-2016 (from the 1^st year of ACA in effect

Overall: Premiums have fallen/been reduced by 2/3 under the ACA (Obama-care).

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An analysis by healthcare experts at the RAND Corporation shows where the Trump/GOP AHCA bill could lead us to by 2018 are these four key findings:

1.  Would decrease the number of insured by nearly 30 million (CBO latest report).

2.  Would increase out-of-pocket spending for consumers enrolled in individual market plans.

3.  Would raise the federal deficit compared to the current ACA.

4.  Would cause uncertainty and turmoil in the overall insurance market by all accounts from industry experts across the board and all major providers and insurers.

The deficit impact: It increases due to eliminating the ACA's provisions that have reduced spending and generated revenue for such things as major changes to Medicare and Medicaid payments; eliminating taxes and fees on insurers, medical devices, and branded prescription drugs.

The deficit would increase widely from ½ billion dollars under a block-grant proposal to some $41 billion under the GOP’s tax deduction provision.

People with lower incomes would be more affected than other groups and more so due GOP desire to repeal the ACA would also mean eliminating Medicaid expansion, which covers people with incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty level. 

There are two forms of financial assistance under the ACA: (1) Premium tax credits (which would change under the GOP plan), and (2) cost-sharing to lower out-of-pocket costs (which would be eliminated by the GOP plans).

This harsh reality, too: The latest GOP versions of the bill requires insurers to provide 10 essential health benefits mandated by the ACA, unless a state obtains a waiver to set its own benefit requirements. 

Both the ACA and Republican proposals (AHCA) primarily impact the individual market – that is where 7 percent of the population buys its own health insurance.

How the ACA affected someone in that market depended on their individual circumstances — and the same goes for the Republican proposed plans.

In general, because the ACA said that insurers could no longer vary premiums based on health status and limited the variation based on age, older and sicker individuals could have paid less than they had before, while younger and healthier individuals could have paid more.

The GOP plans allow a wider variation in the pricing based on age this way:

1.  Insurers can charge older individuals up to five times as much as younger people (5:1 – under the ACA, the ratio is 3:1).

2.  Also, States can change that ratio.

Under GOP proposals: Younger individuals would see lower premiums while older individuals could see higher premiums (that is new rule – one based on age not health or income considerations – just age alone) – as if young people who are poor and sick don’t need a break, too? When did they stop being Americans???

So, how can any part of the GOP wild-ass “plan” be good for anyone except them and their hard nose, brain dead base who knows no better? Amazing, isn’t it?

Finally how is any of this helping any needy Americans??