GOP health proposals paint grim picture — unless you’re rich

Patrick Malone & Associates P.C. | DC Injury Lawyers
Contact

President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress haven’t repealed the Affordable Care Act. Yet.

Still, analyses show how, as one critic said, the GOP plans a big move of federal money from “health to wealth”—to take support from the poor and middle class, especially from the very voters who put Trump in office, to finance a $1 trillion tax cut for the rich, Big Pharma, medical device makers, and, yes, operators of tanning salons.

There’s been a huge amount of press coverage, but look at some key health care numbers—from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the White House, and health policy experts— and see if this motivates you to get in touch with your elected officials:

23 million: Number of Americans the CBO estimates will lose health insurance under the House-passed version of the AHCA in the next decade (1 million fewer than an earlier House version of Trumpcare)

51 million: Number of Americans the CBO estimates will lack health coverage under the House-passed AHCA by 2026

$1.1 trillion: Amount of U.S. spending redirected away from health care under House version of AHCA

$992 billion: Decline in U.S. health care-related revenues under House version of AHCA, including $640 billion in cuts in Obamacare taxes on the rich, Big Pharma, medical device makers, and tanning salon operators, as well as ACA penalties for employers and uninsured

$119 billion: Deficit reduction over a decade due to House version of AHCA. (That’s $32 billion less than in earlier House version the CBO had scored.)

$110 billion: Reported value of Trump Administration’s new, decade-long arms deal with Saudi Arabia

$834 billion: Cuts to Medicaid called for in House version of AHCA

1 in 5: Number of Americans (roughly 70 million) who are Medicaid beneficiaries

66:  Percent of Medicaid spending for the elderly or disabled, including for members of middle-class families

65: Percent of elderly, including middle-class Americans who have outlived their savings and who msut rely on Medicaid as principal support for nursing home stays

14 million: Number of Americans who will lose health insurance due to AHCA-related cuts to Medicaid

700 percent to 800 percent: CBO estimated increase in health insurance cost for low-income 64-year-old under House-passed AHCA versus Obamacare

One-sixth: Fraction of U.S. population that the CBO estimates would live in areas where the House version of the AHCA would destabilize health insurance markets. This would occur because states would waive requirements for essential health benefits or community ratings. This would millions could not find affordable health coverage. Or they might seek “skimpy” policies that cover so little that they effectively would lack health insurance.

$1,000: CBO estimated minimum monthly cost for women to obtain maternity coverage under the House-passed AHCA, especially when states waive essential health benefits requirements that covered this benefit under Obamacare

57: Percent of voters opposed to House-passed version of AHCA in recent poll

62: Percent of voters disapproving of President Trump’s handling of health care in recent poll

20: Percent of respondents in recent poll who said they would vote to support member of Congress backing current Trumpcare

13: Original number of U.S. senators, all men, tapped by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to formulate Senate’s health care bill

50: Number of senators, likely to be mostly from GOP, needed to pass AHCA in some form out of Senate.  McConnell said before the Memorial Day recess that he does not now know how to get these votes.

$7 billion: Amount of Obamacare cost-sharing subsidies, designed to help poorer Americans afford health insurance, but which President Trump has threatened to halt—even without AHCA in place

20 percent: Prospective increase in health insurance premiums blamed on market uncertainty, instability due to the president’s threat to halt Obamacare cost-sharing subsidies

$627 billion: Trump Administration proposed 10-year budget cut for Medicaid. Uncertainty has arisen whether this comes atop Medicaid slashes included in the AHCA, meaning the Administration may be seeking to halve Medicaid funding.

$194 billion: Administration proposed cut in next decade in food stamps.

$87 billion: Trump requested slash in next decade in funding for research and more at the National Institutes of Health.

$23 billion: Administration proposed cut in funding for Social Security disability programs.

$18 billion: Sum the administration seeks to slash in next decade in budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

$12 billion: Administration proposed cut in the next decade in the budget for the federal Food and Drug Administration.

$2 billion: Amount the Administration proposes to cut from programs for food safety and inspection.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

© Patrick Malone & Associates P.C. | DC Injury Lawyers | Attorney Advertising

Written by:

Patrick Malone & Associates P.C. | DC Injury Lawyers
Contact
more
less

Patrick Malone & Associates P.C. | DC Injury Lawyers on:

Reporters on Deadline

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
Custom Email Digest
- hide
- hide