Getting To Know The American Health Care Act
By House GOP // March 7, 2017
ABOVE VIDEO: House Republicans have released their long-awaited replacement bill for Obamacare.
House Republicans have released their long-awaited replacement bill for Obamacare.
Below is their statement on the new bill and key points of the bill:
Obamacare is hurting more people than it is helping, forcing Americans to buy insurance they don’t like, don’t need, and cannot afford.
• Premiums have increased by an average of 25 percent this year.
• Nearly 1/3 of all U.S. counties have only one insurer offering plans on their state’s exchange.
• 34 percent fewer doctors and other health care providers accept Obamacare insurance compared to private insurance.
President Trump called on Congress to “act decisively” to rescue Americans from this failing law, and House Republicans are answering his call.
More than eight months ago, we outlined our vision for repealing and replacing Obamacare in A Better Way. Since then, we have been talking with our constituents and colleagues about how to turn these solutions into policies that will improve lives.
Now, House Republicans are moving forward with fiscally responsible legislation to deliver relief from Obamacare’s taxes and mandates and lay the groundwork for a 21st century health care system.
Specifically, the primary Committees with jurisdiction over health care—Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce—have released legislation that not only repeals the law, but replaces it with reforms President Trump laid out.
Taken together, here’s what our combined legislation will do:
DELIVER RELIEF
– Dismantles the Obamacare taxes that have hurt job creators, increased premium costs, and limited options for patients and health care providers—including taxes on prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, health-insurance premiums, and medical devices.
– Eliminate the individual and employer mandate penalties, which forced millions of workers, families, and job creators into expensive, inadequate Obamacare plans that they don’t want and cannot afford.
PRESERVE VITAL PATIENT PROTECTIONS
– Prohibit health insurers from denying coverage or charging more money to patients based on pre-existing conditions.
– Help young adults access health insurance and stabilize the marketplace by allowing dependents to continue staying on their parents’ plan until they are 26.
ADVANCE 21ST CENTURY REFORMS PROPOSED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP
– Establish a Patient and State Stability Fund, which provides states with $100 billion to design programs that meet the unique needs of their patient populations and help low-income Americans afford health care.
– Modernize and strengthen Medicaid by transitioning to a “per capita allotment” so states can better serve the patients most in need.
– Empower individuals and families to spend their health care dollars the way they want and need by enhancing and expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)—nearly doubling the amount of money people can contribute and broadening how people can use it.
Help Americans access affordable, quality health care by providing a monthly tax credit—between $2,000 and $14,000 a year—for low- and middle-income individuals and families who don’t receive insurance through work or a government program.
