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So Trumpcare 1.0 is out and the reviews are not good, not even from the GOP. Here's a quick synopsis of the provisions:
Pre-existing conditions - unchanged, still can't be denied for havinga preexisting condition coverage
Continuous coverage — the tax penalty for not having coverage is replaced with a 30 percent penalty that goes to the insurance companies
High risk pools - special fund to be setup to help states set up "high-risk" pools, fix their insurance markets, or help low-income patients
Medicaid - Enrollment in expanded Medicaid will be frozen in 2020 and then likely slowly phased out. Also, Medicaid will change to "per capita caps" (funding limits for each person) in fiscal year 2020
Tax credit - A new, refundable tax credit will be available in 2020 to help people buy health insurance. The tax credit is not means tested but does phase out for higher-income people. The Obamacare subsidies (means tested) would be eliminated.
Taxes - All Obamacare taxes are eliminated, including the Cadillac tax, limits on employer-provide health coverage, etc.
Overall, I don't like it. It's a middle of the road solution to an ever growing problem. The 30% penalty is just weird, and I can't imagine it having much of an effect. If I'm healthy and lose coverage for over 60 days, I'm very unlikely to have any incentive to buy back in, especially at a 30% premium for 12 months. I'd likely just stay out until I desperately need insurance, at which point I'd buy back in and then milk it for all it's worth.
Two items that the GOP loves that are not in the bill are medical malpractice reform and selling insurance across state lines. I won't deduct points for the GOP not including those items since they aren't allowed in the bill that goes through the reconciliation process. A super-majority would be needed to pass those two items, which is why they were left out of Trumpcare. Although I can't imagine why the Democrats would not be for either of those items.
I do wonder if this bill will ever have legs. It seems a bit dead in the water, but so did Obamacare up until Kennedy died and the Democrats were left with a crappy bill that they tried to put lipstick on through reconciliation since even the voters in Massachusetts at the time didn't like what the Dems were doing. I'm still amazed at Scott Brown and his truck winning the Kennedy seat...all because of Obamacare.
Pre-existing conditions - unchanged, still can't be denied for havinga preexisting condition coverage
Continuous coverage — the tax penalty for not having coverage is replaced with a 30 percent penalty that goes to the insurance companies
High risk pools - special fund to be setup to help states set up "high-risk" pools, fix their insurance markets, or help low-income patients
Medicaid - Enrollment in expanded Medicaid will be frozen in 2020 and then likely slowly phased out. Also, Medicaid will change to "per capita caps" (funding limits for each person) in fiscal year 2020
Tax credit - A new, refundable tax credit will be available in 2020 to help people buy health insurance. The tax credit is not means tested but does phase out for higher-income people. The Obamacare subsidies (means tested) would be eliminated.
Taxes - All Obamacare taxes are eliminated, including the Cadillac tax, limits on employer-provide health coverage, etc.
Overall, I don't like it. It's a middle of the road solution to an ever growing problem. The 30% penalty is just weird, and I can't imagine it having much of an effect. If I'm healthy and lose coverage for over 60 days, I'm very unlikely to have any incentive to buy back in, especially at a 30% premium for 12 months. I'd likely just stay out until I desperately need insurance, at which point I'd buy back in and then milk it for all it's worth.
Two items that the GOP loves that are not in the bill are medical malpractice reform and selling insurance across state lines. I won't deduct points for the GOP not including those items since they aren't allowed in the bill that goes through the reconciliation process. A super-majority would be needed to pass those two items, which is why they were left out of Trumpcare. Although I can't imagine why the Democrats would not be for either of those items.
I do wonder if this bill will ever have legs. It seems a bit dead in the water, but so did Obamacare up until Kennedy died and the Democrats were left with a crappy bill that they tried to put lipstick on through reconciliation since even the voters in Massachusetts at the time didn't like what the Dems were doing. I'm still amazed at Scott Brown and his truck winning the Kennedy seat...all because of Obamacare.
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